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Mel & Sam’s Leather Craftsmen albums

January 4, 2012

We’re back in the States! We’re currently hanging out in So Cal for a day and then heading up to Nor Cal to visit Chris’ family and for our first 2012 engagement session. While we get our bearings, here’s a post on new Leather Craftsmen albums we’ve been dying to share!

Mel & Sam were married in St. Lucia last July and asked us to design their wedding and parent albums. Of course, I got very excited to show them our Leather Craftsmen sample album! Since they got married on the beach, they opted for sand Euro leather with copper imprinting. The main album is a 10×10 and the parent albums are 8×8. The albums are HUGE; the main album and one parent album are 62 pages each, and the other parent album is 68 pages!

I’ve been in love with designing albums ever since I discovered Photography Concentrate‘s InDesign tutorial. By using InDesign, rather than Photoshop, the process is much faster, less painful, and way more fun! Pairing this method with Album Exposure for proofing, couples get their albums faster (and I get to keep my sanity).

Disclaimer: we did not take the photos in the album, but I did take the photos of the finished product.

On to the goods! I love how clean the sand leather is; the photo inset really pops:

Even though these are the “thin” black pages, they are still thick and sturdy.

My two favorite spreads:

All three albums, which came in a 20-pound (!) package:

As usual, I highly recommend Leather Craftsmen for all your album needs, especially the albums you want to last a long time– like the ones of your wedding!

Tagged: Leather Craftsmen albums

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VSCO Film

November 23, 2011

Posted in products

Chris and I have this ongoing debate about digital vs film. He learned photography on film; I learned on digital. I tend to take a ton of shots; he’s more conservative. We do, however, agreed on one thing…

VSCO Film is AWESOME.

I heard all sorts of buzz about it on Twitter but didn’t really have the time to sit down and take a look, until today (got off early from work, woohoo!). I was telling Chris about it, and when I mentioned Kodak Portra as one of the presets, he perked up and said, “Portra? I love Portra!”

We bought our pack and went nuts comparing. While Chris totally favors Portra, I’m the fence about Portra and Fuji. A friend of a friend had Jose Villa photograph her wedding, so he was the first photographer I looked at when we were planning our wedding (and that’s when I found out how expensive wedding photography could be, omg), and I loved the colors in his photos, specifically the soft glow of the pastels. You get a such different look and feel with digital.

Here’s a prime example of my Portra vs Fuji battle! I like ‘em both!

A few more comparisons between what I usually do and VSCO Film, using photos from Kate & Dave’s wedding, which I second shot with Vida Carson back in September. I specifically used these images because I wanted to see the effects on the trees behind the bride and groom…

The photos on the right are exported straight from Lightroom after using the Film presets, no Photoshop.

I love the more muted green of the Portra in this one:

So Chris and I have the best of both worlds now ;) Yay for compromise, not only in marriage, but in post-processing as well!

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Leather Craftsmen sample album

October 27, 2011

Posted in products

Confession: we never ordered an album of our wedding photos.

To this day, I still regret it. We opted for the disc of images, which does no justice to the memories of our day. If I could tell couples one thing, it would be to get an album as your first family heirloom. You’ve invested so much, planned so much, and you’ll want something to hold…something to pass down to your grandkids.

That being said, it’s hard to invest in something you haven’t seen. So I present our first sample album by the wonderful Leather Craftsmen! (I’m especially excited because we get to keep this one. The first one I made was Mrs. E’s boudoir album, and obviously I had to give that up ;))

Seeing the stamping of our logo on the presentation box always makes me smile, and the velvet bag the album is wrapped in gives me comfort that this book will last.

This is a 26-page, 10×10 3500 series album in Euro Purple leather, with a 2×2 photo inset and silver lettering. YUM.

Don’t be fooled by the fact that it’s “only” 10×10. This is a hefty book, though not overly heavy.

Stamp of approval :)

On to the spreads! I’ll be honest, I used to HATE designing albums. Because I was doing them in Photoshop, which is a major resource hog, my computer would chug along…and eventually freeze and crash. Then I stumbled upon InDesign tutorials by Photography Concentrate, and let me tell you how much of a time saver they are! Rob and Lauren are the masters of time saving tips. I’m glad I discovered their blog early in my business; it’s never too early to have an effective workflow! (Quick rundown: design using InDesign, upload to Album Exposure for client proofing, then once that’s all approved, all the files are sent to Leather Craftsmen through AE. Easy as pie!)

I like clean, simple layouts to let the photos themselves shine. I’m also very much a “less is more” kinda gal.

I don’t know why, but I LOVE the spine imprinting! The name of the font may be called “Modern,” but there’s something timeless about it.

Check out how thick these pages are and the lay-flat spine:

The photos are mounted back-to-back, and the pages are super thick and sturdy. No flimsy pages = no flimsy album.

I want to thank David at Leather Craftsmen– I worked with him back in February when I ordered our first album, and he was so patient with me through both orders, even letting me know that due to the way I designed some spreads, the white space would be uneven. I don’t know many places that would do that, but I’m incredibly grateful that David’s trained eye caught my mistakes– now I have an amazing book to show clients! LC goes above and beyond with their stellar customer service. They are the first album company we’ve used since we started Faye Bernoulli Photography, and I’m fairly certain they will be the ONLY album company we work with!

Tagged: Leather Craftsmen albums

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Kelly Moore B-Hobo

July 2, 2011

Posted in products

Last week, I received my Kelly Moore B-Hobo bag in Walnut! I don’t really like buying things to wear (clothes, shoes, bags, etc) online, so I held off on buying this for a while. What made me finally bite the bullet was SLR Lounge’s review on three different bags and our plan to go to NYC at least once a month. I ~~wanted~~ needed a bag that could hold my camera but still pass as a purse. (I tested it the other day….a friend commented “That’s a really nice bag!” and was completely awestruck when I said it was a camera bag.)

So here it is in all its Walnut glory–

It has two straps, both removable: a long one so you can wear it messenger-bag style, and a shoulder one.

The interior is a nice satin lavender…

…and it has removable pads so you can customize your compartments. Here’s what goes in there and in the pockets on a daily basis, to and from work (the space in the middle is for my 7D with a Sigma 30mm mounted on).

Front and back comparison (and more pockets!). I don’t have much in the back pocket, except a train ticket or token.

Other reviews I read weren’t kidding when they said details weren’t overlooked on Kelly Moore bags. I just love the antique brass finish of the rings and hooks of this bag!

In addition to the flap that goes over the bag to protect your stuff, there is also a zipper for extra protection. I don’t normally use it, but I like that it’s there.

That being said, the only thing I don’t really like about this bag is that it doesn’t mindlessly stand up when you put it down– when I set it down, I have to MAKE SURE that it’s actually standing up. It doesn’t seem to fall completely over, but it tilts enough to make me nervous. Not usually a big deal, but worth mentioning especially if it’s not zipped up, since the flap of the bag is held by a not-too-strong magnetic closure.

I should also point out that it is delivered with its own dust bag, and the shoulder strap and zipper pulls are wrapped. It did come with a strong smell of leather, but I let it sit outside of the dust bag overnight and it was fine.

Aside from those minor details, I love the B-Hobo and it’s so worth the investment! Thank you SLR Lounge for the discount code ;)

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Leather Craftsmen goodies!

February 14, 2011

Posted in boudoir,products

On Friday, I received my very first Leather Craftsmen album in the mail. I was so excited that my hands were shaking as I opened the box…nearly stabbed myself with the scissors!

I had been hearing about the awesomeness of these albums ever since I started becoming serious about our business, and when a client approached me to do a boudoir shoot as a Valentine’s Day present for her husband, I knew LC would be perfect (I was totally going off testimonials…I haven’t even ordered a sample album yet!).

We did this shoot a while back, but she has asked me not to post the photos up on the blog. Instead, you get something just as sexy: photos of the album! ;)

It’s hard not to love a presentation box like this:

I saw my logo on the side and got chills. SO EXCITING!

Mrs. E opted for an 8×8 album (3500 series) in designer mahogany leather. Her husband collects first editions and rare books, so we both thought this was the perfect size and camouflage for his bookshelf. She also decided against imprinting anything on the cover– that way only her husband would know what this particular book is about. It also adds to the mystery when she gives it to him!

The album comes wrapped in a velvet bag– a very nice touch, and between the sturdy box, the velvet bag, and the expert craftsmanship, your album is very well protected and will definitely last generations.

The pages are nice and THICK. They won’t bend or warp, and they have a matte finish.

The last page of the album has our stamp of approval– this album is simply AMAZING.

LC East was very helpful with the entire process. Joe Jr. and David can both tell you that I had a TON of questions…thank you both for being so patient with a newbie! :) I also have to give my love to Album Exposure. With AE, I was able to upload a proof of the album and send it (password protected) to Mrs. E for approval. It saves both you and your client time, since you don’t have to coordinate a time to meet in person or have to do any complicated file transfers. Once your client approves the album, you fill out the order form and everything is submitted directly to LC (AE checks your specs as well). VERY easy and I highly recommend it!

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Holiday cards

December 17, 2010

Posted in products

I’m so happy to present Gina’s family holiday card! A friend of mine, Jenny, recently joined the team at Pretty in Prints, a design company based in our home state of California. I showed Gina the Pretty in Prints website and asked if she needed holiday cards with Sophia‘s picture on them. We decided on the trio of Starbucks photos, and Jenny ran with the idea:

Isn’t this awesome?! I’m so happy at how it turned out. Jenny does amazing work, so when I heard she was hired at Pretty in Prints, I was thrilled.

If you guys need anything designed, give Jenny or Christine a holler! Their work is wonderful and creative, and they are FAST. Each client’s production time will vary depending on what you want, but we received 50 of these babies (complete with envelopes) in less than a week.
Website/Facebook

Tagged: family, holiday cards, kids

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Mind. Blown.

November 29, 2010

Posted in products

The remainder of Thanksgiving weekend was literally the most relaxing, yet boring, few days I’ve ever had in my life. On Friday, I woke up at 5.

5pm, that is.

I’m not sure what it was, but I felt the exhaustion of starting a business hit me like a ton of bricks. Needless to say, I think those 17 hours of sleep were totally needed. :)

By Saturday, I was back in full swing with researching different products, techniques, and tips. One of the products I kept coming across was Kubota’s Magic Sharp. At first glance, I was like, meh, I wouldn’t pay for another sharpening action. I already use TRA‘s Sharpen for Web!

But oooh look, a free trial! Let’s try this out for myself.

Holy moly. Let’s just say that as much as I love TRA actions, Magic Sharp BLEW MY MIND. Seeing before and after pictures on other photographers’ blogs was nothing compared to seeing the transformation before my eyes. I kept hitting cmd + z just so I could see it again (and Chris could see it again, hehe).

Here’s a quick and dirty comparison of SOOC (straight out of camera) and TRA’s Sharpen for Web. Pretty decent, I think.

Here is the final image using Magic Sharp:

I know it’s sorta hard to tell from three images, but the differences are…I can’t even explain without gushing. You’ll just have to take my word (and about every other photographer’s word) on it. ;)

Tagged: Kubota Image Tools, Magic Sharp, Sharpen for Web, Totally Rad Actions

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