Friday, May 27, 2011

Stuff and Processes

Me, pretending to edit so I don't loose you to my wordy words
Gear:

Gear I'm wanting:
- More lenses. I make due with the bare minimum so I would like to increase my versatility. I prefer prime lenses.
- A MacAir. I just mourned the loss of my MacBook and decided to switch it up for a large screen desktop which I love but I have a bunch of out-of-state session scheduled this Summer (huzzzah!) and need a laptop. As it turns out having an iMac and an Air is only a few $100 more than it would have been the replace the MacBook.

Programs:

Services and Outsourcing:
Color correction and Editing- Fotofafa
Gear- B&H
Local printing and gear- Allen's Camera & Pictureline
Off-site backup. Backblaze
If you don't back up your work, your life, your college papers, the photos your husband took when your first baby was in your arms for that first look then, my friends, you are fools. There is no faster way to become a fool than to ask for failure and heartbreak. If you don't backup your life OUTSIDE of your home you are 100% asking for it. I really don't want to hear that you "have two external harddrives" because I'm going to have to come back with something harsh and blunt like this, "That's great but its not enough so don't be a fool, fool."

As I type I write from a new computer. I was not ready for a new machine but the ole logic board completely wore out. Thank goodness the harddrive was intact but folks I just won't take any chances so I use Backblaze. Their storage is unlimited, restoration options are really great, upload times are fast and their service is phenomenal. If you are a Mozy customer you are paying too much, so stop. Backblaze is the only way to go. So go.

My Process
For every two hours I spend with a client I spend about 1.5 editing. That is a lot of time on the computer and if I don't have something that can keep my interest I am doomed to turn that 1.5 hours into 2-4 from all the breaks I have to take. So I do my best to stay interested in something. I am always interested in hearing recommendations for podcasts. Nothing visual please, I just need voices. This American Life has been my favorite for a few years and I have listened to almost every episode from the beginning of the program and I say that without much exaggeration. HERE is a nice little list to get you listening to TAL if you haven't already.

I am really methodical and organized. For me, file organization is everything. I like to back everything up about 10,000 times, name files correctly, add info to metadata and then make the minor adjustments in Lightroom that make my images print ready. I am not a big photoshopper but sometimes head swaps and some clone/heal is necessary so I have CS5 and it works nicely and flawlessly when I need it. I also dig Adobe's Camera Raw program too.

3 comments:

Holly-girl said...

Ashley-I, too, am a huge TAL fan! Another of my very favs is "On Being with Krista Tippett" She's an AMAZING interviewer (think Teri Gross, but better) ... I highly recommend the following interview because I know from your posts that this has been heavy on your mind, too - ENJOY! :-)
http://being.publicradio.org/programs/2011/alive-enough/
So very nice to finally meet you! :-)

Anna Alyse said...

i am a fool. but I promise to change that tomorrow, or maybe on tuesday.

Heidi said...

Hi Ashley, I stumbled upon your blog while looking for pics of pickle pie and got sucked in to your shots. And then I really got sucked into your processes. Would love to talk to you sometime about your processes. Also want to know if we can use your pickle pie shot or an out in Salt Lake mag? Please e-mail me hlarsen at salt lake magazine dot com.