All Photos © 2004, David B. Brooks, All Rights Reserved

The December 2001 issue of Shutterbug I reported on my trials and experiments with different methods of printing black and white photographs with ink jet printers. Today the challenge to a photographer using a digital darkroom who wants to do black and white prints remains similar to what it was three years ago.

What determines whether a camera is collectible? Quality? Technical ingenuity? Commercial success (or failure)? All of these things--but some deserve to be saved from the scrap heap just because they are pretty. The Bilora Bella 44 has little else to commend it. The lens is indifferent; the shutter limited; the 127 film needed to feed it is hard to find; film counting is by...

Whether you have been in business two years or 20, it can still be discomforting and difficult to discuss pricing if you don't know what to say and when to say it. Getting paid what you want is all about what you do and say at the beginning of a client relationship. It is very hard to try and change later. To get paid what you want you will need a clear and concrete...

Eastman Kodak Company has introduced new versions of KODAK PROSHOTS Studio Software
Suite v6.3, KODAK PROSHOTS Basics Software v2.0 and KODAK PROSHOTS Online Services
v7.0 that, via labs, will provide photographers with a broader range of templates
for their print ordering process. Photographers will also have improved tools
for previewing and selling their images to customers in-person or over the Internet.




The KODAK PROSHOTS System, a powerful set of image-management, design and ordering
tools, serves professional wedding, social and portrait photographers whether
they work with film or digital cameras. PROSHOTS System Participating Labs use
hybrid and complete digital lab workflows to offer a broad range of products and
services to photographers through the PROSHOTS System. The KODAK PROSHOTS System
is the industry's most-used service of its kind, with more than 40 labs,
11 album and frame companies and two studio management software companies integrating
it seamlessly with existing lab products.



PROSHOTS Studio Software Suite v6.3

Available as a free download to photographers with a current version of PROSHOTS
Studio Software Suite, or US$249 for new users, version 6.3 includes enhanced
proof book options with a variety of selectable background colors and definable
cover pages. Additional improvements include enriched digital product ordering
and presentation features:

· Lab templates now can be organized into categories, e.g., "Weddings,"
"Sports," etc., for easier navigation.

· More sophisticated lab products, e.g., templates with images displayed
on an angle or customizable text, can now be displayed and cropped as "what
you see is what you get" for better previewing and ordering.

· Enhanced slide-show options to play music through a PC, and a slide show
that can now easily be saved to be burned later to CD or DVD.



The album and frame interface definitions are streamlined, further enhancing Kodak's
full-featured software product for both photographers and labs.



PROSHOTS Basics Software v2

PROSHOTS Basics Software now includes additional features to simplify the image-ordering
process. As with the PROSHOTS Studio Software Suite, PROSHOTS Basics Software
now allows the organization of lab templates into categories, and enhanced proof
book options are now available. The features are all available in the intuitive,
easy-to-use interface for which PROSHOTS Basics Software is known.

In addition, key selling features have been added to PROSHOTS Basics Software.
With version 2, users can for the first time:

· Preview and order a broad range of lab digital products in a "what
you see is what you get" manner.

· Access the capabilities of PROSHOTS Online Services to create product
and price lists, post images and take orders over the Internet.

· Use a new built-in slide show capability for reviewing images with customers.



For PROSHOTS System Participating Labs, PROSHOTS Basics Software expands the potential
printing volume by providing a solution for the estimated one-third of professional
photographers who are MACINTOSH OS users.

PROSHOTS Basics software is free, runs on both MACINTOSH OS X and WINDOWS 2000
or XP platforms, and is available as a download at www.kodak.com/proshots/basicsinfo.




KODAK PROSHOTS Online Services v7

The award-winning PROSHOTS Online Services have been redesigned to enhance the
image viewing and ordering experience for the increasing number of consumers using
the Internet. Redesign features include:

· A modern, sophisticated look and feel with a cleaner shopping cart and
checkout process.

· Improved slide show with faster refresh and improved navigation and speed
controls.

· Increased image-zoom capability to better view image details.



Access to PROSHOTS Online Services is integrated within PROSHOTS Studio and PROSHOTS
Basics Software so photographers only need one piece of software for lab print
ordering, in-studio presentations and online selling. A new rewards program provides
benefits to photographers the more they make use of PROSHOTS Online Services.


The PROSHOTS System software updates will be available in March. For more information
on the KODAK PROSHOTS System and membership benefits for photographers ¾
including Web site and other training resources ¾ please visit www.kodak.com/proshots/membershipinfo.
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