Hi all, I own a photography studio, sort of like "Glamour Shots." I've always retouched pictures by hand, but I would like to get into retouching using a computer. Could you recommend some software, professional photo-quality printers and scanners?

Thank You, Nhatha dinhn@bc.edu

-- Nhatha Dinh (dinhn@bc.edu), May 24, 1998

Answers

I owned a studio for 20 years, and I'm now doing digital imaging for a company. I have been using Photoshop for 7 years, and it is a very robust and fun program to use. There are tons of books available and some wonderful seminars that I'd suggest you get/attend.

One I'd suggest is Photoshop Studio Secrets '98. It's by Thunder Lizard Productions, and I've only heard good about them since I haven't yet taken one. It's at the Westin Seattle and costs $695 for two days. It's chaired by Deke McClelland and I've got 3 of his books on photoshop.

The above would get you the most the fastest, the most expensive. The other option is to do it like me, books, and seven years of experience. The biggest problem I had was I wasn't making money when I wasn't behind the camera. I love photoshop, but some of the stuff I learned by the school of hard knocks, I'd gladly have paid the cost of a good seminar.

It basically boils down to how much is your time worth. I'm fortunate in that here at work, I have access to a photo digital printer that uses traditional RA-4 processing, so it's true photographic quality. This is great, but unless you have $40,000, you can't buy one of these Sienna Fotoprinters. If I were wanting good quality, but not true photographic, I'd look into the new EX Epson inkjet printers. $499. The important thing for a scanner is the ability to capture shadow detail and whether you want the utmost in quality or 'real good'. We have a 35mm film scanner, a flatbed scanner, and a baby drum scanner here, and I use all three depending on what the final outcome of the file will be. This can really become complicated, and I'd be more than happy to talk with you on the phone if you like.

Good luck

Phil Pool goode@igalaxy.net

-- Phil Pool (goode@igalaxy.net), May 26, 1998.