Click To Listen>> Photography Podcast. PPS #66
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The Panel... Gavin Seim – David Ziser – Dennis Zerwas – Douglas Coon – Barry Howell
This week the panel discusses the latest news, nigh photography, Ansel Adams, business ideas and more.
Podcast #66 forum discussion:
Notable Time Indexes:
- 00:00 Random news and ideas.
- 47:43 Lets talk tips and business.
- 1:15:24 Zisers Secret. FUTURE FEELINGS.
- 1:51:20 Promoting to venues.
Viveza2 is here. You can save 15% with code PPS.
LumaVue panels are a great way to stand out.
OnOne’s new suite is here too. Save 15% with code PRPHTPC.
Olympus E-PL1 a $600 pen camera.
Get David Zisers new book. Captured by the Light.
Aperture3 is here. What do you think.
Treys. World in HDR book is available.
Gavin’s Color Fantasies Lightroom presets are here and ready to rock.
PICKS:
Thanks all… Gav
The Product: OnOne Plug-in Suite 4 for Photoshop: Overall PPS Rating, 7/10
Includes Six plugins. We’ll review each separately below. Review by Gavin Seim
OnOne has given PPS a 15% off discount for readers. Use Promo Code PRPHTPC
The Hot:
- Product interfaces have become mostly unified making them easy to work with.
- When purchased as a suite, it’s a good value. You’ll have plenty to play with.
- Effects and tools are effective and generally simple to use and customize.
- Aperture & Lightroom* integration on certain apps
The Not:
- No auto update makes in version updates a hassle and easy to overlook.
- When purchased separately there’s STD/PRO options adding confusion and making the prices too high (not unlike many plugin companies. These so called Pro versions do not have enough extra features to warrant the cost. The full suite does include the pro versions where applicable however.
The Bottom Line:
This is a great collection of plugins. If you want to broaden your editing arsenal in one shot, Plugin Suite 4 is a great place to start. While the whole suite is the best value, all plugins can also be purchased separately.
*One thing to note is that Lightroom integration is little more than export plugins and not self contained integration in LR. This is probably due to limitation with Lightrooms support for plugins, but it’s still a disappointment.
Promo’s and discounts:
OnOne gives PPS some specials as well. Promo code PRPHTSHW is good everyday for 10% off any OnOne product. Also thru Dec 31st, here’s a promo page that will save you $100 on the suite. Note that OnOne has no say in this review, and it contains only my honest opinions.
Individual Product Reviews:
Genuine Fractals 6: Review 9/10
Genuine Fractals is a standard among many photographers when it comes up scaling image resolution. I use it whenever I make large prints. It can quickly take those pixels and make a 300DPI file for whatever print size I need. It can even add sharpening in the same pass (though I usually sharpen separately) GF just gives something more than built in Photoshop up-conversion methods and I really like it.
Continue reading ‘OnOne Plug-in Suite 4: Straight Dope Review’
by Gavin Seim (Updated 01/10) — With winter on and economic downturn in many parts of the world, you may find yourself looking at the numbers in horror. OK maybe I’m going too far, but many photographers are concerned about the amount of work on their schedule. I’m a blessed man. And while things are moving along, I too am looking at ways to put more on the calender.
Now I’m not the worlds chief authority on marketing. What I do know is that amazing service is a never fail approach. Beyond that there’s is no instant solution, but hard work pays off and these tips will get you thinking. I’m going to assume you already have great service (you do right?), then keep it short with six tips that can help you get noticed in this competitive market. I also found another cool article by Sean Clayton about getting your phone to ring that you might want to check out.
- #1. Give Some Classy Freebies:
Sometimes the best way to make profit is by giving something away. You don’t have to devalue your work by shouting FREE prints to the world. Try sending gifts to past clients for anniversaries or graduations. They don’t need to be photos. In fact something else might make a HUGE impression. Chocolates, a gift card for dinner. Maybe coffee or a bottle of wine. They may have loved your photos, but clients need a reminder to talk about you. I know it sounds expensive, but it will WOW past clients and usually pays. There’s various ways to give gifts and perks. Just be creative and see what matches your style.
- #2. Send Images to Venue’s:
Sending out promo images from a venue is a great way to make yourself memorable and build venue relationships. A pile of 8×10’s for their book or some web files for their site is fine, but lately I’ve been taking it to the next level by giving notable things like larger canvas images and albums. Venues nearly always need great images to show off to potential customers and what can be better than them showing off yours. Make sure you put your name on them in a classy fashion and send some business cards along. The venue will appreciate the images, and you can get free advertising, which is always the best kind.
Continue reading ‘Six Tips to Build Your Photography Business:’
It was bound to happen sooner or later, but sooner finally arrived A bit later that some had expected, but it came. The Canon 5D MK II is official, and looking really good. It’s been announced for Nov release. Here’s my favorite highlights.
Update 11/08: The MK II is said to be shipping mid to lat November. The date is not solid as of this update.
- 21.1-megapixel full frame sensor:
- DIGIC 4 processor, significantly lower noise, ISO range of 50 to 25,600:
- 1920 x 1080 HD video capture with mic input:
- 3.9 frames per second (14 frame Raw burst):
- 15-point Autofocus:
- 3.0-inch Clear View LCD:
- Live View Shooting:
- Auto Lighting Optimizer (helps even out harsh lighting):
- 10.0 & 5.2 megapixel sRaw mode:
- Integrated Cleaning System:
- Update: IR Wireless Trigger
- Update: Auto ISO settings
- Update: Image copyright metadata support
UPDATE2: With MK II Samples
Delivery is scheduled by the end of Nov. Body only price will be around $2700 USD. Kit version with EF 24-105mm f/4L IS lens will be around $3500 USD
On a personal note I can say that I can’t wait to get this in my hands. Canon took too long to get it here, but from the look of it they’ll be back in the contenders ring with Nikon. Since this is their #2 pro body. I’m curious what the new 1D will bring us. It can’t be far behind, since the specs on this would turn the current 1D into an electronic oldie. There’s a few more views of the new MK2 below. What ya think? Lets get the comments rolling.
Canon also announced:
Continue reading ‘Canon 5D Mark2 is here: Canon bites back (UPDATED)’
<<Click To Listen – Pro Photo Show #50
Like the show? Rate us in itunes, or Vote on Podcast Alley
Host, Gavin Seim; Seim Photography – Seim Effects
Show notes…
Pro Photo Show #50 Forum Discussion
Join the forum discussion of recently announced cameras, DRM, canvas wraps, long exposures, surpassing customer expectations and more. Also see the Should Photographers Be required to be licensed thread.
-Canon 50D is official plus a new 18-200 EFS 3.5-5.6
-Seim Effects FB fan page. Get free goodies if your an SE fan.
-New Canon Bodies soon! Hopefully the 5D MK2. The Canon Moon ad is a great way to get people talking.
-Nikon D90 is confirmed and has HD video.
-Sony A900 full frame DSLR coming soon. Will they contend with the big boys?
-Adobe CS4 to be announced on Sept 23rd. Do we really want it yet, or is this an Adobe cash cow.
-Blow Up 2.0 is out from Alien Skin is out.
Gallery Wraps. Who do you use? Here’s a guy reviewing then on Flickr.
- Pixel2Canvas
- Collages
- Canvas On Demand
Talking about impressing clients, and surpassing expectations.
The Purple Cow 
is a great book to help you get ideas on being remarkable in your business.
Photographers Edge photo cards.
Rice studio supply for studio materials.
Pick of the week…
Cable Releases
Podcast subscription feed is http://feeds.feedburner.com/prophotoshow
