I have been invited to do another Photoshop TV episode, so keep an eye out for that coming up in the next few weeks. You can also check out my images from the Wedding Shootout during the pre-conference sessions at the link below. I've got it running as a FLASH file with all the EXIF data accompanying each image. Give it a minute or two to load and ENJOY!

The FLASH file will take about a minute to load, but it's worth it - ENJOY!

Photoshop World Wedding Shootout Images »

PICTage invited me to be at their booth on Tuesday and we had a great time. I got to share the booth with David Jay for the first 30 minutes and my good friend, Denis Reggie for the second 30 minutes. Everyone there really enjoyed the new format - great ideas, great photography, and great fun!

So, you ask, what was the most interesting thing I saw at the show? Well, here it is - tucked way back in one of the convention aisles was a software vendor showing a fascinating piece of software. The booth was Image Trends, and the software was their new Fisheye-Hemi plug-in for Photoshop. I have always been a fan of "fisheye photographs, but sometimes the distortion is a bit much. This plug-in from Image Trends REMOVES the distortion while still preserving the super wide field of view. Download the demo - really cool and at a terrific price.

Image Trends - Fisheye - Hemi Plug-in »

Please give the show a a minute or two to load to load.

Making a "Signature" Brush in Photoshop »

Here is the tip - when I was shooting my Nikon D1X a few years back, I set my contrast down one notch. The result was much closer to what I was getting with film. When I switched to Canon almost 3 years ago, I found the 20D had even more contrast than that of the Nikon D1X. Here are my current settings for the Canon 20D, 30D, and 5D - I set the contrast down 2 notches and the sharpening up one notch for the default "Portrait" settings and save this as "User Parameter1. See the settings accompanying this article. The results are much more pleasing to my tastes. For other camera manufactures, you will want to run your own tests. Give it a try - the result may be better looking images.

2. Give more than expected!! Since our future lies in keeping customers happy, think of ways to elevate us above the competition. Consider these points: § What can we give our customers that they cannot get elsewhere?? § What can we do as follow-up and thank- you to customers, even if they don't buy? § What can we give customers that is totally unexpected?

3. Get regular feedback. Encourage and welcome suggestions on how we can improve. There are several ways that we can find out what customers think and feel about our services. § Listen carefully to what they say. § Check back regularly to see how they are doing. § Provide a method that invites constructive criticism, comments and suggestions.