150 Portraits, 3x4 prints, how would you setup an efficient workflow?

HamSmugglerHamSmuggler Registered Users Posts: 225 Major grins
edited March 20, 2009 in SmugMug Pro Sales Support
I'm going to be doing several portrait shoots at a local school over different days. There will be about 150 total students with 20-30 students per day. Each student will take 30-40 images, and then I post them online for them to choose the image they want. (This is an extremely important application that they need this photo for).Each student will then require that image as a 3x4 print. This is a very strange size, and I'm not quite sure how to handle this work flow in an efficient manner.

Previously, each student emails me the image number, then I manually crop each student's image to 3x4, expand the canvas size with white pixels to fit a 4x6 print, and then upload the 4x6 version. For example, see below. This is VERY time intensive considering the number of students and the fact that they don't all select their images and email you at the same time, so it becomes very fragmented.

492013233_9eV8w-M.jpg492013240_ocgEd-M.jpg

The other option is to allow all to download the images; I would love to do this, but they will surely run into trouble trying to get their image printed as a 3x4 without the above cropping and expanding process. It doesn't seem feasible since they don't know how to do this, and I can't manually do this for every single image I take (40images x 150 students = too many).

I wish Bay Photo offered a 3x4 option, so that users could crop to 3x4 as they please and complete the entire process online. Thoughts?
http://www.andrawesphoto.com

Comments

  • Ann McRaeAnn McRae Registered Users Posts: 4,584 Major grins
    edited March 16, 2009
    My first thought is, is there a reason to shooting 30 - 40 shots per person?

    ann

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  • ThorstenThorsten Registered Users Posts: 41 Big grins
    edited March 16, 2009
    There must be a way in Photoshop to automate this, though I have not found it yet. Hopefully somebody will chime in, I'm very interested, too. In a similar situation, I usually put two 3x4's or six 2x2s onto one 4x6 canvas, all manually with the move tool in Photoshop. It's a pain, but I haven't found anything better yet.
  • MontecMontec Registered Users Posts: 823 Major grins
    edited March 17, 2009
    Thorsten wrote:
    There must be a way in Photoshop to automate this, though I have not found it yet. Hopefully somebody will chime in, I'm very interested, too. In a similar situation, I usually put two 3x4's or six 2x2s onto one 4x6 canvas, all manually with the move tool in Photoshop. It's a pain, but I haven't found anything better yet.

    Your numbers don't add up (maybe a typo) but there are some good templates available for this sort of thing, or you make your own.

    Have you tried PhotoShop's picture package feature? you might be able to make that work with a custom layout.

    Lightroom is a better tool for automation.
    Cheers,
    Monte
  • ThorstenThorsten Registered Users Posts: 41 Big grins
    edited March 17, 2009
    Montec wrote:
    Your numbers don't add up (maybe a typo) but there are some good templates available for this sort of thing, or you make your own.

    Have you tried PhotoShop's picture package feature? you might be able to make that work with a custom layout.

    Lightroom is a better tool for automation.

    Will check that out - thanks!

    The numbers add up. You can get six passport photos out of one 4x6 (two rows of three pictures each), or you can get two 4x3 photos out of one 4x6, just line them up side by side.
  • MontecMontec Registered Users Posts: 823 Major grins
    edited March 17, 2009
    Thorsten wrote:
    Will check that out - thanks!

    The numbers add up. You can get six passport photos out of one 4x6 (two rows of three pictures each), or you can get two 4x3 photos out of one 4x6, just line them up side by side.

    You are right...I was not understanding when I first replied. My mistake.

    I use this $10 piece of software for passport photos...works great.

    http://www.onthegosoft.com/passport_photo.htm
    Cheers,
    Monte
  • ThorstenThorsten Registered Users Posts: 41 Big grins
    edited March 17, 2009
    Montec wrote:
    You are right...I was not understanding when I first replied. My mistake.

    I use this $10 piece of software for passport photos...works great.

    http://www.onthegosoft.com/passport_photo.htm

    Cool, thank you!!! This looks to be much easier than manipulating things in Photoshop.
  • SloJoeSloJoe Registered Users Posts: 4 Beginner grinner
    edited March 20, 2009
    Bay Photo DOES offer a 3x4, at least direct through them.

    I would do that and an auto crop to 3x4 ratio in lightroom. Easy as pie.:ivarwings.gif

    On edit, I see you want to do something so they place the order through smugmug. Then I would do the auto crop in lightroom, and then after export run a batch photoshop action to increase the canvas size to the orig resolution. Then the photo will print nicely on 4x6 with the appropriate border.
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