Dvd Duplication is a service many companies in the united states participate in. Pretty much the way it works is if you have content on a DVD, whether it be a tutorial, files, photos,presentation, a virtual tour, etc and you want to mass produce the DVD to send out to prospects or clients it might be wise to outsource the this project to a DVD duplication company. Dvd Duplication companies require one DVD that they can duplicate a thousands of times.
Some DVD duplication companies also give you cases and allows you to print what ever you want on the disc and disc case making your product look extremely professional.
This saves you hundreds or thousands of dollars and hours worth of time.
I recently found SFvideo is currently having a good unadvertised sale right now. If you call them at 866-238-7905 and order 1,000 fully packed DVD's you'll end up paying $.99 per dvd instead of $1.09. I'm going to end up calling them for a project with int he next day or two.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Monday, October 12, 2009
Halloween Cookies
Every year for Halloween my friend throws a huge Halloween party. Some people dress up others don't, either way there is always a lot good things to eat and drink at his parties. Every year I wear the same costume, this year I need to think of something new. Thats a different story.
This year I hope he does the chocolate fountain again! I found site http://www.clevercookie.com and tell me how cool are these Halloween cookies! I wonder how they taste. Are they to kiddish for a bunch of people in their early twenties. Wait better Idea I'll just buy them and bring them into the office.
Friday, September 25, 2009
NPD Research
I just became a member of NPD Research. I think its pretty interesting. NPD Research is not like those cheap survey companies that give you a dollar to take a survey. NPD Research is a lot more then that. After you join NPD Research you are sent surveys. upon completing each survey you receive points that can later be used to enter raffles. If you win you get a prize. They have everything listed from vacations to video game consoles to large sums of money. But if you loose you still win! Regardless if you walk away with a prize or not, your survey data(not your personal information) will be sold to big companies that produce food, clothes, video games etc. Those companies will see your data or opinions and try to change their products or services to make their customers happy. Its pretty cool, You win both ways. The best part is theres always new surveys coming out to accurately represent the market trends.
After bumping into NPD Research on Twitter I decided to give them a shot. about 15 minutes later I was registered, completed my first survey, played a mini flash game and entered two contests. If I win or not I'm excited and will continue to do more surveys in the future. Its like the lotto except the the odds of winning are much better and it doesn't cost you anything.
After bumping into NPD Research on Twitter I decided to give them a shot. about 15 minutes later I was registered, completed my first survey, played a mini flash game and entered two contests. If I win or not I'm excited and will continue to do more surveys in the future. Its like the lotto except the the odds of winning are much better and it doesn't cost you anything.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Early Xmas Shopping
The holidays are right around the corner, its never to early to start preparing. My friend who works for kmart said they just started getting their xmas decorations in, and the store should be fully decorated by the end of the month. Last year I started my xmas shopping a week before xmas, that was a mistake. This year I hope to find a happy median. Ive already started taking money out of every paycheck and will continue saving for the next couple of weeks before I make any kind of decisions upon what I'll be getting for xmas. Since my family is small I'll be able to spend more on each member of my family.
My mother has been talking about joining a gym for the longest time. I don't know if this is a good idea but I'm thinking about getting her a membership to Lucille Roberts. Lucille Roberts is a womens gym that has she can take classes all day. Maybe she'll make a friend, that would be nice.
My Father likes to read so I figure I'll get him some books or movies hes been eying. It's really hard say which books or movies to buy because between now and xmas I'm sure he'll buy a handful of the books or movies hes been talking about. I know hes interested in Peter Schiff's book Crashproof 2.0 and Wolverine . A watch might be nice but I feel like a watch is a typical "i don't know what to get you gift". Id rather get him something he needs or wants.
Since my older brother became engaged this summer I figured I'll do what I did last year for mothers and fathers day. Ill grab all the pictures I have of him and his fiance then piece them together in a photo book from Smilebooks.com. It will take awhile to find all of the photos, but if the photo book comes out as good as my mothers then I know they will love it.
As you can tell by my other posts I'm the photo nut of the family and my little brother is starting to take interest in photography. Im thinking about getting him the Canon Powershot SX10 IS. The Canon Powershot SX10 IS is a 10 megapixel camera which is stuck in the middle of point and shoot and DSLR. For his first digital camera it should be enough to learn and have fun with. If he is serious about photography then next year maybe he'll get his first DSLR.
What are some other good xmas gift ideas?
My mother has been talking about joining a gym for the longest time. I don't know if this is a good idea but I'm thinking about getting her a membership to Lucille Roberts. Lucille Roberts is a womens gym that has she can take classes all day. Maybe she'll make a friend, that would be nice.
My Father likes to read so I figure I'll get him some books or movies hes been eying. It's really hard say which books or movies to buy because between now and xmas I'm sure he'll buy a handful of the books or movies hes been talking about. I know hes interested in Peter Schiff's book Crashproof 2.0 and Wolverine . A watch might be nice but I feel like a watch is a typical "i don't know what to get you gift". Id rather get him something he needs or wants.
Since my older brother became engaged this summer I figured I'll do what I did last year for mothers and fathers day. Ill grab all the pictures I have of him and his fiance then piece them together in a photo book from Smilebooks.com. It will take awhile to find all of the photos, but if the photo book comes out as good as my mothers then I know they will love it.
As you can tell by my other posts I'm the photo nut of the family and my little brother is starting to take interest in photography. Im thinking about getting him the Canon Powershot SX10 IS. The Canon Powershot SX10 IS is a 10 megapixel camera which is stuck in the middle of point and shoot and DSLR. For his first digital camera it should be enough to learn and have fun with. If he is serious about photography then next year maybe he'll get his first DSLR.
What are some other good xmas gift ideas?
Monday, September 21, 2009
Bending and Breaking the Rules of Traditional Portrait Photography to Produce Stunning Images
If you are looking to create a real WOW factor in your portraits, it certainly helps to learn the rules. However, in the field of portrait photography, it is equally important to understand that just like any other rule in life, some rules for portrait photography can be bent, and others can be broken.
Rule to Break: Shooting at Eye Level - The first rule you should learn to break is always sticking to the traditional “eye level” angle. Many photographers believe that shooting a subject at eye level is the best way to capture a stunning portrait, which may be true in some cases, but do not be afraid to alter your perspective.
Changing the angle of your shot and breaking the eye level rule can give your portrait a truly tremendous WOW factor. Two great ways to achieve this are by getting high above your subject and shooting down on them or getting as close to the ground as you can while shooting up. Either way, you are bound to create some added interest in your portrait.
Rule to Break: The Rule of Thirds - One of the first of many “golden rules” a photographer will learn is the Rule of Thirds. According to this rule, a photographer must intentionally place points of interest within the constraints of a 9-part grid in order to create sense of balance in the portrait. As beneficial as this rule may be to portrait photography, it can prove highly effective to break it. Subjects placed in the dead center of a portrait or along the very edge of the frame can produce some truly stunning portraits. Experiment with this concept and practice it often until you get the hang of breaking the Rule of Thirds.
Rule to Break: Crystal- Clear Clarity - If you asked a portrait photographer about the importance of focus in a shot, they may tell you that it is imperative. What they may not tell you is that crystal-clear, sharp focus is not the only way to capture mood, emotion and beauty. Try focusing on one element in front of or behind your subject to blur your main point of interest. You can also try blurring the entire image by manually focusing well in front or behind your main point of interest. Unfocused images can create some truly powerful, dreamy and mysterious portraits.
Rule to Break: Looking Down the Lens- Another rule many portrait photographers tend to live by is always having their subject looking down the lens of the camera. It may be true that having a pair of eyes staring right at the viewer is a great way to create a sense of beauty, but you should not rule out the alternative. When the eyes of a subject are fixated on something outside of the portrait, it can create powerful feelings of candidness, intrigue and interest. Leaving your viewer open to their own interpretation, you can keep them wondering what the subject is looking at and why it made them smile, laugh or show some other type of emotion. Furthermore, it may also prove beneficial to shoot a portrait with your subject focusing on something within the frame such as a basketball, a dish of food or even another person. This technique creates both a point of interest and a relationship between the object and the primary subject, helping to create a “story” within the shot.
Rule to Break: Perfect Horizons - Portrait photographers put a lot of effort and time into shooting at flawlessly horizontal or vertical angles, keeping their subject perfectly in line with the frame. Holding your camera at an angle and purposely making the lines of the shot crooked can add a tremendous sense of fun and energy in your portrait. Do not be afraid to break the rule of perfect horizons.
Rule to Break: Small Focal Lengths - Many photographers also associate portrait photography with small angles and small focal lengths. However, shooting with a wide angle attached to your lens can create some powerful shots with some interesting distortion. Wide angles generally enlarge the points of interest towards the edge of the frame more than what is in the center, creating a huge impact on your subject, especially when placed in an impressive setting.
Rule to Break: Comfort Zones - This next piece of advice is less of a rule and more like a preference among the subjects and photographers of a portrait photo. Generally, subjects prefer to remain in their comfort zone, posing for pictures at their office desk or leaning up against a classic Corvette to send out a message of interest. Sometimes in portrait photography, however, it is more interesting to see a subject outside of their comfort zone, doing things that a normal subject would not do. Examples of this concept are subjects jumping up and down on their beds, jumping into pools or performing any other type of spontaneous action. When the subject’s action becomes the new point of interest, the result can be some very powerful portraits. An additional method of taking your subject out of their comfort zone is zooming in on their face so that it is the only image in the portrait. Few people are comfortable with a close-up of this magnitude but when a subject’s face is the only thing in an image, the viewer does not have anywhere else to look. This is a great way to grab the attention of your viewer and keep them focused on your subject.
Rule to Break: Details…Details…Details - Some photographers live by the rule of including as much detail as possible in a portrait to create beauty and interest. Try keeping your portrait simple and do not be afraid to leave certain things out of your portrait. By focusing on one body part, as opposed to person’s entire body, you can leave the remainder of the subject open to the interpretation of the viewer and stir up their imagination and interest. On the other hand, you can leave very little to the imagination of the viewer by obscuring parts of the subject’s face or body with clothing or objects, or by framing part of the subject out of the image. Using this method, you can easily focus the attention of your viewer on the part of the subject you want them to focus on, creating stunning portrait images.
Rule to Break: Never Talk to Strangers - Far too many photographers limit their subjects to friends and family members when the truth is that the most interesting subjects can be complete strangers. You should not be afraid to walk up to a person on the street and ask them if they would mind having their picture taken. Simply tell the person that you find them interesting and with their permission, snap some shots. Eventually, you can develop an entire portfolio of portraits based on a series of incredibly interesting strangers.
Realistically, it would be a difficult task to embrace many of these techniques without a decent camera lens. I recommend using the Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM Autofocus Lens because it has a large aperture to help you bring your subject closer and creates excellent background blur when needed. Furthermore, the Canon EF 50mm lens affords a faster shutter speed ideal for freezing the action, has a natural angle of view and perspective and allows for the varying of distance, aperture and angle.
Rule to Break: Shooting at Eye Level - The first rule you should learn to break is always sticking to the traditional “eye level” angle. Many photographers believe that shooting a subject at eye level is the best way to capture a stunning portrait, which may be true in some cases, but do not be afraid to alter your perspective.
Changing the angle of your shot and breaking the eye level rule can give your portrait a truly tremendous WOW factor. Two great ways to achieve this are by getting high above your subject and shooting down on them or getting as close to the ground as you can while shooting up. Either way, you are bound to create some added interest in your portrait.
Rule to Break: The Rule of Thirds - One of the first of many “golden rules” a photographer will learn is the Rule of Thirds. According to this rule, a photographer must intentionally place points of interest within the constraints of a 9-part grid in order to create sense of balance in the portrait. As beneficial as this rule may be to portrait photography, it can prove highly effective to break it. Subjects placed in the dead center of a portrait or along the very edge of the frame can produce some truly stunning portraits. Experiment with this concept and practice it often until you get the hang of breaking the Rule of Thirds.
Rule to Break: Crystal- Clear Clarity - If you asked a portrait photographer about the importance of focus in a shot, they may tell you that it is imperative. What they may not tell you is that crystal-clear, sharp focus is not the only way to capture mood, emotion and beauty. Try focusing on one element in front of or behind your subject to blur your main point of interest. You can also try blurring the entire image by manually focusing well in front or behind your main point of interest. Unfocused images can create some truly powerful, dreamy and mysterious portraits.
Rule to Break: Looking Down the Lens- Another rule many portrait photographers tend to live by is always having their subject looking down the lens of the camera. It may be true that having a pair of eyes staring right at the viewer is a great way to create a sense of beauty, but you should not rule out the alternative. When the eyes of a subject are fixated on something outside of the portrait, it can create powerful feelings of candidness, intrigue and interest. Leaving your viewer open to their own interpretation, you can keep them wondering what the subject is looking at and why it made them smile, laugh or show some other type of emotion. Furthermore, it may also prove beneficial to shoot a portrait with your subject focusing on something within the frame such as a basketball, a dish of food or even another person. This technique creates both a point of interest and a relationship between the object and the primary subject, helping to create a “story” within the shot.
Rule to Break: Perfect Horizons - Portrait photographers put a lot of effort and time into shooting at flawlessly horizontal or vertical angles, keeping their subject perfectly in line with the frame. Holding your camera at an angle and purposely making the lines of the shot crooked can add a tremendous sense of fun and energy in your portrait. Do not be afraid to break the rule of perfect horizons.
Rule to Break: Small Focal Lengths - Many photographers also associate portrait photography with small angles and small focal lengths. However, shooting with a wide angle attached to your lens can create some powerful shots with some interesting distortion. Wide angles generally enlarge the points of interest towards the edge of the frame more than what is in the center, creating a huge impact on your subject, especially when placed in an impressive setting.
Rule to Break: Comfort Zones - This next piece of advice is less of a rule and more like a preference among the subjects and photographers of a portrait photo. Generally, subjects prefer to remain in their comfort zone, posing for pictures at their office desk or leaning up against a classic Corvette to send out a message of interest. Sometimes in portrait photography, however, it is more interesting to see a subject outside of their comfort zone, doing things that a normal subject would not do. Examples of this concept are subjects jumping up and down on their beds, jumping into pools or performing any other type of spontaneous action. When the subject’s action becomes the new point of interest, the result can be some very powerful portraits. An additional method of taking your subject out of their comfort zone is zooming in on their face so that it is the only image in the portrait. Few people are comfortable with a close-up of this magnitude but when a subject’s face is the only thing in an image, the viewer does not have anywhere else to look. This is a great way to grab the attention of your viewer and keep them focused on your subject.
Rule to Break: Details…Details…Details - Some photographers live by the rule of including as much detail as possible in a portrait to create beauty and interest. Try keeping your portrait simple and do not be afraid to leave certain things out of your portrait. By focusing on one body part, as opposed to person’s entire body, you can leave the remainder of the subject open to the interpretation of the viewer and stir up their imagination and interest. On the other hand, you can leave very little to the imagination of the viewer by obscuring parts of the subject’s face or body with clothing or objects, or by framing part of the subject out of the image. Using this method, you can easily focus the attention of your viewer on the part of the subject you want them to focus on, creating stunning portrait images.
Rule to Break: Never Talk to Strangers - Far too many photographers limit their subjects to friends and family members when the truth is that the most interesting subjects can be complete strangers. You should not be afraid to walk up to a person on the street and ask them if they would mind having their picture taken. Simply tell the person that you find them interesting and with their permission, snap some shots. Eventually, you can develop an entire portfolio of portraits based on a series of incredibly interesting strangers.
Realistically, it would be a difficult task to embrace many of these techniques without a decent camera lens. I recommend using the Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM Autofocus Lens because it has a large aperture to help you bring your subject closer and creates excellent background blur when needed. Furthermore, the Canon EF 50mm lens affords a faster shutter speed ideal for freezing the action, has a natural angle of view and perspective and allows for the varying of distance, aperture and angle.
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