Yesterday I had a good friend of mine stop by our location to pick up a nice order he had placed for Canvas Gallery Wraps of his children. My friend had ordered 29 16×20 or larger to decorate his house with, and after my many grateful thanks, we talked about the pictures he had captured and some of the problems we had in printing them.  When he initially emailed his files to me, many were low resolution, so we had to track them back to the original files.  Others were GREAT shots of his children, but they were shot too tight to allow for the gallery wraps, so we were forced to apply a colored border for the edges of the prints so we did not wrap the subjects of the prints. (see example below)

My friend told me he was excited to hang these prints down at the beach, the same location many of the prints were taken, and I told him to prepare for his future prints and his Christmas Cards.  My buddy is also nice enough to allow Mastercolor to print his Holiday Card each year, and in each year we run into the resolution problems, and the cropping problems so I told him to PREPARE for them.

After my friend left I found myself singing the annoying song from “HOODWINKED”, “Be Prepared” in my head.  This cartoon was a constant at my house two years ago, and my kids pulled it out this past Memorial Weekend when my they took a break from the sun and the quick rain shower one afternoon.   As you can tell from the song title, the theme of this song is to “be prepared”.  So how does this relate to a Blog on a photography website?  Well most of the prints you see displayed at a family’s home are from their summer vacations, or activities that they did outside when the weather was nice.  Of course there is the random “snow” picture or “leaves from Fall ” but the majority of the prints people save and later use are taken in the summer, so BE PREPARED.

Be prepared to use these images later.  Be prepared means backing them up properly (see my earlier blog), but in a nut shell :

1. save your original files twice a month (minimum) from your camera’s card to your computer.
2. Copy those files to a external hard drive,
3. and for the really cautious, burn your files annually to two sets of DVD’s and keep them in separate locations.

I know this sounds over the top, but explain that to another friend of mine who recently lost his hard drive.  His I.T. person compounded the problem and erased what little data there was, and now he is left with only his hard copies.  Which brings up a very valid point, PRINT YOUR PICTURES, and if you do we hope that you will upload your files to Mastercolor using our ROES software.

Be prepared when shooting your images. With digital photography it is so easy to crop when printing so PLEASE, take two steps back before you capture your image, I promise with today’s cameras you will not lose any of your resolution on your print  when increasing your field of capture this little bit.  Taking two steps back when shooting  will allow you to  create the extra space needed when framing, allow for the area needed for a Giclee Canvas Wrap, allow you to position and crop in your Holiday card, and overall create a more eye pleasing photograph.  Please keep in mind these basic tips are not for professionals, just those wanting to shoot like one.

Be Prepared means, TAKE YOUR CAMERA WITH YOU!  If you don’t have a camera to capture the fun memories as they happen, it will be hard to share them later with your friends and family.  Look for our end of the Summer Holiday Card special.  For a limited time you will be able to save 25% on our already low prices on folded cards.  Don’t wait for the seasonal rush, have your cards printed in advance and save on time, frustrations and MONEY!

“Be prepared, be prepared….. unless you gotta sparrrrrreeeeeee”

Well every Fall it’s the same task at hand, ” What to do with the kids on their Fall Break”?  Normally we are a beach loving family, but two years ago my kids urged us to go to Tweetsie Railroad, and as a kid trapped in an adults body…. I was quick to want to go after a 35 year hiatus.  We loved it! I think it was even better than it was when I was seven years old,  but as quickly as my kids brought back the youthfulness of my childhood… they snatched it right back this year; “We’re to old to go to Tweetsie.”  My heart broke. This year we decided to do a little hiking and cycling, so we headed to Blowing Rock North Carolina  to climb Grandfather Mountain and enjoy the near by “Virginia Creeper Trail.”  The weather could not have been more perfect on our drive up on Saturday from Greensboro.  Two and a half hours of watching the leaves turn from the dark greens of summer to the colors of a burning fire.  The changes in each mile and each altitude incline were obvious. But just as my kids yanked away my dreams of another round of Tweetsie, the guard at the Grandfather Mountain park brought our emotional high to a abrupt halt: ” “There is zero visibility on the bridge, and it it’s raining.”  The only thing that was falling faster than our excitement was the temperature after we ignored her warning.  After the half mile hike (all vertical), we arrived at the top.  She was correct on the visibility, but there was no rain, only the remaining blast of snow flurries that were steady before our arrival. However my daughter put it best when she said,  ”It’s cold, but it’s beautiful.” I knew if she could appreciate nature in these conditions, she would love where we were headed the following morning. After an early dinner at Pssghettis, (www.pssghettis.com), we decided to turn it in early to get our rest so we could tackle the Virginia Creeper. “From it’s beginning as a Native American foot trail to it’s current use as a multiple use recreational trail, the Virginia Creeper Trail has seen many changes in 100+ years of existence. In the early 1900’s, the trail was used as a rail line to haul lumber and passengers from Abingdon, VA to Elkland, NC (Now Todd, NC). A one-way trip of over 35 miles that will find you passing over 100 trestles and bridges. The Virginia Creeper Trail provides 35 mile passage through southwest Virginia’s mountains well suited for hiking, horseback riding and bicycling, as well as a convenient path to many great fishing locations. The Creeper Trail received its name for the methodical way the train moved up the gradual incline to the top of the mountain.  We reserved our Bicycles weeks in advance from  THE BIKE STATION (www.thebike-station.com), and we are certainly suggest you do the same during the “changing of the leaves.”

The Virginia Creeper is not for the avid mountain biker, unless they choose to do it backwards (like some crazy fools do).  Not me, I was happy with my peddle twice and glide a mile or two before coming to the next snack break, and we took plenty.  We were not the only ones taking breaks.  The hardest part about the trail is avoiding all the other families taking their Holiday card photo, or the beautiful Fly Fishing scene that will become a canvas gallery wrap for their office.  The subject matter along the trails were endless: trees, leaves, streams, smiles, miles, birds, dogs, see-saws, churches, babies, families, beavers, deers and lots of bridges. It was the prettiest 30 miles of my life, and I got to share it with every member of my immediate family, I suggest you do the same…….and if you do, please take lots of photos and send them to Mastercolorlabs.com.

One of my favorite parts of owning a small business is having the chance to work with Friends.  I love having the chance to buy from my friends and I love the opportunity to supply to my friends.  A friendly face can make a difficult business decision that much easier.  My friend Joe Michel built this website 13 years ago.  Well at least he built the original, and since has reconstructed it many times to update our technology through his company, www.itworxonline.com.  He has me “tweeting” on Twitter.com, I’m now on Facebook communicating with old friends and new business relationships, I’m linked in at linkedin.com, and we are ready to start hosting contests and share photo images through Flickr.com.  And you know what? It scares the life out of my chartering into new waters, but I have a friend by my side leading my through it, and that makes me feel better.

I also enjoy the other side of this friend/business relationship.  Every year I see friends scrambling to get their families “perfect card” together for the Holidays.  Everyone has to have the best Holiday Card you know.  Looking at familiar faces growing up on the Christmas Cards in front of me, the cards Mastercolor printed really gives me great joy.  I wish everyone would come in early November rather than December 15th, but hey, take what they give ya.

Most recently I have had the chance to work with some very old friends of mine:

Brian Rightsell and his wife Kelly and their company, www.kellyrightsell.com.  Brian has been a friend of mine since long before our days at Page High School, and I am excited to be a part of his business plan now. We do some printing for Brian and Kelly in various formats, and it is fun to see their creative designs and listen to their ideas.  Heck, Brian is the one who pushed me into developing MastercolorCanvas.com that will be used by those only looking for gallery wrapped canvases, a product that is exploding in our industry.  Kelly’s love of children and all their spirit can really  add to your child’s room.

Little Boys Make Noise

I also get the chance to  produce for Nancy B. Westfall.  There is not much I can say more about “B” other than I have always loved her like a little sister.  From our days at Greensboro Day School, to best friends at the University of Georgia, and then she even followed me to New York City (you know how little sisters follow), and here I am now reproducing her beautiful artwork for her and watching her business grow.  Look at her work at www.squishme.com, her talent and creative spirit can really add some “fun” to your home decor.  Check out her popular print:

Yeah work is not always the best thing in life, but it sure makes it better when you get to experience it with friends.

C. Wright

It seems whatever digital camera you buy, there will be an editing software included.  Many of these softwares will also point you on the direction to where you can host your images, or have them printed.  Wonder why they give this away free?????  Because, if you chose the easy route of locking into their software, you have done exactly that, locked yourself in unless you save your files on your computer or external storage.

Most us these storage sites or printing houses store your files for free, but then only let you access the images in a much smaller format UNLESS you are buying from them.  We run into this issue constantly when we are printing Holiday Cards, Giclee Prints or even simple digital prints or enlargements.  I am not saying to avoid these services, but make certain you back up your files so that you have a copy of them at their original files size, and not the 900k file that they are quick to share.

• Whenever I am clearing my card I simply transfer my files to a new folder on my desktop, a folder that I either tittle by the event that I just took or by the date of the transfer.  Storing files by date can really help find an image down the road when you need it.  Folders that contain your files at their original resolution as jpegs or tiff files can easily be uploaded to our ROES Software.  Then when your files are transfered to us through the ROES software, we will receive them at the digital print size requested @ 300dpi.  Use the ROES software to order Giclee Prints (Gallery Wrapped or flat art work), folded note cards, or any size digital photograph ranging from 30″x40″ down to simple wallets.

• Once you have your files on your desk top in your new folder, save them to your Hard Drive in a Master Folder, and the master folder can be divided into sub folders named by the month they were created.  Once the year ends, put all these files in a Yearly folder.  I know this sounds simple, but one of the most frequently asked questions we receive at Mastercolor is what is the best way to store my files?

• Always back-up your files, either to to CD or DVD, and also to an external hard drive.  Can you tell I am paranoid about losing my files?  You would be amazed by the number of customers Mastercolor has had that come in ready to build a photo album of all their children’s memories, or order a portrait, but only have the 900k files they downloaded from their free hosting site or they have lost them due to a “dead computer”, or that they just do not know where their files are saved.  They ask how we can help, and the only thing we can offer is our sympathy.

Please back-up your files.

C.Wright

At Mastercolor Labs we see thousands of different Christmas Cards each year, and every year we are asked “which picture should I use for my card.”  My answer is always, use the photos that show what your family is like in their every day life.  Sure everyone wants to look like a Norman Rockwell Painting, but the cards I remember the most are the funny cards with kids laughing, dogs facing the other way, babies crying, and parents looking frustrated.  Remember you are sending these to friends, and they already know AND like you (hopefully), so be yourself. Put you favorite files on your desktop in a folder and download our ROES Software, and start preparing your own greeting card.  Our ROES software allows you to order straight 4×6 or 4×5 prints, slimline cards (4×6 with a 2″ Greeting on the end), 5×8 deluxe custom cards or 5×7 folded cards.  The ROES software is easy to use, but feel free to call us for step by step instructions.  While you are on the ROES program, why not order a couple Giclee Gallery Wrapped prints?  The perfect photographic gift for the loved ones in your life.

Happy Holidays from everyone at Mastercolor Labs!

C.Wright