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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 print houses 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. Some commercial printers scan paintings directly into the CMYK color mode (and convert to RGB to give you a file) and those images will never be 100% accurate for ZAPP because you can't add the color that is missing by converting from CMYK to RGB. What you can do is ask for any size proof print up to 11x14 and send it to me to scan. I can create a digital file for jurying and for 35mm slides that is 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 25,000 images
prepared for over 3,000 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 or on AOL. 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 or photograph their artwork. 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 both the ZAPP and JAS digital jury systems. 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. My price includes any other size you may need,
including 35mm slides from your digital files. I charge $20 to upload all your images (not $20 per image) into your profile and send you a CD. 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, even while filling out an application. I charge a $20 handling charge which includes archiving all the 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 completion of my working on your images, even if I receive the images on the day of the show deadline. And if you have any questions or problems during the application process, you can pick up the phone and call me. I become your support person through the whole application process. There is an additional $10 fee for each medium or large format transparency scanned. I have the capability of scanning transparencies up to 4x5, and prints, etchings or paintings (or any other flat media) up to 12x17. Booth image fix up is charged by time and complexity of the work needed and includes uploading to ZAPP and JAS and e-mailing both sizes back to you so you can use them for other applications. I have many articles on the booth image. |
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| I'm having financial problems but still need the quality of work that you provide. Is there anything you can do to help me. | ||
| I'm offering to help artists that have severe financial problems. I'm offering to work on images (or even photograph artwork) at a price that they can afford (or free if necessary) for artists that are having severe financial problems and need better jury images to get into shows. I did this a few years ago for artists from New Orleans that had problems. If you know of any artists that have recently gone through some serious financial times, have them give me a call. | ||
| 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 jewelry 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? | ||
|
I have a multitude of information on my web site about how to do your own art photography. And don't forget to 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. |
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| Can I see some examples of your work? | ||
| A new page of examples | ||
| 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. This page has examples of my jury slide photography 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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| My booth slide has old work. Can the work within a booth slide be changed to show new work? | ||
| Yes for 2D work, like photography or paintings. Look at the examples on this page and give me a call. 412-767-8644. | ||
| I want to apply to a show asking for a non standard image format but I already have ZAPP images. Can you help me? | ||
| Yes, it's not difficult to format images for any of the non standard applications. | ||
| I've decided to use you or have additional questions. What's the best way to contact you? | ||
| Telephone (412-401-8100) 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 |
| Slide scanning for ZAPP and other digital jury systems |
|
1970s ABA and NBA
Basketball photographs |
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Web site content © Larry Berman |
Larry
Berman
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