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Pittsburgh Newborn Family Photographer | Artsy Couture Canvas Deconstruction & Review

There are a lot of choices when it comes to products for my clients. I generally sell canvas or framed fine art wall portraits, as well as archival custom photo albums, and have shopped a number of products to find the very best in quality for my clients.

In a canvas printer I am looking for, above all, extremely high image quality–sharp image and accurate color tones. I am very actively involved in assuring my colors and tones are accurate by using the X-rite “Passport” color checker when I am shooting and editing and a Spyder to calibrate my monitor. I double-check compatibility with each of the vendors that I work with to make sure I will get consistent, accurate color in my products. For those of you unfamiliar with how this works, what I am talking about is making sure that the color and brightness settings on my monitor are set to look like what I will get from my print labs so that I don’t get skin tones that are too orange, green, dark, bright, etc.

Secondly I am looking for solid, archival construction. I want my canvas wrapped around wood with quality hanging hardware and bumpers. NO CARDBOARD. Just no.

I was using a canvas printer that I liked very much for a few years when I suddenly started having color issues back in October 2013. I had been hearing so much about Artsy Couture, and their prices were less than my printer at the time, so I tried them out. What I received from them was what appeared to be a well constructed, solid canvas, but the colors were way off–super orange. Their customer service was amazing–friendly & prompt–and they sent out a new canvas that was better but still not the color & sharpness I am seeing from the pro labs I usually work with. I ended up taking a loss on that order and paying to have my client’s order printed at another lab (the one I am currently using).

I went to the Artsy booth at Imaging USA earlier this week and was very impressed with the quality of their products, their cute booth, and their friendly staff. I was told that they were having short-lived color issues at the time of my order and that I should try again. I was also told that the canvases are stretched around wood, which really surprised me because I figured it was some sort of super rigid cardboard given they cost a small fraction of the pro lab canvas wraps. Upon returning home I decided to dig up that old canvas–the one I received with color issues, and deconstruct it! Here is what I found…

ure canvas deconstruction frame review — Yes, you could say these are the “tightest corners in the industry.” How do they accomplish this?

artsy couture canvas deconstruction frame review — I was able to peel off the canvas image from the Masonite panel but it was pretty well adhered, which means that these are not likely to warp over time.

artsy couure canvas deconstruction frame review — Here you can see the canvas peeled off and the Masonite pieces I removed from the sides.

My overall recommendation is that Artsy “Couture Canvas” is a good option for budget photographers or for consumers who are not willing to pay literally 3x the price at a pro lab. I do intend to give them another shot for some personal projects and studio samples, but I do not feel confident fulfilling client orders until I am seeing consistent color.

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Are you looking for a maternity, newborn, family, or baby photographer in Pittsburgh? Powder Blue Photography offers in-home and studio portraits of newborn babies and maternity and on location family portraits in and around Pittsburgh, including the South Hills, McMurray, Peters Township, Canonsburg, Bridgeville, Upper St. Clair, South Fayette, Mt. Lebanon, Cecil Township, Squirrel Hill, Regent Square, and Shadyside areas. Please contact Missy to schedule a maternity appointment and a tentative date for your newborn session. Maternity sessions take place around 33-36 weeks, and newborn sessions take place in the first 10 days of life. Family sessions take place anytime!

Pittsburgh South Hills Maternity Newborn Photographer | Pregnancy Composite Portrait

by Missy•0

Last spring I did a very special project featuring beautiful mama and dancer, Laura M. She and I met in the studio several times throughout her pregnancy to document the changes in her belly. We got to try a lot of different things, including something I am very proud of, a composite image of months 5, 6, 7, and 8 of her pregnancy:

This was my greatest challenge to date because it was very important that I shoot each image to the exact specs of the previous images to create a sense of consistency in the final image. I had to make it look like they were all shot on the same day even though they were each a month apart. I took a lot of notes on my camera & light settings and the locations of my lights. It was also tricky in editing… those of you who have extracted an image in Photoshop know what I’m talking about! By the time we were on months 7 and 8 I had it down though. I thought it turned out extraordinarily well and am so proud of it and thankful that Laura is so patient and talented!

Here are some other images from her maternity sessions:

www.powderbluephoto.com

She also had the cutest, chunkiest little sweet baby, Hank:

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Are you looking for a family, maternity, or newborn baby photographer? Powder Blue Photography offers in-home and in-studio portraits of newborn babies and on-location or in-home maternity and family portraits in and around the Pittsburgh South Hills and Mt. Lebanon. Please contact Missy to schedule a maternity appointment and a tentative date for your newborn session. Maternity sessions take place around 35 weeks (depending on mama’s stature), and newborn sessions take place in the first 10 days of life. Family sessions take place anytime!

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Update from the Keystone State | Mt. Lebanon Baby Photographer

by Missy•2

Finally an update on all of the changes in my life! I can now say we have settled into the land known as the South Hills, which is about 20 minutes south of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We have made lots of new friends here and are currently house-hunting. This is exciting and sometimes frustrating. Jeremy and I have such terrible luck with real estate–seems we bought in Portland at a peak in 2008, sold at a low (recently), and we find ourselves in a seller’s market in Mt. Lebanon. Right now it is a waiting game, and we hope some more houses will come on the market as the weather warms up in the coming weeks. The good news is that it is a little more affordable here in Pennsylvania, so we should be able to live in a large house in a great neighborhood for a lot less than we were paying to live in a so-so neighborhood in Portland.

Now that my “babies” are both sleeping all night, I can get back to work! It’s been such a joy welcoming a daughter and watching my son grow into toddler-hood. Jonah knows the whole alphabet and all the letter sounds, and he seems to be starting to understand how reading works. Amelia is so beautiful and sweet, I just can’t get enough of her. The first few months of having two kids was a little hectic (and by that I mean I laughed, I cried, and I drank a lot of wine). Things have REALLY settled down now and we are doing great. Mimi is five months old today and SO close to sitting on her own, so I will soon be doing some updated portraits of her and Jonah.

So as far as Powder Blue Photography goes, I am chomping at the bit to get back in action. There is a real need for beautiful high-end portraits here (unlike in Portland, which was totally saturated with photographers), and I am finding there may be a particular niche for me in Mt. Lebanon and Upper St. Clair, which are the two neighborhoods in which we are house-hunting. I am not maintaining a studio here yet, so I will be working on-location and in-home as I get to know neighborhoods and clients. I will likely open a studio some time next year, when the kids will be a little older and I will be able to take on more clients.

I have re-structured my rates, and you can find details on that on my website. I found that at most sales appointments people wanted ALL of the pictures and they really struggled with picking and choosing favorites. Because of that, I have decided to charge a flat rate and include printable digital files with every session. I think this may simplify ordering and make my clients happier. I will still be offering wall portraits as well and will occasionally run specials on press products and custom design work. We will see how it works out and what people like here in PA. I am charging a 20% off “portfolio rate” for the first six months as I get to know the area. Take advantage of it because I don’t typically discount my session fees!

Check out my new promo card, what do you think?

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