Use photoDUDS! A commercially-licensed series of DVD volumes containing products designed to �dress up� your photos. Helps in the creation of albums, announcements, gallery wraps, press products, marketing pieces and countless other items a professional photographer may wish to produce.

Beth Forester is owner and operator of Forester Photography, a studio in the small coal-mining town of Madison, West Virginia. A West Virginia native, born in Logan in 1969, Beth Forester did not develop an interest in photography until 1990 when her daughter, Katherine, was born. In 1995 she turned her hobby into a business and opened a studio in her hometown. Currently in the 11th year of her career, Beth�s studio specializes in portrait photography and operates 100% digitally. She states, �I love the control I have over the final look of the portrait. The ability to put that little something extra into each image is a very rewarding experience. I feel digital photography enables me to give my clients more quality, originality, and creativity.� She has three times been named West Virginia Photographer of the Year (2004, 2006 and 2007). She has also received the prestigious honor of being twice named Mid-East States Photographer of the Year in 2006 and 2007. Along the way to achieving these titles, Beth has earned 3 PPA National Photographer of the Year awards (2 gold and 1 platinum), 10 Kodak gallery awards, 4 Fuji Masterpiece awards and 9 Loan Collection images.

Diane "dinny", is the design force behind Dinny's Designs, a Delaware-based company specializing in professional graphic design for small businesses. Dinny has been designing since the early 80's, after graduating from Drexel University in Philadelphia. She concentrated mostly on environmental graphics (signage), but in 2000 learned about the exciting possibilites of designing for the web. Dinny's Designs opened for business and the fun began! With the birth of her children came a renewed interest in photography. While searching for creative ways to display her memories, she came across the fledgling world of digital scrapbooking, and was soon waist-deep in albums for every occasion. Dinny now offers her concepts to the professional photography world, and is responsible for all of the photoDUD designs.


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	All of the photoDUDS backgrounds are square and I need an 8x10! photoDUDS backgrounds are square to accommodate both horizontal and vertical compositions. Open up a new document the size, resolution, and orientation that you want your final image to be. Open up the photoDUDS background you want to use. From the layers palette, shift drag the background image to the new document. The photoDUDS background will now be centered in your new document. You can position the background where you would like within the image size. No need to worry about the areas extending beyond, but if you want, you can crop it away. Are photoDUDS files any different from all the others I find on "scrapbooking" websites? Good question! Take a careful look at the image sizes, filesizes, resolutions, and filetypes of those other files. There is no "industry standard" in the scrapbooking field. You don't REALLY know what you're getting until it's too late. There are 2 main reasons why you will want to use photoDUDS: 1) Commercial license photoDUDS are always sold with a commercial license that the professional photographer must have in order to resell their work to clients. Not all commercial licenses are the same, so read the fine print! 2) File Quality. Digital scrapbooking sites are geared for the home scrapbooker to print a maximum 12"x12" page, so the quality doesn't need to be any better than that. Digital scrapbooking products are also designed for quick download, so the files are typically JPGS not saved at the best quality to help keep file size down. photoDUDS are TIFF, PNG or PSD files, saved without compression. So, go ahead and blow them up, photoDUDS can handle it! Are photoDUDS MAC or PC? Both! Because all photoDUDS files are graphic or graphic-related files, they will work on either platform. The only requirement is that you have some form of image-manipulation software, such as Photoshop. Do I need any special skills to use photoDUDS? Not really, although you should have a working knowledge of your image editing application (i.e., Photoshop) and be able to follow our ever-so-informative tutorials. These products are geared toward the professional, and will allow you to be as creative as you want to be. Do I need any special software to use photoDUDS? Nope! All of our files are created to run in any image processing application that supports layers (i.e., Photoshop). Do I need to upgrade to Photoshop CS2 or can I use an older version? No need to upgrade just yet, we've got you covered. Our templates are currently created as layered Photoshop CS2 PSDs. But, don't worry, we've also included layered TIFF files for older versions of Photoshop and other software applications (we have successfully worked with many of the PSD files in PS7, but we can't guarantee every one will work). Our brushes are currently created in CS2 also. Not to worry again, because we include individual PNG files for each brush along with a CS2 ABR file. When using older versions of Photoshop and other software programs, simply open the PNG file and create a brush from that. How do I add my photo to a photoDUD template? Drag your photograph to the template. Move your photo layer so it is the layer above the desired gray "photo" layer (photo 1, or photo 2...) Position and transform your photo to roughly where you want it. Command (mac) or Alt (pc) Click on the gray box layer. The rectangular area of the gray photo should now be selected. In the layers palette, select your photo layer. Click the "Add Layer Mask" button on the bottom of the Layers Palette. Your photo should now be trimmed to size. If you need to move your photo, unlock the layer mask, select the photo and move it. If there is a style on the gray photo layer, apply that style to your photo. You can delete or hide the gray photo layer. How much do photoDUDS cost? Depends a little on how, when, and where you buy them ;-) All of our single DVDs cost $125 each from our online store. However, we occasionally bundle one or more DVDs together at a reduced cost over buying individually. We also offer discounts that are posted under "Quantity Discounts" in our store. Additionally, Beth usually offers reduced prices if you visit her and purchase where she is presenting at trade shows and conferences, so make sure to visit our "News" page for her schedule. And lastly, make sure you join our mail list, because we sometimes send out unannounced coupons! I can't open PNG's in Adobe Bridge CS3! If you are having trouble with the PNG files in Bridge CS3, you need to do this: Open Bridge Go to Bridge CS3 => Preferences Click on File Type "Associates" on the left Scroll down to Portable Network Graphics (PNG) On the right Choose "Photoshop CS3" That should tell Bridge to open the files in Photoshop CS3.You may need to restart your computer. If I purchase a "download" instead of the DVD version, am I allowed to copy it onto a CD? Bottom line is "yes", but only for backup or to install on computers within your organization. Make sure you read the "Conditions of Use" that comes with each DVD and download, and is available at the bottom of any page in the site and in the store (and here). The official line is: LICENSEE may not make copies of the PRODUCTS on any electronic or physical medium (including CDs, diskettes, or other storage medium) for reasons other than back-up purposes. Do not share the PRODUCTS with anyone. What are PNG files; I've never used them before? PNG files work the same as JPG and TIFF files in you image editing software. photoDUDs frames and embellishments are PNG files because they allow for transparency. Transparency is something you need when you want a frame with a hole in the middle, or a circle that doesn't have a white square background around it. PNG file sizes are much smaller than TIFFs and are still lossless, meaning they have not been compressed which sacrifices quality. What categories of photoDUDS are there? We are currently working on volumes for Seniors, Babies, and Weddings for starters. But don't be limited by the volume names. If you check out the Idea Gallery, you will notice ways Senior Volumes have been used for Child Portraits. Check back often to see our latest volumes or sign up for our mailing list to be notified when new volumes become available. What do I do with an overlay? Lots of things! Once you start playing with these, you are going to be hooked! We're working on a tutorial about this, but in the meantime here's a quick idea. Open up a photo with a fairly solid background. Drag a photoDUDS overlay onto that image (hold down your shift key while dragging and it will end up centered in the document). Change the Hue/Saturation of that overlay to coordinate with your image. If the overlay is covering parts of your portrait that you want visible, create a layer mask. Play with blending modes and opacity to quickly add texture and interest! In no time at all, you've just added value to your photo that you can charge extra for. What files are included on a DVD Collection? Although each DVD Collection may vary slightly, and each will have its own unique file list, the following approximate guidelines will apply: (10) Patterned Backgrounds (5) Solid Textured Backgrounds (5) Transparent Overlays (15) Brushes (solid and textured version of each brush may be included) (10) Word Art Brushes (2) Frames (3) Templates (10) Embellishments What if I bought one DVD at full price, and then you offer it in a bundle at a reduced rate? If you paid the full price of $125 for the first DVD, and the second DVD you want to purchase is now offered bundled with the first, we may be willing to send you a special coupon to reduce your cost. Just ask! What kind of computer requirements are recommended? Because all of the included files are large-sized, and of highest quality and resolution, you will need a little processing power to work with them. We recommend at least a Mac G4 or a 2GHz PC with at least 1GB of ram, however, photoDUDS will operate on any computer. What uses are permitted and which are banned? Because you are purchasing a commercial license to use these products, you are free to create new designs using the components, and sell them from your own business. You are not allowed to re-distribute or sell the original files, commercially nor privately. Please read our complete "Conditions of Use" here. Where can I buy photoDUDS? Currently, photoDUDS may be purchased from 3 places: 1) From our online store on this site. Simply click on the "Store" button on the top of any page. 2) Directly from Beth Forester. See Beth's contact information on our "Contact Us" page. 3) From trade shows, conferences, and presentations that Beth attends. See her list of appearances on our "News" page. Why can't we download these orders so we can use them right away? Because our files are all very high resolution, they are quite large and total several GBs per DVD. Our experience with large downloads is that we often see network timeouts due to heavy volume, and customers end up with partial and/or corrupt files. Even with a high-speed connection, a 1 GB download alone can take over 16 minutes.		All All about photoDUDS Special Requirements Using photoDUDS Buying/acquiring photoDUDS Software Questions Don't see your question? Still need more help? Please contact us and ask!

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