1. Stock Tips: Shiny Happy People

    August 5, 2009 : Written by jonathan : Comments (2)

    Please Note: “Stock Tips” is intended for new and emerging professional photographers

    When I discovered digital photography back in 2000, one of the most common problems at that time was overblown highlights, or what we would describe as “waxy” digital skin tones. Since then, improvements in technology have vastly minimized this issue. However, I still see new and even experienced photographers producing these unwanted results. Once you overexpose your image there is virtually no going back. When digital information is gone from the image, you will be hard pressed to recreate it.

    There are many variables that can contribute to this. Generally speaking, there are easy preventative measures you can take to avoid overexposure. With digital photography, something as simple as frequently viewing your histogram should keep your images properly exposed during a shoot. For more information on histograms, check out this link found on www.dpreview.com:

    http://www.dpreview.com/learn/?/key=histogram

    Another simple rule is to bracket your shots. Try taking different exposures by changing your shutter speed or aperture. On the other hand, many photographers are overexposing their images to achieve a certain effect. I would be careful with this trend as the images may not look as good printed, especially when ordering metallic paper. Metallic paper will exaggerate color and exposure, giving an overexposed image a very undesirable print.

    My advice would be to limit this style and stick with finding that perfect exposure, while mixing a few of these trendier shots to add variety. You are always better off underexposing a bit and optimizing that photo later in post production…… or just let us take care of it for you!

  2. Stock Tips: Stop, Crop and Roll

    July 15, 2009 : Written by jonathan : Comments (3)

    By: Jonathan Weinstock
    Please Note: “Stock Tips” is intended for new and emerging professional photographers
     
    Framing your image properly is one of the most common details overlooked by new photographers. Many new photographers do not realize the importance of framing your subjects. Also, they do not understand why certain sizes just won’t print the way they’d like. Most of these mistakes are made when taking headshots or group photos. Nearly all SLR cameras are a 3:2 ratio.

    This means that when shooting with an SLR camera, you need to realize that 8×12 is your full frame. And you will have to prepare your shot for 2 inches of cropping if you want to have an 8×10 photo printed. Too often, I will see group shots that were taken way too tight and the result is deciding between cutting someone’s shoulder or ear off or be forced to print the full frame 8×12.

    A simple solution to this is to zoom out a bit or take a couple of steps back, so you will be sure there is enough room for cropping later on.

    So remember, leave enough cropping room on your shots and you will always be able to print the size you want!

    Original: Full Frame Before Cropping

    Original: Full Frame Before Cropping

    Cropped: Shot Too Tight – cropped original image to an 8x10. Image loses bridesmaids elbows and a portion of their bouquets.
    Cropped: Shot Too Tight – cropped original image to an 8×10. Image loses bridesmaids elbows and a portion of their bouquets.

       

  3. Let’s Get This Blog Started…

    February 3, 2009 : Written by chris : Comments (3)

    When deciding whether to launch a blog my CEO and I spoke at length about the purpose our BLOG would serve. We asked all of the necessary questions, including what would we talk about? Would anyone want to read it? And one of the most important questions of all…What wouldn’t we BLOG about? Would there be specific information that we just wouldn’t touch? Would we talk about financials, or the overall state of the company? Honestly, those answers are still up in the air, but we know one thing, we launched this BLOG for the sole purpose of letting our customers into the daily life of the Nations Photo Lab Family. We want to let our clients see us on a more human level, a level that EVERY company should eventually get on with their customer base.

    Ryan Millman, our founder and CEO (and another blogger that you will soon get to know), started this business with ONE GOAL in mind…building long term relationships with our customers based on quality products, low prices and MOST IMPORTANTLY, the highest level of customer service.  We have an internal motto at Nations Photo Lab and unless you were a fly on the wall in our weekly operations meetings you may not know it, but this motto keeps everything in perspective for us, the motto is…”Every Customer, Every Order, Every Day”.  It is this motto that everyone who works at Nations Photo Lab adheres too and tries to emulate with every action.  This is why we recently re-designed our website, this is why we consistently are adding new products, this is the reason that our customer service staff is top-notch and this is the main reason that we are not afraid of trying new things, this motto keeps us grounded, keeps us pointed in the right direction and keeps our customers as the number one most important aspect of our business!

    Now that I have stated the reason for this blog, or better yet, stated the intention of this blog I want to officially introduce myself.  My name is Chris and I am the Marketing Director here at Nations and will be one of the prominent bloggers you will be hearing from, but don’t worry we will be introducing you too many more of the characters that work at Nations Photo Lab. As for how I came to Nations Photo Lab, well it was a road that started with a Marketing undergrad degree and a Masters degree from an amazing university in Eastern Carolina, aptly named East Carolina University.  After a stint with a large advertising agency in Baltimore, MD, I was lucky enough to meet Ryan (through my future wife) and score that ever important interview…the rest is history.

    I hope you enjoyed the inaugural blog of Nations Photo Lab and I will speak to you soon.