Mounting.

I had my ten portfolio shots printed through RGB Digital (as I had used them before and loved them) simply on glossy paper, and over the weekend decided that it was finally time to mount them. 

I had looked around at different places offering mounting services, offering the stuff so that you could do it yourself, but it was all pretty expensive - and I'll be the first to admit that I am a poor student. A job is only good so long as you are getting the hours you should be. So I went back to another website that I had used in the past and loved, FrameShop.com.au, to see what they could offer me. 

I had bought 3mm self-adhesive foamcore through this place many years ago, so I figured I could at least get that from there. So then wasn't I surprised when on their home page, they were offering six-packs of front mounting boards, pre-cut to your desired size? 

I ordered two of the six-pack mounting boards, at 11x14' to fit a photo at 8x10, along with ten 3mm thick non-adhesive foamcore boards, at 11x14 - all of this was ordered in white. What I received was all of my mounting boards, and twelve foamcore boards at 5mm thick. I saved $11 in getting those two free boards, and the 5mm foamcore is likely not to bend like my old 3mm has. So, I guess I can't complain! 

All up, including shipping to the Sydney metro area, this cost me $130. Not bad, considering the other prices that are out there. 

Once I had all of this, I just decided to stick everything together with double-sided tape. Honestly? So that I could re-use the materials if I wanted to. Because not all of those shots are fantastic, and I know I won't sell any of them. But I can use those materials to frame family photos are art photos to give as gifts, and then I feel like they're being useful.

Two weeks; four days; six classes; that is all we have left of TAFE for this year.

Self-Publishing: Photo Books.

Photo books are great for use as both an advertising tool and as a product, and there are many websites out there which allow you to easily create your own with a range of options to suit any project that you might be working on. They can even be used as a way to show your portfolio. 

Photo books come in a range of sizes and formats, with different types of paper and cover options. They are great as part of wedding packages - bigger copies for the newly-weds and smaller copies for their families - and families will love them as a part of their family portrait sessions. 

Today our aim is to look at some different sites, see what options they have available, compare prices and the like. 

Momento

Momento are a well-known site for creating photo books. They offer books in three different sizes (small, regular and grand) and three different formats (landscape, square and portrait). They offer three different paper types (Satin 170g, Art 140g and Kodak Digital 220g) and also offer a range of professionally finished boxes as housing for your new book. 

Their prices start as low as $50 (small classic book with the first ten pages included). For photo books, their standard delivery time is fourteen working days. Priority shipping (seven working days) is available, but it doubles the cost of your order. 

Blurb

Blurb are another well-known company. They offer five different sized books: small square, standard portrait, standard landscape, large landscape, and large square. They offer four different paper types: standard paper, premium paper (lustre or matte), proline uncoated, and proline pearl photo. 

Their prices start as low as $15 (softcover book with twenty pages). Their delivery, including printing time, is seven to eleven working days, but they can also ship faster if required. 

AsukaBook

AsukaBook are a company that I had never heard of before today. They offer the widest range of sizes that I have seen so far and also appear to be a company solely dedicated to photo books, which is making them look more professional than the already researched Momento and Blurb. They offer many different ways of binding your book, and even offer "DVD Presentation Books". 

To get their price list, you first have to register to their site. When clicking on their prices page, this is the first thing that comes up: "AsukaBook products are available to professional photographers and designers creating books for resale or promotions. Please register as a professional user and you will be able to review our price list and place your AsukaBook order." 

I find this a turn-off. I would rather see prices before I register for anything, knowing that websites could take my email address and continuously send me emails to try and gain me as a customer. A sad fact, because this looks like a great site. 

Mixbook

I did a Google search of "compare photo book websites" and came up with a list of twelve compares sites (of which Blurb came last!) and Mixbook came as the best rated. They offer seven different sizes (mini 6x4, pocket landscape, classic square, classic portrait, classic landscape, deluxe square, and coffee table landscape). The only thing I can find on their paper is this: "Mixbook uses only the highest quality, heavy-weight papers that are ethically sourced from sustainable forests and certified by the Forest Stewardship Council and the Rainforest Alliance." 

Their prices supposedly start at $7 (mini softcover book with twenty pages), but when I click to start making a book the lowest price I can get is $20. They print their books in four days, and standard delivery takes twelve to sixteen days for international shipping. 

In Conclusion... 

Having researched these four websites, for my own business I would likely go with Momento. Whatever the price of the book ordered, I would then charge an extra 50% (including the shipping cost to myself). So if the entire order came to $50 for me, I would charge the client $75. 

PORTFOLIO: Final Shots.

I took a step back from the rest of the world this evening and simply went through my live music shots, looking for those final ten that could make up my portfolio. 

It was a difficult process, because I'm so picky about my own work and there are very few shots that I truly consider great. I decided to make it simple on myself and pick out a few that I personally liked for one reason or another. I didn't consider orientation; I didn't consider quality. Because when it comes to live music, sometimes quality isn't key - it's all about getting the shot. 

Originally I wanted my portfolio to consist of five live shots and five musician's portraits, but I cut the portrait section of it because I didn't have enough that I was happy with. So I was just looking at live shots tonight. 

I tried to keep the black and white vs. colour battle even. In the end, I ended up with twelve shots that I'm considering - six colour, six black and white. 

The Final Countdown

I like this shot for a number of reasons. Firstly, because I think the rim-light is beautiful. Second, because I love that green light. Third, I love the girl's expression. You can tell that she is completely into the music and her playing. 

On the flip side, I don't know if this shot would be appropriate - taken out of context, it's not all that easy to see that she is a musician. 

I prefer this shot in 2:3, but I decided my portfolio was going to be 8x10, so I needed to crop it. Much like with the first shot, I love this because of the colours and the pose of the musician - he is completely focused on his music. 

I do not like the microphone stand in the left of the frame, but removing it isn't exactly easy - and in some ways, it feels wrong. 

Honestly, there's not much that I don't like about this shot - and I've shown it to the class before and they all seemed to love it, too. It is fairly timeless. You can't tell what genre the drummer is playing (seriously, I dare you to try!) and I will never get over the ghosting of the stick. It is something that I always aim to achieve in drummer shots. 

I am concerned with the way that this will print at the moment, but this shot is in for sure. 

This was probably the worst show I ever photographed, and it was hard for me at the time to find shots that I liked. But looking back, here is one I am semi-happy with. I like the simple pose of the singer and the fact that the microphone isn't covering up his face. 

I do not like the low quality feel of the shot. It is very noisy. 

Originally I had this one in colour, but I felt like the colour wasn't really adding anything. It looked better, more appealing, in black and white. This is a shot that I have always been happy with. It doesn't matter that it doesn't have the greatest composition and it's not entirely sharp - what matters is that I timed it perfectly, and got a shot that no other photographer at this show managed to get. 

I am fairly certain that I want to use this shot. 

I like the posing in this shot. To me, it is a classic guitarist shot - foot up on the amp, looking out at the crowd, playing something magical. When I showed this one to the class, I got some positive feedback. But mostly they just wanted to know what the tattoo on his neck was. (It's an owl, by the way.) 

I'm concerned that this shot might come out a little dark, and that it's very soft. 

I like this shot because it is simple but expressive. For people who don't know the band, it's just a rock musician doing what rock musicians do - giving the middle finger to the world. For people who are fans of the band, this photo can relate to a song whose lyrical chant declares, "Middle fingers up if you don't give a fuck." 

I am concerned this shot might not be appropriate? (Why do I feel like I'm still in high school? If we can handle artistic nudes, surely we can handle such "vile" hand gestures.) 

I like this shot because of the stick ghosting. That's basically it. I don't like the low quality feel of the shot and the fact that it's so noisy. 

I will most likely cut this shot. 

This was a good show for me. It was my first time shooting a venue with fantastic lighting and therefore the first time that I got live shots that were actually sharp! And that is why I'm so thrilled with this image. That, and the fact that the singer is so obviously into the song. 

I don't like that the microphone is covering half of his face. 

This guy is in the same band as the guy in the previous shot, so - same show, same great lighting, same awesome results. I like this shot because it's simple and expressive. I also really love it in colour, even with the tiny flare in the corner, because everything is warm and complimentary. 

I am fairly certain I will be using this shot. 

Same show as the last two, different band. I love the expression on this guy's face and the lighting in the background is gorgeous. My only complaint is that it's maybe a little busy. 

I am trying to decide between this shot and the next one. 

I like this shot because of the lighting, because it's sharp, and because the colour somehow works. I don't really like the fact that there's a microphone and a harmonica covering his face, but I do like that it shows how multi-skilled he is. 

And there we have it. The shots that I am considering. I'm thinking I might do some small prints of each in the next few days and see how they look in paper and ink.