Photo Stamping?

LimeLightLimeLight Registered Users Posts: 1 Beginner grinner
edited April 12, 2010 in SmugMug Support
New to SmugMug. I am loading up my images to an album and I have watermarks on my images. I have two questions for ya. First, when my customers go to check out and they choose an image that requires cropping, will they be the one who is responsible for cropping?

Second, I am interested in applying like a stamp of my business in the lower right hand corner of all printed photos. Is this something the printing lab can do? Or is this something I will need to add to the photo before uploading? Its a concern to me to apply the stamp before upload because im afraid the customer will crop it off. Or is there a particular crop size that would be best in photoshop prior to uploading?

Sorry so many questions, just hit a huge stumbling block.
Thanks.

Comments

  • WinsomeWorksWinsomeWorks Registered Users Posts: 1,935 Major grins
    edited April 12, 2010
    LimeLight wrote:
    New to SmugMug. I am loading up my images to an album and I have watermarks on my images. I have two questions for ya. First, when my customers go to check out and they choose an image that requires cropping, will they be the one who is responsible for cropping?

    Second, I am interested in applying like a stamp of my business in the lower right hand corner of all printed photos. Is this something the printing lab can do? Or is this something I will need to add to the photo before uploading? Its a concern to me to apply the stamp before upload because im afraid the customer will crop it off. Or is there a particular crop size that would be best in photoshop prior to uploading?
    Sorry so many questions, just hit a huge stumbling block.
    Thanks.
    Hi-- saw you didn't get any answers yet. I can take a stab at the first question. Yes, normally your customers would do the cropping. You can, however, only choose to offer certain sizes in certain galleries. Someone else will hopefully tell you how! Or, if you don't want people to have to crop by themselves, you could make your original gallery visible only to you, and then make another gallery with certain sized crops already completed through your "tools" button (as long as they're standard... such as 4x6, 5x7, etc) and then only make that gallery public. Sometimes if I've done a certain crop that I feel works best, I'll notate it in the caption like this: (4x5" crop). I also sometimes say in the gallery description if a certain size works best for that gallery. Sorry, I don't know about the stamp.
    Anna Lisa Yoder's Images - http://winsomeworks.com ... Handmade Photo Notecards: http://winsomeworks.etsy.com ... Framed/Matted work: http://anna-lisa-yoder.artistwebsites.com/galleries.html ... Scribbles: http://winsomeworks.blogspot.com
    DayBreak, my Folk Music Group (some free mp3s!) http://daybreakfolk.com
  • pilotdavepilotdave Registered Users Posts: 785 Major grins
    edited April 12, 2010
    LimeLight wrote:
    New to SmugMug. I am loading up my images to an album and I have watermarks on my images. I have two questions for ya. First, when my customers go to check out and they choose an image that requires cropping, will they be the one who is responsible for cropping?

    Second, I am interested in applying like a stamp of my business in the lower right hand corner of all printed photos. Is this something the printing lab can do? Or is this something I will need to add to the photo before uploading? Its a concern to me to apply the stamp before upload because im afraid the customer will crop it off. Or is there a particular crop size that would be best in photoshop prior to uploading?

    Sorry so many questions, just hit a huge stumbling block.
    Thanks.

    Proof Delay will solve all your problems... sort of.

    It lets you fix your customers' crops before prints get shipped and lets you replace the image with a new version... such as with your stamp in the right place. The only problem is SmugMug's severe limitation that you can only replace the image once for a given order... if someone orders two different crops (due to paper size) of the same image, you have to place your stamp in a spot that works for both of them. And the "stamped" version replaces the original in your gallery. If you don't want the stamp showing in the gallery, you need to replace the image again with the original after finalizing the order.

    We should have the option to either replace the original or to just replace it in that particular order.

    Dave
  • Art ScottArt Scott Registered Users Posts: 8,959 Major grins
    edited April 12, 2010
    Q1 - cropping..........I take the guess work out of this and I also keep the vision of the photo as mine and only mine....by only uploading and offering photos of a certain size.......say a 5x4 aspect ratio.....this means they can order all 5x4 sizes from 4x5 to 64x80......as thelargest usually is just under smugmug file size limits...........
    So do the cropping to the aspect ratio you want to sell.

    Q2 - Signatures - have not got all my files done yet but when I sell a file I place a signature on it approx 1.5" from the right side and the right bottom.......this will normally keep any farther cropping from interfering with the signature.......
    Unles the lab is willing to actually do gold fiol stamoing I prefer to sign my photos using a pen and wacom tablet......now that I upgraded my PS i have to remake the signture action ......within the action it places the signature on the photo them I move it around on the layer to where I want it (some photos require different placement then I flatten the layers before saving..........the signature is the very last thing I do......prior to the signature is the upresing in genuine fractals and the sharpening using unsharp mask then I add the signature........that way it loos normal and not sharpened.........I also make the original signature with white font.....then I color it.........I have decided that having 2 signature actions would be better...one in a gold and one in silver, just as if I was actually signing the phtos with a Sanford Prismacolor paint pen (these are acid free paint pens and won't harm the photos)

    Good Luck

    Edit: i forgot that if a lab will gold foil stamp for you then you will have to have made the printing slugs ( a small metal bar , usually al. or lead, with your signature to be stamped from........I did this over 25 yrs ago and the cost was around $75 for 4 slugs.....
    "Genuine Fractals was, is and will always be the best solution for enlarging digital photos." ....Vincent Versace ... ... COPYRIGHT YOUR WORK ONLINE ... ... My Website

Sign In or Register to comment.