Contests are fun, especially when Red River Paper is giving away two boxes of greeting card stock to 10 winners!  Don’t forget to enter!  I will announce the winner next Tuesday.

Also, I read on Pioneer Woman today that she would let us know the details within the next couple of days about her actions being converted for Photoshop Elements.  Could it be that she is ready to post the conversions that CoffeeShop Rita and I created?  You might remember that months ago, I made PW’s Set 1 Elements Compatible and Rita did the same for Set 2.

Perhaps everyone should hop over to PW’s post and leave a comment to remind her how many folks want her actions to work in PSE!

This installment on Photo Print Quality – “My Prints Are Too Dark” was written by Drew Hendrix of Red River Paper.  Installment 1 was on calibrating laptops and matte photo paper.  Installment 2 addressed the Adobe RGB and sRGB workspaces.  This installment ends with a contest that 10 people will win! Read through to the end of this post for details.

“My Prints Are Too Dark”

Print quality is a tricky beast.  If your photo prints are consistently darker that what you see on your monitor, there is a good chance that your monitor brightness is too high. LCD displays are designed to display movies and the internet in a bright and bold fashion. Unfortunately this does not mean that they display the colors, shades, and tones of your photography correctly without some adjustment.

So why is monitor brightness such a big deal? When you are editing photos on a bright monitor, you are not making adjustments relative to the actual image file. If you adjust for exposure on a bright monitor you’ll likely still have an underexposed file and dark prints.

So how do you fix the problem? There are two three answers you can explore:

1) Simply turn down your monitor’s brightness. We’ve found that many monitors will be under 10 on scale of 100 brightness before they get close to accurate. For example, my Dell 2407 monitor is at zero brightness and is still slightly too bright.

So pick an image that recently printed too dark. Lower the brightness of your monitor to around 10%. Open the image and re-edit for exposure. You will probably find the next print to be much closer to your monitor.

2) Purchase a monitor calibration device. It will allow your monitor to properly display the colors of your photography. The calibration process also entails adjustments to brightness and contrast. If you currently own or decide to buy a calibration system run it in advanced mode! You will get a better profile and better results. Please note a monitor profile is NOT a printer profile. Do not plug it into any part of the Photoshop or printing workflow.

Below are the three big players in the monitor calibration market. There is a wide range of models to consider. Red River Paper has experience with each of these products, and we chose the Eye-One system for use at our offices.

3) Erin’s Note:  Make sure to update your ICC profiles when you use a new printer.  I recently bought an Epson Artisan 800 (love it!), but couldn’t figure out why my prints were so dark until I updated my ICC profiles from Red River.  I forgot that ICC profiles are both printer and paper specific.  For some reason I was thinking that ICC profiles only needed to be changed when you changed paper.

OK, are you ready for the contest? Red River Paper is giving 2 boxes of greeting card stock to each of 10 Texas Chick readers.  Each winner will receive 2 boxes of Red River’s pre-scored inkjet printable greeting card stock – one Polar Matte and one River Linen in the 7″ x 10″ size that folds to 5″ x 7″.

Remember, Mother’s Day is just around the corner.  We easily spend over $50 in cards on Mother’s Day in this family, between moms, grandmothers’, steps, in -laws, etc.  Making Mother’s Day cards would be much more economical!

To enter, read about the Polar Matte and River Linen greeting card stock at Red River and post a comment saying which you would normally order.  Post two additional comments each time you click on one of the Share and Enjoy buttons below to share via Facebook, Twitter, Stumble Upon, etc.  The drawing will be held Tuesday, March 9 and entries will be accepted through  noon CST of that day.

Photo Print Quality Working Space Issues is the 2nd part of a series presented by Drew Hendrix of Red River Paper.  Feel free to post questions for Drew if you have any after reading this post.

A working space is an ICC profile that defines all the color values relative to RGB values of human color vision. The working space is the scale that allows us to properly define and then display or output the colors in our photo images. There are two “standard” working spaces – Adobe RGB and sRGB. Your working space should be chosen based on how your print your images. For inkjet printing the preferred working space is Adobe RGB. If you prefer to use a photo lab the best working space is sRGB. sRBG is also the best for images that are to be viewed on the internet.

In the above graphic, smaller solid space represents sRGB while the larger outline is the Adobe RGB space

Adobe RGB vs. sRGB

The Adobe RGB space is recommend for inkjet output because it is similar to the performance capability of inkjet printers. You will get better reds, greens, and blues when printing files that are in the Adobe RGB working space. In general, inkjet printers are calibrated to accept Adobe RGB data which is then converted to CMYK values before printing. Sending the printer an Adobe RGB file means fewer internal color conversions and more accurate output.  (Erin’s note:  always check in your home inkjet printer’s manual before changing, especially if you are happy with your settings.  A lot of us use sRGB and get great results at home!)

The sRGB space is recommended if you are preparing images for printing at your photo lab or display on the internet. Photo lab equipment works in the sRGB space. If you provide the lab with an image that is not sRGB they will have to convert your files before printing. If you work in the sRGB space and have a calibrated monitor, the chances are your lab prints will return looking like you expect.

Note about web images: You can certainly use the Adobe RGB space for web display images. The sRGB space, being smaller, is more representative of how web browers display color. When you are working on images for web display, be aware that most computers, monitors, and web browsers do not display web images in a calibrated fashion. This means you cannot guarantee how your images will look on another person’s monitor.

Your Camera and Working Space

Most cameras can be set to capture in either sRGB or Adobe RGB. It is good practice to set your camera to the working space that you use in Photoshop. If you shoot in RAW mode you can of course change the working space at will when converting the file. It is still good practice to have your camera set to match your main working space for consistency.

Photoshop and Working Space

Photoshop and Photoshop Elements can have a preset default working space. We recommend setting your default working space to correspond to your preferred output (inkjet, lab, monitor).

The color management rules Photoshop uses are set in the Color Settings dialog. You need to access this menu and edit the default values.  To access the dialog go to the Edit Menu > Color Settings (near the bottom)

The screen grab shows our recommendations:

1. Working Space – Adobe RGB (1998) The best space for overall photographic editing inkjet printing. NOTE:  If all of your images go to a PHOTO LAB you should set the working space to sRGB. Ask your lab what color space they are expecting with your files.

2. Color Management Policies – Set all the “Preserve Embedded Profiles”. Check each of the boxes below.  Photoshop will respect the profile that comes with an image file, but at the same time stop and ask you if you would like to make changes to the setup before continuing. This is good because you are constantly reminded and can check the file’s working space before editing or printing.

When you open a file that does not contain your preset working space this dialog will appear:

You can see that the file contains the sRGB space and our working space is set to Adobe 1998. Photoshop gives you the option to use the embedded profile as is, convert the file to your working space (normally this is recommended), or discard the profile totally and work with no color management.

Convert to Profile

You can quickly see what profile is embedded in an image by going to: Edit > Convert to Profile.

The Source Space indicates the embedded profile. You can choose a profile to convert to in the Destination Space drop down. In the above example, we’re converting from sRGB to Adobe RGB. Under Conversion Options, you should use the above settings.

Note: Use this dialog carefully. Make sure you really want to make the change and save a backup copy of the file beforehand if you are not sure.

Erin’s Note:  Here is the corresponding screen shot from Photoshop Elements.  Always Optimize for Computer Screens equates to sRGB, and Always Optimize for Printing is Adobe RGB.

The next post that Red River sponsors on Texas Chicks will begin a contest and explain why some prints come out too dark.

Photoshop hands-on time is shorter and more effective for many of us thanks to the wonderful action makers out there. Jodi Friedman is one of those action makers – she is incredibly talented and knows Photoshop like you wouldn’t believe.

She recently hired me to convert some of her actions for Photoshop Elements.  What a great experience this has been!  I’ve always held Jodi to be in some untouchable realm of Photoshop gurus and never stopped to consider what a nice person she might be.  I thought this interview might help you get to know her and her actions better also.

• Tell us a little about yourself and MCP.

Well, it all started like so many others. . . .  With the birth of a kid.  Or, in this case, kids.  I am a mom to twin 8 year old girls.

Having worked prior to their birth, I needed something to stimulate me while staying at home with them.  I started eBaying.  At first, I sold their used clothes and then started buying boutique clothes with that money.  As that cycle continued, I realized that the better the photo, the higher the sales.  So I would photograph the girls in their clothes.  And edit the photos.  And I reached out and asked eBayers with great photos about their cameras, lighting and editing.  Within a short time, I had an SLR and Photoshop.

The rest is history.  I combined my passion for fine arts (which I studied at Syracuse while getting my Bachelor’s Degree) with my experience in business.  And I started Multiple Choices Photography.

I taught online businesses how to get beautiful photos on white backdrops and also did product photography and editing for some national children’s product companies.

After a few years of that, I needed a change.  Although I did not plan it this way, at the beginning of 2006, I was recording a few actions in Photoshop and  perfecting them.  And people started to ask if I would sell them!  At first I thought, “I have no clue how to market these actions.”  At the time, there were only a few action makers, and they were all well-known photographers.  I was not sure how I could compete with that.  But a mentor gave me confidence, and MCP Actions was born.  I continued doing Photoshop training, but transitioned from eBayers and businesses to teaching photographers.

• What are your favorite parts of your job?

I love teaching.  I enjoy interacting with photographers and helping them learn Photoshop.  I also love the marketing.  Did I say that? Yep, since I was not trained in marketing, I learned that part through trial and error.

The part I like least?  Well, I do not know how to stop working.  My New Year’s resolution to work less is not going well.  I am not always making actions, as you might picture.  The time consuming parts are marketing, blogging, lining up guests for the blog, working on new ideas, answering emails. . . . The list goes on.  I often keep busy from 9:00 AM to 11:00 PM – it is hard for me to stop because I love what I do.  I am blessed to be making  a living doing what I am passionate about.

Note to Readers: MCP’s Blog is full of great tips for Photography and Photoshop and includes video tutorials.  Even PSE users will learn a thing or two!

• What are your oldest actions?  Your most popular?

My oldest two actions are the Eye Doctor and Dentist, plus a funky border action that added any brush to your photo as a border.  That last one is no longer available since it catered mostly to the eBay crowd and my current customers are mostly photographers.

The action I use most personally is the Complete Workflow’s Color Burst.  It is the foundation to most of my editing for a clean, color popped look.

As far as the most popular action set, for years it was Eye Doctor since it was unique and not much was out there like it.  Now, many action makers have some sort of eye enhancement action.  But I hear that mine are the favorite of many photographers!

Currently, my most popular actions are probably the Bag of Tricks and the Blog It Boards.

• You don’t release new actions very often.  Why not?

I typically release 2 main Photoshop action sets a year, and usually one free action around the holidays.  My production cycle is very long!  I usually have a few sets in the making in my actions palette.  Just because I start them does not mean they will ever make it to my website.

I create, wait, stir, play more and think.  I let them stew. . . .  Then, if I decide a set is ready, and if I am ready, I start seriously working on polishing it.  From there, I call in a “1st round tester” to brainstorm with me on what they like and do not like, etc.  I re-work the set until it makes more sense.  Then comes the naming phase.  And then “2nd round testing”, which is often done by up to a dozen people.

Changes are made, internal directions added and actions re-worked again, based on feedback and advice.  Finally, once they are polished and approved by many, I work on instructions, videos, and packaging.  Lastly, I get marketing materials ready.

So all in all, it can literally be a year or more from the time I have an idea until the time it goes for sale.  Free actions sets that I make are usually only one or two actions and take less time.

• Tell us about Finish It, the action I just helped you convert for PSE.

This set has been in the works since my Blog It Boards were released in 2008.  I constantly received emails asking how a Blog It Board could be used on one photo only.  So I’ve had this on my list of potential sets and played around with tools used in the Blog It Boards, such as the branding bars, and tools from my Tell-a-Storyboard action set of 2007 that included rounded edges and adjustable colors.  And, from all of that, plus a lot of work, the Finish It actions were created.

In addition to Finish It, my Eye Doctor and Dentist and Gallery Frames are both compatible with Photoshop Elements.  Slowly, with Erin’s help, more of my actions will be available for PSE.

Use the poll on the right to vote for which action you would like to see converted next.  I’ll get to work!  And we are always looking for qualified Elements testers.  Post a comment if you’d like to help.  Let us know which version of Elements you use, which operating system, and your level of experience with Elements.  We need folks who have successfully installed and used actions, and understand layers and layer masks.

Thank you!

EDIT:  THE CLICKIN’ MOMS BEGINNER WORKSHOP IS FULL AS OF THURSDAY AFTERNOON.

Photography on the manual setting – a lot of us talk about it.  I’m even getting to the point where I’m more comfortable in manual.  Which isn’t to say that I don’t still miss the exposure a lot. . . .

Anyway, for you Clickin’ Moms out there, registration for the Beginner Workshop (“How to Shoot in Manual”) begins today (Thursday, February 25).  If it’s anything like the other workshops CM has offered, registration will end today also because the class will fill up.

So, masters-to-be of manual, log on to Clickin’ Moms today and watch the boards like a hawk!

Not a member yet?  Use discount code FRIEND to join today and save 10% on your membership.  In case you need another reason to join,  Clickin’ Moms is giving away a Canon 5D Mark II in March.  Don’t miss out on that contest!

Print Quality.  sRGB vs Adobe RGB.  Calibration. So many issues related to these topics are huge for photographers.  And Texas Chick readers posed excellent questions last week for Drew Hendrix of Red River Paper

Drew is going to explain all the issues over multiple posts.

The first questions are from Rob, who uses a tablet laptop for editing images and is concerned about the changing brightness or darkness of his monitor depending on the angle at which he views it.  Rob sends all his photos out to print, and wants to know which angle is best for viewing a screen.

Drew answers:

This question gets to the heart of why it is difficult to properly calibrate a laptop or tablet PC monitor. Obviously, LCD screens appear to change brightness and contrast when viewed at different angles.  Unfortunately, for a monitor to be color and brightness calibrated, you need to view it at the same angle at all times.  There is no certain proper angle to use when looking at a monitor.  It just needs to be the same angle each time you work on the computer.

The best workaround is to set up some way of viewing the monitor at the same angle each time you sit in front of it. Try and work at the same location if possible and put something (like a book or small box) that stops the screen from going beyond a certain point.  This graphic illustrates what I have in mind:

Rob’s next question:  I am looking for a fine arts type paper that will make my “Orton Effect” photos and other sorts of ethereal landscapes look more like a painting that a photo.   That is, not a bright shiny surface, but a softer matte, perhaps with some texture.

Drew says:

Matte photo paper is probably best for that effect.  Matte paper is defined as having a non-reflective smooth surface.  One example is Red River’s 60lb. Polar Matte.  You can also order matte paper that has been texturized.  Examples are 60lb. River Linen and 60lb. Paper Canvas products.

It is always best to experiment with different types of paper to see what works for you.  That is why good paper companies will offer sample kits for that purpose.

Stay tuned for Drew’s help regarding sRBG vs. Adobe RGB, and why so many of us (me included!) are plagued by prints that are too dark. Plus a contest where you can win some of Red River’s wonderful products.

Disclaimer:  While Red River Paper has sponsored Texas Chicks in the past, this series of posts on print quality and the accompanying contest (later this week) are being provided by Red River solely for the benefit of Texas Chicks readers.  Texas Chicks is currently receiving no advertising income or products from Red River Paper.

Click here to order Red River’s sample kit that Drew referred to above.

Photography is a hobby and luxury in my life.  I often feel like taking time to practice – just me and my camera – is an indulgence.

Last week, I found some time with no kids and homework to complete for my photography workshop.  I  stopped at a park I drive by every day and practiced for about 30 minutes.  I can’t tell you how good it was, both for my own enjoyment as well as developing my skills.

So, just a reminder for you – it’s OK to make time for your hobby! Think of it as exercise for your brain, stress relief, or even as developing potential professional skills.

I worked on metering modes, planning composition, and manual focus (try that with a two-year old!).  Here is my final product:

The topic for this Light Workshop assignment was to capture shots in mid-day full sun with backlighting.  The best results would have come from using a person as a subject.  Think of the sun shining from behind into a mop of curly golden hair, while the face is shadowed and perfectly exposed.  Instead, I found backlit berries with a glint of sun reflecting off one of them.

As Detra, the Light Workshop instructor, noted, my picture could have been zoomed in more.  But she liked it!  And I am proud of how I captured the light on the berries.  I can tell you this isn’t something I would have attempted without the structure of a class to guide me.

Here is my SOOC, for comparison.  I used tons of textures and overlays on this one, plus a good measure of sharpening as well.

As I mentioned in my post about my first homework assignment for this workshop, I attended an online virtual class last week.  Detra used a free online meeting software provider to host the meeting.  Aside from being limited in the number of people that can attend any given class, it seemed to work well.  Detra very gracefully overcame some technical difficulties at the beginning of the class to answer questions and demonstrate techniques.

During class, the students looked at ACR and Photoshop running on Detra’s computer, or at a virtual chalkboard where she sketched diagrams.  We could hear Detra speaking, but the students’ voices were muted.  We had a chat box for posting questions or topics we wanted to discuss.  Detra stayed online for well over an hour taking questions.

For those of you interested in participating in the next Light Workshop, check out this post on Detra’s blog.  She’s offering a $75 discount to people who sign up within the first 24 hours.  I’ll be reviewing this class throughout it’s 90 day duration, so my final recommendation won’t be available for a while.  But I can tell you that I have learned a lot so far and that I’m grateful to Detra for letting me attend her class in exchange for writing about it.

Is Color Management from your camera to your monitor to your printer as iffy for you as it is for me?  Do your photographs always print exactly like you expect?

I’ve written about my own color management process here.  And now, we have an expert who is going to help us all and correct my mistakes!

Drew Hendrix of Red River Paper will read the comments on this blog post and write up a brief article based on your questions next week.

His areas of expertise are:

• Paper
• Printers
• Ink
• Color management
• Tips for printing

Ask away!  Which areas of color management and photo printing quality give you the most trouble?  Why do your photos always look too dark?  Too light?  What exactly is “Rendering Intent”?  I hope Drew knows what he’s getting into.

So, use the comments below to ask your questions.  Even if you have no questions because your color management and printing setup is perfect, come back next week for a giveaway Red River Paper is sponsoring.  There will be 10 winners!

Photographers, Clickin’ Moms will improve your photography.  And bloggers, Clickin’ Moms can earn money for you.

So many of you have already discovered what a great place Clickin’ Moms is.  If you haven’t yet, it’s time.  Take advantage of this 10% discount by entering discount code FRIEND.

With over 4,000 members, there is always someone around with a helpful answer to your question or with valuable feedback on how to improve a specific image.  And the images people post on CM are completely inspirational.  The images on this page are examples from the front page of Clickin’ Moms.

Some of the most popular features are the new digital photography classes being offered by the most talented Clickin’ Moms.  From Beginner to Advanced, these workshops are highly sought after.  Because the class size is limited to ensure that all students get enough one on one attention, there is a rush to sign up for each class as soon as registration opens.  I’ll make the cut one of these sessions. . . .

Not only is Clickin’ Moms a great place to find on-demand photography information, it is my most successful affiliate relationship!

Think about it this way – membership costs $27 for 6 months right now using discount code FRIEND to save 10%.  After you join, you can post links and graphics to Clickin’ Moms from your blog or website.  You will earn 20% for each person you refer to Clickin’ Moms.  At that rate, you will only need to refer 5 new members for Clickin’ Moms to pay for itself.

And right now, Clickin’ Moms is hosting a huge contest. Which I want to win, by the way!  If you refer 10 new members, you will receive a $25 Starbucks gift card in addition to your commission.  Refer 25 new members, and you will receive a $50 ITunes gift card plus the Starbucks gift card.  The prizes increase all the way to 400 members.

Anyone who refers 400 members to Clickin’ Moms (by March 31) will receive a Canon 5D Mark II.  Plus all the other prizes that accrued for lower referral amounts.

You all have heard me talk about Clickin’ Moms lots around here.  I wouldn’t refer you to it if I didn’t think it was a great source of information and a valuable use of money.  I search for most of my photography and Photoshop related questions there before I google.  I decided which camera and lenses to buy based on the opinions of other Clickin’ Moms.  I don’t participate in discussions enough there, but I enjoy it when I do.

So, join Clickin’ Moms!  Help me win the contest, and maybe you will too!

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I would participate in an online Natural Light workshop taught by Detra of Photography by Detra.  Detra invited me to participate in exchange for spreading the word about the class.  My first “homework” assignment is above and I’ve learned a good bit already.

Detra has a forum set up with conversation groups for each assignment, which cover the following topics:

• Backlight and dramatic light indoors
• Mid-Day backlight
• Mid-day with reflector
• Early evening/ late afternoon backlight
• Reflective light & back light
• Finding pockets of light
• Sunflare
• Capture the sky with subject
• 4 Bonus assignments

In addition to those topics, Detra has lots of other threads going – marketing and business, photography related chit chat, how to use the forums, Quick Tips (which I really like), and a couple of agreements to sign about not sharing the info that she presents.

There are 90 people registered in the forum, including Detra and at least 1 or 2 mentors.  I noticed that there are lots of Clickin’ Moms participating – I’m in good company!  And I’ve seen some homework assignments that make me wonder why the photographer thought she needed a class – beautiful work!

Detra teaches using videos, written tutorials, PDFs, diagrams, photos and virtual classes.  My first virtual class is tonight.  There is apparently a limit on the number of people that can sign up for each class, but this one doesn’t appear to be full yet, so everyone must be getting what they need.

There are also places for students to post their assignments, and Detra gives feedback on each one.

So, back to the first assignment – the point was to use backlighting to capture dramatic light indoors.  It took me a while to get it, but between Detra’s explanations and members of the forum helping each other out, it finally clicked.  The drama in this type of shot is supposed to come from blowing out the background, and capturing both light and shadow on the subject.  While keeping light on both eyes, if possible.  Phew!

There were many images that were much more dramatic than mine – some gorgeous ones were so shadowed in places that you could just barely make out details in the dark part of the face.  I still have lots left to practice on – just not enough willing and still subjects!  Isn’t this subject handsome, by the way?

Not only did Detra present tutorials on how to capture the shot (where to place subject, metering, etc.), she also demonstrated her post-processing methods.  Here is my SOOC shot, by the way.

The 2nd homework assignment was posted yesterday.  Mid-day backlighting.  It’s the first time I’ve ever heard a photography teacher say to take a picture at noon rather than close to sunrise or sunset.  I’ve got some work to do to get this one down!