I’m often asked “What’s the difference between the prints I get from my one-hour or online lab and the professionally made portraits from our studio and why do professional portraits cost more?”

You’ll find printing machines in drug stores, discount shops like Wal-Mart and Walgreens, even many online sources like snapfish, but there are big differences between them and the professional photo finishing labs.

1. The portraits you receive from Imbeault go through many different steps before it’s printed. First we spend hours in preparation and post-production services for your final portraits. The raw images are edited, color corrected, defogged, retouched and digitally mastered to perfection.

Before and After our post production~

2. It’s not the same paper: There are two main types of archival paper categories, the professional and the consumer types. The professional papers have twice the silver content, giving them a deeper and richer look when you print a high quality file on them.  Also, the consumer papers have more contrast and tend to be glossy instead of the fine lustre finish of professional paper.

3. It’s not the same software and printer driver: In order to run the professional papers, a lab needs to move up to the premium software that drives the Frontier, or your labs’ Kodak printer.  On the Fuji side, it’s a $47,000 upgrade to the pro version of the “PIC” software that is the color and “rezzing up” brains of the Frontier. There are a few major differences but if we cut to the chase we discover that the consumer level PIC printer driver is designed to take crappy files and make them better by changing color and exposure values, reducing red-eye on the fly and trying to make skin tones look “most pleasant.” These are great for snapshots but will inadvertently shift color carefully set by the pros.  The PIC Pro version will take good files and make them great.  It spends all its energy interpreting the sRGB input and making it smooth and rich and it does a stupendous job in rezzing up files into really great prints onto professional paper.

The January issue highlights 2010’s best bridal trends, while giving brides an interactive guide for wedding shopping. With URLs featured alongside every product and as the first bridal publication to use  Microsoft Tag, Get Married magazine enables brides to instantly shop and explore its vast selection of stylish wedding products. In an effort to streamline brides’ shopping experience, nearly 80 percent of the magazine products are available in its online wedding shop (shop.getmarried.com), including free samples of wedding invitations.

“Get Married magazine keeps it real for brides. With an all-things-possible attitude and a down-to-earth point of view, the magazine showcases a diverse selection of unique ‘real bride’ stories while offering accessibility to its trendy and affordable wedding product assortment,” said Stacie Francombe, CEO and founder of Get Married Media. “We not only offer brides the latest bridal trends, we let them know exactly where to buy the very things that inspire them.”

In addition to gorgeous real brides’ weddings, the January issue of Get Married magazine showcases celebrity brides and star wedding experts who offer insight into what’s hot in bridal fashion, designs and food:

• Celebrity brides Khloe Kardashian and Melissa Rycroft discuss the latest trends and what’s hot in bridal
• Monique Lhullier, wedding dress and décor designer, talks about details behind her design process
• Wolfgang Puck, world-renowned chef, shares the wedding catering trends for 2010
• Sylvia Weinstock, wedding cake guru, offers a twist on the traditional wedding cake
• Celebrity wedding and event designer Marcy Blum offers tips on rehearsal dinner toasts

Continuing in Get Married magazine’s tradition of being the only magazine to use real, celebrity wedding designers on the cover, the current issue includes an enchanting tablescape design by Tony Conway, wedding planner and owner of A Legendary Event. Conway, who designed the Precious premiere party for Tyler Perry and Oprah and has worked with Sir Elton John and Jane Fonda, was given a box of products and only four days to put together the ethereal cover design. International photo mastermind Alex Martinez shot the cover.

Where to find Get Married magazine

• On newsstands in select locations: Barnes & Noble, Borders, Waldenbooks, Book World, Hasting, Books-A-Million, additional independent bookstores
• Free first issue: Brides can receive a single issue of Get Married magazine FREE by signing up online for this special one-time offer at www.getmarried.com/register/
• Free online flipper: For this current issue, the free online flipper provides brides an interactive experience by hyperlinking all product features to a site of purchase (www.getmarried.com/magazine)
• Annual subscriptions (4 issues): Available for $14.96 (www.getmarried.com/magazine)

Additional inspirations that brides will see in the new issue of Get Married magazine include: a runway bridal fashion report, budget-savvy favors and gifts, groomsman and bridesmaid gifts, registry ideas, a deconstruction of DIY projects, super-cool save-the-dates and wedding invitations, destination hotspots, enter-to-win giveaways, local resources of wedding vendors, selection of best-loved wedding blogs, and more.

Get Married’s national wedding program is looking for passionate brides to appear on its television show.  Throughout the half-hour program which airs every Saturday at 9:30am ET/PT on WE tv, host Stacie Francombe—Get Married’s CEO and founder—helps brides identify and match their personality with their unique bridal style.  Brides are guided through an array of bridal experiences and participate in inspiring challenges with wedding professionals and experts. 

Interested brides-to-be are encouraged to apply by visiting www.getmarried.com/omg where additional details are posted.  Brides across the country could be saying “OMG! I’m going to be on TV!”
“Get Married’s show is all about the bride. By incorporating real brides in every episode we make a connection with our audience, showing them that every wedding element is attainable regardless of your style,” said Stacie Francombe, CEO and founder of Get Married Media. “Get Married’s show helps brides create the ultimate wedding that reflects their unique and personal style.”
Get Married’s television show on WE tv, a women-centric network dedicated to the wedding genre, is among an audience of brides seeking bright, innovative ideas and inspirations.  Available in nearly 74 million homes, WE tv is the premier source for women looking to satisfy their curiosity with fascinating, original stories and entertaining content.  The series will also simulcast to an additional three million on Wedding Central, a 24/7 multiplatform, interactive programming service devoted to weddings, dating and romance.  

Closely integrated with the TV show and Get Married magazine, the online portal at http://wedding.getmarried.com/ offers brides an interactive experience, including a wedding shop that sells wedding invitations, wedding favors, accessories and products as seen in the magazine, as well as a wedding blog (bloggerbrides.com), video segments from the show, articles, image galleries and wedding planning tools.

It’s been crazy busy so I figured I would share a few recent senior portraits.

click on image for larger view

Find more information about our Senior Portraits here.