May Induce Euphoria

This is the staff of Mossbarger Photography, in Scappoose, Oregon, setting up 3D24 (Dock of the Bay) for a winter ball last weekend! Considering it was about zero degrees up there and they're out working on a Saturday night, these women look like they're having way too much fun. As much as I'd like to credit the amazing-ness of our backgrounds for the levity (levity...get it? ha!), it probably has more to do with the folks at Mossbarger than with us. Thanks for sending the picture, Mary!

Lab Recommendations

Tell us about your lab! We want to hear your recommendations and your stories about your photo labs. Hit the comment link below, take a second, and give your deserving photofinishers some deserved publicity.

Marketing Tips - Background Menus

This one comes from our friend Jan, of Jan Lundberg Photography in San Francisco. We provided her with some high-res jpegs of our jazz-themed backgrounds and she put this collage together, added some photos of some props, and passed the menu along to the event planner who was organizing the party. We considered this one a particularly successful marketing idea - the planner not only found a photo background she liked but also rented a second one just to add to the party's decor. Other photographers have incorporated our backgrounds images into their websites, or simply included a link to our site.

The 3D Effect Continued (ad nauseum)

On the left is a photo of our background 3D10 (Space), stretched out. The top half looks normal; the bottom half looks funky. But once it's set up with the fold in the right place, and the subjects in the right place, and the camera in the right place, it magically transforms to the image on the right.

The 3D Effect

What began in Italy in the middle of the 15th century with Piero della Francesca's painting "The Flagellation of Christ" culminates in our line of 3D backgrounds, as demonstrated here with 3D49 (Papa Razzi). We harness the same tricks of perspective, depth, and foreshortening to create three-dimensional scenes that place art not only behind the subjects, but beneath them and in front of them as well. We're fairly certain Francesca would have been duly wowed. Also, our backgrounds are much less expensive than his work.

Dozens of Muslins Introduction

Hello and welcome to the launch of the official Dozens of Muslins blog, the first salvo in a multi-headed, all-out assault on the world wide web. (The other heads are a little more modest - basically we just tell everyone who will listen to us about our website and services.) In brief: we rent out high-quality, hand-painted scenic backgrounds for the dance and special event photography market. We have 130 (and counting) original designs, and we can ship anywhere in the US, with very little notice, if need be. But beyond that, we are an information hub - with clients in 42 (so far) states, we have our fingers on the pulse of the senior portrait industry all across America, from Cape Canaveral to Hilo to Port Angeles. Our clients tell us what works for them, and what doesn't. There are many pressures facing professional photographers, from the rise of digital photography and accesible scanning technologies to the difficulty of selling portraits in today's economy, and having access to information about best practices can make or break a small studio. So please watch this space - we'll use it to publish photos and tips, and we'll keep you informed about sales, new designs, and the like. And please post your comments, whether it's feedback for our business, tips for our clientele, or anything else on your mind. Well, almost anything else. Thanks very much!