As a means of challenging my marketing skills this year, I’m offering FREE high resolution image downloads (640 pixels) for use on your websites, blogs, etc. New images will be posted (weekly to biweekly) in a password protected Photoshelter gallery. Follow the link and enter the password “freeimage”. When possible, photo credit to www.erbephoto.com or Jarrod Erbe Photography would be much appreciated!
You will find download instructions in the gallery and the following screenshots demonstrate the gist of the process:
Technorati Tags: free images, blog images, photography, photos
BordersFX is a freeware plug-in for Aperture that allows you to add a variety of (surprise) borders as well as copyright information to your images upon export. Simply download and install the software, restart Aperture, select an image, and then choose BordersFX from Aperture’s export menu. Find a border that works for you, add your copyright or watermark, and choose the appropriate size for export. Here is an example of a desaturated border with a rounded stroke and copyright info pulled from the file’s metadata:
?
Technorati Tags: Aperture, BordersFX, export, digital image, plug-in
Aperture is not only a great tool for organizing your images, but it also sports a powerful export feature. Export options include:
- application of an sRGB or AdobeRGB color space
- resizing for web (e.g., 640×640 pixels)
- watermarking with your personal copyright
- automatic or custom file naming
- save as .jpg, .tiff, .png, .psd
- resize and attach to email (small, medium, large file sizes)
Any of these features can be combined into custom export profiles. This allows you to quickly export multiple versions of the same image with slightly different characteristics. You may, for example, want to export a full size AdobeRGB .tiff version to your backup folder, a 640×640 sRGB watermarked .jpg version for uploading to your web gallery, and a medium size image formatted for emailing to an editor or client.
Ah, but there’s more. Thanks to a number of available plug-ins, you can also export directly to stock, microstock, and online gallery sites. Options include:
- iStockphoto
- Fotolia
- Flickr
- pBase
- PhotoShelter Personal Archive
If you haven’t yet explored the export feature, give it a shot. It may soon become one of your favorite tools!
Technorati Tags: Aperture, export, workflow, image management, photography
In the world of personal productivity, David Allen’s “Getting Things Done” (GTD) method has achieved cult status. In short, the GTD method makes use of the following 5 stages:
1. Collect
2. Process
3. Organize
4. Review
5. Do
These same steps might also be used to help photographers, particularly those who are trying to balance a full time job with a burgeoning career as a photographer, to make better use of their time. Let’s take a look at the potential application of each step.
1. Collect: This step should come easy for photographers - get out and shoot some images! Of course, a bit of forethought here might pay dividends in the following stages. What do you want to shoot? What is the best lens for the shot? When will the lighting be at its best? What is the best angle? Consideration of questions such as these will produce a tighter set of images to be carried into the next stage.
2. Process: How do you process your images? Assuming that you are shooting in RAW fomat, several options, such as Camera RAW, are available. For the vast majority of my images, I use Aperture for the processing stage.
3. Organize: How do you organize your digital images? Do you have a trusted system or do you dump hundreds or thousands of images onto your hard drive and hope for the best? I have been using Aperture for almost 18 months and find it be a very reliable tool for collecting and organizing all of my images. There are a number of readily available resources to help you learn the basics of Aperture - I suggest Rich Harrington’s Aperture Quick TIps podcast. There are also several Aperture plug-ins available to help you get more out of your organization system. For example Maperture allows you to quickly geotag your images. This is also a great time to back up your images using the Aperture vault or by burning DVDs, etc.
4. Review: I find that it is difficult to part with some borderline images immediately after a shoot. In order to keep my external drives from bursting at the seams, I review my Aperture projects on a regular basis to eliminate those borderline files that have now lost there sentimental value. The review process also provides an opportunity to see my images from a fresh viewpoint and often leads to ideas for a new twist on post-processing.
5. Do: Upload your best images to your favorite stock sites. Build a web gallery to share with a magazine editor. Set up a free Imagekind account to sell prints. Get out and take more pictures.
So, how about you? Do you use a similar system or have you found better ways to “get things done” with respect to your photography?
Technorati Tags: GTD, productivity, photography, photographer, business
