Video Tutorial- Turning your Animoto movie into a DVD

Here’s a quick tutorial on how I took full advantage of Animoto by turning the High Resolution MP4 file that I received into a DVD that my clients can view on their DVD player.  Tutorial uses Mac specific software so I’m uncertain as to whether or not PC users will find similiar software that may compare to iMovie or iDVD, but please share with us by leaving a comment on this post if you know of such software!

Carrie is the owner/photographer for Carrie Ann Photography and a designer at Pink Ink Studios.

Photoshop Tip {Layers}

My tip for today may seem pretty simple, and really, it is, but it’s not something that I caught onto for quite a while.  Working in layers.  It’s one of the best things you can do for yourself whether you’re a photographer or graphic designer (like me).  Every change you make to the photo you are editing could be forgotten after a few more changes; I often found myself coming up with a great effect on a photo only to have no clue what any of my settings were.  Or even accidentally saving over my original because I didn’t duplicate that layer or better yet, duplicate the image!

Here are some instances where  I find layers so important – and I’d love to hear more!

*Skin smoothing (this one’s a must so you can mask out what you do NOT want smoothed)

*Color Balance

*Adjustment Layers (since I found these I haven’t used the flyout menu options for Levels, Curves, etc!)

*Working on eyes (I always leave this layer separate until I save a final copy)

Canon’s Second Generation EF 70-200mm f/2.8L Lens

Have you heard the news?!  Canon just announced the release of their second generation 70-200mm which is anticipated to hit the shelves in April!  You can read all of the details here…..

Top Photography News courtesy of Alltop

So does anyone want to go buy this Nikon girl their new 70-200???!!!!

Carrie Bombria is a designer at Pink Ink Studios, and the owner of Carrie Ann Photography out of Southern Vermont.

Social Media and Your Photography Business: Twitter

So you’ve heard about social media — i.e. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, FourSquare, YouTube, Vimeo, MySpace, e-newsletters, SEO, blogs and so on. But do you know how to make them work for your business?

We’re starting a new feature here at Pink Ink Studios, called “Social Media and Your Photography Business.” Every month or so, we’ll tackle a form of social media and give you tips on how to use that social media to boost your brand and eventually, your business. If you have questions, we urge you to post them here in our forums and we’ll talk with our panel of experts to get you the answers.

Twitter has been all over the news lately. You probably have an account, but do you know how to make it work for you?

Linking your blog’s RSS feed to your Twitter account
Yes, using a service like Twitterfeed or Hootsuite or a Wordpress Plugin to automatically update your Twitter account when you post a new blog is a good idea. But if it’s the only Twittering you’re doing, then you’re not making Twitter work for you.

Businesses who have found the most success via Twitter have done so because they’re engaging with their Twitter followers… and not just broadcasting at them. If your Twitter feed is full of only RSS feed auto-posts, you should definitely consider upping your game. We’ll talk more about engaging vs. broadcasting later on.

Create a custom Twitter background
Of course, we’d love it if you used one of the Twitter backgrounds available here at Pink Ink Studios (note: we’re adding them to the store soon!), but you can easily create one yourself in Photoshop, Illustrator or by using a web-based service like Twitbacks.com. If you’re going to create your own, create your 72dpi file at 1280×1024 pixels. This is the size that will be optimized for most browsers and monitors.

Your twitter background can be funky, but try not to make it overwhelming. When possible, design it to flow with the rest of your branding – your Web site, your style, your blog, your promotional materials.

Here are some Twitter backgrounds we love!

@sarandipity

@dogarteest

@amykarp

@mcpactions

@lollipopsmiles

Use a photo-sharing service
Chances are when you’re in a session, your cell phone is near by. Pull it out of your pocket, purse or camera bag and take a quick photo of your set-up, your client, your gear and post it to Twitter via Twitpic, TweetPhoto or YFrog. The pics don’t have to be pretty – they can be raw, fuzzy, funny or off-centered. That’s the beauty of social media. No one expects perfection.

Pink Ink’s Holly McCaig is FABULOUS when it comes to sharing photos via Twitter. She is currently moving into her new studio space and has been taking photos throughout the process! Click here to check it out!

Engaging vs. Broadcasting

Zoey Darling of Twitip.com nails it in this post on the 7 deadly sins of Twitter:

“Things get pretty boring pretty fast if all you do is update your status, post links, post pictures and promote your blog. In order for people to care about any of that, you need to engage with them. This involves replying when something sparks your interest, or you think you can be of help; re-tweeting where you can add value; and getting involved in the discussion.”

This does not mean you have to respond to every person who sends you an @ message. You should contribute to the discussion as well. Let’s say you find a blog post about what to wear to a photo session… share it on twitter! If another photographer posts a tweet about a new technique or product they’ve found and you like their tweet, retweet it!

“Sometimes it’s effective to also maintain a presence simply by reading, listening, and sharing relevant and timely information without yet having to directly respond to each and every tweet – perhaps replying to only the critical or influential individuals that may need immediate information or direction to steer strategic activity.”

- Brian Solis

If you find articles, blog posts or other resources helpful, chances are your followers will too! So, post those links for others to share! And, of course, we’d love some Twitter love here at Pink Ink Studios!

I am not of the mindset that the more followers you have, the better you are at Twitter. For me, it’s all about the quality of the tweets. Find people in your community and start following them. Go to Tweetups (meetups for Twitter people) and don’t be afraid to meet someone from Twitter for coffee. Heck, I met Holly and most of the Pink Ink Studios crew on Twitter. I wouldn’t be designing here if it weren’t for Twitter! I have met some of my best friends because of Twitter, and I’ve gotten a lot of business because of it. Put yourself out there. You might be surprised what happens when you do.

Amy Kant is a designer at Pink Ink Studios, a web designer and a social media enthusiast. Follow her on Twitter: @amykant or visit her Web site www.amykant.com.

What we mean by “Fonts Not Included”

I often wonder if people misinterpret what we mean when we say “Fonts Not Included” in our product files.

Simply put, this means, that we do not actually attach the font file to the product you are downloading. Fonts are protected under copyright. In most cases, you may already have the fonts that we use in some of our templates. In other cases, you may not. We try to do our best to list the ones we’ve used.

So, we actually LEAVE the words typed up there, if it’s something you can change, on the file. It just may state something like: Fonts Missing and lists them – when you open the actual file. If you have the font, great! It works just fine as if you are looking at our sample. If you don’t, it will ask you to replace it.

We tend to purchase fun fonts from companies like veer.com, and myfonts.com – but you can also do a Google search for the fonts we have listed in the product to see if it’s one we have found online, free to download.

So, don’t get discouraged! We just have a serious font addiction and between all us designers, we own so many. We also respect the font designer’s copyrights by NOT redistributing them. Besides, we know you’ll LOVE the fonts we use, so why wouldn’t you want to own them too?

Creating Dreamy Stars Brushes in Photoshop

I just love those fairy photos – or even seeing how people get artistic with their work. I thought showing you how to create some dreamy star brushes in Photoshop might be fun. A nice break from all the rushing of holiday ordering we’re doing right now. Enjoy!

Creating Dreamy Star Brushes in Photoshop from Pink Ink Studios on Vimeo.

Customizing Holiday Cards

It’s that time of the year!  You’re running around like crazy ordering your clients prints and packaging them up and then it comes time to design their holiday cards.  Wondering how you can stretch your dollar a little more and make even more customized cards?  Check out this quick tutorial….

You can pick up this card from Carrie HERE

Carrie Bombria- PHOTOGRAPHER Carrie Ann Photography DESIGNER Carrie Ann Designs

Using PS Actions as Droplets for Lightroom

I am a die-hard believer in using Lightroom to sort & rate my images as well as color correct them. I don’t use any fancy presets, and I don’t over action my images – unless I’m just flat out playing around and getting artsy. But, normally, those aren’t for my clients.

The concept I’m trying to explain here is “speed” and speeding up your workflow is so important. Hey, we want to be able to give our clients their images faster than two to four weeks. With this and a few other things I’ve learned along the way (along with nailed exposure in camera) I have been able to edit a session (this is after I’ve downloaded, backed up and imported into Lightroom) in about an hour. Yee-HAW!

This process is nothing new, but it was new to me until my friend, Christy, shared a link to this video. I use two actions on photos. I was constantly having to export my images from Lightroom and then, open up Photoshop to run my color defog and slight pop as well as my black and white process action.

Technically, this process STILL opens Photoshop and runs the actions, but I can walk away and it does it all automated. Cha-CHING!

Simply click this link to watch the talented Scott Rouse do his thing on creating droplets from actions. Seriously, I deliver my proofs so much faster.

One thing I DID learn was that I had to duplicate my action and then add a step of flatten and close in order for it to NOT ask me to save each time. Took me a minute to discover that, so I thought I’d share that with you too. If you’re not familiar with droplets – now you will be!

Holly McCaig – Owner, Holly McCaig Designs, LLC
Follow me on Twitter or Facebook

Studio Gear to Go

So you’ve been doing photography for a while now, taking just your camera, bag, and a few small props.  But what if you wanted to take the studio gear with you?  Have you thought about doing that but felt it was too daunting a task?  Well it doesn’t have to be.  Backdrop stands, reflectors, and drops are being made more portable and that means more possible business opportunities for you.  So let’s take a look at some products that will take your studio on the road.

Portable Backdrop Stand – Interfit makes a support system that breaks down and fits into a bag that can easily be slung over your shoulder.  The system consists of two tripod stands with a three-piece horizontal support bar and a travel bag.  Set up takes about 3 minutes.  Other companies that offer a similar setup are Savage, Da-Lite, and SP Systems.

Muslin Backdrops – When you are on the go, having backdrops that collapse small enough to fit into your vehicle are a must.  Forget the bulky, awkward rolls of seamless paper.  Muslins come in a variety of sizes and easily fold up to fit into a small bag.  They are light, too!  The only hitch with muslin is that it does wrinkle.  So steaming them the night before a shoot will help keep them nice and smooth.  And if you pack a travel size bottle of Downey Wrinkle Releaser, you can quickly refresh the muslin once you arrive and start setting up.  There are plenty of places to pick up muslin drops including Silverlake, Denny Manufacturing, and Backdrop Outlet to name a few.

Metal Clamps – Spring loaded clamps with a PVC coated handle are essential for holding your backdrops in place.  When you’re on the go, having 3 or 4 of these in your bag is essential.  These can be found at any hardware store for just a few dollars a piece.

Lighting & Modifiers – For truly portable lighting, you can go with just a flash.  But what if you want the more dramatic, studio look?  You can opt for off-camera flash or you can bring a strobe with an umbrella or a softbox.  One of the most portable softboxes on the market right now is the Westcott 50×50.  It opens and closes like an umbrella which truly makes it easy to fit in the car, unlike my 48″ octabox which I can’t even squeeze into the hatch of my Subaru.  The Westcott can be used with a strobe or with a flash, making it a versatile choice.  Of course, you will need a light stand to hold your strobe or flash, and Photoflex makes a nice selection of these at reasonable prices.  If you choose to bring your strobe instead of a flash, you’ll want to invest in a portable battery pack.  Alien Bees and Innovatronix both offer these.

Reflector – If you are using one light, you’ll certainly want to consider using a reflector to fill in the shadows.  Photoflex offers a lite panel kit that is truly portable.  The one I use has a corded collapsible frame, 2 fabric panels, stand and a carry bag.  It’s amazing how quickly this sets up and it takes up just a small amount of space in your vehicle when it’s in it’s bag. If you hurry over there, it’s on sale right now for 50% off.

So that’s really all that you would need to get your studio on the go.  If you have more room in your vehicle, you can certainly throw in a posing stool and some props if you need them.  Just make sure you leave enough room for your camera! 

How to Use the 4 x 6 Calendars

I hope to keep creating tutorials for products I design. You never know when they might help you out with other design issues that you’re having in Photoshop. I like to think that what we do here has a bit of a universal use. Be sure to click on the video to go to the full size version. Here, you can purchase the 4 x 6 Easel Calendars.

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