A Three Part Look Into Why Content Providers Loose Their Marbles.
** Continued From: Got Content? - Part #2
Part Three - Post Production
Ok let's assume you've survived your first series of photo shoots and now you have a mountain of photos to sort through. Trouble is, you're not sure what photo sets are what, where the model releases and ID's are, or where to even start.
|
"Once you've gotten organized, you get to start the mind numbing process of editing your images." |
If this is the case, your first mistake was not sorting and editing the images produced from each individual shoot. Always separate your images according to model or at the very least, what type of photos were taken (softcore, toys, etc.). Arrange your electronic or hard copy filing system to be neat and orderly in order to easily find what you need when you need it. Be sure to clearly label any disks or slides to help you keep track of everything. You may also want to rename all the images in the photo set to make it easier to find them among a hundred other files.
Now, once you've gotten organized, you get to start the mind numbing process of editing your images. Whether it's a pimple on a model's tush, a scar, or an imperfection of some sort in your image, you want to correct it in order to produce a quality product. For this you'll need some image editing software such as Photo Shop or Paint Shop.and you'll want to be damn good at using these programs.
Untitled Page
Some of the more common tools to use are functions such as image sharpening, gamma correction, brightness/contrast adjustments, image resizing and optimization. A decent web image is normally around 60k to 80k in size, usually around 640x480 in resolution, and is composed well.
Next, consider your other editing tools such scanners, a good graphics card, and a high resolution monitor. If you're scanning images, be sure to keep the scanning area of your scanner perfectly clean. Also, be sure that your slides or negatives are clean and free of any dust or particles.
Any dirt on your slides will translate into a very poor quality scan of your image. If you're going to perform any color balancing, be sure you have a good graphics card and monitor that will show you "true color".
Once you've completed editing all you images, be sure to have a digital scan or photos of the model release and ID's and place these in BOTH your electronic and hard copy filing. Remember to black out the name, address, and Driver's license number in order to maintain confidentiality for the model.
It's only necessary for the photo and birth date to be visible to maintain 2257 compliance. When you burn CD's of any photo sets for your customers, be sure to include these!
Some things to remember BEFORE starting any image editing.
First, always make digital copies of your photo sets and never save over your "master" copies. Next, plan on spending A LOT of time in front of your monitor staring at the same tits and ass for hours on end! And lastly, never take shortcuts or cheat on your editing. The results are always noticeable and you'll want to be known as someone who takes pride in their work. Otherwise you may as well not even bother.