Posted by Cory Grassell on Wed, Jul 29, 2009 @ 08:33 PM
One of the most common items I see in homes and offices today are
custom photo calendars that capture memories of summer months. This is an excellent way to relive favorite summer memories when the winter months keep you indoors and dreaming of fun in the sun. Apollo is a leading provider of affordable photo calendars. Choose from 12- or 18-month calendars. Our press-printed, spiral-bound calendars also come in two different sizes and can be customized with a variety of styles and designs.
Professional photographers will find value in offering calendars as part of photo packages. Or photographers can assemble a sampling of their best images to show potential clients. Photo calendars also serve as complimentary giveaways for completed orders, particularly around the holidays. It's a way to expose work on bulletin boards, in cubicles and in high-traffic areas such as lunchrooms and reception areas. Photo calendars from Apollo can also be personalized with text and logos; include your studio name or add custom messages to individual dates.
The next time you're thinking of creative ways to expose your photography, custom design a photo calendar from Apollo.
-Cory Grassell
Marketing & SEO Specialist
Posted by Cory Grassell on Tue, Jul 28, 2009 @ 08:32 PM
Milwaukee:
- Brady Street: Many little shops, creative culture, night life, block parties, lights and old cream-style buildings make this an attractive neighborhood.
- North Avenue: This popular destination is similar to Brady Street with its night life, block parties and lights.
- Historic Third Ward: This historic area is famous for its many cream-style buildings, sculptures by Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, Milwaukee Public Market, river decks overlooking the Milwaukee River, old warehouses, many little shops and eateries, and small micro breweries.
- Milwaukee Performing Arts Center: Lights change at night, illuminating this building in many different colors.
- Art Museum: No matter where you take a photo here, you are guaranteed a pleasing image.
- 6th Street Bridge: At night when it is lit up, this bridge is the perfect place to capture a photo. The pylons are 142 feet high and cable-stay structures exceed 650 feet, making the bridge one of Milwaukee's most photographed spots.
Hartford:
- Holy Hill: About 30 minutes outside of Milwaukee is home to 435 acres of peace and beauty. The Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary is an astonishing structure that attracts thousands of visitors yearly.
Eagle:
- Paradise Springs: Located in Kettle Moraine State Forest, Paradise Springs is a kept secret among fly fishermen looking to snag trout. There are many remains of once-standing buildings, as well as walking trails with an abudance of wildlife.
Door County:
- Door County: No matter where you go in Door County, you will be sure to capture great photographs. Whether trees changing colors in the midst of autumn, a snow-covered cottage, a lighthouse on a spring evening or the coastline of Lake Michigan, Door County reveals all four seasons Wisconsin has to offer.
Dane County:
- Madison: The capitol building in Madison draws many photographers. Dane County is also home of Wisconsin's largest university: University of Wisconsin. State Street, located on the university campus, attracts many college students for its night life and eateries. As you travel up State Street, you will be led directly to the capitol building. There is also a vast amount of farmland in Dane County. Located in southern Wisconsin and almost smack dab in the middle of the state, Dane County attracts photographers for its rural countryside landscape, which is filled with little farm houses and cow-grazing pastures. After all, Wisconsin is considered America's Dairyland.
There are many astonishing places in Wisconsin to shoot photography. While this is just a small list, we encourage you to leave a comment about other places that are excellent for photography.
Posted by TJ Dinsmoor on Mon, Jul 27, 2009 @ 08:31 PM
Noise Reduction
One of the biggest problems for photographers is trying to find enough light for indoor and night shots. But there are a few ways to help with this. Photographers have options such as utilizing a tripod, flash, higher ISO and shutter settings. But these can also cause others issues. For example, when you use a higher ISO, a lot of "noise" is created. Photographers have implemented plug-ins to their photo-editing software, allowing them to reduce the "noise," or grain, of an image and making it as clear as possible.
Geotagging (GPS)
Geotagging allows you to add geographical information, such as latitude and longitude coordinates, to photographs. It is beneficial because it allows other people to know exactly where a photograph was taken. Today, there are certain cameras that geotag, including Richoh 500SE. Some cameras use bluetooth to get geotagging information from your GPS.
Photo Sharing
With the emergence of digital photography, it allows people to take hundreds of photos. People often don't know what to do with all the images that they take. Now, with the growing number of social networks, people will upload photos to their account and share them with their friends online. Some social networks, such as MySpace and Facebook, allow you to "tag" people in images. By tagging someone in an image, it gives them the ability to view that image in their own account.
Also, you can tag an image in a different way. On websites such as Flickr, you can enter a keyword or add a label to an image to make it easier for finding later. For example, if you take a photograph of your daughter and add her name as a tag, you can later search for her name on Flickr to find the exact image. You can also search popular tags if you are interested in viewing others' photography. With your Flickr account, you can search popular tags such as "forest." Search results will show images of forests that have been tagged by other photographers.
-TJ Dinsmoor
Social Media Specialist
Posted by Cory Grassell on Tue, Jul 21, 2009 @ 08:29 PM
As a photographer, you're probably full swing into senior-portrait season, as the class of 2010 prepares to head back to school for their final year of high school. In addition to quality
digital prints and wallets, Apollo offers a selection of
photographic proof books to offer your clients as part of senior-photo packages. Or sell the books separate from the packages so seniors can have all your impressive images in a keepsake. You can even send the proof library books home with clients to choose which images they want to order.
Apollo offers you the option to select from our exclusive designs. Plus, get complimentary spiral binding. Enjoy the flexibility of customizing our proof books with text and including one, two or as many as 12 images per page. Images are numbered for easy reference or ordering. Proof books come in two sizes and include styrene backings.
-Cory Grassell
Marketing & SEO Specialist
Posted by Cory Grassell on Mon, Jul 20, 2009 @ 08:28 PM
Michelle Thill joins Apollo's creative team as a part-time graphic designer, bringing five years of experience in retail design and the print industry. Michelle graduated in 2002 from the University of Wisconsin-Stout with a BFA in art and a concentration in graphic design. She is currently employed full time at Steinhafels Furniture as a graphic designer on the advertising team. Her duties at Apollo include creating web graphics and banners, as well as designing templates. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her friends and family (she has five sisters), participating in all kinds of outdoor activities and watching sports.
-Cory Grassell
Marketing & SEO Specialist
Posted by TJ Dinsmoor on Thu, Jul 16, 2009 @ 08:26 PM
Photomatix Pro is a program that allows photographers to create and process HDR (High Dynamic Range) images. It runs on both Mac OS X and Windows 98/Me/2000/XP/Vista. Other features of Photomatix Pro are also available as a filter plug-in of Photoshop CS2/CS3/CS4 and an edit plug-in of Aperture 2.1. A Photomatix Pro software license costs $99. However, a free trial is available. While the trial never expires, it will apply a watermark to images produced with the Tone Mapping methods and blending modes.
How is this beneficial to photographers?
With Photomatix, there is no need to acquire expensive lighting equipment when you shoot high-contrast scenes. Just enable the auto exposure bracketing feature of your camera, and let Photomatix merge your photos into an image.
The tone mapping tool of Photomatix Pro can turn shadowless, hazy sunlight or an overcast sky into quality images. Photomatix Pro is designed for productivity, automatic blending, unlimited stacking and easy comparison of results. Batch processing saves hours of masking, and layers work in image-editing programs.
Download Photomatix and plug-ins for Photoshop and Aperture 2.1. Or read more information on HDR photography or view examples of HDR photography.
-TJ Dinsmoor
Social Media Specialist
Posted by Cory Grassell on Wed, Jul 15, 2009 @ 08:23 PM
We're in the dog days of summer, and you've probably got plenty of summer vacation photos to share. Don't keep them stored on your computer so no one else can view images from your family-oriented weekends or trips. Apollo offers plenty of options for printing and displaying your images. Our press-printed
memory books and
lay-flat books are great ways to show friends and family how you've spent summer. Display these Kodak NexPress-printed books on coffee tables or book shelves, or bring them along to your next group function.
Illuma ProPress memory books come in a variety of cover styles, including soft covers, hard covers and photo covers. You can also choose among 12 sizes and many page counts. All hard and photo covers have reinforced perfect bindings, while soft covers are laminated for improved durability and presentation. Hard and photo covers also feature flysheets and silken linings. You can customize your books with additional enhancements, such as jackets and a high-gloss protective coating for interior pages. For a distinctive look and the ultimate in quality, consider the Artisan Collection books, complete with deckle-edge pages; ornamental spine headbands; and double-thick, reinforced cover boards. Artisan covers are offered in genuine leather.
Press-printed lay-flat books from Apollo combine the same quality printing found in our memory books with hinged binding for a completely new experience. Binding consists of polyurethane-based glue that is resistant to most temperatures. That means you can show your books over and over without damaging the binding, which can be opened wide and laid completely flat. Plus, heavy pages are thicker than those found in most press-printed books, so you are guaranteed a long-lasting product.
-Cory Grassell
Marketing & SEO Specialist
Posted by Cory Grassell on Tue, Jul 14, 2009 @ 08:22 PM
Have you ever wondered about the employees you speak with when you call Apollo? One of the first voices customers generally hear when they dial our toll-free number belongs to Ana Verdin, who joins Apollo's customer-service team with experience in studio photography and freelance fashion. Ana owned a photography studio in Bay View, Wis., for two years and graduated from Ohio Institute of Photography and Technology with a degree in professional portrait photography. Her duties at Apollo include new-customer enrollment, billing, order fulfillment and handling phone calls. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her family, working on her pond and planting.
-Cory Grassell
Marketing & SEO Specialist
Posted by Cory Grassell on Mon, Jul 13, 2009 @ 08:19 PM
Do you have a summer photo you'd like to share? Perhaps you attend the Great Circus Parade in Milwaukee over the weekend. A street festival or county fair? A sporting event? A family reunion? Send us your best summer photo, and we may feature it in a photo blog with a link to your photo gallery online. If you own an agency or gallery, let us know so we can feature you in an upcoming Apollo
eFlash newsletter.
-Cory Grassell
Marketing & SEO Specialist
Posted by Cory Grassell on Wed, Jul 01, 2009 @ 08:17 PM
Apollo's Press-Printed Guest Book
It's a new month! As we flip the calendar to July, we also have another exciting online photo deal to pass along to our valued customers. Through July 31, 2009, get 30% off our photographic proof books, press-printed proof books and custom photo guest books. Apollo's proof books are great ways to showcase your photo samples to senior-portrait and wedding clients. Or order a premium photo guest book to help brides and grooms add a personal touch to their summer weddings. Simply upload your digital photos today at http://www.apollo-imagizing.com/ and begin customizing your unique photo products. But you have to act fast because summer is flying by, and so is this online photo deal.
To receive your discount online, enter coupon code SUMMER in the coupon-code box if using the Illuma® Online Ordering System or in the instructions if using the Remote Order Entry System (ROES); the discount will appear in your printed invoice and not onscreen. Coupon code must be applied at the time of ordering. This special expires July 31, 2009, and cannot be combined with any other Apollo promotion or discount. Other exclusions and limitations may apply. A per-order minimum of $12 applies.
-Cory Grassell
Marketing & SEO Specialist
