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Home: Video University Forums: Digital Photography for Videographers:
slide show demo

 

 


Scott Brooks
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Sep 5, 2006, 6:45 PM

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I put up a slide show on my site recently that I did for a bride and groom. It was hot and nasty outside all day, but they wanted the shots prior to the ceremony and who am I to argue. We then had an outdoor ceremony, so essentially we were outside from 1:00 until we made the reception at 6:45. This was one of those days where it was about 95 outside.

I don't consider these shots to be real artistic and if I had to do them over again there are about three that appear sometime after the ceremony that I really wish I had shot differently ... but I didn't. Overall I was satisfied the way the entire wedding day went.

http://www.scottbrooksphoto.com/demo/

Sorry about not being a direct link, but the hyperlink never works for me in FF.


Jenn M
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Sep 6, 2006, 10:21 PM

Post #2 of 20 (954 views)
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Awesome, Scott. I love the shot of the guys holding the flowers. And this bride has good taste - irises are my favorite!

What lens did you use for the ceremony? Fill flash, yes or no?

So you offer the DVD slide show as an add-on? Do you charge extra to post it to your website. Seems there's so many more money-making possibilities.

I like your package - very easy to understand. And that's the way I went with photo, too. I, too, am hoping that most forego the album, and I'm having them pay for it when they order it, after the wedding. I think that will increase my chances of NOT having to do them.

Site looks great!


Brackish
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Sep 6, 2006, 10:36 PM

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Scott Brooks
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Sep 6, 2006, 10:57 PM

Post #4 of 20 (943 views)
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Thanks Jenn. During the ceremony I shot mostly with the 70-200IS. For others I believe it was the 17-55.

I didn't use any flash that day till we hit the reception. There were a few times that I wished that I had, but I didn't understand it as well as I do today. Crazy

These slide shows are just sort of an unexpected product for the bride and groom. I just grab about 40 pics and dump them in a folder and the program does the rest.

Since these are done in Flash they can't be burned so it's on the net for a limited amount of time. I can set the program to go to any site when it ends. In this case it goes to my home page, but others that I've done go to the on-line gallery for ordering.

If they want to pay for it I will do a quick DVD slide Show for them in FCP, but it's going to be straight dissolves as opposed to motion.

I, too, am hoping that most forego the album, and I'm having them pay for it when they order it, after the wedding. I think that will increase my chances of NOT having to do them.

Exactly what I'm doing. I'm letting them know that as a "bonus" and something different that they don't have to worry about ordering till after the wedding. That accomplishes two things. First of all if they decide they don't want an album I can have the files to them within two weeks ... easy. My job is then over.

Second ... if they do order the album then I'm getting paid for it at that time and it keeps the cash flow moving.

For instance ... right now I'm working on 5 weddings and 3 of them have albums and parent albums. BUT ... there's no money coming in right now because they've all been paid for. I have the money, so that's not a problem, but I talked to a photographer the other day that told me he did 30 weddings and now he's trying to do all the albums. His cash flow is WAY off and it's putting pressure on him.

About the only way to combat that problem is to stick your money in a different account that you don't touch till you're finished with the project.

"Hopefully" my strong suit is going to be on the business side. I'll never be as artistic as I see on DWF, but if I can get some solid shots that sell and make sure that I'm making a profit ... I'll be happy. Cool



Scott Brooks
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Sep 6, 2006, 10:59 PM

Post #5 of 20 (941 views)
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In Reply To
What are you hoping to do? Just the pics on CD and proofs?
And when people talk of proofs, are these totally not touched
at all as far as brightness, contrast, white balance, etc.?

Don't know about Jenn, but I'm going to go through and adjust exposure and wb (I shoot in RAW) and add contrast to a few as needed. If I find a few killer shots I'll add some effects to them and make a new file out of it.

I won't spend a lot of time on them unless they order a print or an album.


Jenn M
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Sep 6, 2006, 11:43 PM

Post #6 of 20 (934 views)
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In Reply To
What are you hoping to do? Just the pics on CD and proofs?
And when people talk of proofs, are these totally not touched
at all as far as brightness, contrast, white balance, etc.?



Well, the plan is, for proofs, to do minimal editing - just basic batch processing, adjusting exposure levels and white balance as needed, but otherwise untouched. For now, I'm including both a CD of ready-to-print high rez files, and a proof booket (or 4x6 prints in a box). Eventually however, I do believe the proof booklet/prints will be an add-on. Or the base price will go up to include them. Don't know which yet. But we're including both for now to generate interest - kind of an introductory special.

I'm also listing my print prices very low, again, for starters, to generate interest. I'm offering 2 options - basic prints with the same basic editing - maybe taking it a small step further and tweaking levels further, or artistic prints if they want something more fancy, like softening skin or removing an object, etc. I suppose I should do more research on that b/c it could come back to bite me in the butt, b/c if someone has 5 different intricate requests on one print, it should cost more than if they only have one. I believe most photographers charge according to the request, such as glass glare removal for one fee, selective color for another fee, and so on.

I'm a little nervous b/c the bride's mother for this first booking did ask several questions about albums - albums will include basic and minimal 'artistic' editing. I'm hoping the request blows over, but we'll see. Like I said, it's not until next December, so by the time we get around to designing an album, I should have a better grasp of the process.


Jenn M
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Sep 6, 2006, 11:45 PM

Post #7 of 20 (933 views)
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Cool - looks like I have a similiar game plan. I'm going to take this as meaning I might know something. Wink


Brackish
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Sep 7, 2006, 12:09 AM

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AlanB
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Sep 7, 2006, 1:50 AM

Post #9 of 20 (918 views)
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Quote
I'm a little nervous b/c the bride's mother for this first booking did ask several questions about albums - albums will include basic and minimal 'artistic' editing. I'm hoping the request blows over, but we'll see. Like I said, it's not until next December, so by the time we get around to designing an album, I should have a better grasp of the process.



I assume that most albums use a template or have design software for that particular brand. I took a look at the Gary Fong album software an it looks really easy (excluding the creative instincts needed Crazy). I assume there is other similar software. Actually, I think it is actions for PS. If you believe Gary Fong, you can learn it quickly and put together an album in an hour. Anyone have any experience with that? Is it that easy or not?

Alan


Scott Brooks
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Sep 7, 2006, 1:51 AM

Post #10 of 20 (918 views)
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Are asking why the photographers don't want to do albums or why brides don't want them?

Either way no one would be a great exageration. There are just markets for various levels. There are a lot of brides into scrapbooking. They just want to put it together themselves and save a little bit of money. Then you have others that do want an album and want as little to do with it as possible because they're busy.

The one I'm currently working on asked me to go ahead and pick out the photos and design it. They want to take a last look at it before going to print and I'll make any changes needed, but they both work and really don't have the time to go through everything.

Albums going out are probably the best form of advertising ... yet I don't really like to do them. On the other hand ... I've been receiving e-mails because I do an on-line slide show for each wedding and that link goes out to all their friends.

If I can stay busy enough without doing them then that's what I'll continue to do. With a $500 print credit they're free to take individual prints, go with a lower cost album or they can upgrade to a fine art book. As long as it stays profitable then I'm happy.


Xray
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Sep 7, 2006, 2:47 AM

Post #11 of 20 (915 views)
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Alan,
GF's Album designer is just an interface to Photoshop and anything done in Album Designer can be achieved in standalone PS.... BUT I have to agree that it is much easier and it would save a lot of time. It can be really helpful if you are trying to put together quick (average-looking) albums OR it could be used to build a foundation for a high-end album since there is number of automated tasks. The rest could be enhanced with PS (actions/filters/ect)

The ‘software’ is loaded through PS/Action menu and by switching to Button mode.

Hope this helps.

Marcin
_______________________________________________________________
If it's sent by ship then it's a cargo, if it's sent by road then it's a shipment.

(This post was edited by Xray on Sep 7, 2006, 2:49 AM)


AlanB
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Sep 7, 2006, 5:38 AM

Post #12 of 20 (902 views)
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Thanks Marcin.

Alan


videochicke
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Sep 7, 2006, 8:49 AM

Post #13 of 20 (900 views)
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In Reply To

Quote
I'm a little nervous b/c the bride's mother for this first booking did ask several questions about albums - albums will include basic and minimal 'artistic' editing. I'm hoping the request blows over, but we'll see. Like I said, it's not until next December, so by the time we get around to designing an album, I should have a better grasp of the process.



I assume that most albums use a template or have design software for that particular brand. I took a look at the Gary Fong album software an it looks really easy (excluding the creative instincts needed Crazy). I assume there is other similar software. Actually, I think it is actions for PS. If you believe Gary Fong, you can learn it quickly and put together an album in an hour. Anyone have any experience with that? Is it that easy or not?

Alan


With a template, an album can be put together fast. But the times they quote do not include the decision process beforehand. If you have 500+ images to begin with, someone has to decide which and how many images are to be used, and which images will go on what page. The images need to be corrected to look their absolute best. With Photoshop, the design process is not hard. Below is a "first dance" page. First, the background pic was selected. Since the open album pages in this case are 22x14 (2 11x14 prints side by side), I cropped the picture I wanted to use for the background with the crop tool set for 22 inches by 14 inches at 300 dpi. Next, I choose the other pics for the page. I decided how big I wanted each picture to be and set the crop tool for those dimensions. If I want the top one to be 3.5 by 5 inches, I set the crop tool to that at 300 dpi, frame it with the crop tool, and have a perfect 3.5 by 5 pic to place as a new layer on my background. Because it is a new layer, I can move it anywhere I want to on the page and even rotate it. Did the same kind of thing for the other two pics. The order of the layers determines which picture appears to be on top. Top layer is on top, and the bottom layer is the bottom of the stack. Then, I added a drop shadow to one of the pictures, and a border using stroke and whatever effect seemed to go with the pic. When I was happy, I copied the layer style and pasted it onto the other layers so all the pics had the same border and shadow.


Julie


videobear
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Sep 7, 2006, 10:29 AM

Post #14 of 20 (895 views)
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THOSE ain't no snapshots. Nice shooting and arranging, Julie!!




Regards,
Doug Graham
Panda Productions


szerangue
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Sep 7, 2006, 12:15 PM

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One of my local photographer friends was charging $2500 for a coffee table album. I found a company here locally that can produce them much cheaper. But I have not looked into it at all since I have not needed to create an album in the past.
Miracle Pictures
"If it's a good picture, it's a Miracle!"

"Life Productions, coming out of the dark, into the light"
4EVER GROUP AFFILIATE


AlanB
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Sep 7, 2006, 2:52 PM

Post #16 of 20 (875 views)
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That is very nice Julie. Thanks. I really need to study up more on PS.

Alan


videochicke
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Sep 8, 2006, 10:59 AM

Post #17 of 20 (853 views)
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In Reply To
THOSE ain't no snapshots. Nice shooting and arranging, Julie!!


The shooting is from one of my partners. I have been going with him as a second photographer on the few rare days when he is shooting and I am not. And when we work together, I grab his second camera and shoot stills when I am not shooting video. Have to say my photographer friends have been great letting me use their equipment and pick their brains!
Julie


videochicke
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Sep 8, 2006, 12:10 PM

Post #18 of 20 (848 views)
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In Reply To
That is very nice Julie. Thanks. I really need to study up more on PS.

Alan


Each spread took about an hour to put together, and it was my first time doing it so I had to figure some stuff out as I went along. The album will be 40 pages, which comes out to 19 full page spreads I believe. The hour included having to select the shots, as this is being used as a sample album and was not done for the bride. And there were over 1000 pics to go through. Crazy
Julie


Brackish
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Sep 8, 2006, 12:23 PM

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videochicke
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Sep 9, 2006, 10:16 AM

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Aren't you doing any sample albums where you actually have
the photographs stuck to or inserted into the pages of the album?


Doing both. In fact, we are doing that album both ways as a sample to show brides the same wedding as a traditional and a digital album. The traditional used 40 pictures. The digital used 112 I believe.
Julie