[Michael Pierre Price]

Hi Beverly. I wanted to ask you if you are going to print the images yourself or are you going to work with someone else? It sounds like your goal is for you to create the digital versions of your original work (using your camera) in order to create digital prints of your paintings. If someone else is going to do the actual printing, what services to they provide? Can they take your raw images and do all the post production in order to print, or are you going to have to give them the “finished” image and all they do is take your file and print from it? These are crucial questions because they really impact how much work you do on your end and some of the equipment you need to get the best results. Sandra’s points about the lighting conditions under which you shoot your work cannot be overlooked – and Crista has made a strong point about this in the course. Larger pieces are notorious for screwing up lighting (dark edges and bright spots in the center). So, if you are confident that you can get good shots of your work, then it becomes an issue of how much processing you need to do in order for your digital prints to be good reproductions of the original. If this is going to rest on your shoulders, then I have to stress how ciritcal it is that your post production is done on a “calibrated” monitor, otherwise the files you hand off may not be anywhere near the true colors, tones, and brightness of the original. Laptops and tablets are naturally set to high briteness settings in order to make it easy to view what’s on screen. Some monitors run “cool” or “warm” which influences the color tones. For instance, if you are trying to work on a tablet that has a bright screen, then it is more than likely all your prints will turn out dark because you will over-compensate for the brighter screen view. Calibrating your monitor (using a hardware device and software) is necessary to getting good print results. I know this because I print all my work and have to make my prints look like my digital originals. As for your camera questions, I believe Sandra has done a great job of explaining things. I would caution against shooting in jpeg only because you lose a bit of color/resolution information that could be crucial in some of your reproductions. I am happy to elaborate on any of this if you have any questions. Good luck!!!

[Michael Pierre Price]

Thanks!!!