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Attendees packed the house to view prints for the contest
I had the pleasure of being a guest of John Harrington’s at JVH Technical’s Digital Print Festival this past Friday November 12th, 2010 where over 200 people were in attendance to learn about the latest print technology and products as well as participate in the annual digital print contest.
Attendees learn about this blog while enjoying an
Epson 3880 / ColorByte ImagePrint print in the GTI light box
It felt like everyone there stopped by my “booth” to enjoy the GTI PDV-2020ex light box on display and learn about the printing series I’m currently running on my blog. Attendees had questions ranging from Color Management to Epson’s Advanced Black & White mode advice.
Canon and Epson were around to discuss their latest products
Guests were eager to learn about the new iPF6300, iPF6350 and iPF8300 printers from Canon as well as the highly anticipated Stylus® Pro 4900 from Epson. They were able to enjoy one on one assistance from experts from both Canon and Epson on topics ranging from sales to technical inquires.
The GTI PDV-2020ex was a HUGE hit with attendees as were the
Canon iPF6300 prints on LexJet’s Sunset Photo Metallic paper
ColorByte was on hand to discuss ImagePrint as well as printing the first public print of their upcoming update for Canon printers (that’s right, it’s no longer vaporware now). The print I saw from the iPF6350 using this private build of ImagePrint was fantastic, so soon Canon users will be enjoying the same great RIP that Epson users have been enjoying for years.
I was also showing examples of LexJet Sunset Photo Metallic paper which I’m certain was the hit of the show as everyone was wanting to know more about this paper and take advantage of the 30% discount offered by this blog.
Randy Hufford used three of my raw images, edited them using his
workflow, and made massive prints from his
Canon iPF8300 and iPF9100 printers
Color expert, Pat Herold from Chromix, was on hand to show users what my readers already know – that ColorThink Pro is an incredible product and a blast to use to learn more about the quality of your profiles and how to use the results to make better decisions before sending your job to the printer.
Guests enjoyed several great presentations from industry experts,
including master printer Randy Hufford!
Randy Hufford had an all-day workshop the day before where he demonstrated his workflow much like you’d see in his fantastic DVD series The Perfect Print. During this presentation he elected to use some of my raw images and show users how to edit those images. In addition to this he filled the wall with three massive canvas prints of my images which was pretty neat as I’ve never seen my work printed so large! The best part was that Randy let me keep these prints, so now I get to enjoy them at my own home – thanks Randy!!!!
John Harrington was like Santa giving away laptops, iPads,
Nano’s, Wusthof knives, flat panel TV’s
and more to print contest winners!
John Harrington, founder of JVH, was great for putting on this wonderful event and even gave away some amazing prizes to the winners of the contest. He was also reminding everyone of our partnership where you can save 10% on ColorByte ImagePrint between now and the end of the year when you mention this blog when ordering (see the discount coupon code page for more details).
Randy Hufford tries a new look while showing off one of the Honorable Mention Prints
I’d like to thank both John Harrington of JVH and Randy Hufford for all their support during this event in promoting this blog and my work as a Photographer. I also had a great time talking to so many wonderful people about printing on the fantastic printers by Epson and Canon.
If you ever get a chance to attend one of these events, I’d highly recommend it! It was super informative and FREE (including a fantastic five-star lunch that even included salad and dessert)! John easily had to spend several dollars per head for those in attendance, but this just another example of how he really loves his customers and works hard to give something back to them each year. Ask yourself before the next time you buy printers or supplies, what has your merchant has done for you? If it isn’t the first class treatment like this then I’d highly recommend you contact JVH and learn why they are the best place to buy printers from in the Northwest. They may not always be the cheapest, but they are without the best customers service business you’ll ever work with – period!
If you are reading this and were in attendance feel free to leave a comment to let John know how much you learned and appreciated this event as I’m sure he’d love the feedback.
If you’ve never heard of JVH before, I highly recommend them for all of your printer, paper, ink, imageprint and service needs. Be sure tell them you heard about them from this blog when ordering so John will know how much I appreciate him too by sending my readers to him!
I may get a commission if you mention this blog when ordering products from JVH as well as when you purchase using select links from other partners mentioned in this article. JVH is a preferred partner of this blog and provided me with free assistance with my Canon iPF6300 delivery as well as a free space at the digital print festival.
My Favorite Randy Hufford Photo
Copyright © Randy Hufford – All Rights Reserved
Randy Hufford is the photographer we all dream of being one day because he lives in Hawaii, takes great shots and gets to enjoy selling huge prints clients on a regular basis. Tell me you haven’t dreamed of being Randy!!!
While Randy has been enjoying many great days in Paradise as a photographer, he also has been in the business of printing fine art prints for many great artists on the Hawaiian islands. During this time he has amassed an amazing wealth of knowledge about printing that he has shared in his series The Perfect Print which I reviewed on this blog a while back. I loved this series and it has changed the way I work, but few things in this series has been more fun than chatting with Randy on the phone and getting to tap his vast experience that goes beyond what could ever fit on a stack of DVD’s!
Randy is very unique in all off the people that I have interviewed in my printing series because he is not a Epson or Canon sponsored master printer – he’s even better than that. Randy is an authorized reseller of both platforms, so he not only uses them but sales and services them so he knows his printers inside and out – literally!
In his DVD’s you hear him sing the praises of Epson printers of which he has a long and successful history. More recently after the release of the new Canon iPF6300, iPF6350, and iPF8300 printers he has purchased the Canon iPF5100, iPF6350 and iPF9100 printers to run the largest printing business in Hawaii.
When I talked to Randy about which is better, Epson or Canon, his answer was a pretty common one – “they are both fantastic printers so you can’t go wrong with either”. As an owner of both Canon and Epson printers, I couldn’t agree more!
With his in-depth knowledge of both platforms, Randy is the perfect teacher for those who wish to become a master printer on either platform. If you are lucky enough to have the opportunity to hear him do a presentation on printing, then jump on it as you’ll be hard pressed to find someone more experienced with the finest printers from Canon and Epson.
Copyright © Randy Hufford – All Rights Reserved
The more I use ColorByte ImagePrint (discount) the more I love the results, and the more I find myself just using it to make my life much more simple/efficient. Randy is the same way as his business depends on quality and consistency. He sites ColorByte as having the largest library of profiles that are better than most people can generate themselves as being a key component that make them the only RIP he recommends for the Delta E tolerances he demands of his work.
ImagePrint has a variety of different profiles for each paper, but a useful tip he had is that he generally finds that the RF2 profiles are his favorite. In fact, he said that he typically will use the Relative Colormetric rendering intent for art reproduction and the Perceptual rendering intent for photographs.
While this advice only applies to Epson printers for now, ColorByte is hard at work with new Canon drivers for the next release of ImagePrint (which I’ll definitely review) that are sure to be a hit. ColorByte founder, John Pannozzo, says that he is able to do things with the Canon printers that simply aren’t possible with the Epson for results that will produce the best prints his software has ever created. I’ve seen some pretty amazing stuff rolling off my Epson from John’s software, so this should be pretty fun – Randy and I can’t wait!
Randy’s “The Perfect Print” is a great resource on profiling your digital devices, but in our discussion he expanded that he really likes to do profiles with at least 918 patches (the more, the better) and that he does profiles using up to 3000 patches (which means he’s got automation <g> – see my X-Rite i1XTreme review for more info).
Copyright © Randy Hufford – All Rights Reserved
Randy is a guy who prints every day so he knows what he likes and he uses a lot of it. This is why he is a huge fan of Canvas and does most of his daily printing on it, but he also said that PremierArt’s Smooth Hot Press Fine Art Paper 500 gsm paper has unreal detail! In fact, he was so excited about it that he even promised to send me some to help me find the religion – woohoo!
Copyright © Randy Hufford – All Rights Reserved
Randy (like Vincent Versace) says that if you want to become a better photographer you need to print your own work, and to sell those prints you need to get them in front of people. This is why he recommends that you carry more than just an iPad! A physical print portfolio is a must so your potential client can connect with the image. He brought this point home by reminding me the experience you have at a fine art gallery where they dim the lights on the image to help you see the image and connect with it.
Some of Randy’s suggestions for success are:
Printing is Randy’s passion so he reminds us that most photographers only want to shoot, so they could never afford to print everything. However, there’s value in doing the printing yourself as you control the output of your original work.For those who print themselves, this extra step in the creative process shows and it is what sells fine art prints!
Randy believes if you show large, you sell large so he prints this at 60” wide!
Copyright © Randy Hufford – All Rights Reserved
Randy has enjoyed his life in paradise by making sure he’s always selling prints, and his key to success is large prints. He says you earn more money with large prints, so to sell large you must show large! Simple but effective advice so he encourages people to have large prints around their home and studio so you have something that will turn visitors into buyers.
He also points out that the bigger you print, the less competition you have. so if you really want to set yourself apart from the masses – go huge! This is why Randy is a big fan of the 60” wide print on his Canon iPF9100 printer. In fact, he’s so excited he’ll be printing a big 60” wide print for me help me understand why he loves large format printing so much. I’ve discovered a great joy when I’ve done big 24”x53” and 24”x43” prints, so I can only imagine how cool it is to see my work on a huge 60” print!
I had a fantastic time talking for hours with Randy, and I’ve learned a ton from his “The Perfect Print” DVD series. If you’ve got any desire to get into printing and make money from your work, this series is a must as Randy explains the real ins and outs of the business like few have the experience to do.
It was an honor to get to meet and know Randy, I encourage you to get to know and learn from Randy as well by watching his DVD series and by visiting his web sites at:
Visit my article on The Perfect Print DVD series by Randy Hufford to get a discount on his DVD series. I loved this series as it is a more in-depth review of all things in the digital workflow from start to finish. It’s what I wanted to do in this printing series, but just don’t have enough hours in the day to accomplish due to my real day job. I HIGHLY recommend it!
When following links from this article for products that may be purchased, I may get a commission if you complete a transaction. Thank you for supporting this blog by using these links when making your purchase. It doesn’t cost you anything extra!
If you want to create HDR images
that don’t suck, read this article!
*** NOTE: This product is no longer sold, but you can get similar products here ***
As much as the subject has grabbed my interest, I haven’t fully embraced HDR and tone mapping as I’ve rarely been happy with the results that come out of the various HDR products I’ve tried. They are good products and I’ve seen others use them with great effectiveness, but honestly most of mine have seriously sucked. Of course, there’s tons of horrible HDR images out on the web with grey/black skies on sunny days, oversaturated colors that make me reach for my sunglasses, and some with so much texture and noise that they feel like the apocalypse is near.
I’ll admit with all of this bad stuff other there, I’ve kinda disassociated myself away from HDR as I wanted to avoid being shunned by the growing mass of the population that has a total disdain for HDR and is proud to let he world know about it. However, I recently had the pleasure of watching all four of Trey Ratcliff’s HDR Workshop DVD’s and I was pleasantly surprised, Trey has evolved (as a post-processor) to create modern day HDR images that some might wonder if they are HDR at all. Put a different way, he’s creating some great stuff that are neither radioactive nor grungy so I believe their appeal will be more broadly accepted. His techniques as to how he creates his images has evolved, but much of the fundamentals he applies today he’s applied in the past, so the real point is that you can use the techniques of these DVD’s to improve your Photoshop skill set even if you absolutely hate HDR images!
I’d actually argue this DVD is equally both. It is definitely a series that shows you the value of shooting multiple exposures, and if those multiple exposures are bracketed then you can do some really cool composites to create a great image. From this standpoint you can use what Trey shows to remove tourists, and fix hot spots, even if you never fire up an HDR image processor. However, the goal of this series is to show you how to make great HDR shots, so naturally you’ll see plenty of Photomatix in action.
The gist of Trey’s secret sauce really boils down to this:
All of this sounds pretty easy, but it’s fun to watch a master at work and see how he accomplishes step 4. Each image offers unique challenges, and Troy handles them very well. This is the real value of this DVD, because even if you have ninja Photoshop skills – you may pick up on some cool tricks that you can apply on your own work either using Trey’s method directly or a derivative that accomplishes the same thing more efficiently.
In this series Trey always exports his RAW’s via Lightroom, but he mostly uses Lightroom as a image organizing storage tool. He uses Bridge as a tool to do merge into layers (which theoretically should be doable as a export action in Lightroom). After this its all Photomatix and Photoshop, so the point here is that if you don’t have a tool that can do layer masking and change opacity on those layers, then your aren’t going to be able to apply the techniques shown in the series.
This series is broken up in to two editions. The three disc Basic Edition and the four disc Premium Edition, so the first three discs of both editions are identical. I’ll start with my thoughts on those below and finish up with disc four which is exclusive to the Premium Edition, and why you should care about that last disc. With that in mind, here’s my thoughts on the series discs:
This disc is comprised of seven chapters, each of which are described below. Of all the discs in the series, I initially felt this was the least useful.However, by the end I saw the value in the first disc – especially when you have the fourth disc from the premium edition. Here’s my chapter by chapter thoughts:
Overall, I felt like the last three chapters were the real bang for the buck of this first DVD, so if you are wanting to power through the series I’d say those are the mandatory chapters to watch. These chapters made up for some of my initial disappointment and helped me to remember that the value in this material isn’t the presentation, but the content discussed. There were a fair amount of tips and concepts shared that made me really want to go shoot some HDR shots so I could apply what I just learned.
This is the disc you bought this series for, so I really got a kick out of the content on this. Here Trey walks through start to finish post-processing on four photos and common problems with two more. I loved this because I felt like I was a fly on the wall looking over Trey’s shoulder to see how he deals with problems we face all the time. When he had certain problems that many of us would just say screw it and discard the picture, he came up with a nice solution to save the shot. This was a very good disc and a lot of fun. Here’s my thoughts on the chapters:
I loved this disc because you get to sit and enjoy Trey from the best seat in the house to watch what he’s doing and listen to him discuss what’s in his head for a given shot. I know this disc has helped me a lot already, so this is one where you can’t miss a thing.
This disc is much of the same of what you get in disc 2, but every photo has its own unique challenge so it’s more about learning from repetition which is how I learn most effectively. Here’s the chapters you’ll find on this disc along with my thoughts on them:
If you can only get the Basic Edition, this is the end of the road of what you’ll learn. However, there’s a lot to learn up to this point so you shouldn’t go away disappointed. I found a lot of value in watching Trey do his magic and then trying to do it myself on some of the sample images included in the Premium Edition, so if you don’t go for that edition then be sure to practice on your own images with similar challenges to apply what you’ve learned.
This disc is the one you should insert into your computer first before starting the series so you can download all of the images. I didn’t discover this until I was on disc 4, so I was disappointed I didn’t have the files handy for all of the chapters until the end. With that said, I was able to go back and try to apply what I saw and when necessary revisit some chapters, so I was thrilled to have this content.
All of the chapters on this disc are images captured during the photo walks on the first disc, so you can see more end to end results by watching these chapters. I honestly thought all three of them were fantastic examples of how to deal with common challenges to make the mundane look great. Here’s my thoughts on the chapters of this disc:
Over 220 full-size JPEG files totaling 1.5GB await you on disc 4 so that you can follow along with Trey on the same exact images he’s working on. In addition, their is his eBook Top 10 Mistakes in HDR Processing and How to Fix Them, so if everything you’ve learned wasn’t enough there’s more goodness in this eBook to help you to address the challenges you face with your own photos more effectively.
Did anything that I watch on these discs really help? Well perhaps you should be the judge. Take a look at the image below which was done using the techniques described by Trey and then hover your mouse over it (it may take a few seconds for the image to load) to see the way that I did HDR for my Photomatix 3.1 review. My verdict? Uh, yeah I’ve improved and I want to vomit at that crap I had before!
My HDR work before and after what I learned in this series
Copyright © Ron Martinsen – All Rights Reserved
One of the big factors that helped this image was that I knew how to use Photomatix better, but another was that I had a better command of my post-processing options and tools by Topaz Labs, Nik Software, and onOne Software – all of which were used here to create this final result. Below is a shot of the tone-mapped file I created this time using Photomatix versus what I created before watching Trey’s video (i.e., before I knew what the hell I was doing):
My Photomatix tonemapping results before and after this series
I’m very happy with what I learned, and I felt that it helped me A LOT. Even if I never do another HDR image, I have skills that will help me with all of my work so that alone was worth the price of the basic edition. Personally, I got a lot of satisfaction out of working with Trey’s image and seeing the amazing results he posts day in and day out, and that added confidence made me look at my own photos that have been sitting on my drives forever and say “hey, I can save that”. I think the practice, repetition and confidence boost I got from having those files and a few more examples in the Premium Edition make it worth the extra money.
I highly recommend this series, and if you have the cash, I think it is worth it to get the Premium Edition. If you don’t, then it’s still worth getting the Basic Edition, but just be prepared to go shoot some new HDR images now so you have something you can use to apply what you’ve learned from the series.
In addition to the passion I already had for my Nik Software tools, I find myself using Topaz Labs Adjust a lot more often now. I also find that I’m happy with Photomatix 4.2 way more than the 3.x version. Click here for my HDR Comparison article too. I therefore would encourage you to download trial versions of these tools as well as onOne Software’s Plug-in Suite (which I’ve used for ages) to see how fun it can be and how much time you can save by using all these tools together.
Now Trey is offering three versions with the base downloadable version as low as $99, the Basic for only $219 and the Premium for only $379. Click here to learn more about each version and save while this offer lasts! The other good news is that the $99 version is downloadable for instant gratification!
I also have a special offer where you can save an additional 15% ALL StuckInCustoms products when you use my discount coupon code RONMART15 which can be applied on top of the savings listed above for the lowest prices ever!
Be sure to check out my interview of Trey Ratcliff which also includes info on his textures, as well as my review of his eBook “Top 10 Mistakes in HDR Processing and How to Fix Them”.
You can also save now with the limited time special offers on the products that Trey uses:
Check my discount coupon code page for the latest codes and program changes in case this article becomes out of date.
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I’m very skeptical of videos as many end up being a photographer showing off their images and talking about how great they are, but they rarely offer much instruction. However, when I talked to Randy Hufford on the phone I quickly realized this was a guy who knew his stuff! He also seemed to have an obvious passion for printing and framing, so I felt like I hit the jackpot when I got in touch with him. Despite that, I still was a little weary of his DVD series. Would they suck like many I’ve seen from others in the past? Would they be so shallow that nothing really actionable was possible from them? Would they really just be infomercials?
I’m happy to report that Randy’s DVD series, “The Perfect Print” is extremely good! In fact, I started to wonder why I’m even bothering with my printing series when Randy covers so many of the things I wanted to cover with more detail (in some cases) than I’ll ever have time to write about. Each of the disks are available separately or as a collection for a discount, but I found useful information in all of them. In the sections below I’ll discuss each disc and a little bit about what you can expect to learn from the sections on the discs. Check out the end of this article for a special offer on this series which can save you a few bucks…
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This should be required viewing of everyone who owns a DSLR before they are allowed to copy their first images off their cameras memory card. Calibration is a crucial part of the editing and printing process, yet most never do it. This disc does a great job of showing how it works and why you should care. If you follow the guidance of this disc, you’ll improve the quality of your image output substantially! Here’s my walkthrough of the chapters:
Determining Delta E Tolerance – Also known as Color Tolerance, this section describes the lingo that will be used later in the series to determine how tolerant you or your client is on shifts of color between what is on the display and the final print. Knowing this information allows you to determine how precise you need to be for your target customer (you or a paying client). I thought this was a useful chapter because I’ve heard this term thrown out a lot, but I’ve never had it explained as well as Randy does here.
Setting Up Viewing Conditions – Here Randy talks about controlled viewing conditions and the pitfalls of using ambient light with different conditions throughout the day. He has a great example that shows different light conditions for the same print so you can see how drastically different each print looks under different conditions. This is a good chapter for everyone as most of us will have horribly uncontrolled viewing conditions. Randy’s advice here is golden as to how to get things under control.
Choosing Equipment & Software – This is an important discussion that I dive into during my printing series as to what calibration system and software are really right for you. I like how Randy quantifies this by tying back to your or your clients Delta E tolerance as I think that’s an excellent decision point for understanding what is right for you. He demonstrates the X-Rite i1iO Automated Scan Table and Profile Maker for one of the more useful and “to the point” explanations I've seen to date.
Calibrating Monitor & Workflow – Here Randy walks through the calibration process as I’ve done in my ColorMunki article, but this is the video equivalent using an i1 device. For those of you with i1 calibration devices, you’ll definitely appreciate the video seen here if you aren’t already getting the most out of your i1.
Optimizing Soft Proof Setup – If you don’t understood soft proofing, this is a must watch chapter. He does a fantastic job of showing how it is done and how useful a GTI light box (review coming soon) is in getting the best results. The tips at the end are golden even for those who think they are soft proofing gurus.
Reproduction of Original Artwork – Unless you are going to be taking photos of prints, you can easily skip this chapter. If you will be photographing prints – especially for the purpose of reproducing or restoring them, then you’ll love the tips and gadgets discussed in this chapter.
Look, listen and learn from a master. This is knowledge everyone in photography should learn from some source, and here it is presented quickly, efficiently in an easy to understand manner. You’ll never learn this stuff faster than this, and its value to you as a photographer is invaluable.
RECOMMENDATION: BUY - If you only get one disc in this set, this is the one! Even if you aren’t doing your own printing, there’s stuff here you need to know – especially if you ever have your work printed.
Like the first disk, this is a good DVD for beginners, but this one is geared for those who will be doing their own printing. I really enjoyed this DVD as I am still new to printing, so there were lots of cool things that I learned. Here’s my walkthrough of the chapters:
Printer Technologies – This is a great chapter where Randy gives the best discussion of head technology I’ve seen to date. He has a nice discussion where he talks about piezo crystal (Epson/HP) and thermal (Canon) print heads. He explains how piezo can clear out a clog easily, but thermal is harder but they address this to add a bunch more nozzles so they can drop one and replace it with another. He also explains that piezo are designed to last for 3 – 5 years and are not user replaceable but thermal print heads are as they are more likely to wear out due to the extreme heat conditions they work under. This is pretty cool stuff that isn’t explained anywhere as well, so this is a must watch for sure!
Driver vs RIP – Here Randy explains how you can get great prints with the manufacture driver, but he also explains why he prefers to use ColorByte ImagePrint RIP. He also has a great video tutorial of ImagePrint which gives you a good example of its use as a image layout tool.
ICC Printer Profiles – This is a step up from the previous disc because Randy demonstrates the basics of X-Rite Profile Maker (a tool which most pros recommend) to create a new custom profile.
Engineered Solutions – Here Randy discusses engineered solutions for long term archival solutions. He mentions Wilhelm Image Research’s Certification of products by Premier Art as well as Epson products for the full solution of paper, ink and finishing. If you care about the long-term life of your images, then this is important stuff.
Optical Brighteners – This chapter is really more about media selections. Here Randy recommends that you know the manufacturer (Epson, HP, & Premier all use High End OBA’s that disappear). Some use cheap OBA’s that yellow over time. Photographers prefer OBA’s for white and black pop.
Canvas Media – Here is a high-level overview of the types of canvases (100% cotton & cotton/poly blend) and pros & cons of both. He covers the Importance of humidity when stretching (something I’ve never seen mentioned once in the dozen+ videos I’ve seen on the subject). He also dives into topics such as Single & Double weaves, and MicroCeramic Porous water-resistant technology. Finally, he discusses the media finishes - Matte (economical), Satin (his preference) and Gloss (difficult in some viewing situations).
Fine Art & Art (Watercolor) Medias – Here Randy describes what makes a Fine Art and Art (aka Watercolor) paper. His discussion includes 100% cotton, hot (smooth) & cold (textured) press methods (with manufacturing videos) as well as the Library of Congress rules for “buffered” paper.
Photographic & Specialty Medias – This is a great discussion of the differences between plain, coated, cast coated, swelling type and microporus papers. He mentions that Enhanced Matte (now known as Epson Ultra Premium Presentation Paper – Matte) has a good coating and cheap. He also talks about new advanced papers that use Microporous with Ceramic Cups & Resin Coated (RC) and the benefits of them. Randy also discusses specialty medias such as banners, poster boards, backlit film (ads, slot machines, etc…), clear film (CAD/Silk Screening), adhesive backed, metal, Plexiglas, foam core and more.
This is another great DVD. While there is enough info to create a disc for each of the subjects featured on this disc, I think Randy strikes the right balance of important content that people new to printing really must know.
RECOMMENDATION: BUY - If you will be doing your own printing, then this is a no-brainer “must own” recommendation. It’s just a easy way to get up to speed super fast and it covers topics which will take you a long time to learn by groveling the Internet.
There is an entire industry built around digital enhancement, so this disc starts to enter the domain that many will have already covered. However, it is well done and has some good examples that dispel some of the myths that engineers on photography forums seem to promote. Here’s my walkthrough of the chapters:
Adobe Bridge – A nice chunk of this disc is given to Adobe Bridge, which is somewhat uncommon these days. However, Bridge gets better and better with each release, so those who already own it and aren’t looking to get Lightroom may find this part to be very useful. He runs through some Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) edits as well as some common Photoshop edits to show how to get anyone’s image ready for print. He also demonstrates opening JPEG images in ACR, plus all of the new feature in the CS4 version of ACR. He even demonstrates the use Nik Software’s Color Efex’s filters (i.e., Brilliance/Warmth filter, Glamour Glow, Soft Focus & Dynamic Skin Softener). There was one minor error in his Dynamic Skin Softener demo because that filter requires that you use the eye dropper and sample some skin for the best results, and he didn’t do that. He also didn’t take advantage of the U-Point controls and the Brush feature of Color Efex to create complex masks with a simple click before returning to Photoshop. In the end this section ended up being more about ACR than Bridge, but for many that’s still a good thing.
16-vs-8 bit – In Randy’s tests he can’t see 16-bit advantage (except some banding in the sky in rare cases), so he usually does 8-bit. His advice stick with 8-bit unless you find a scenario that requires it.
Adobe Lightroom – Here Randy recommends using Bridge if a customer only has a couple files customer files, but if it grows beyond that then Adobe Lightroom (LR) becomes more important. He uses LR for personal stuff for a lot of his images. In this chapter Randy covers some real-world edits with lots of useful tips using features found in Adobe Lightroom. He also shows pick/reject workflow as well as how to do quick edits using white balance picker tool. Some parts are similar to the Bridge section where he was showing how to use Adjustment brush, Spot removal brush, etc…. He does some really good editing examples as well as showing the value of selective sharpening. He ends up with some pratical examples of how to add a border on a card or use Photoshop's Liquify tool to open eyes.
Working with JPEG files – Here Randy points out that brightness is in the midtones when fixing customers jpeg’s using ACR. A cool thing about this section and really the whole disc is that he’s not pixel peeping and recognizing that you have to live with some things when shooting in jpeg.
Many people will love this disc. However, for me it was my least favorite disc because this was a lot of redundancy for me. I already have advanced Photoshop and Lightorom skills, so much of what was shown was old news for me, but it won’t be for you. However, if you are new to Lightroom or Adobe Camera Raw, this will be one that you enjoy quite a bit. There’s also some neat tips and trick for Photoshop users as well.
RECOMMENDATION: MAYBE - If you can afford it, then get it. There’s enough content here that you might pick up a thing or two as I did.
So you’ve printed your canvas, now what? This is what many people ask ask the thing that comes out the printer doesn’t look like that nice canvas hanging on your buddies wall. This is what this disc is really about – taking that canvas and turning it into something your customers will want to hang in the finest of homes. It’s also about making sure they’ll last and look nice for a long time, something that isn’t so obvious when you watch stretching videos on YouTube. Here’s my walkthrough of the chapters:
The Gallery Wrap – I enjoyed this chapter because Randy does something that all the Canvas printing services I’ve used thus far haven’t offered, but I believe should have – a mirrored gallery wrap. He does a step-by-step demonstration including one common mistake demo, which is very handy. This technique works well for most images, and for those images where it doesn’t he shows alternate techniques. Since the time this DVD was made, Genuine Fractals has added some support for doing a variety of gallery wraps and it does a great job.
Finishing Canvas – Here Randy discusses how to prepare and apply Eco Print Shield to protect your canvas wrap. This is a fantastic and detailed demo that will really help those who are afraid to do their own coatings (or who have tried and failed). This is real visual training where you will feel confident that you can do it yourself after watching the video. I loved it! He also shows how to do it using a sprayer with great detailed examples of too little, too much and just the right amount of spray. This is priceless if you are going to do spraying yourself! Finally, Randy demonstrates embellishment (using ECO Elegance) to add a third dimension to the canvas image for that “oil painting” look. Just to make sure no topic is missed, he also shows art embellishments using acrylic paints.
Stretching Canvas – Ironically I was just about to do a canvas wrap and was searching around YouTube for examples on how to do it. However, now that I’ve watch Randy’s disc I feel much more confident! Of course with more information comes buyers remorse as I now wish I would have bought a different stretcher bars.
This is the most brilliant and well described lesson I've seen with lots of practical tips that all of the others I’ve seen have lacked. I had a lot more confidence after watching this video! One word of warning – the section on the machine stretching recycles some of the video from the hand stretching, so you’ll have this sense of déjà vu and wonder if you are watching previous section over again. Randy is releasing a video update for this on the web (link coming soon) based on my comments, so it should be a little easier to understand that part now.Finishing Fine Art Prints – In this chapter Randy shows how to apply Premier Art Print Shield Spray to protect your prints from handling. This product protects without changing the surface quality. Demonstrates how to do a Deckle (hand torn) edges. DualEdgeRipper.com (see special offer below). He also talks about mounting to a matte board using techniques like Japanese hinge technique and more. It was a little weak since I think many people reading my printing series are going to be more interested in framing their fine art prints than they will be doing canvas gallery wraps.
Packaging Canvas and Fine Art Prints – Covers with white “astro” foam that comes in rolls with perforated sections (like paper towels). This is some handy stuff here for those who will be shipping their canvases or framed prints to customers.
Framing Ideas – I was disappointed with this one because it felt rushed. There was too much information presented too quickly to be useful to me. I didn’t understand what tool he was using and felt it wasn’t described very well.
This is an excellent disc if you are in to canvas. If not, or if you were hoping for more on fine art prints then this isn’t the right product for you.
RECOMMENDATION: MAYBE - If you are going to be printing canvas, then this is a must own disc and a fantastic bargain. If you have no desire to use canvas, then you can skip this disc. However I will point out that in my future interview article of Randy Hufford, I’ll mention that Randy feels that he profits the most from his Canvas over anything else (despite his passion for cotton based papers).
If you are like me, you look at the title and say “what the f**K does gilcée mean?” If you look at my Dano's Dictionary article you’ll see that Dano basically says its a marketing term with little meaning. If you look at Wikipedia, you’ll see that it basically means “high quality ink-jet fine art prints used in galleries”. With that in mind, what this disc is really about is making money with your work by getting it in front of people (via galleries). Here’s my notes as I did a walkthrough of the chapters:
Marketing to Galleries – Here Randy recommends that you have a portfolio of prints as well as a finished print to take with you to the contact director & owner to try to get your foot in the door at a gallery. He also discusses negotiating with galleries, consignment, increasing your influence, and how to go about choosing a gallery. Next up he discusses a few types of galleries and how to work with them:
Peter Lik – Randy discusses Peter Lik (an Australian Photographer) who is a text book great example of how to market your work. Peter has 19 galleries in the USA, and Peter seems to have figured out how to move prints even in this depressed economy.
Gallery Commissions – Randy answers the million dollar question – what should I expect to get when I get my stuff into a gallery. He explains how 30%-60% is a reasonable expected target. The average is 50/50 overall but only 30% at some of the more popular galleries. Some galleries want exclusive rights with no internet sales. However Randy points out how you can negotiate with galleries.
Internet – This is a brief section included for completeness with little data. He does offers some basic tips (i.e., focus on SEO), but there’s not enough info in this section in my opinion. For those who are interested in this, check out my article on Smugmug or one of the sites in my web hosting series.
Marketing to Gift Stores & Adding Perceived Value – In this section it is really about finding and negotiating a place that is right for you.
Licensing rights – Here Randy touches on stock photos and mentions a useful resource i hadn’t heard for before - Licensing magazine.
Adding Perceived Value – This is about how you can do framing, Limited Editions & embellishing to increase the value of your work. He mentions that it isn’t a fine arts unless you have < 100 editions (prints).
Circle of Influence – This is about getting exposure and increasing the number of people that see your art.
SpecialtySoft – This a POS (point of sale, not piece of s**t) product that looks pretty cool. It can handle things like framing, selling limited edition art (along with generating a Cert of Authenticity) and consignment tracking (very cool).
Marketing Applications – This section is about how to get people to notice your stuff at various venues so that you can increase your sales.
Example #1 - Randy Jay Braun Gallery – Randy Jay Braun is a master printer of Epson products. He likes to hang his work in restaurants. Uses internet newsletter with a photo of the month. Wholesales to other stores (small matted prints).
Example #2 - Images Inc. Gallery – Here Randy is talking about what it takes to make it in a gallery like the one shown. Photography is outpacing other fine art (like paintings)in galleries so the demand is there. This gallery started off as a frame shop, but putting a frame on an image made a big difference to increase sales.
Example #3 - Maui Giclee Gallery –This is a company that is a printing company first, a framing company second, and a gallery last The gallery is for customers who have work they wish to display.
Example #4 - Open Houses – Use open houses with real estate agents – encourages clients to stay longer and look at the house and the art.
RECOMMENDATION: BUY - If you want to try to make money off your prints (printed by you or a third party), then this is an important disc to watch. There’s lots of useful stuff here that isn’t discussed elsewhere and there’s some great antidotal stories to inspire you. If you sell one print then you’ve paid for this disc, so it’s a no brainer.
I was very happy with what I learned in this series and felt it was a great use of my time. If you are new to photography then you’ve gotta get the first disc. If you are new to printing then you also need the second disc. If you intend to do canvas work then then you’ve gotta have the fourth disc. Lastly, if you plan to sell your work then don’t hesitate to get the fifth disc.
The only disc that was a let down for me in this series was third disc, but that’s only because I’ve done a lot of Photoshop work and know the products discussed. Given what I’ve learned about the average consumer from my teaching, blogging and photography club, I’d say that most would get a lot out of the contents in the third disc so don’t interpret this to mean I don’t recommend it. I’m just saying that for me and other advanced Photoshop users that it is one you could skip if you were short on time.
Overall this is a great series and much cheaper than going to a class to learn this stuff (and you’d be hard pressed to find anyone who knows this stuff as well as Randy).
These discs sell for $69 USD each, so if you bought them all individually that’s $345 USD. If you buy the whole set at once then it’s only $295 USD which is almost as good as getting one disc free. The special offer on my blog is 10% off the retail price of any individual disc or the entire set for a total of $265.50 USD for the entire set (nearly $80 off) or $62.10 USD per disc. All you have to do to take advantage of this offer is use the Add to Cart links in this article.
In addition to the above offer, one of the products featured in Randy’s videos is called the Dual Edge Ripper which is used to create a deckle edge (see Dano’s Dictionary and the image above) which is a cool way to appreciate the thick cotton papers you print with even after they’ve been framed. I love this look on certain prints, so I’m excited that he’s offering you and me a discount on this really cool product. Click here to learn more about how dual edge rippers work!
One of the proud sponsors of this series, JVH Tech, is bringing Randy from Hawaii to to Bellevue, WA for a workshop on Friday November 12th. Learn more and sign up here.
If you make purchases using the links provided, I may get a commission. I appreciate your supporting this blog by using the links provided!
