I’ve been interested in High Dynamic Range (HDR) Photography for a while now, but have been too busy to start experimenting with it. Until last Sunday that is.

At a very basic level creating an HDR image is quite simple. It involves taking multiple, bracketed exposures of the same scene, then combining the images into a single image optimized to show the dynamic range of all of the exposures. This allows you “see” detail in the image that a single exposure just couldn’t display. Sounds simple enough, but there are a few things you need to know before you start.

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It’s Online and Totally Free!

Because of the high number of downloads of the Microsoft Excel version of our Estimator, we’ve just launched a new and improved version you can access right from within your web browser – no download required.

Why You Should Care

It’s important to make smart decisions or your business could easily stagnate instead of flourish – especially these days. Yet I’m constantly surprised at the number of photographers who haven’t done the math, or fail to truly explore whether outsourcing their post-production would be appropriate for their situation. After all, ignoring any potential business improvements that may provide a cost advantage is not a good idea.

We’ve Done the Work, You Have the Easy Part

Just plug in 7 numbers that I’m sure you know off the top of your head and you’ll have an answer. The Estimator will make all of the calculations for you. What have you got to lose?

Visit our Estimator Page Containing Additional Information

Demystifying “Basic” vs. “Custom” Color Correction

If you need a good, basic color correction that targets the skin tones, then you should consider using our Basic Color Correction Service. There are a couple of significant differnences between our Basic and Custom Color Correction Services. Let’s review them here:

Our Basic color correction is a great option for anyone needing a quick turn around time and a solid proof-quality color correction. That, combined with the convenience of image upload and download and a lower price make this an attractive option when time is of the essence, but you still need great quality.

Here’s how you place a Basic Color Correction order:

It’s simple, just follow these steps after downloading our ROES Ordering Application.

1. Click the “Catalog” dropdown in the middle of the left panel of the application window and select the “Color Correction” option.
2. The center panel will change to the “Color Correction” option.
3. In the bottom of the right panel, click the “Folder” button and navigate to the folder containing your JPEG images.
4. Drag the JPEG images you want color corrected into the blue “Color Correction Drop Box” square in the middle panel of the application. You can do this multiple times if necessary to add images to your order.
5. You can click “Review Order” in the bottom of the middle panel to review and complete your order.

That’s it! Within 1-3 days you will receive an email that the corrections are complete and ready for download.

Can Outsourcing Your Post Production Save You Money?

I know there are a lot of photographers who pay attention to what’s happening in the world of post production outsourcing, but are on the fence as to whether it’s the right approach for their situation. After all, if you do the post production, retouching, album and slideshow design yourself, you don’t have to write a check to pay for the work, so you’re saving money – right? Unfortunately it’s not that simple.

Just because you don’t “write a check” doesn’t mean there isn’t a cost associated with doing the work yourself. And that cost can be quite substantial. In fact, not only are you doing the work at a competitively unsustainable hourly rate, but spending time in front of your computer prohibits you from doing other things – like shooting another portrait session or wedding.

Enter the concept of “Opportunity Cost.” Wikipedia defines Opportunity Cost as

” … the next-best choice available to someone who has picked between several mutually exclusive choices.”

Let’s put that in terms that make sense to photographers. You shoot an event or session that creates post production work. You decide that instead of paying someone $10, $15, or even $20 per hour to do it for you, you will do it yourself. So how do you quantify, in dollars, the opportunity cost of your decision? Let’s take a look.

If you bill your time at $100 per hour, you could be out shooting another wedding, but instead, you spend time in front of the computer doing post production work. Let’s say it takes you 8 hours to process an entire wedding start to finish. So it costs you $800 to do the work. This is a real cost because instead of doing the work you could be shooting another event at $100 per hour.

What if it only cost you $400 for someone to do the work for you and they can do it as good as or better than you can do it yourself? Then the Opportunity Cost of your decision is at least $400 ($800-$400). I say at least, because we haven’t explored any other options.

Hmmmmm interesting …

Conclusion

If you’re still convinced that outsourcing your post production is a losing proposition, I challenge you to launch our Savings Estimator and see if Silverback can save you money. Just plug in seven numbers and you’ll have your answer.

Have fun and let us know how your estimate turns out!

True “Custom” Adjustments

This video contains before/after examples of our Custom Color Correction, Custom B&W Conversion, and Artistic Enhancements. These are the type of corrections you can expect when you order post production services under our Plan or a la carte offerings. We take guidance from the questionnaire you fill out when you sign up to become a customer. You provide a written explanation of how you want your color corrections, black and white conversions, and artistic enhancements to look. Then you upload example images when you submit your questionnaire. We use this information to create your studio’s custom profile which your Silverback Image Specialist uses to process your images when you place an order.

The cost of the adjustment includes XMP files so you have the ability to see our adjustments in Bridge or Lightroom. Because we include XMP files we can only accept RAW files for these services.

So if you want your images to reflect the “look” you’ve spent so much time to develop, our Plans or a la carte post production services are for you! Check them out today.

Silverback Imaging and Design The next evolution in post production

	Part of the Silverback Learning Series

Featuring Special Guest, Jules Bianchi

Tuesday April 13, 2010

How much information is too much? Learn how using social media can move you forward in your business, boost your SEO position and ultimately help you find the right clients for you.

Our good friend, great photographer, and extraordinary business woman, Jules Bianchi will discuss Facebook, Twitter, Blogging, WordPress, and how all those things can work together to enhance your business, and how to utilize them effectively.

You don’t want to miss this informative session.

This is the first in a series of informational Webinars brought to you by your friends at Silverback Imaging and Design. Bill Moore will be your host for this informative session.

Bring your questions and be prepared to learn from one of the most “social” photographers in the business!

System Requirements

PC-based attendees

- Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP, 2003 Server or 2000

Macintosh®-based attendees

– Required: Mac OS® X 10.4.11 (Tiger®) or newer

www.silverbackimaging.com

Since we’ve transitioned to our new store I want to be sure our current customers know how to get there and sign-in. Current customers must go to our “Recover Password”  page on their first visit to Sign-In. We’ve transferred all user information from our old store. Here’s all you have to do:

1. Go to our Recover Password page. Enter the email address you used in the old cart and click the “Recover Password” button.
2. The store will send you an email with a link to complete the process. Just follow the instructions.

Once you click the email link you should be taken to your profile page where you can change your Password, Username, and other account information.

Then, access to the store is easy. You can go to our new store’s sign-in page either by clicking the “Sign-In” link in the upper-right corner of any page of our web site, or by clicking here.

If you’re a relatively new customer, and have already used our new store, you can ignore these steps.

We think your experience will be much improved. Let us know what you think of the new store!

Small in size, big on space

We’ve added some great little flash drives to our shopping cart. Offered in 8GB and 16GB sizes, they have plenty of room for you to send us those big events. They even come pre-loaded with our required folder structure to make submitting orders a breeze. And their small size means lower shipping costs than sending us an external mini hard drive. They will arrive boxed with a lanyard. Finally we’ve added our logo for all of our proud Silverback customers!

Even if you use them for other purposes, pick one or two up and show them to your peers. Then they’ll understand why you always look so relaxed and actually have a life!

They are currently on sale at 10% off list price.

Visit our shopping cart and order one today!