Boulder Pro Photo

Here's a great, personal gift idea!

2010-11-10T17:40:00.000-07:00

Everyone loves a personalized gift, and here's a perfect option.
To order personalized photo books download our easy to use software below to help get you started!

PC:
http://software.sendtoprint.net/software/PhotoCraft/allinone/stage/MyPhotoCreationLInstaller.exe

Mac:
http://software.sendtoprint.net/software/PhotoCraft/allinone/stage/MyPhotoCreationsL.app.zip

(Tiger OS):
http://software.sendtoprint.net/software/PhotoCraft/allinone/stage/Tiger_MyPhotoCreationsL.app.zip

Summertime Series!

2010-07-07T15:12:00.002-06:00

Here are a few tips from our friends at Lifepics!

Summertime Series #1 - Photographing Kids

"School's out…for the summer!" Yes fellow photographers, it is that time of year again! School is over for a few months, the sun shines hotter and longer than any other season, and everywhere you look, children are experiencing some of the great summertime traditions: sports, the pool, ice cream trucks, parties, camp, and fireworks! Summertime truly has a magical appeal to a child; a lifetime of memories can be created in a single day. Think back to your own childhood memories. Most of them probably involve the summer season – vacations, holidays, friends, and a carefree outlook on life. This summer, be sure to capture a child's wild innocence in your photos so they may look back in the years to come and relive that magical summertime feeling again and again. Here are a few tips for photographing children this summer. Grab your camera and some sunscreen and make this a summer to remember!

Children at play make excellent candid shots. Initiate a fun activity with your child and his or her friends, and capture the experience with candid shots of the children at play. Do something you used to love to do as a child. Here are a few examples:

Turn on the sprinkler, sit back, and zoom in. The long zoom feature on your camera keeps you dry and less intrusive to the children. Make sure to get close-ups of their faces, as well as wider shots to show who was there. Try the same thing at the pool. Children love water activities on a hot day!

There is a special connection between a child and his or her pet. Try to capture the unconditional bond in a photograph; the pet will keep the child engaged (and vice-versa) so you can really get an excellent candid shot. Just try to keep the sun at their backs to avoid squinting and hard shadows!

Have a party! Kids love parties, especially costume parties. One afternoon this summer, throw some fun clothes together for your child and some friends and put together a picnic or snack (don't forget the Kool-Aid). The kids will do the rest – make sure you are there to supervise and photograph the event!

Photograph your child's sporting events. Never miss the opportunity to capture an image of your child immersed in their sports glory! Whether it's baseball, tee-ball, soccer, or an informal kickball game at the park, kids really show their true character when playing sports. Here are a few tips for photographing a child's sporting event:

Use your long zoom – it keeps the subjects sharp and lets the background go soft. This is the same method used by professional sports photographers, so it works!

Take a knee. This technique was mentioned a few emails back, and now is the time to use it! Your subject will appear larger than life and you will avoid unwanted clutter in the background.

Do not use split lighting; keep the sun either completely in back or in front of the action. Split lighting does not look as good because there are two extreme light ranges in the same shot.

Take portraits. By portraits, we do not mean the head and shoulders shots they take at the beginning of each school year. Instead, take a portrait that really captures who the child is at this particular time in his or her life. Include props and have fun scouting the location by picking a place they love to hang out at on a summer day. Here are a few examples:

The Skateboarder. Go to the skateboard park and photograph your child dressed in pads and a helmet holding the board. Ask him or her to talk to you about why they love skateboarding; their face will light up talking about something they have passion for. Include the setting in the shots, and don't force them to smile!

The Swimmer. Go to the pool and have your subject sit on the end of the diving board. Get up on the ladder behind the board and shoot down at the child. The depth and color contrast of the cool blue water will create a great photo!

Don't forget to print your photos! Digital photography is great but make sure you get a few enlargements to 'show off' your great work!

click here for easy online ordering : BoulderProPhoto

First Friday-Boulder!

2010-05-05T11:54:00.002-06:00

It's that time of the month again...the First-Friday Art Walks!
Find more info here to see all the artists: http://www.firstfridayboulder.com/
Make sure to check out Boulder's Art Walk this month! One of our clients, Colin Mcgraw, has the space in the Boulder Creative Media-Plex building on 1906 13th Street suites 100 & 101. 1/2 block off the Pearl Street Mall.

See you there!

ART WALK!

2010-04-29T17:40:00.000-06:00

We just did some great prints for a new artist!

Colin McGraw is only 16 and has some amazing imagery!

You can find more info about Colin on his facebook page here.

He was awarded his own space for next months

'Boulder Art Walk' the first Friday, May 7th from 6-9.

His spot is located on the corner of Walnut & 13th in Boulder, CO.
Hope to see you there!

Senior Wallet Special!

2010-04-20T14:38:00.000-06:00

Are you looking for a good place to get your senior pictures printed?

Boulder Pro Photo offers professional printing specializing in portraiture and weddings!

Did you have a friend or relative take your senior pictures and now you need some nice looking prints?

We offer affordable retouching, die-cut wallets (those are the one with the round corners that you get from the pros!), head shot setups and many other services!

Give us a call or stop in today!

303-318-4155

We are on the corner of 55th & Pearl in Boulder, CO

Life Time in Focus.com Workshop

2010-04-14T14:14:00.000-06:00

Introducing our in-House, Lay-Flat Albums!

2010-04-13T15:55:00.002-06:00

A complete in house product!
Our new Flush-Mount albums are a great alternative to the expensive 'on-line' albums.
Stop in or give us a call and take a look at our latest Album designs!

Winter 2010 Newsletter

2010-03-15T10:38:00.003-06:00

Lifetime In Focus Newsletter

Marketing Tips for 2010

New Marketing Function - Special Portfolio Event Function

You can now create a Special Showcase event, a Portfolio of your work. This event, which looks exactly like every Lifetime In Focus event and is created as if you were creating a normal event, is used to show potential clients examples of your work. It shows up on your personal page and is always the first event, at the top of the listing of your events. (It does not show up on the main event pages, only on your personal page.) Potential clients can easily share this portfolio with friends and family just like a normal LIF event, allowing others to see the quality of your work. As with any event, your email, contact info and website are shared whenever your event is shared and as with a normal LIF event, anytime anyone views the event or shares it with others, that information is stored in the marketing folder in your admin area, easily retrieved by clicking on the marketing icon in that event. As with all LIF events, a Portfolio Event is hosted for free for 90 days and can be extended indefinitely for $8.95 per 12 month period or you can create a new Portfolio Event and host it for free for 90 days. (When you create a new Portfolio Event it cancels out the old Portfolio. You can only have one live Portfolio Event at a time.) However, you can always add and delete images from an existing Portfolio Event keeping it fresh with new images without having to create a new event.
Create your Portfolio Event by checking the Portfolio box when you create your event. Other than clicking the Portfolio box, everything else about creating the event is the same. Upload pictures, create albums, add descriptions, designate album and event icons, send out emails inviting people to view your work. Note: we strongly recommend that you do not password protect this special event. The idea is to make it as accessible as possible and all a password does is add a hurdle to people seeing your work.

Check your event marketing folder periodically to see who has been viewing your event to see if you have any potential clients on whom who you may want to follow up. It's easy to do; you can send out an email from the event from within your admin area or you can use the share function within the live event. Offer an incentive to book with you by creating an LIF dollars-off coupon to send along or make up your own special offer.

Several weeks before your special event expires we will send you an email. You can extend the event from within your admin area, Event Section, for only $8.95 a year. This keeps your special event live and at the top of your list of events on your personal page. it also keeps your listing live on the LIF directory. (Remember.you must have a live event to be visible on the LIF national directory.)
Try it out. It costs you nothing to give it a spin.

New Prints Prices from Boulder Pro Photo.

Are you using LabPrints to order prints online for your studio? Boulder Pro Photo has revised its online automated LabPrints pricing for 2010. Click here to see the pricing schedule for 2010.
LabPrints studio management and online print ordering software is FREE. Want to know more? Click here!
Thank you all who are using LifetimeinFocus.com for their online hosting and print sales. We are committed to producing high quality prints for your clients and providing the best customer service available anywhere. While you are out shooting we are minding the store.
Roy McCutchen,
President, Boulder Pro Photo
www.boulderprophoto.com

Lifetime In Focus
www.lifetimeinfocus.com

Marketing Tips!

2010-02-05T14:59:00.000-07:00

Here are a few ideas from Fred Berns Web Site:

Work Doesn’t Sell Itself

The idea that your work "sells itself" is a bad assumption and bad business strategy, as Business by Design reports this month.

+ Who are they kidding?
Why, I asked, don't you market yourself?
"Because I've won awards," the architect told me.
"Because people know my work," the interior designer said.
"Because my cabinets sell themselves," the showroom manager said.
Gimme a break.
If ever there was a career killer, it's this: the attitude that you need not promote yourself because you do good work and have nice stuff.
Everyone does good work and has nice stuff.
That goes for Dolly Decorator. And Tom Trunkslammer. And big box stores. And Under-A-Buck Blinds.
You may not think so. But a whole lot of people with a whole lot of money do.
Its never been easier for people to find good work and nice stuff elsewhere. The one thing they can't find elsewhere is you.
But they won't get that unless you continue to market yourself.

Moneysaving Marketing
Never stop networking.
Never stop promoting yourself.
And never -- ever -- assume your work sells itself. That marketing myth will put you on a fast track to failure.
Fortunately, some of the best marketing costs the least.
In my recent tele-seminar on "Million Dollar Marketing on a Shoestring Budget," I shared numerous low cost, no cost promotion strategies.
Some examples:
+ Write articles and columns
+ Present seminars
+ Network with allied professionals
+ Smile & dial -- call prospects, ex-clients and others
+ Offer yourself as a media interview source on design + Use your voicemail as a marketing tool.
+ Seek referrals and advice at client focus groups
+ Solicit additional business and leads through client feedback forms
+ Assemble a "brag book" of testimonial letters
+ Hire students to design marketing materials
+ Barter for promotional services

Come Visit us at our new location!

2010-01-25T17:51:00.000-07:00

Stop in and visit us in our new location!

We are now back in the New Photo Craft Building (formerly Harley Davidson)

2901 55th st., Boulder, CO 80301

Ask for Boulder Pro Photo!

(303)-318-4155

Holiday Time!

2009-11-11T12:21:00.001-07:00

It's about time to turn those family photos into great Holiday Greeting Cards!

We have Photo Greeting Cards for any and all occasions. From special occasion cards that include Va lentines, Easter, Weddings, Graduations and more. We also have cards for any occasion, such as a new baby, a new address, or even just to say thank you. ...

To order cards now, just click here!

Yes We Can!

2009-09-03T13:35:00.000-06:00

Are you looking for a lab to assemble your panoramic shots? Simply bring your digital images or film negatives to Boulder Pro Photo and we will set up a custom panoramic to your specifications.
We can print your final image from wallet size to over 5 feet wide!

Senior Portrait Show

2009-09-02T15:15:00.000-06:00

Our first annual Senior Portrait show is up! Come in and check out the work of seven local photographers who specialize in senior portraits and pick up a coupon good for a free sheet of wallet prints.

The show will be up until mid-September, so hurry in!

1644 Conestoga St, Suite 3
Boulder CO 80301

We are open Monday through Thursday 9:00am to 6:00 pm and Friday from 9:00am to 5:00pm.

Yes We Can!

2009-09-02T13:12:00.000-06:00

Are you looking for a lab to make your head shots? Simply bring your digital image or film negative to Boulder Pro Photo and we will set up a custom head shot to your specifications. Our head shots have been called "absolutely perfect" by industry professionals!

Portrait Inspiration: The Ones We Love

2009-08-04T15:59:00.000-06:00

Sometimes the internet randomly brings you nice things. I stumbled across The Ones We Love yesterday and I can't get enough of the portraits!

Text from the site states, "The Ones We Love is a project highlighting young and talented photographers from around the world. Each artist contributed six photographs of the person(s) who is most important to them, taken outdoors in a natural setting. The goal of the website is to portray the people who are loved, cherished, and inspirational to these artists, and also showcase the differences and similarities in the photographs each of them took within the same guidelines."

Most of the photographers are quite young and many of the images have charming imperfections. There are unique settings, angles and outfits. Each image has a very strong vision and a sense of individuality that may inspire you to experiment on your next portrait shoot.

Wedding Photography Inspiration: Shandro Photo

2009-07-21T11:09:00.000-06:00

Do you ever sit at the computer and do a quick search for wedding and portrait photographers? I was looking around the internet and stumbled upon Shandro Photo's website and their work caught my eye. Shandro Photo is a husband and wife team in Canada with a unique journalism/fashion style. Their blog has tons of great inspiration for wedding and portrait shooters: unique angles, lighting effects and locations.

Where do you look to find new ideas for your shooting?

New Shows up at Boulder Pro Photo

2009-07-15T16:29:00.000-06:00

For July, we have 2 new shows up:

Everything is not Enough: Student work from Roddy MacInnes' Intro to Photography class summer 2009.

Colorado Wildflowers Holga images from Rachael Thompson
Both shows will be up until mid August when we take them down to install our first annual senior portrait group show. If you would like to be considered for a show at Boulder Pro Photo, please contact me: rachael@boulderprophoto.com

Skin Retouching Using Smart Filters

2009-07-14T12:21:00.000-06:00

I found this video on Mark Johnson's website. He has many valuable resources on his site but I thought this one would be of particular interest to portrait shooters.

Photoshop Workbench 185: Speedy and Realistic Skin Retouching Using Smart Filters

Posted using ShareThis

Senior Portrait Show Call for Entry

2009-07-14T11:37:00.000-06:00

Image by Misha Photography

Senior Portrait Group Show 2009 Call for Entry

Boulder Pro Photo is pleased to announce our first annual Senior Portrait group show. Local photographers are invited to submit 1 to 2 of their best senior portrait shots to Boulder Pro Photo for inclusion in our first annual Senior Portrait group show. Boulder Pro Photo will take care of the printing, mounting, hanging and advertising. You get exposure, potential new clients and coupons for free prints to use or share with your clients.

Important Dates:

Images on display at BPP August 17, 2009 to September 11, 2009
Images due to BPP by August 12 at 11 AM via Lab Prints (or delivery for film customers ONLY)

Photographer Requirements:

12 x 18 image (sized and ready to print, lab color correction will be performed where needed for best possible print)
Must be a senior portrait or single portrait (collages of one senior are certainly welcome)
Must be submitted via Lab Prints. Please write SENIOR SHOW in comments section of order. (Film shooters may bring negative into the lab)
Images will be accepted until Wednesday August 11, 2009 at 11 AM
Each image submission is $25 which covers the cost of printing and mounting.
Photographers are encouraged to provide BPP with promotional materials to be made available to visitors
BPP reserves the right not to show submitted work due to quality or space concerns. Photographers whose work is not shown will not be charged.

Benefits for the photographer:

Photographs and photographer's promotional materials will be shown in Boulder Pro Photo's store for one month
All participating photographers will be given 8 coupons to use or share with their clients that entitle bearer to a free sheet of 8 wallets when they buy one sheet of 8 at BPP
Boulder Pro Photo will advertise the show in local media and online
Photographers will be given their mounted 12 x 18 prints at the conclusion of the show

Please direct your questions to rachael@boulderprophoto.com

Wedding Inspiration

2009-07-07T10:10:00.000-06:00

Calumet Photographic's latest issue of Timeframes is dedicated to photographers' best wedding shots.

Do you look at Flickr image pools to get inspiration? Flickr is a great, if at times overwhelming, source to see what other photographers are doing. Just a quick image search on the tag "wedding" will bring up millions of images. Do you use Flickr to seek new clients or check out the competition?

And what about that mistress of taste and style, Martha Stewart? Martha Stewart Weddings is always full of the latest trends and clean, sophisticated images from real weddings. Also interesting to look at is The Bride's Guide: Ideas from the Editors of Martha Stewart Weddings. On this lively blog you'll find the bride's take on trends, planning and memory keeping.

Where do you get new ideas for shooting weddings?

Image by Lulu.Re

July Special!

2009-07-01T12:26:00.000-06:00

Got vacation pictures?

This July bring in or send in your digital camera media and get $.15 4 x 6 glossy prints. You can walk in with media cards, cds, dvds or usb drives. Or mail us your cd and we will mail back your prints.

The Details:

jpg or tiff files, sRGB/8 bit color
Minimum order of 40 prints
4 x 6 prints on glossy paper only for this offer. No mixed sizes or paper surfaces.

Our address: Boulder Pro Photo, 1644 Conestoga St Ste 3, Boulder CO 80301

You can call us at 303-318-4155 with any questions.

Portraits and Spaces

2009-07-01T10:13:00.000-06:00

For the past month, Boulder Pro Photo has been hosting an exhibition of Professor Roddy MacInnes' students' work from a class at the University of Denver. Of the 5 students, only one was majoring in photography. One of the great things about the work is that the students used a variety of mediums from Holga to digital SLR to film and digital capture. We like seeing young people experiementing with and learning photography! And the work is really lovely too. The show is up until the end of today, so stop by and see it in the shop.

In July, we will be hosting another student show from Roddy's students and our own Rachael Thompson will be showing her recent work. If you would like to be considered for a show at Boulder Pro Photo, please email rachael at boulderprophoto.com with a link to your work.

Photoshop Tip: Setting up an action to batch resize

2009-06-30T15:04:00.000-06:00

After a long day shooting a wedding or special event, the last thing you want to do is spend hours resizing all those photos before you upload them to LIF. But, resizing pictures will speed your upload so you can start making print sales. If you are using Lightroom, you are probably already familiar with all the great tools to help automate tasks but for those of you still using Photoshop for these kinds of tasks, there are still ways to speed up your work flow. Here is a step by step guide to creating an batch resize action in Photoshop.

The details:

Final file size for upload: 4 x 6 inches at 400 dpi
Color space: sRGB
File names with only letters and number (NO symbols or spaces)
No duplicate file names

The action set up: (I am using Photoshop CS4 for this tutorial, HOWEVER, CS4 has it's own time saving process that I will cover next week.)

Open a file that is typical for your originals. That is, files that come straight from your camera or scans straight from your film that have not already been resized.
Open the actions palette (Window>Actions)
Click New Action button (its the little piece of paper next to the trash can at the bottom right of the palette.)
Name your action "LIF Resize." Leave the Set: Default Actions but you may change the other options if you wish. Then, click record.
Go to Image>Image Size and set image size.
Now, click on the square stop button on the bottom left of the actions palette. This stops the action and saves it.

To use the action, you will open files, click the name of the action in the actions palette and click the triangle play button. A few notes: If you have your camera set to auto rotate your images, you will have to make one action for horizontal images and a different one for vertical images OR turn off the auto rotate feature. You may also choose to add other steps to this action like a global color correction or color space conversion.

Now, the next step is where we will really get automating!

Batch Automating

In Photoshop, go to File>Automate>Batch. Choose your LIF Resize action from the menu. Then, select the folder that contains the images you want to resize. Choose a destination folder for the resized images. I suggest making a "resized" folder in the main folder.
Under file naming options, you can choose to add letters or numbers or both to the resized files. Choose the options that will help you remain organized. I like adding a letter or number because it helps differentiate original files from resized files.
Click OK and sit back. You should stay with your computer in case there are errors but the entire process will take much less time than manually changing each file.
Upload your event to LIF, make it public and watch the sales add up!

What is your favorite time saving file management trick?

Increasing Picture sales via an Online Storefront

2008-09-22T17:05:00.000-06:00

LifetimeInFocus.com was created to help professional wedding, portrait and event photographs expand their sales using an online storefront model. So, how do you make money selling pictures online?

First, there are many different types of pictures you can sell online. As a professional you may be shooting weddings, portraits, school pictures, bar mitzvahs to quinceanera parties, sporting events to family reunions. The general term for this kind of photography is Event Photography. When selling event photography online it's best to have an e-commerce online storefront set up. This way you can easily direct clients to view, share and purchase pictures from the event without having to engage in face to face sales with every potential buyer. Further, by your clients using the sharing function you may reach clients far beyond those that were at the event.

The easiest way to setup a storefront online is to use one of the companies that already offer e-commerce solutions for online posting of wedding, portrait or special event photography. Sometimes referred to as online proofing or event pictures online or just event photography or event photos, companies like Boulder Pro Photo in Boulder, Colorado, do a great job for you. They have invested huge sums to develop e-commerce solutions for online selling of event, portrait and wedding photographs. Boulder Pro Photo's online solution is called www.LifetimeInFocus.com Boulder Pro Photo is a full service digital photo lab and it maintains the infastructure; handles the e-commerce; prints and fulfills your orders, freeing you to concentrate on your photography.