Modelocity Magazine Gives PhotoHand Thumbs Up

Modelocity magazine that features upcoming modeling talent and provides practical advice to those who are making first steps in their modeling careers, gives thumbs up to PhotoHand.com as an invaluable resource for Madison-Avenue quality yet most affordable photo retouching and comp card design that will get you noticed.

In the modeling business where competition is brutal, Modelocity Magazine lets you get your feet wet by giving you your first exposure and providing you with how-to advice on your way to becoming the next America's top model.

When receiving portfolio submission for tearsheets, Modelocity editors started worrying that many images were in dire need of improvement - smudged makeup, flyaway hairs crossing your eyes, flash glare, dark undereye circles... any imperfections could be easily be removed. Of course, this should be done by professionals who will not make your face look flat and ensure that the traces of corrections do not pop up in printing.

Now, the common perception is that such retouching services are costly and out of reach for starting-out models. This is how Modelocity discovered PhotoHand.com that charges only $3.50 per photo for complete cosmetic retouching or $19.95 for comp card design plus retouching of all photos included in the card. A tastefully designed comp card makes the photos look more glamorous adding to the professional image of the model; and comp cards designed by PhotoHand do make you stand out.

Says Modelocity: "Thank goodness no more confusing per work hour estimates. Some places confuse you with terminology that does not make sense to the normal human ear... We like that PhotoHand has worked with models at the beginning of their careers and knows exactly what they need and have no problem wiping the question marks off the faces of those just starting out in the industry."

Related Posts: Comp Cards – How To and What Works





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Digital Photography for Moms and Aunties: How To Avoid Blurry Pictures

Modern digital cameras equipped with automatic settings make it easy to take beautiful pictures of your family. Still there are some tips to remember to avoid pretty common photo defects that can not be fixed with photo retouching. We'll cover them one by one and give you very simple practical tips to avoid these mishaps.

Our first topic is picture blurriness. We, at PhotoHand, quite often get request to sharpen blurry photos. This can be done only to some extent before the image turns pixelated. So how to avoid blurriness?

First of all, use a real camera, not a phone camera. Even if your phone camera takes multi-megapixel shots, there are a lot of other technical parameters that are missing from it to deliver a quality image.
The second common problem is "shaky shots". A digital camera is very light and there is a big probability that it could be easily shaken or swayed when you take a shot.

We suggest you always hold the camera with both hands.

When taking a shot, assume a steady and stable position to avoid any shaking or wobbling of your camera that will result in blurring in your pictures. If you are standing, make sure that you are on level ground and that your feet are shoulder width apart. If possible, lean against a wall or a tree.
If possible, do not hold your camera at arm’s length as this could cause swaying of your camera. Keep your elbows close to your sides.

When kneeling, rest your elbow(s) on your knee for support.

If you have a DSLR camera, your left hand must be placed around the lens and the bottom edge to support the edge of the camera.

If you are still getting shaky pictures, it is normally recommended to use a tripod or a monopod (a one-legged tripod). We don't see these as a practical solution for a moms. But there is an easy-to-carry lightweight (4.8 oz) alternative to tripods and monopods - SteadePod. It resembles a stainless-steel tape measure - you attach one end to your camera, pull the retractable 6' steel cable down to the ground, hold it with your foot, and the slight tension on the cable gives you a steady camera position. This device costs $24.99 at B&H and can be ordered online.









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As of this week, the British royal family have established their online presence on Flickr – www.flickr.com/photos/britishmonarchy. This is after opening YouTube and Twitter accounts. Can’t wait to befriend some royals on Facebook.

The album will allow Flickr users to use the photographs in blogs and other media, the Daily Mail reported. 

Comp Cards – How To and What Works

As PhotoHand gets more and more orders for comp card design we also receive more requests to help in picking the photos for our model clients. We hope this post will be useful in this task.

General
A model comp card has a front side with a full size portrait and a back side with a selection of representative shots from the portfolio — and the model's basic stats (see below) and contact information — printed on both sides of an 8.5" x 5.5" piece of card stock (12 pt stock) (US) or 15×21 cm (Europe, Asia).

Think of your comp card as your marketing tool. This will determine how you want to pose for it and which photos to choose. The casting manager will hardly look for Miss Congeniality with a big teethy smile. Neither is important how pretty you are. What is important is HOW GOOD YOU ARE AT MODELING.

Number of Photos
You need one good headshot for the front side and 4-5 photos for the back of the comp card.

Photo Size
Photo should be at least one Megabyte (=one Megapixel) in size for quality printing, especially the headshot for the front of the comp card.

Posing
Before the photoshoot, pick a dozen of poses you think you can imitate from fashion magazines and practice them in front of a mirror until they feel natural. Strike poses that show elegance and power.

Facial Expression
Some very good photos of you are only good for the family photo book. Nice smiley pictures won’t get you very far. You will not get booked because you are a nice person. Look at the glossies, the models there are all pouting or spot a faint smile. No big teeth smiles.

Make sure your face is not tense. During the photoshoot, close your eyes, think of something and then open your eyes. This usually does the trick.

Front Photo
For the front of the comp card, select your best ¾ portrait shot.

Back Photos
You’ll need 4-5 photos for the back of the comp card. Make sure that at least one photo shows you in full height.

Versatility
The photos at the back should show the different sides of you: glamorous, bohemian, sporty, sexy, grungy, country, business… whatever style you can master. This was you will present your true potential to get you bookings.

Model Stats

For Men	For Women
Height	Height
Shirt	Bust
Waist	Waist
Shoes	Hips
Hair Color	Shoes
Eye Color	Hair Color
	Eye Color

Comp Card Design
Your comp card needs to have a pleasing, not to mention professional, look to attract the attention of the casting manager. This is like packaging for a product. Even if you are not so happy with the results of your photoshoot, your photos will shine when cropped for the maximum effect, or tilted, and nicely arranged in an elegant format.

Take it from the professionals. This comp card that we retouched and designed some time ago, was used in a television program in Canada as a sample of how to design comp cards that get you jobs.



We hope you find these tips helpful. Good luck!





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Consumer Guide to Photo Book Printing & Binding

Not all photo books are created equal. When consumers come to PhotoHand to order a wedding or family book, our first question is what kind of printing and binding they prefer.

Based on the type of paper and binding used in the production, photo books can be of three kinds: Flush Mount Albums, Coffee Table Books, and Lay-Flat Photo Books.

Options available for all the types:
- custom photo book design or templated design
- custom photo cover or fabric/leather/vinyl cover with a monogram or without
- UV coating

Flush Mount Album
Flush mount albums have thick, unbending pages with printed photos dry-mounted on cardboard. The covers are mostly made of leather, leatherette fabric, or vinyl.
ADVANTAGES: The book opens flat allowing to see the seamless continues design through the page spread.
DISADVANTAGES: The pages are thick as cardboard which makes the book too heavy and difficult to flip through. Also, the most expensive kind of the three.

Coffee Table Book
If printed at a good printing company, the book looks like an art book sold at Barnes and Noble. Coffee Table Books have been successfully replacing Flush Mount Albums in the wedding album, family, maternity and baby book market. The photo paper pages can be reinforced with UV coating that will make them as thick as business cards.
ADVANTAGES: The book definitely looks more contemporary and elegant. Price-wise, the most affordable of the three options.
DISADVANTAGES: Frequent handling can eventually weaken the binding or cause paper cracking leading to tear at the binding.

WARNING! If you opt for a coffee table book, you might decide to use one the online services that lets you drop photos into templates and send the book into print at a click of a button. This is a cheap solution that probably serves some purposes depending on your expectations. We wouldn't recommend this for a family memories book. The samples that we received from cheap printers invariably had some deffects: front and back covers differed in size, the paper was yellowish (probably recycled) which made the photos look dull, and the stitching was sticking out luck a sore thumb when you opened the book. Top-quality printers only work with photographers and designers and avoid taking orders directly from consumers because there are a lot of technicalities involves.

Lay-Flat Photo Book
A relatively new "hinged paper" technology introduced in January 2008. An integrated flexible hinge, allows the book to open flat like a Flush Mount Album though the book still has flexible photo paper pages making the book manageable. The photo paper pages can be reinforced with UV coating that will make them as thick as business cards.
ADVANTAGES: The most durable binding make the book resistant frequent handling. Through slightly more expensive than an average professionally made coffee table book, a lay flat book is still very affordable.
DISADVANTAGES: Compared to Flush Mount Albums, the design spread has a visible separation line at the binding, though with skillful design that keeps this fact in mind, the separation between the pages will not ruin the visual perception of the collage.

As you can see there pluses and minuses in each option, but Whatever type of printing and binding you pick, PhotoHand will create designs to match the requirements of of your chosen technology.

Glamor with a Disclaimer

To fight self-esteem problems experienced by girls and women who feel pressure to fit the standards set up by advertisers, British and French lawmakers are pushing for laws that force the Advertising industry to disclose when retouching is used on models. According to the proposals, all ads where retouched images of models have been used should carry a disclaimer stating that changes have been made.

You would think that in our day and age, everyone knows that ad images are artistic interpretations. They are decorative. Let's be honest, you wouldn't want Calvin Klein ads to feature "guys from work".

I personally think "feel-good" movies are more damaging for the psyche of young women. And, if we continue along the disclaimer path, they should run a marquee warning during romantic comedies and Cinderella-plot movies saying this is just wishful thinking and no one should fall for this delusion.

As for photo retouching, it has become a natural part of the process of developing an image for publication. It puts fixes where the photography failed. You always do the bare minimum checklist:

- Improve lighting
- Adjust colors
- Remove flyaway hairs
- Remove glare
- Remove shadows from faces
- Even out skin tone
- Cover up temporary skin imperfections
- Correct smudged make-up
- Fix clothes

These are the basics of photography post-production that have nothing to do with manipulation of the public conscience.

And if you still consider this an illusion than the illusion starts from the production stage. There is a crew of workers besides the photographer at any proper fashion or celebrity shoot. If you have ever watched America's Next Top Model then you should know how a good make-up artist, stylist, and lighting specialists can improve the outcome and make the photo look glamorous, the way you (let's face it) like it.

PhotoHand.com Catches Growing Attention of Professionals and Small Businesses

Fast and affordable online service for image editing and photo design - PhotoHand.com is quickly turning into one of the most valuable online resources for small/SOHO business, entrepreneurs and professionals looking to boost their images.

Traditionally limited by modest marketing budgets and now influenced by the current recession, professionals and small businesses are reconciled with the fact that their promotional images can’t rival those of corporations. PhotoHand.com is changing this perception by bringing Madison-Avenue quality image editing and photo design to Main Street folks.

The strictly online mode of operation might not fit the processes of large companies but it is perfect for Actors, Models, Consultants, Dentists, Indie Designers, Small Manufacturers, Beauty Professionals, Tattoo Artists, E-shop Owners... the list goes on.

Just upload your photos through PhotoHand.com website, supply your directions in plain language (what you want or what you don't like in the photos) and in three business days you have the images that will make you or your business stand out - all without breaking the bank.

PhotoHand's fees start at $3.50 per photo for complete cosmetic retouching. For $11.95 your product photo will be altered into an ad worthy of glossy magazines. Online proofing and changes are free.

Unlike many photographers, PhotoHand works under the "work-for-hire" clause and thus does not claim copyright over retouched photos or photo designs. This means PhotoHand's clients have the full ownership of their images and can take them to any printing company of choice.

PhotoHand.com works with amateur photos as well as with professionally shot images. The company realizes that many business owners or professionals take one shot at a time when they are ready with a new sample and paying $75-150 an hour for one-two photos is excessive. Most of them have long figured out how to use powerful digital cameras and how to set up the lights for a shoot.

Naturally, such DIY photos need some editing help but so do professional shots, as PhotoHand can attest. With a little bit of post-production TLC, PhotoHand makes such photos shine.

After all, it's 60% how you look, 35% what you sound like, and 5% what you say.