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Copycats at the kiosk
I’m a pro portrait and wedding photographer. In the past year, I’ve had a dramatic decrease in the number of reprints customers order, which I attribute to the reprint kiosks in drugstores and other places. I need a way to prevent my customers from copying the photos I’ve taken. I’ve tried stamping the front of the proofs, but every ink I’ve used rubs off. Any suggestions?
Robert F. Wetherbie
Alexandria, VA
Try a solvent-based ink, such as StazOn (available at craft stores and at www.stampinink.com). The ink takes three to five minutes to dry, so don’t stack the prints right away. There’s also special permanent-ink cleaner for your stamp, which, unfortunately, also removes ink from photos. But let’s hope your clients don’t find out.
Slides: bright and sharp
My slides look great when I view them through a loupe on my lightbox, but I’m disappointed when I see them projected—they’re too dark. I use a Kodak 9010 Ektapro projector with a 105mm f/2.9 Schneider PC-Cinelux lens and a Picture King 50x50 matte white screen. How can I improve the brightness of my projected images?
Richard Freeman
New York, NY
Use a beaded or lenticular screen. While a matte screen produces the sharpest image, its brightness doesn’t compare with what you’ll get with beads and lenticules. There are also intermediate screen types—metallic lenticular (brighter) and nonmetallic lenticular (sharper). Some more tips: Make sure the room is as dark as possible, and keep stray light off the screen. The closer the projector to the screen, the sharper and brighter the image. While you could buy a brighter bulb for the projector, be careful! Too hot, and you risk melting your slides.
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