July 2009..........Volume 2 No. 1

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IN THIS ISSUE:

No Such Thing As Simple...

Divide and Conquer...

High-Res Art Scanning

Experience in Megapixels

"GOOD ENOUGH"...CAN BE A LOT BETTER!
Here we are in the midst of "another fine mess" with the world economy…just getting comfortable after the fall of the Dotcom era. But this is no time to hide or retreat. It is possible to sustain and even succeed with some additional effort and ingenuity. There are buyers of our products and services out there...we just have to work harder to find them, so you cannot abandon your advertising and marketing efforts. Just make every effort to assure that each impression you make is a positive one.

A la Carte Digital Studios is ready to help. We are versatile and experienced to help you create cost-effective visuals for your website, brochures, and trade show displays. Photographs are the representative of your product's quality and are a critical factor in your ability to compete for sales in the marketplace.

There is a lot more to be done beyond "taking a picture". Precise control of lighting, isolation of critical quality details, the right resolution, multiple exposures and digital enhancements, all contribute to a successful photograph.

We are adaptable to budgets...but always exceed expectations!

IT'S YOUR IMAGE....SPEND WISELY!
NO SUCH THING AS SIMPLE...

Regardless of what the product is, there are always unique features that are important to communicate its quality and integrity. We always take great care in capturing the characteristics of the product and packaging that is an integral part of its uniqueness and design. From controlling the surface sheen of a plastic or foil package without obscuring the logo; to maintaining the character of metallic subjects or foil stamped packaging accents; and using highlights and shadows to emphasize the shapes of the industrial design.

Anyone can take a picture...but not everyone will produce a photograph that optimizes the presentation of your product. 
WILL WORK FOR FOOD!
For many years the majority of our clients have been from the food industry and we are proud to be known as "the foodie photographer"!

DIVIDE AND CONQUER...

Digital capture has created contradictory benefits toward product photography...it is easy for most anyone to take pretty decent images with digital cameras that cost well under $1,000.

On the other hand, digital has provided the professional with tools to perfect the presentation of your product, but has undermined the benefits of the professional studio.
In this bottle photo for example, it was important to get beautiful translucent highlights on the bottles, and that would be impossible if they were shot as a group. So one bottle (without label) was photographed with lighting that would reinforce the shape and surface texture the glass bottle.

The labels of each bottle were photographed next...mounted on a bottle with different lighting to avoid the glare that would have been present if they were photographed with the bottle illumination.

The "hero" bottle photograph was retouched and cut from its background by making a path with the pen tool in Photoshop. The labels were also outlined with the pen tool and each placed on a copy of the hero bottle. The background was going to be hard to control if everything was captured together, so a real seamless background was shot with the shadow of a palm leaf to tie into the label design and added behind the bottles.

By working with the elements as individual layers the photograph could be optimized digitally with not that much more time spent compared to attempting to control everything in one single exposure.
HIGH-RES ART SCANNING FOR DISPLAYS

In preparation for the opening of the new California Academy of Sciences at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, we provided high-resolution digital scans of artwork, maps, photos and documents for the new exhibits. One example is the large map of the Galapagos Islands (shown). The original map was only about 24"x30" but needed to be printed to 10 feet x 20 feet — eight times larger! Using the Better Light scanning back, we photographed the map in three sections to give a final output resolution that retained all of the subtle map detail including the paper texture.

Few photographers can provide this level of high-resolution files for the ultimate in quality for Gicleé' reproductions, book publishing and displays.
Now you know who to call!

We offer something different...we really do! If you have been less than delighted by the quality, price or service of your present sources of photography, we should be talking. You may find just what you are looking for.

A la Carte Digital Studios
P.O. Box 4365
Foster City, CA 954404-0365

phone: 650-348-2525

newsletter@alacartedigital.com
http://www.alacartedigital.com

Larry Guyer
Owner & Photographer
EXPERIENCE IN MEGAPIXELS

After operating The Graphic Marketing Group, Inc. in Foster City since 1981, Larry Guyer renamed the business A la Carte Digital Studios in 1998 to mark the transition into digital capture and the studio’s specialization in the food industry.

From June, 1999 to December, 2003, Larry worked as marketing director for Better Light, Inc. in San Carlos, a manufacturer of a high-resolution digital camera system for advertising photography and art reproduction.  “The time spent with Better Light was like going to graduate school in digital technology”, stated Guyer, “but the desire to get back behind the camera was too strong to ignore”.

The studio now offers a wide variety of photography and digital production services using three different types of digital camera backs. “We have the ability to create impeccable first generation images up to 300 MB with the Better Light scan back; plus we have two different Kodak backs for moving subjects, editorial and portraiture. It is very important to create an image with the proper equipment to have sufficient pixels in the file to record fine subject detail and enable large, high quality reproduction.”
“A la Carte” means just that… services offered to solve your problems…as little or as much as you need.
PHOTOGRAPHY • RETOUCHING • PRODUCTION GRAPHICS • WEBSITES • TRAINING
All photographs and content are copyright protected by The Graphic Marketing Group, Inc.
No reproduction of any kind is permitted without written permission.