December 25, 2009

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by Gavin Seim: I’ve spent much of this Christmas Eve doing the final prep, but it’s ready. The Seim Effects/Pro Photo Show annual Christmas gift pack. Just my way of saying thanks for all your support and feedback over the past year. Theres good things in store for 2010 so stay tuned.

This years pack has four new presets based on tones inspired by film. This is something I’ve been working on lately and there’s more to come in the future. Next are four textures to add character to your photos. There’s also an action included to make overlaying and placing any texture really easy.

You can get more specific details with the info that’s included in the download and see a couple samples below. Mouse over the images to see the presets before and after. Also don’t forget the contest we’re hosting for the free  Lensbaby Composer. Go here for entry info. Also stop by Pro Photo Show for the latest podcasts and join the community. There’s good things ins tore for 2010.

Download and enjoy. Here’s to a great 2010 and wishing you a Merry Christmas and New Year. I’m off to spend mine with the family. Hope you are too… Gavin Seim


Download the FREE 2010 Gift Pack Zip

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November 14, 2009

by Gavin Seim: Now I’m a Lightroom fanatic, but I still love Photoshop and use actions all the time for that final polished beauty. Nearly all of my signature images (best of the best) are taken into PS for some action magic once I finish in LR.

Hollywood Effects2 is my latest set and I’m not afraid to say I’m really proud of it. It’s full of great effects that are really well refined. For those of you who don’t already own Hollywood 2, I’ve decided it’s time to post a free sample pack.

Below you can download the zip file with four free actions. Am I doing this so you’ll see how good they really are and buy the whole set? Of course I am. And some of the effects in the full version are better yet. But, if you just like freebies and don’t want to spend a dime, that’s OK too. Download and enjoy… Gav

See complete set & watch the video.

Download the Hollywood Effects 2 sampler.

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February 12, 2009

Update! 08/2010: If you’re using Lightroom 3, these templates will not work correctly. LR3 users need the new layout templates. You can download them here for free.

by Gavin Seim Most of us Lightroom users have heard about print templates. What most don’t know is the super cool trick to use them for simple album page layouts for albums and press printed books. Matt recently posted a video on LR Killer Tips about tweaking template settings to allow multiple images on one layout.

I’ve made a set of print presets that allows you to make some quick square layouts like the one’s below. Great for press printed books and albums. Load em up, select the layout, then select the photo’s you want used. There’s eight in this set and all have about 1/4″ edge space to allow trim room for books. Best of all is their FREE.

LR2 has no way to add a black background itself, so I used this workaround. I’ve included a black file in the download and there’s more details in the help file. Once set up you can turn on “Identity Plate” in the settings and load the black background as desired. A future version of LT should include this feature without a workaround.

Download Seim LR Album Layout Presets v1.2

UPDATE V1.1: 6/2009, Minor tweaks were made and a new square preset was added.
UPDATE V1.2:
4/2010, Disabled auto rotation (more control), added new Square/2 Corner layout. Bug fixes.

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December 27, 2008

The Product: OnOne Plug-in Suite 4 for Photoshop: Overall PPS Rating, 7/10
Includes Six plugins. We’ll review each separately below. Review by Gavin Seim

OnOne has given PPS a 15% off discount for readers. Use Promo Code PRPHTPC

The Hot:

  • Product interfaces have become mostly unified making them easy to work with.
  • When purchased as a suite, it’s a good value. You’ll have plenty to play with.
  • Effects and tools are effective and generally simple to use and customize.
  • Aperture & Lightroom* integration on certain apps

The Not:

  • No auto update makes in version updates a hassle and easy to overlook.
  • When purchased separately there’s STD/PRO options adding confusion and making the prices too high (not unlike many plugin companies. These so called Pro versions do not have enough extra features to warrant the cost. The full suite does include the pro versions where applicable however.

The Bottom Line:
This is a great collection of plugins. If you want to broaden your editing arsenal in one shot, Plugin Suite 4 is a great place to start. While the whole suite is the best value, all plugins can also be purchased separately.

*One thing to note is that Lightroom integration is little more than export plugins and not self contained integration in LR. This is probably due to limitation with Lightrooms support for plugins, but it’s still a  disappointment.

Promo’s and discounts:
OnOne gives PPS some specials as well. Promo code PRPHTSHW is good everyday for 10% off any OnOne product. Also thru Dec 31st, here’s a promo page that will save you $100 on the suite. Note that OnOne has no say in this review, and it contains only my honest opinions.

Individual Product Reviews:

Genuine Fractals 6: Review 9/10
Genuine Fractals is a standard among many photographers when it comes up scaling image resolution. I use it whenever I make large prints. It can quickly take those pixels and make a 300DPI file for whatever print size I need. It can even add sharpening in the same pass (though I usually sharpen separately) GF just gives something more than built in Photoshop up-conversion methods and I really like it.

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December 17, 2008

Click To Listen>>  Photography Roundtable Podcast PPS #53

Subscribe in itunes
Give us a present: Review in iTunes, or Vote on Podcast Alley

~Today’s topics. D3X, 5D MKII, Gadgets Galore, Marketing, Web~
The Panel:
Gavin Seim ~ Seim Studios

Kerry Garrison ~ Camera Dojo
Dennis Zerwas ~ DZ Photography
Scott & Adina Hayne ~ Hayne Photography
Kevin Swan ~ Kiss Books, New School, Weddings

Notable Time Indexes:
29:00 Gadget Guide
44:28 Kevin Swan joins the show. He has some great marketing tips.
1:57:30 After Show (Marketing and wedding talk)

Disclaimer: Do not use film cameras as fireplace fuel. They could cause hazardous fumes.

News & Info:

PPS deal page has various vendor discounts.
SeimEffects presets and actions
SAVE 15% of all products with promo code PPS

Podcast #53 Forum Discussion:

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