Happy Birthday to Ellie and Jenna!

Today you turn 10 years old. WOW. No more single digits.  10 years ago this morning, with my stomach protruding more than you can imagine, I drove myself to the hospital thinking you’d be in this world in a few weeks. A short time later I was informed that 12/19 was the day, and a c-section would happen right away.  Your dad left a meeting and rushed to the hospital. Other relatives followed.

After some tugging and pulling, I heard you, Ellie, screaming at the top of your lungs.  Though you were born at 35 1/2 weeks, there was no doubt your lungs were fully developed.  Moments later, more crying.  This time, it was you Jenna, with a completely different sounding cry.  Your first cries were the most beautiful sounds I had ever heard.

I was so happy that day, and 10 years later am so proud of both of you.  Each of you bring so much joy, laughter and smiles to me and everyone you encounter.  Ellie, you are kind, smart, creative, artistic, and helpful.  Jenna, you are so witty, funny, loving, clever, and giving.  You have “hearts of gold” – and I am so lucky to have you as my children.

For something fun for you, as well as my blog readers, I wanted to share some of the technology that was in our home when you were born, 10 years ago on December 19th, 2001.

• Our computer was connected to the Internet for dial-up.  We had a separate phone line just to get online.
• Dad and I shared a computer at home.  Imagine that now.  We did have separate email through AOL.com.
• We had a fax machine hooked up in our home office. Do you even know what that is?
• We watched movies on a VCR.  We didn’t get a DVD player until soon after you were born.
• HDTV was something we had seen in California on vacation a few years before, but we wouldn’t get it at home for a few more years.
• We didn’t have Digital Cable, so no On Demand movies or DVR.
• We listened to music on CDs.  There were no iPods yet.
• You couldn’t get email on cell phones.  There were Blackberries, but they didn’t have phones in them yet.
• Most cell phones did not have cameras.
• There was no such thing as sending a text message.
• We had no idea what “Social Media” could possibly mean.
• There was no YouTube. If we tried to watch a video online, it would probably crash the computer.
• Photoshop 7 was the latest way to edit pictures.
• The word “blog” did not exist.
• I photographed you with a film point and shoot for the first year of your life.
• And no MCP Actions either.

I hope you enjoyed reading what it was like before you were born.

Ellie and Jenna, you inspire me, motivate me and are everything to me. Always remember how much I love you.

XOXO,

Your Mommy

To the readers of this blog, think back ten years.  What has changed in your world?  Join me in wishing Ellie and Jenna a happy birthday by sharing interesting things you have seen happen since the day they were born.

Holiday Gifts Ideas for Photographers for $50 or Less: Shopper’s Guide

Christmas and Hanukkah are almost here. We want to help you find perfect, affordable gifts for the photographers in your life. You may not be able to get them a Canon 5D MKII or a sought after professional series L Lens but we have creative, budget holiday gift ideas for photographers. If you are a photographer, make sure to “share” a link to this post with someone looking to buy you a gift.

You can also check out our 2010 Photographer’s Holiday Gift Guide, full of 20 more great ideas.

Canon or Nikon Shot Glasses. Use these fun containers for everything from desk organizers (to hold toothpicks, paperclips and more) to small flower pots. Of course if photography or photo editing stresses you out, you can fill them with an energy drink or other liquids. Get 3 shot glasses and use them however you please. Looking for a larger container?  Try the Canon or Nikon Lens Mugs featured in last year’s guide.

Camera Cookie Cutters: This gift is perfect for the photographer with two favorite hobbies, photography and baking. These fun vintage camera cookie cutters can be given as a present or if you like to bake, and your photographer friend does not, buy them for yourself and make them cookies.

iPad Compact Flash and SD Card Readers: Super practical. A great present for anyone who owns an iPad and a camera. These card readers give photographers a quick way to get photos onto their iPads in seconds.

SLR Camera Piggy Bank: Start saving your pennies. I love having this replica camera on my desk.  Any time I have loose change, I can throw it into the “camera” bank.  While it may be impossible to save up enough for a new camera, you may be able to fund some camera accessories just with the coins you deposit in time.

Bokeh Kit:  This is the ultimate fun toy for a photographer.  Turn your bokeh into shapes. This kit makes it easy but we also have an almost free solution with our Do It Yourself shaped bokeh tutorial.

Camera Charm by Fossil: For the charm collecting photographer…

Chalkboard Speech Bubble: What a silly, expressive prop. So many ways to use it to add life to your photos and snapshots.

Macro Lens for Camera Photos (such as iPhone and Droids): If you have ever tried to focus closeup with an iPhone, you know it is difficult if not impossible.  This little rubber band gadget allows you to get super close in and capture a photo, all while on your camera phone. Small and easy to carry, it is a must have for macro camera phone photography.

Metal Photographer Parking Only Sign: This speaks for itself. Great item to hang in the garage or on a wall – a true discussion piece.

Camera Key Chain: Makes a shutter noise too – the perfect stocking stuffer for less than $5.00.  Also see the Vintage Camera Key Fob.

Rainsleeve: This item may be less than $10 but it could be worth thousands to the photographer in your life. If it starts to rain, you need something to protect your gear. And though it looks rather silly, it accomplishes the job.  It is available with and without the extra plastic to cover your flash.

Vintage Cameras: For the collector, look for vintage cameras on eBay, Etsy, and at antique stores and garage sales. You may find some in working condition, but even if they do not work, they make cool props and look great in a photography studio too.

MCP Actions e-Gift Cards: Want the perfect, paperless gift? How about giving some Photoshop actions, Lightroom Presets, or Photoshop online training to a photographer this holiday season? Since you may not know exactly what is on their wish lists, an e-Gift Card is perfect! Available in $25, $50 and more… (cannot mention those other denominations since the title is $50 or less…)

And lastly … this one does not cost you anything! The FREE Facebook Fix Photoshop actions. Make your photos look better on Facebook and the web.

For more great gift ideas for photographers, visit:

The Photojojo Store

Adorama Camera

Amazon

Today’s message to photographers: “Make sure you get in photos with your family.”

As a photographer, I prefer being behind the camera than in front of it. I often decline getting in photos with my kids.

Why? Well, for me, I always think… “once I lose weight or look better, then I will get in photos.” Well I am 40, and I am not getting thinner (one can dream) or younger. And it is selfish of me not to get in photos and snapshots. If something happened to me, my kids would want to look in albums to remember me, see me on vacations, and see me at their important events.

It does not mean I need to get in hundreds of images, nor do they need to be portraits.  But I need to get in more snapshots.

So I propose this: In 2012, I will make sure to get in more photos with and for my family. I will not worry if I have a few extra inches on my body or my makeup is not perfect. I will stop worrying about the photo someone takes of me having excellent composition, perfect lighting, or even having tack sharp focus. I am not doing this for me – I will do it for my children, my husband, my parents and all others who love me unconditionally.  My children love me no matter what. They do not judge or care what I look like in a picture. They only care that there’s a photo to begin with.

What sparked this post…

A mom of a kid in my daughter’s class sent me this photo below from Halloween and I thought – wow – I need to save and print this picture. It is one of the few from 2011 taken of me with one of my daughters. This was already on my mind from the summer.  My twins went to overnight camp and wanted to bring a current photo of both them and me. We could not locate anything recent.  I cannot let that happen again.

If you want to make this same commitment for 2012, leave a comment on this post.

4o years ago today, I was born at 5:11 AM in a New York City hospital. I probably was thinking “why am in this bizarre metal thing? Is someone about to eat me?”  This photo from my first hours of life shows my personality perfectly -  I look so curious. From the day I was born, I have always had a lot of questions.

It seems like yesterday when I was 16 and my mom and dad turned 40.  I wondered “what would life be like when I reached that age?” I couldn’t have predicted all the blessings and experiences I would have in my life, especially my twins (Ellie and Jenna), my husband (Matt) and my business (MCP Actions).

Today is the day – I’m 40.

While Ellie referred to it as “middle age” and popular culture refers to it as “over the hill,” I prefer to think of my birthday as “being alive.”  Technology and science are advancing but there is still no way to stop aging.  And truly, I wouldn’t want to.  I imagine if we could stop the process, our lives might be a lot like the movie Groundhog Day. Life would be boring in one particular stage forever

Progression, achieving goals, moving from one thing to the next, growing, expanding our networks, friends and families…. that is why we live.  So I embrace aging, wrinkles, wisdom, and all.

My last thought, since this is a photography blog after all: “Take lots of pictures. Capture more than just portraits. Take snapshots and document moments as life happens!”

I thank all of you for being a part of my celebration and life!

Jodi
Owner, MCP Actions

In the battle for the top spot in today’s photo editing marketplace, there are two clear winners: Photoshop and Lightroom.  We surveyed MCP Facebook Fans to hear why they love and prefer one over the other.  Read the arguments and decide which best fits your workflow, editing needs, and post-processing goals. To see hundreds of reasons you can visit our Facebook Page and see why people prefer Photoshop and why others prefer Lightroom.

Photoshop:

1. You can use MCP’s Photoshop actions.
2. You can use MCP Presets in the RAW editor – ACR.
3. The program can do almost anything.
4. It is more comprehensive than other editing software.
5. It has layers for more control.
6. You can mix and match actions and layers.
7. You can selectively edit using masks.
8. You can batch edit.
9. It comes with ACR and Photoshop, plus Bridge.
10. You have more control in Photoshop than with any other editing program.
11. It is great for both photography and graphic design.
12. It’s the best program for digital retouching.
13. Ideal for correcting skin tones to perfection.
14. There is lots of training tools available for Photoshop.
15. You can use blending modes.
16. You can control the opacity of each edit, action, layer and change made.
17. It can be used for more than just photography – for things like scrapbooking and design.

Lightroom:

1. You can use MCP’s Quick Clicks Collection Lightroom Presets.
2. It’s intuitive from the second you open it and is easier to use than “other” editing software.
3. It does not have layers – less to learn.
4. It lacks masking, but has a nifty adjustment brush.
5. You can sync files for super fast editing.
6. You can preview your changes in real time – watch your edits before applying them.
7. You never damage your original files.
8. You do not have to click save.
9. You can use one program for RAW and JPG edits.
10. It is like Bridge on steroids.
11. You can edit faster in Lightroom than any other editing program.
12. It has incredible organizational tools.
13. It is built for speed!
14. You can prep for web, build slideshows, and get ready for printing in just a few clicks.
15. White balance and exposure take seconds to fix on RAW images.
16. The program works super fast – no waiting for photos to process.

In conclusion, if you feel the need for control over every aspect of your image and like being able to edit your work and make graphics, text, etc – Photoshop is your winner!  If you prefer a fast, efficient workflow where you can organize and edit hundreds of photos in record time, Lightroom is the best choice for you.  If you are like me, and want the best of both programs, you can opt for a workflow that integrates Lightroom for organization and basic editing and Photoshop for specialty work and detailed retouching.  We hope this helped you decide what works best for you. Add comments below and tell us which you like best.

The word paparazzi sends dreaded chills down the backs of celebrities.  Paparazzi photographers invade the lives of well-known people and expose their every day lifestyle and rituals.  When you look on a gossip style website or magazine or the tabloids, you may enjoy seeing your favorite star up close.  You may think “that is the price of fame.”  Or you may feel it is invasion of privacy, something everyone deserves at their own home, eating a meal, shopping, or in their personal time.

I never thought much about it until my husband said, “check out these websites.” As instructed, I looked up “Miley Cyrus Orchard Lake” on Google and dozens or articles appeared.  At first I had no idea why he wanted me to see these bikini clad pictures of Miley.  My kids no longer are into “Hannah Montana” or “Miley Cyrus.” Though Orchard Lake is five minutes from my house, I still was unsure of his point. As I looked at Celebuzz, Memi Support, Celebrity Gossip, and many more websites, I thought “a boat, a jet ski, Miley in a bikini, and a boyfriend, so what.” I am guessing these same images are also in print magazines and tabloids.

Then my husband explained, “those pictures were taken at our friend’s backyard.” Miley is friends with one of our friends and was on her boat, jet ski, and raft this past summer. But these pictures were not snapshots that they took of each other having fun.  Photographers took these photos without their permission and without them even knowing!

Once I heard this, I was freaked out.  What a violation.  What an invasion of privacy.  I cannot imagine if pictures of me were blasted everywhere while I was enjoying a day at the lake. Of course Miley Cyrus is used to it, but it does not make it right.

What can we learn from the paparazzi?

At first you may think, “who would look to the paparazzi to learn about photography?” But there are many lessons that can help us grow. We can build stronger photography businesses from observing this style of photography.

Learn from what they do well:

• Persevere: Get the picture you want. If you have something you want to photograph, go for it!
• Lifestyle: Get photos of people in their element doing the things they love. When you capture these every day moments alongside posed pictures and portraits, you will broaden your offerings and appeal to a wider range of clientele. A mix of these images can also increase sales, especially of collages and storyboards, as well as albums.
• Stand back: Use a longer telephoto lens to capture shots at a distance.  This works especially well with siblings and families.  You can capture them interacting in ways they may not if you are in their faces.

Learn from what they do not do well:

• Ask permission: As you know, the paparazzi rarely asks if they can take photos.  Celebrities often do not know the photographers are even there.  Learn from this.  Ask before you snap a shot of a stranger or on private property.  If you get the correct permission, you will not need to worry later.  Also, get model releases on everyone you photograph to protect yourself and your business.
• Interact: While it can be good to stand back from your subject(s) at times, it is also important to get in closer.  Photographers have more control over poses, the look of the session, and the mood when they are interacting with their customer(s).
• Get pictures people want: Clearly the photos that end up in the media are not the ones most of these star would want for their photo albums, frames or walls. Aim to not only satisfy your artistic side but the desires of your customers. Satisfied clients will spend more than unsatisfied ones.

How to Edit 500 Pictures in 4 Hours: My Lightroom & Photoshop Workflow

When I get back from a family vacation, I have piles of laundry and cards full of pictures all vying for my attention. Since we need clean clothing, laundry often wins.  But once the clothes are cleaned and neatly put away in our closets, the real fun begins – organizing and editing photos from the trip.

After our recent vacation on the cruise ship Allure of the Seas, which took us to the Eastern Caribbean, I went through the same process with my photos as I do after ever vacation.  I always get asked questions on how I get through such large amounts of photos in a timely fashion. Here’s how!

Below I will explain step-by-step how I take 500+ photos off my cameras and in 4-5 hours have them uploaded to Flickr, Facebook and/or my personal Smugmug account.

1. Take CF card out of Canon 5D MKII – attach it to the card reader for my Mac Pro.


2. Import photos into Lightroom 3, organized by date and keyword coded for the specific trip.

3. Take SD card out of Canon G11 point and shoot camera – attach it to the card reader for my Mac Pro.

4. Import photos into Lightroom 3, organized by date and keyword coded for the specific trip.

5. In the Library Module, I do a process of elimination round – I go through every photo, spending 3-5 seconds on each, and decide if I want to keep it.  If I like it, I press the P key (which is the shortcut for setting a PICK), if I do not want to keep it I click the X key (which is the shortcut key for REJECT). From our most recent vacation, I narrowed from 500 down to 330. IMPORTANT: I have the Cap Locks key on. In doing so, it skips ahead to the next photo each time I click the “P” or “X” key.

6. Once I have eliminated rejects I take them out of the catalog. Go under PHOTO – DELETE REJECTED PHOTOS. Then you get this dialog box. You can choose to Delete from Disk which permanently removes them from your computer or Remove which takes them out of this catalog.

7. Now it is quick editing time.  I don’t usually do full edits in Lightroom since I use actions once in Photoshop. I switch to the Develop Module and work on one photo from each new lighting situation and environment. I adjust the exposure and white balance if needed. If the photo was at a high ISO, I use the noise reduction. I also let it detect my lens using the Lens Correction algorithm. After editing one image, I sync all other similar images, then move to the next one, adjust, then sync. I repeat this until I get through all the photos.

8. Now I export them so I can work in Photoshop CS5.  My process may make some cringe.  If it does, close your eyes.  I do not do the round trip from Lightroom to Photoshop and back to Lightroom. I see value in that however, I just want speed and am not concerned with indexed layered Raw files for vacation and family images.  I firmly believe that neither way is right or wrong – it is situational. Here is what I do. I go to FILE – EXPORT. it brings up the dialog box below. I pick what folder I want them exporting into, I label the subfolder, and I set to 300ppi. I then choose sRGB, JPEG, Quality 100.  You will need to decide if you prefer aRGB or another color space and if you prefer TIFF, JPG, PSD, DNG, etc. The lab I use prints in sRGB, so once in Photoshop I like to be in this color space.  As for file formats, it depends what I am doing, but for most editing, I start with a jpg, and save to other formats, like PSD if I need the layered files for future use.

9. Do you ever love something so much that you wish you were the one who came up with it?  That is how I feel about the product I use in the next step of my editing: AUTOLOADER. No joke, I cannot imagine editing without it. Now that I have you curious, I’ll explain. Autoloader is a Photoshop script. Once you set it up for a specific group of photos, which tells it where to save the photos and what action you want run, it does all the work… ok – most of the work anyway. Imagine this: you press the F5 key. Your first photo pulls up. An action that does everything you possibly wanted done on the photo runs, then it stays open with layers in tact for tweaking, masking or any opacity changes. Once you move a few sliders and make sure the photo is perfect, you click F5 again. The photo saves without you having to do a thing.  The next photo opens. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. It keeps doing this until all your photos are edited, even if you need to close Photoshop and come back another day.  It even remembers where you left off.

The SECRET to my fast editing is a combination of AUTOLOADER and my BIG BATCH ACTION This is how I tackle 300+ pictures in record time.

I do one-on-one sessions where I work with photographers on creating their Big Batch Action, since this action is very individual specific. If you are interested, please contact me for more details after reading about it on the MCP Website. If you want to make your own big batch action, you would carefully stack and layer actions.  You would need to take out stops and remember to look for one action having layers that might cover another up. It can be tricky, but if you’re strong in Photoshop, you may be able to do this on your own. No matter what, always make duplicates of the actions before attempting this.

10. Remember at the beginning I mentioned getting them ready and uploaded online? Next step, batch all my photos with an action that adds my frame and logo. Using Photoshop’s image processor, in a few minutes I run every photo through an action I made that resizes and adds my logo in the corner. Then I upload to whatever websites or blogs I desire and I am done.

This is the 1,000th post on the MCP Blog!

That’s a lot of words…  And a lot of information. So many times I get asked to do posts on topics that have already been covered.  While I do occasionally discuss certain things more than once, there is a wealth of knowledge from myself as well as guest writers from the past 1,000 posts.  I hope you will take a few minutes, or hours, over the next few days and find the topics and posts that really taught you something – those must read articles – and things that have impacted how you shoot and/or edit your photography.

To celebrate and encourage you to look through the site more, I have a fun contest for everyone.

THE PRIZES:

• One lucky winner will get the OnOne Software Perfect Photo Suite – a $500 retail value (anyone can download the trial version from their site for a free DEMO) – lots of fun plug-ins and goodies. The winner will need to download the product from their site and I will provide the unused activation key for you from OnOne. Please check their site for details on compatibility. The box says it works in Photoshop CS3-CS4 and CS5 and Elements 8 and 9. Some, but not all, of the software will also work in Lightroom 2 and 3 or Aperture 2.1 and 3.
• A second lucky winner will win $100 credit toward Photoshop actions at the MCP Store. Must be redeemed on Friday, April 1st, 2011 (NO Joke!)

THE DETAILS {How to Enter}: Locate your favorite post or series of articles ever written on the MCP Blog. You may need the help of the {search tool} on the top left to find them. Then share the link as explained below – and add a comment in this post telling us where you did each.

• 1st entry (required) – Write a short blog post that describes and links to your favorite article or series of tutorials/articles on the MCP blog. Then come back and share which post you picked along with a link to the blog post you wrote.
• Additional entries (optional) – Find your favorite MCP Blog article(s). Grab the direct link from your browser, shorten if needed, and share on a social networking site such as your Facebook business page, Twitter, Stumble Upon, Digg, etc. Each unique place you share, and each unique article counts as an additional entry.  You must first participate in entry #1 to qualify.  You may enter using various past articles or sharing on unique social media sites up to 10 times – so 11 chances to win. Add a comment for each.

DEADLINE TO ENTER:

Enter by 8pm eastern Thursday. Winners will be announced Thursday evening on the blog so don’t delay. Due to upcoming travel, all winners must contact me at jodi@mcpactions.com by Friday at 6pm eastern time to redeem their prizes. Any prizes that are unclaimed will be used in future contests.

Should You Mix Personal and Business on Your Blog and Facebook?

When you write a Blog post or Facebook status update about your personal life on your business sites, it sends a message.  Is it the one you want to be sending?

Only you can answer that question. In yesterday’s MCP Actions blog post, titled The Ten Biggest Website Mistakes by Photographers, the guest writer listed number ten as, “When looking at other photographer’s blogs, one of the things that turns me off as a reader is too much personal blogging mixed in with their professional work.”  I agreed completely with her other nine points and I published the article in full. But I disagree with number ten. I do mix business and personal on both my blog and Facebook.

Last night, hours after this blog post, it struck me like a lightening bolt. I was at the orthodontist office, and was intrigued by the soft-serve ice cream machine, wall of televisions set up with wii games, and the potential cost of braces for my nine year old twins.  I picked up my iPhone and I posted the thoughts to my Facebook page. Having reached the friend limit in 2009, I find that many online friends only have the option to follow my business page, so I post most updates there.

Later, as I looked on my Facebook wall, my jaw dropped. My decision to post a status update about “braces” was under attack by a few Facebook fans. One photographer wrote, “I’m confused, is this MCP Actions a business or a personal Facebook account?” and another replied, “I’m confused too Ted – perhaps she put this on the wrong Facebook page – god knows what children’s’ braces has to do with actions!”

To answer the two comments above, “yes, it was on the correct page and yes it is my business account.  You did not misread and it was not an error.” I am about more than just “actions.”  I have a family, husband, hobbies, etc.  I occasionally mention a TV show I love, like Dexter, or that I am at a sporting event, like the Detroit Tigers. I sometimes ask about a product I am interested in, such as “Just Dance for Wii” got more than 100 comments a few days ago.  People love interacting, communicating, and feeling like that can contribute or give back. Based on sheer number of replies, off topic conversations usually are the most popular ones on my Facebook Wall.

One lesson I have learned since 2006, when I started MCP Actions, is that “you cannot be everything to everyone.” You need to run your business how it works best for you!

My decision on mixing personal with business…

This was a question I struggled with years ago. I surveyed my readers, asking if they wanted to occasionally see images from my vacations or hear stories about my kids. Most wanted to know what was going on in my life, and expressed how “real” it made me, but a small minority did not. Since you cannot please everyone, and because I did want to share, I made a conscience decision from that point to share some personal observations, images and thoughts on my social networking outlets.

I admit yesterday’s “dental debacle” stung for a moment, as I am human. It was inspiring to see how the other 60-something posters wrote interesting comments or how some even defended my status update. I loved seeing the “likes” pile up on people who supported me.

So should you mix personal and business on your photography site?

Ultimately you need to decide how much of your blog or business Facebook wall will contain personal images and thoughts. Take into consideration your audience, your desire for privacy, your personality, and your need to connect with others at a personal level. Take into consideration that some may buy solely on price, most people buy from people they like. There is a fine line between sharing too much and too little. Having seen this post on Facebook yesterday, you can see this line is different for everyone. Decide what works for you and stand strong! Take ownership of your website, blog and Facebook page and create your vision. No matter what choice you make, it can have repercussions.

Be responsible…

If you decide to mix personal and professional on the same social networking platform, remember there are some things that don’t represent you well. For example, writing about how you got hammered this weekend  is clearly a poor choice. Posting updates about illegal, immoral or ultra political opinions can reflect badly on your brand and image. Think before you type. Might people find it of interest?  Could people be offended by it? Will it represent you well?

What this means for MCP Fans…

In conclusion, some photographers “like” MCP Actions on Facebook so they can download free Photoshop actions, while others want quick access to my blog posts. Many want to learn photography or Photoshop tips and others come so they can get to know me better.  As of today 47,000 people “like” MCP Actions on Facebook. I hope most of my followers enjoy the variety on my wall, from a post about Photoshop to a post about a lens buying decision, to a place I am traveling. For those few who do not like that I come as a package, mixed with business and personal, I apologize that I am not the right fit for you.  I promise not to take it personally if you chose to “unlike” me or stop reading my blog.

Share your thoughts…

What do you think? How do you conduct your business?  Do you prefer business sites that are more personal or completely focused on professional materials?

Facebook NOW allows High Res Downloads: Protect Yourself!

Facebook is a goldmine of social networking for photographers. When used efficiently, Facebook can have an enormous impact on the growth and success of your photography business.  Facebook is a great resource for marketing, learning, and inspiration. It allows photographers from all over the world to connect and share.

For all its upsides, one downside is lack of control. When you publish information on your own website or blog, your control the content and appearance.  When you use a social networking platform, such as Facebook, you are powerless as they make changes to the interface, functionality, or terms of use.  For example, Facebook had a “Suggest to Friends” area. People designed profile images that depended on it, with bold arrows saying “If you like our page, please suggest it to your friends.” And then, one day, “poof.” It disappeared.

Facebook constantly changes the dimensions for apps, and when they went from 760px wide to 720 pixel wide last year, it literally messed up the appearance of custom Facebook Pages. While I assume they consult with advisers before making big changes, I am clearly not one of them.  Facebook causes frustration to the masses as they implement new changes. It seems they try to fix things that were not broken to begin with.

One of the latest changes, with a HUGE impact on photographers, is the ability to download high-resolution images. For non-photographers, this is a great feature. After a party, users can share their high-res point and shoot images with relatives and friends.  Great tool, right?  For a professional photographer, this is a disaster.  When you upload your images for a sneak peek, you want customers sharing them online with friends.  Typically, you do not want them to download and print from this version. There is a way to stop it!

People can only download what is uploaded. If you upload re-sized images, and your customer excitedly selects “download in high-resolution,” they still only have the file you placed on Facebook.  A 600×900 pixel wide image at 72ppi, it is low-resolution. Facebook does not have the ability to make that a true high-res image. Also, when sharing images online, add a watermark to further protect them.

While this does mean more work for photographers, MCP Actions has an easy solution. Just visit us on Facebook and go to the “Free Actions” tab. We have a series of Free Photoshop actions for photographers who use Photoshop or Elements (PSE). This set includes resizing, sharpening, and watermarking tools.  Plus it has a side-by-side diptic layout and a top and bottom layout, perfect for sharing two images, or showing off your before and after images edited with MCP’s other Photoshop actions. I would appreciate you sharing this blog post with all of your photographer friends on Facebook and on photo forums, so that they protect themselves from the “high-res” situation.

*** I may just be psychic….  Hours after writing the above article, Facebook rolled out a new layout.  Tabs are no longer located at the top of the screen – they are under the profile picture.  The profile is smaller now, instead of 200x600px, it is 180x540px.  The good news is that it remains the same aspect ratio.  You now can comment on pages with your page name, but your feeds and wall are not organized by most recent posts.  Basically what you knew as Facebook has changed…  Literally right after I posted the article above…