Improve Photography » Features

Unplanned Photos [Contest Announcement]

Jim Harmer — Mon, 20 May 2013 18:52:14 +0000

This is a photo from the unplanned photo shoot Dustin and Jim did last week.

This week Dustin and I are encouraging the entire Improve Photography Community to keep your cameras with you at all times. Lately we’ve been feeling like we only go out and shoot photos when we have a full-on model shoot or major landscape photography trip planned, and we miss everyday unplanned opportunities to shoot.

This week in our camera duel, we spent a few minutes looking for an opportunity to make a great photo even at high-noon in a very dull location (check it out here). Searching for unplanned photography opportunities helped us to make some great photos, and we’re encouraging you to do the same thing this week.

Dustin and I are committed to keeping our cameras with us 100% of the time for the next seven days. No cheating–not even while at work or church. We decided that a cell phone camera doesn’t count for this week–we’re walking around with the big guns.

The contest: We’re inviting you to keep your camera with you this week. Stick it in your purse, keep it in your car…. do whatever you have to do. A point-and-shoot counts, but a cell phone camera is cheating for this week because we want you to have something that reminds you to be looking for photographic opportunities.

The prize: Tamron is offering an 18-270mm lens (available for Canon, Nikon or Sony) as a prize for the winning photo. Two runners up will win an online photo class from us!

The Tamron 18-270 is a perfect prize for this contest because it is a walk-around lens with a huge focal range that allows you to shoot wide or tight depending on what you want to shoot at the time. If the winner is a full frame user, they can choose the 28-300 VC model A20. If they are a Sony NEX user, they can choose the 18-200 Di III model B011. And finally if they are a Pentax user, they can choose the 18-200mm model A14.

How to enter (free!): Either post your photo to your Google+ profile with hashtag #unplannedphoto or you can post your photo onto our Google+ community page no later than Monday, May 27, 2013 at midnight. When you post your photo, include details such as your basic camera settings, the story of how you got the photo, etc. That way we can all learn from each other.

Please note that if you post your photo on our Google+ community page, it may not appear immediately. Google marks many posts as spam, but rest assured we will be able to see your photo and will mark it as visible ASAP.

What kind of photos can be entered into the contest? The theme for this contest is “Unplanned moments,” so your photo cannot be from a planned photo opportunity. However, there is no restriction on what the subject of your photo must be. You could shoot a building that catches your eye, your kids in the backyard, a bird you find on a fence post, etc.

How will the winner be chosen? Dustin Olsen and Jim Harmer will select the winning photo and two runners up. The criteria we will use to judge the photos are: (1) Are there technical issues with the photo that distract the viewer, (2) Does the photographer use lighting and composition in a way that makes the subject look its best, and (3) Is this from an unplanned photo opportunity, or was this shot planned?

Rules:

Only ONE photo entry per person. Do not post more than one photo.
Entries after Monday, May 27 at midnight will be disqualified.
Any amount of post-processing is allowable. We want to see your creative vision no matter how you made it.
Your photo must be from an unplanned photo opportunity that you found by having your camera with you when the opportunity came.
Okay, it’s not a rule…. but be sure to follow Tamron on Facebook and thank them for offering the prize for the contest.

Important Fine Print: By entering this contest, you give Improve Photography LLC a limited license to post your photo on its website and on its social media profiles in articles or posts pertaining to this contest only. Entrants must be 18 years or older to enter. No purchase necessary to win. By entering in this contest, you agree to indemnify and hold harmless Improve Photography LLC, Tamron USA, and their employeees, assigns, licensees, sublicensees, and owners. Void where prohibited.Further Reading:

How to Wirelessly Connect Your DSLR to Your iPad

Jim Harmer — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 22:27:05 +0000

Many times, I go out on a shoot and feel like I captured the scene how I wanted it to look but then I get home and look at the photos large on the computer only to realize that the photos didn’t turn out. I think one of the biggest reason for this problem is that the tiny screen on the back of the camera doesn’t give me a good view of the photo as a whole.

About a year ago, I started searching out a way to make the camera wirelessly display my photos on the iPad or my Android phone so that I can view them larger during the shoot. This is also a great technique for professional photographers who want to show Mom the photos on the iPad while shooting photos of their children, for example.

I have developed a really nice workflow for doing this, and MANY MANY of you have asked me to share how I do this. So, Dustin and I hopped into the studio for a quick video tutorial (available at the top of this blog post if you’re viewing this via email).

If this is valuable to you, would you pin this on your Pinterest photography board?

Here’s the step-by-step…

Step 1: Get your gear together. You’ll need a camera that is compatible (virtually any DSLR made in the last 3 years will work) and an eye-fi x2 pro card.

Step 2: Set up the eye-fi card via the computer interface. Your eye-fi card has software available to make these changes. Define the network for when you’re shooting at home or in your studio. Then, set up direct mode to connect 30 seconds after not finding a wifi network. You may also want to configure the eye-fi card to only transmit the small jpegs and not the raw files.

Step 3: Set up your camera to shoot RAW plus small or medium JPEG. This will make the transfer much faster.

Step 4: On your iPad, go into the settings > Wireless > Connect to the router that the eye-fi card is connected to. If you’re working in a place that has no wifi router available (like when you’re outside), simply connect in direct mode to the eye-fi card, which will show up in your wi-fi networks after 30 seconds.

That’s it! You’re ready to connect the iPad wirelessly to your DSLR camera.Further Reading:

Win a Calumet Complete Lighting Kit!

Jim Harmer — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 19:33:48 +0000

We’ve teamed up with SLR Lounge and Calumet Hollywood to give you all a chance to win a Calumet Genesis 200 Lighting Kit! The good news is that it’s really easy to enter. All you have to do is like all three of our Facebook pages (terms and conditions apply).

You can enter the contest by simply using the form below to like the pages.

If you’re reading this post via email, then please click the title of this article to come to the site and complete your entry!

Further Reading:

Top 10 ways to Rediscover your Creativity

Dustin Olsen — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 06:04:08 +0000

The “Block.” It is what keeps us from tapping into the creative side of our brains and producing great photography. Whenever you find yourself struggling to find inspiration in your photography, here is a list of 10 ways to rediscover the world around you and get you shooting again:

Okay let’s be real, buying new gear is probably the last on your list. It is just extra money we most likely don’t have right now. However, we need to have the right gear for the right shoot and using our favorite kit lens for everything is not the solution to getting creative again. So if you are looking at taking more landscapes but all you have is 70-200mm lens… look at getting the right lens to allow you to take the landscapes you wished you could. If funds are in short supply, consider renting a lens for a weekend shoot.

If you are interested, we have a list of gear we have tried and tested here: Recommended Gear

This can actually be really inspiring for some people. It might even be helpful for those who are just learning about photography and need some one-on-one help with the camera and instant feedback about the shots you’re taking. There is a website called www.meetup.com that allows you to search for groups of interest in your local area.

Another benefit in joining a group like this is that you’ll be with other people taking photos of the same thing (most likely) and you will have the chance to see their vision. I have been apart of several groups like this and it is extremely interesting to see how many different photos are created out of the same scene.

This can be as basic or extreme as you would like. It could be a side of town you don’t often visit or a whole new city (or even country) you would like to visit. Sometimes getting out of the simple routine of life and allowing ourselves to see what is around can make a world of difference.

It is for the same reason we like to visit attractions away from where we live as opposed to seeing the ones in our own background. It’s different.

There are a lot of photo sharing websites out there that you can search. Go ahead and search for the photography that you are interested in doing. The more photos that you look at, the more your mind will be looking at everything with that photographic eye. Already planning composition and the final outcome of the shot. That usually only comes when you start to consume as many photos online as possible.

To go along with visiting new places – you can download the Stuck On Earth app for iPad and search around for posted photos in the area you’re visiting. The photos you find here are hosted on Flickr and geotagged.

Another website that might be of interest to you is called: Fluidr.com.
It’s also supported by Flickr. You can search for topics, locations, photos shot with a certain lens or focal length, camera, etc. I have spent some time looking around on this website and there is some pretty cool photos that come across.

Sometimes there are little things we can do ourselves to create an effect in our photos. Whether it’s creating a shower of sparks in an engagement photo or a simple light modifier for your macro photography. You just never know where your creativity will take if you find the right project to do.

Depending on what you do – it might even transform that same scene you’ve photographed a million times.

Some of you might have even wrinkled your nose when you read this one. That is fine, however, some of us find our creative block in not having a theme or purpose to photograph. A contest will set the perameters of what you can photograph and even encourage you to step up your game because you know it will be judged against others.

There are a lot of local and online photography contests that you can search for and participate in. Also, there are county fair photo contests (if you are here in the USA) that you can enter into. You don’t have to be professional for some of these contests as they will most likely have amateur, semi-pro, and pro categories.

Fireworks photography

If you are bored with the photos you take, maybe it is time to consider looking at other styles of photography to try out. You don’t have to be amazing at them, you’re just experimenting with the concept of them. If you do landscapes… take your family out for a mini shoot for some portrait photography. Maybe macro photography is something you’ve thought about but haven’t done.

Whatever you decide, I would suggest that you go online and look for photos in that style to give yourself some ideas of what others are doing. At this point I would not worry about being creatively different from what you find online, but rather just work at recreating it and then add your own touch to it.

I see this every day with the students in my online flash photography class. They constantly email me and let me know how EXCITED they are about their photography after learning how to work with lighting.

Overall Winner – Edited by Donnis Sealey

Some of you have caught yourself saying that there is nothing to take a picture of where you are. That may very well be true, but have you thought of compositing photos together?

For this to be a success – I would start taking photos of just sunsets or sunrises. I would take photos of interesting flower beds, buildings, and so on. Once I have a decent library of different scenes, I would start to Photoshop them together to create one image. Others can argue that “that’s not how it was,” but at this point you are creating digital art with what you have to work with. You’re finding interest in the world around you – which is important.

A lot of new beginning photographers are afraid of the speedlight. Which is completely fine and to be expected – but if you are comfortable with your camera and have not bought a flash gear set, I would suggest that it is time. It’s going to be the next major step in your photography and will most certainly be worthy of your attention.

Adding light into your photos can be one of the most exciting things you will ever start to play around with in your photos. Being in control of the highlights and shadows and how the light falls on your subject really starts to add to your creativity. Flash is not just limited to portraits. You can use flash with nearly every style of photography and you have complete control over it.

It’s something I would suggest and you can check out our Flash Gear Page with the basic kit starting at $130.

No matter how obvious this suggestion might be, it’s a big deal. Take time to be the best you can be at the style you love. To help with that, I want to challenge you to go back into your photo archives and find a photo you loved at one point and recreate it. Use every bit of new skill you have gained and recreate that photo using the same concept. Think back to what was going through your mind at the time you took that photo – can you do anything different to improve it? What else could you do? The answers you come up with help you perfect your favorite style of photography.

This will allow you to see how much you have improved over time and restore any lost confidence in your ability as a photographer.Further Reading:

How Did You Do It? “Edit My RAW File” Contest Winner Tells All!

Dustin Olsen — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 21:26:49 +0000

Our “Edit My RAW File” contest winner Donnis Sealey was kind enough to do a write-up on what was done to the RAW file to produce the winning image. Thanks, Donnis!!!

Overall Winner – Edited by Donnis Sealey

This is the “before” photo that several people requested in the comments below [updated]

Step 1: Adjust image in Lightroom (Adobe ACR works similarly)

Exposure/brightness – In LR4 these are combined but LR3 and earlier they are not. If using LR3 or below, I try to keep my exposure between 0.0 – +0.40 and brighten mostly with the Brightness slider
White Balance – adjust if needed
Curves – usually take shadows a tad bit darker and the lights and darks a tad lighter
Clarity – increased to 25 or less
Noise Reduction – Luminance & Detail set between 50-75
If needed slightly adjust Fill Light, Blacks & Contrast (use sparingly)
Export as PSD 16-bit file

*You can touch up the larger blemishes in Lightroom/ACR or wait and do it in Photoshop

Step 2: Retouch & Final Adjustments in Photoshop

Duplicate background (Command+J) to work on. I usually do this just in case I mess something up and also to compare the changes I have made.
Using the Healing Patch Tool get rid of the larger blemishes.
Run ‘DC Skin Fix’ action – this is one that I have created and works perfectly 99% of the time. Don’t just smooth the skin on the face but anywhere else as needed. Get it here for free: http://digitalcoutureblog.blogspot.com/2013/02/automate-with-actions.html
Whiten the eyes and teeth slightly and sharpen the eyes.
Next I wanted to change the color of her dress… unless it’s a Christmas theme I am not big on a red and green color scheme. Also, if someone with fair skin or light hair wears red or a vibrant pink it will reflect that color more-so than others. I wanted something natural that fit with the surroundings and also brought the attention to her face.
- First I roughly selected the dress with the lasso tool and while this area was selected I created a ‘Hue/Saturation’ adjustment layer
- In the Adjustments panel check the box that says ‘Colorize’ and then adjust the sliders until you get the color you want (since the adjustment layer is its own separate layer you can always go back and tweak as needed)
- Next I zoomed in and cleaned up the selection with my brush tool – the edges of the dress and hair are crucial and softening the lines or using a brush at 50% opacity to clean up the edges can make a huge difference
- Last wherever her skin was reflecting red I brushed over those areas lightly at 10% opacity until it looked right
Next was the background
- I made it wider and taller, stretched out the left side of the existing background, then added a forest scene as the top layer
- Next I added a layer mask and painted away as needed, using a small brush to get in close to the details (being extra tedious with the hair) and a large brush to blend the backgrounds together.
Last step was to flatten and add any actions/filters – I used a couple of MCP actions from their Fusion collection to get a warm, light glow.

NOTE: One of the easiest ways to completely mess up a picture is to over-smooth the skin and over-whiten the eyes and teeth. I look back at some of my old pictures and shake my head because it was so overdone. An easy way I helped keep myself from plasticizing anyone’s skin is to make a layer copy, completely get rid of wrinkles, pores and under-eye circles and then set the opacity between 40-60%. Anything above that will likely look like plastic. Normal and beautiful people have pores and wrinkles, the goal is to minimize them and not completely get rid of natural textures.

Further Reading:

See the Winners of the “Edit My RAW File” Contest [Announcement]

Jim Harmer — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 23:11:29 +0000

Last week, I announced an “Edit My Raw File” Contest. The idea is that I uploaded a photo that I took, and then put the file up for download so that all of us could take a crack at editing the exact same photo.

This was, easily, the most FUN contest we’ve done, because it gave everyone the opportunity to see MANY different ideas of how to approach the exact same photo. I got a TON of new ideas on how I can approach my post-processing by seeing how everyone edited the same photo.

There were THOUSANDS of people who entered this contest via Google+ and Pinterest. I personally looked through each and every photo and chose about 100 of the best photos. Then, I split up the 100 best photos into three categories: (1) the best edits that left the photo natural, (2) the best photos that made medium strength edits, and then (3) the best composite photos. Then, we selected one winner from each category so that everyone had an equal chance of winning no matter if you went crazy or just kept it natural.

By the way, many people had their photos “disappear” after adding them to Google+ or Pinterest. This was because the websites thought the photos were spam since so many of the same photo were being uploaded. Rest assured, we went through all of these photos and marked them as “not spam” and reviewed them for the contest.

Thank you to all those who participated and made this a fun contest!

Overall Winner – Edited by Donnis Sealey

And the Winner is….

Overall Winner: Donnis Sealey. We loved this photo because it accomplished all three of the things we wanted to see from a winner: (1) it looks good, (2) there aren’t any technical issues, and (3) it’s creative. Donnis wins a $100 gift card and a free online photo class. Donnis, email us at prizes@improvephotography.com to claim your prize.

UPDATE: Read here to see how Donnis edited the file to achieve the winning results.

Best “Natural” Image: Lekimcol Silver. After looking at HUNDREDS of variations of the same photo, what we focused on most was the skin smoothing. Most of the skin smoothing made the photo look downright blurry, but this one was done very nicely (which may be tough to see in the youtube slideshow below). LeKimcol, email us at prizes@improvephotography.com to claim your online photography class.

Best Composite Image: Sandy Le. We loved the pastel colors in this photo, as well as the clever color change of the model’s dress. While we weren’t so thrilled with the creative blurring, it still was very creative and is our third place winner. Sandy wins an online photography class from us, which she can claim by emailing us at prizes@improvephotography.com

Several Honorable Mentions were also selected. You can see those by viewing the photo below. In the video, we showed a lot of composites. While many of the natural photos with just simple edits were beautiful, we chose these photos for the slideshow because we wanted everyone to have the opportunity to see some of the more creative ideas from the group.

You can see a slideshow of our favorite and most creative edits below (or click here if viewing this post via email).
Further Reading:

A client area for your website

Dustin Olsen — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 17:00:04 +0000

Finally – a web solution to working with your clients after the shoot is over!

More than ever, as photographers, we could use a place online where just our clients can see the gallery of photos taken from the shoot–a place where our clients can download contracts and model release forms as well. A place where they can pay you online instead of writing a check. A place that is intended for just them.

The Client Area

We call this place the Client Area and they will find it on your website (I mean, you’ll have to create it before they can find it…). It creates a way for them to log in and access content that is meant for just them. It is all protected behind a username and password. Of course you can have standardized content that is shared between all user accounts (such as release forms, etc).

You can make it as simple – or complex – as you’d like. But now we have a place that works for just them. They can access it from the comfort of their home, allow mom and dad access too, and even communicate back quickly to you which photos are their favorites.

Then once you have them edited – you can upload them to their client area for download. No more snail mail and burning DVDs to realize you forgot to add something to it.

At this point, you’re probably saying, “Sounds great! But I don’t have the slightest clue as to even do that!”

WP-Client Plugin

Allow me to introduce to you, WP-Client for WordPress. It’s $40 for one site and it is FEATURE PACKED! I will admit that it might take some WordPress confidence to navigate around this plugin and set it up to meet your needs. But it has all you’ll need to create a seamless client area where they can log in and see pages of content that is just for them! Some of my favorite features about this plugin that have really made life easy are:

1. Once I create a page – or update a page – I can tell it to email the client(s) that is associated with it and notify them that changes have been made. Which means, you don’t have to copy and paste the link to the new page and email your client every time you change or update something. It will do it for you and only when you tell it to.

2. I can create galleries that support client feedback. A great way to have them immediately indicate which photos are their favorites.

3. They have the option to upload files to you. Whether it’s a signed release form or a series of poses they like – it’s all stored right on the site. No more loosing emails and files.

4. And it’s completely expandable for larger businesses.

WP-Client isn’t just for photographers – but anyone needing a client area. You will find a lot of features you won’t use because they don’t apply to you – but you’ll come to love interacting with your clients in a whole new way! If you would like to start a WordPress site: Click here to learn how.

Other solutions

Unfortunately – there aren’t a whole lot of options out there to create a client area that didn’t involve a lot of work-arounds. A lot of photographers who have already tried to put together something similar use WP-Member and NextGEN Gallery. They are two different plugins working together to deliver content, but restrict it from the general public.

What you want is for clients to be able to create a free account on your site and then pay you later for services. Some plugins can create a client area for you – but to gain access you have to pay for it and you cannot specify which client can see what content.Further Reading:

Edit My RAW File [Photo Contest]

Jim Harmer — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 08:24:56 +0000

For the last month or so, I’ve been teasing this contest but today I’m finally ready to release the details. This contest will test your skill at editing photos in Lightroom, Photoshop, Aperture, or whatever other software you choose. I took the photo and I’m inviting you to download the photo and edit it however you see fit.

The best editing job will win a $100 Amazon Gift Card and a free online photography class from us. The second and third place winners will win one free online photography class.

This is the photo you’ll be editing for the contest. It’s sharp, but it has exposure issues, white balance problems, and needs skin smoothing. Plus, you can add in your own special style to design it up.

How to Enter this Contest

Download my RAW file here. Once on that page, click File > Download. You may need to sign in to your Google account. If you can’t open a RAW file or can’t get Google Drive to work for you, then you can save a large JPEG of the file here.
Edit the photo however you see fit. No holds barred. ONE entry per person.
Upload the photo to our NEW Improve Photography Community page on Google+, or you can pin your photo to one of your pinterest boards and write #improvephotography as the pin description. While you’re at it, you can also follow me on Pinterest here! Deadline to enter is midnight MST on Tuesday, February 5, 2013.

How We’ll Judge and Announce the Winner

Dustin Olsen and I will judge the photos according to three criteria: (1) Does the editing job make the model look her best? (2) Are there any technical issues with the editing job such as noise, sharpness, etc? and (3) Has the editor taken creative liberty to create something unique?

The winner will be announced on Monday, February 11 by the end of the day on the Improve Photography Google+ page as well as on Facebook.

More Important Rules

ONLY ONE ENTRY PER PERSON! Seriously. I mean it
You’re welcome to composite this photo with any other photo that YOU took and own all rights to.
No holds barred in terms of what you can do in editing. You’re welcome to go crazy or just do basic simple edits–make the photo look how YOU want it to.
The last time we did a contest like this, someone edited the model to look like a vampire. That was…. weird. Maybe no vampire edits this time? :-)
No entries will be accepted after midnight MST on Tuesday, February 5, 2013.

But What if You Don’t Own Photoshop?

The good news is that you can download a free 30 day trial of Photoshop or Lightroom de graca (I picked that one up in Mexico). You can also use free photo editing software like GIMP.

The Legal Stuff

Prizes left unclaimed until after February 15, 2013 will be forfeited. Prizes can be claimed only by sending an email to prize@improvephotography.com.

You’re only licensed to download, edit, and use this photo to enter this contest–the photo is mine. By entering this contest, you grant Improve Photography LLC and its employees, assigns, licensees, and sublicensees the right to publish your edits to this photo in any way reasonably connected to this contest or this site, including use in a possible webinar discussing the entries. If you choose to composite the contest photo onto a photo YOU took, you grant Improve Photography LLC and its employees, assigns, licensees, and sublicensees a license to publish your photo as part of the compilation you create in any way reasonably connected to this contest or this site, including use in a possible webinar discussing the entries.

No purchase necessary to enter. This contest is open to contestants worldwide, but is void where prohibited by law. You must be 18 years of age to enter.

Further Reading:

Test Results: Best Online Print Lab

Dustin Olsen — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 17:07:56 +0000

This is the most expensive post I’ve ever written. Over the last year, I’ve been asked dozens of times to do a comparison of the online photo printing labs to see who has the best print quality. I surveyed the members of our group on Facebook and found the 11 most popular online photo print labs and ordered the same 5 prints from each lab (which cost me over $250!).

Then, we performed a blind test to find the best print quality, price for the five photos of various sizes, and even called many of their customer support numbers.

UPDATE: After publishing this post, MANY MANY MANY of our listeners pointed out two things that need clarification: (1) I personally interviewed the owners of Pro DPI and they said amateur photographers ARE allowed to register and order from their lab. The requirement of “professional photographers only” when registering on their site is not accurate. The intent of that warning is to remind users that this lab is only for photographers and not consumers. Amateur photographers CAN use Pro DPI.

(2) A few users mentioned that the prices we quoted in our test are not the same prices they are seeing when ordering from the companies. This is because shipping charges will vary depending on where you live. We could only test the cost that we were charged by the companies to ship to our studio.

Below, you’ll find the results. After the graphic representation, I list each of the online print labs and some notes about my experience in ordering from them. Although several of these labs offer affiliate programs where I could earn money by endorsing them, I have chosen not to accept ANY affiliate offers from these labs so that this test can remain impartial and unbiased.

Results may not be typical of the experience of other users. While we put significant energy into creating accurate tests, we do not claim that the information above is perfect or 100% correct.

Pro DPI on the left, Snapfish on the right. Would you be okay with delivering photos to someone with alien skin tones? Ick!

Pro DPI

Pro DPI was the overall winner of the test. This was especially surprising to me because they had THE CHEAPEST prices of all of the 11 labs we tested, and because I had never even heard of this company before polling our readers to determine which labs we should test.

Contrary to what their website says when attempting to create an account and order the first time, AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHERS ARE ALLOWED to order from Pro DPI. We confirmed this in speaking with the owners of the company.

Pros: Pro DPI was the overall winner of the test. They had the best print quality, being selected first place in 3 of the 5 tests. That is significant because the top 4 or 5 prints from each test were often very alike, but the prints from Pro DPI stood out. Our order of 1 5×7, 4 8x10s, and a 11×14 cost only $12 including shipping.

Cons: The biggest drawback to Pro DPI is their website. The information is not laid out in a logical fashion, so it takes a while to navigate the site and do what you need to do. For example, it took me over 10 minutes to find the pricing for their prints, because they made it a PDF and put the information under the “Downloads” section of the site instead of in the navigation bar, where they should really put it because their prices are terrific.

The shipping speed for Pro DPI was worthy of 4 stars. We received the prints faster than most of the prints, but some companies shipped the prints faster.

Nations Photo Lab

Pros: The print quality from Nations photo lab is excellent. We were particularly impressed with the amount of detail in the prints, which were 3rd best overall in terms of print quality. Also, we like that they offer both a web-based ordering system or a traditional ROES system. That way, it is simple to order quick prints without firing up the ROES software. The prices at Nations were quite good. The order of 5 prints cost $15.51, which is only $3.51 more than the price leader.

Last, their customer support is top-notch. When I called in with a contrived customer support question, there was no robotic “press 1 if… press 2 if…” A real human being answered the phone immediately and was friendly.

Cons: We didn’t run into any significant drawbacks to Nations Photo lab. The print quality was good but not quite as good as Pro DPI, the prices were good but not as good as Pro DPI, and the customer service was excellent. There was no significant drawback that put them in second place, it was more for the fact that pricing and print quality were slightly better at Pro DPI.

WHCC

Pros: Pricing from WHCC was excellent. Our order cost $12.55, which is only 55 cents more than the price leader. The main reason to choose WHCC is not for the price, though. It’s about the lollipop. I was pleasantly surprised to find a lollipop (which my kids enjoyed) and a hand-signed thank you card in the box. It’s about the little things

Cons: Our main concern with WHCC was the print quality. Customer service made me wait about 2 minutes on the phone before I got to talk to someone. The ordering process was reasonably fluid, but I had a difficult time changing my address.

Miller’s

Pros: Miller’s positions themselves at the high end of the market, so you get a few nice bonuses by choosing Miller’s. They were the fastest shipping of all of the print labs, and their packaging was beautiful enough to impress clients when they receive their prints. Print quality was quite good, coming in at 2nd overall, and frankly there was little difference between the top 3 or 4 labs in each test.

Cons: The biggest drawback to using Miller’s is the price–our order cost $19.60. Also, I had to wait 10 minutes for customer service to pick up the phone. While the customer service rep was not rude, I didn’t find her to be overly friendly either.

Last, you have to APPLY for an account in order to make your first order, which made me feel like I was in a Blockbuster Video store in 1995. Little things like that annoy me, because it’s such a waste of my time (this was also true of one or two of the other labs).

Bay Photo

Pros: Bay photo came in at 3rd place overall in the print quality test. Their black and white photo particularly stood out from the crowd.

Cons: The pricing of Bay Photo was not as good as the competition, costing $19.44 for the prints that I ordered.

Tough to see in this picture, but the biggest difference between the prints is color casting. Many of these prints came out with a green color cast, and some with overly vibrant colors.

MPIX

Pros: Print quality was quite good, and MPIX narrowly defeated Nations Photo for the title of Best Black and White Print. MPIX is a the consumer-oriented division of Miller’s (mentioned above).

Cons: The biggest drawback to MPIX is the price–our order cost $23.16, which is almost double what our order cost at Pro DPI.

Adorama PIX

Pros: The ordering system is easy to use. I was anxious to test out Adorama Pix, because they are the lab that I most frequently used before the test. But now that the test is complete… I’m switching to Pro DPI.

Cons: Adorama PIX performed at a mediocre level on virtually every test. Their prints were never in the bottom of the pack, but they weren’t even close to the quality of the top-performing labs.

EZ Prints

Pros: Ordering prints was easy and fast.

Cons: The cost was $17.58, which is about average for all of the labs involved in the test. Print quality was sub-par.

Walmart

Note that we ordered our prints from Walmart online and had them shipped to us. This was not an order from a local Walmart.

Pros: Pick up in store or have them shipped.

Cons: Print quality was dramatically worse than many of the labs. Our order cost $16.96, which was surprisingly $4.96 more expensive than the cheapest lab.

Snapfish

Pros: Ordering was fast and easy.

Cons: Friends don’t let friends order from Snapfish. I had always thought that Snapfish and Shutterfly were the cheapest places to order prints, but I was surprised that they were two of the most expensive companies. Our order at Snapfish cost $20.74. The print quality from Snapfish was shockingly bad when compared to the other labs. Also, they shipped some of the prints in a tube, which made them curl up (not exactly presentable for a client).

Shutterfly

Pros: Ordering was fast and easy.

Cons: Much like my review of Snapfish, Shutterfly performed very poorly in our testing. Our order cost $27.08, which is more than double the price of the lab with the best print quality–Pro DPI. Frankly, there wasn’t anything to like about these prints when compared to the other brands. It was a disaster.

Methodology in Performing the Test

Our labs were selected by the members of our group. We did a poll and asked which online photo print lab they used most often. This meant that we were testing high-end labs like Miller’s, as well as labs that are generally not considered professional. While it may not seem fair to compare a consumer print lab to a professional lab, we found out from the test that the consumer labs like Snapfish and Shutterfly were two of the most expensive labs! So testing the most popular labs instead of only the “pro” labs turned out to be quite interesting.

When ordering prints from the companies, we did what we could to use the same brands of paper between all of the companies, the same finishes, etc. We ordered 5 prints from the labs. The prints were in a variety of sizes from 5×7 to 11×14. Some of the photos were portraits, some landscape, some black and white, etc. We also viewed the prints under controlled lighting conditions, and both Dustin and I each judged the prints according to two criteria: (1) What print looks the best? and (2) What print is most like the photo we ordered from our color-managed screen?

When all the prints were in, we wrote the name of the print lab on the back of each print and spread out the prints, face up, on a table. We then carefully looked at each photo (without knowing what company it was from) and ranked the photos from best to worst. This way, we were entirely impartial.

On a side note, I also brought the photos home from the studio and had my wife look at the photos. Her results in selecting the winning photos was nearly identical to the results that Dustin and I got. The confirmation of a non-photographer helped me to know that we were judging the prints on things that really make a difference and not overly-technical things that only photographers care about.

Tests of online print labs have been done before. Smugmug performed a test a few years ago, but their test was of the print quality for color-corrected prints. Most photographers do not use color correction because we like to be able to control all colors, exposure, and contrast ourselves. A good print lab will produce a print that is exactly the same as the file the photographer sends in. That way, I won’t get surprised with how the lab chooses to change my work. Also, that test did not include the popular labs which are commonly used by photographers, but who do not market to higher end photographers, such as Snapfish, Walmart, and Shutterfly.

Disclaimer: While we put a significant effort into making this test accurate and impartial, we are frail human beings. A few of the labs didn’t have the option to allow for non color-corrected prints or we couldn’t find that option, etc. When posting information about the companies, we did not include all information about each company–only what stuck out to us. For example, we complained about Miller’s requiring an application, but this was also true of some of the others. Our results may not be typical of all users, but we hope that this test at least provides some insight as you choose a photo printer that works for you.Further Reading:

How to Protect Your Photos With A Watermark

Jim Harmer — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 20:46:05 +0000

I’ve always disliked watermarks. When I am asked to provide a portfolio review and see watermarks on the picture, I’m unable to even concentrate on the photo because I’m so distracted with the watermark.

However, about a year ago, I started watermarking my photos because I found a way to do it unobtrusively by using my signature on the photo. After all, when you walk into an art gallery there are signatures on the photos, so why not recreate that same branding on your digital photos?

In this tutorial, I want to explain why watermarking your photos is important EVEN IF the watermark could easily be cloned or cropped out. Also, I’ll show you step-by-step how to watermark your photos in Photoshop or Lightroom.

Note: If you receive this post via email, be sure not to miss out with this video on watermarking that is associated with this post.

How to watermark your pictures.

Why watermark photos if they are so easily removed?

Disclaimer: While I did go to law school, I’m not your lawyer. The information presented here is my understanding of the law as I have applied it to my business. Seek competent and licensed legal advice from an attorney licensed in your jurisdiction to apply the law to your circumstances.

There are three compelling reasons to watermark your photos: (1) It is an obvious visual cue to a potential infringer that the photographer wants to protect her rights, (2) It enables those who see your work to find you to license it, and (3) If the watermark is removed, the photographer may receive additional damages in the case of an infringement.

In the U.S. Copyright Law, under section 1202, copyright holders are granted up to $25,000 in damages if an infringement occurs where the wrongful party removed the watermark. This money is in addition to damages for the infringement, and it provides for attorneys fees, and it can be collected even where the photographer did not register her images. More on the legal aspects of watermarking on the FANTASTIC PhotoAttorney Blog.

How do you watermark your photos using Photoshop?

There are several ways to watermark your photos in Photoshop. I have found, however, that the simplest way of doing so is by creating a brush of your logo, and then simply stamping the photo inside Photoshop. If you’re receiving this post via email, you can see a video of how to watermark your photos in photoshop here.

Step One: Create a black document in Photoshop that is 500px wide and 300 in height. Resolution 150, transparent background.

Step Two: Get a paint brush with black paint and draw your signature on the canvas.

Step Three: Go to edit >define brush preset

Step Four: When you want to watermark an image, simply go to your brush tool and find the brush logo you just created, and stamp it on the picture. Simple!

How do you watermark your photos using Lightroom?

Watermarking photos in Lightroom is even faster than using Photoshop. If you’re receiving this post via email, you can see a video tutorial on how to add a watermark in Lightroom here.

Step One: Create your watermark logo in Photoshop or other program (see directions above)

Step Two: Highlight the photo you want to apply the logo to and go to File > Export

Step Three: Go to the bottom of the export dialogue to watermarking and click edit watermarks

Step Four: Browse to the graphic watermark you want to use and position the graphic on the photo. Save this watermark.

Step Five: Whenever you want to watermark a photo, Lightroom will automatically watermark it with the graphic you chose. If you don’t want to watermark a particular image, simply uncheck the watermark box as you export. Simple!Further Reading: