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| What are your credentials and what equipment do you use? | ||
| Besides selling my own photography at art shows for over
30 years, I’ve built web sites for over 150 artists, write for Shutterbug
Magazine and am a beta tester for Adobe Photoshop. I’m responsible for the
ZAPP 1920 pixel square image format which is fair for all artists, and am
the only one both ZAPP and Juried Art Services recommends to art
shows and artists as a scanning solution. I also answer every image
related question on the ZAPP forum and all the other art show forums. I
started an education program teaching artists how to prepare accurate
digital images of their artwork and have done
seminars
for the Pensacola Museum of Art, Milwaukee Art Museum, Ann Arbor, Main
Street Fort Worth, Best of Missouri Hands, Pennsylvania Guild, and many other art shows,
organizations or art groups. I'm also
recommended by the
North Carolina Arts Council Craft Artist Grant Application. I use a Sony Artisan reference monitor in my dual monitor Photoshop system. The Artisan was the most color accurate CRT monitor and came with its own proprietary calibration system. I also have the same digital projector and Roku that ZAPP uses and can test the images to see how they’ll appear in a jury room. What I see on my monitor is exactly how the images project. I have a second computer set up just for scanning. I use the 4000 pixel per inch Nikon CoolScan 5000ED 35mm slide scanner. For flat art I use the Epson 10000XL flatbed scanner which can scan artwork up to 12x17 inches, perfect for scanning 11x14 photographs, etchings or any flat art. I also have a 20 inch iMAC so I can answer MAC specific questions. |
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| Why do I need help? I want to do it myself, or my nephew, friend, spouse, or photographer says they can do it for me. Or I can send my slides to an art show and have them scanned for a minimal fee. Or the company that prints my Giclées says that they can do it. | ||
| If you want to prepare your own images, I’ve prepared a
multi page illustrated
instructional document used by hundreds of artists. But the application
process is much more competitive now with many more artists
applying to shows, and as a result, it's becoming much more difficult to get accepted.
Just formatting your uncorrected images makes it very difficult to stay
competitive within your medium.
Having an art show scan your slides is about the worst decision you can make in your art show career. When a show scans your slides, there is no attempt to color correct your images and they don’t even send you a CD so you can use them for other shows even if you wanted to. A great many artists are horrified when an art show scans and they see their images on ZAPP, and end up contacting me to prepare their images correctly. During the first year with ZAPP, I volunteered and corrected all the images for the artists who complained when Main Street Fort Worth and Milwaukee Lakefront had them scanned. At the 2006 NAIA show director's conference I did a presentation about how I achieve accurate color. At the 2007 show director's conference I did a before and after presentation using examples of what happens when a show scans the slides for unsuspecting artists, who then send them to me to be rescanned and corrected. Unbelievable but four years into the system, some shows are still offering to scan slides. I recently called a show director to ask about scanning and was told that they’re not responsible because they offer a disclaimer stating that they’re not responsible for the quality of the scanned images. If they’re not responsible than who is? I am when I scan slides for artists. I’ve found that some Giclée files from a printer don’t look accurate when the file is projected. Though the prints look good, the digital images may appear to have brighter highlights on the computer and in the jury room. What you can do is ask for any size proof print up to 11x14 and send it to me to scan. Then I can create a digital file for jurying and 35mm slides that's accurate to the original painting. |
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| How much do you charge? | ||
| Read the next question first to see if my services are for you. | ||
| What do I get if I hire you to prepare my images for digital jurying? | ||
| I treat every image as if it were my own. Images are
color corrected and cropped to optimize how they appear to a jury.
Additionally, backgrounds are neutralized (removal of color cast) and made
to match as much as possible. If I feel that there can be a significant
improvement, I might also suggest having the backgrounds retouched to a
neutral tone that accents the work and makes each image match identically.
That way it’s possible to use images from different photographers
saving additional photography expenses. In approximately 10,000 images
prepared for over 1,500 artists, I haven’t found more than a few that
couldn’t be improved in either color, composition or both. If I feel that
an alternate crop may improve your presentation, I’ll give you both
options. If you feel that an image needs to be flipped to work at either
end of your presentation, I'll give you both options. And if you think
that there is a problem with any of the images, I’ll make the requested
adjustments and upload them immediately.
Besides making the images look as good as they possibly can, I become your support person throughout the art show application process. I will also answer any future questions you may have. I make the entire process painless, providing information that walks you through completing the text information required for your images and then for the application itself. I’m available for telephone support at any time during the process. I can even log in at the same time and fix things that might not work smoothly, which occasionally happens if you’re using a MAC. And I’ll apply for you if you don’t own a computer. If I’m working on your images at the last moment, besides sending you the instructional e-mail, I’ll also call to make sure you’ve gotten the information so you can apply on time. I have an open invitation for any artist to come to my home and sit with me as I work on their images. That way you can have your images prepared, uploaded and complete your show applications before leaving. I can also prepare color corrected images for any other use, like postcards, brochures, posters, your web site or PowerPoint presentations. |
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| How much do you charge? | ||
| My prices have remained the same ever since digital
jurying started. I charge $20 per image to color correct and format an
image for one digital jury system. I charge an additional $5 per image for
other image formats. Besides ZAPP, other image formats are Juried Art
Services or to get 35mm slides made from your corrected files. Let’s not
forget about the multitude of art shows now asking for digital images
without considering that there is a standard (ZAPP) format that most
artists already have. I personally try to contact every art show that is asking
for digital images and point them to the
information
on my web site about how the ZAPP format is now considered a
standard format (like the red dot on slide mounts) for art shows asking
for digital images. That saves the artists both money and time in applying
to other art shows. I charge $20 to upload all your images (not $20 per image) into your profile. This also includes setting up your profile if you haven’t done so yet. At that point I provide e-mail instructions, that include links with your username and password, that walk you through the entire process. Also included in the e-mail is my telephone number in case you have any questions. I charge a $20 handling charge which includes sending you a CD of corrected images so that they can be used for other shows requiring digital images. I also archive all full size corrected files (on both DVD and external hard drives) so that in the future, you can request images for other uses or a duplicate back up CD. So in summary, five images will cost $140 uploaded into your profile so you can apply immediately upon my completion of my working on your images. And if you have any questions or problems during the application process, you can pick up the phone and call me. |
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| I like working with you. Can you photograph my work for me? | ||
| I've started shooting jury slides for artists. if you're in a time crunch or your regular photographer can't fit you in, I'll do the photography for you. A few examples of my jury slide photography. | ||
| I have a professional photographer shooting my work. Do I still need your services? | ||
| Like I stated above, I’ve been able to improve almost every image I’ve worked on, even those from professional photographers. Hap Sakwa is about the best jury slide photographer and he considers me one of his team. At various times, a great many of the other jury slide photographers have contacted me with questions because their images didn’t look right after uploading to ZAPP. I show examples in my seminars that photography and Photoshop are two completely different skills. The best photographers understand their limitations and some welcome my work and refer artists to me. The photographers who don’t understand their limitations are the one’s to watch out for. | ||
| I want to shoot my own jury images. What can you do for me? | ||
| You can read my article on how to set your digital camera to photograph art. A variation of this article ran in Shutterbug Magazine. If you e-mail me an image, I can make suggestions on ways to improve your photography, like changing the background or lighting, so you can come up with something that I can make look professional to an art show jury. Additionally I can format your images to get 35mm slides made for those shows still requiring them. Make me one of your team. | ||
| Can I see some examples of your work? | ||
| Yes and no. You can only see
examples or
examples that I’ve been given
permission to use. I also show them at my seminars. You wouldn’t want me showing your images without your
permission and I respect the rights that every artist has to keep their
jury images private.
You can read testimonials from artists, jury slide photographers and art shows who have used and recommend my services. My work is fully guaranteed. I will gladly redo any image that need adjusting. I will also refund your money if you’re unhappy with my work, though no one has ever asked me to. |
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| I've decided to use you or have additional questions. What's the best way to contact you? | ||
| Telephone (800-350-9289) is always the best way to contact me. If you e-mail me, I'll reply with my phone number asking you to call. My address to mail jury slides or CD's is listed on the home page. | ||
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All photos on this site are available for stock or
fine art sales |
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| Slide scanning for ZAPP and other digital jury systems | |||
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Web site content © Larry Berman, Chris Maher, or the originating artists |
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Chris
Maher
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Larry
Berman
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