This is the FIRST Aperture Training specifically for wedding and portrait photographers. I teamed up with Photography Mentor to create my very first Aperture Intensive Training DVD!  This last week my incredible video editor, Solomon Blank put this trailer together for me to share with everyone to give you a little taste of what the training is like and just a few of the things that you will be learning in this 3+ hour DVD.

I created this DVD because I really wanted to get the information out there and help as many photographers as I could at once.  I would love to be able to sit down with each photographer and share all my favorite things about the efficient and fun workflow that Aperture can offer them but I knew there was no way I could.  I thought about doing an Aperture Workshop but I know it would be especially hard to make it all the way to a live workshop with the costs of travel, food & the workshop price. I wanted to be able to deliver the information at a cost that would be affordable to everyone and at a pace that you can determine.  This DVD provides over 3 hours of quality training that will make you an Aperture Pro!

Each topic includes tips that will not only train you on these areas but give you best practices along the way. It is packed with great tips, short cut keys, custom settings, and downloadable goodies to go along with the training. Check out the trailer!

If you are considering using Aperture, want to learn about how to do your own custom albums in Aperture, or are a seasoned Aperture user looking for a better workflow and some new ideas this is the perfect training DVD for you.  The DVD topic include:

1. Tour of the Aperture Interface

Creating your organizational Structure

Custom Preferences

Customizing Keyboard Shortcuts

Metadata Presets

2. Importing Images

3. Image Adjustments

Retouch Tool

Spot and Patch

Aperture and Photoshop: “The Round Trip”

Global Presets

4. Outputting Images

Creating a Mobile Me album

WebPages Vs. MobileMe albums

Exporting and Email

Uploading to Pictage

5. Share and Showcase Images

Apple TV

iPhone

Slideshows

iDVD

Pages and iWeb

Mail

6. Creating Books

Reusing your layouts

Arranging Images

Adding Text

Creating Custom Size Books

Creating Other Marketing Materials

Creating a Custom Canvas

Image Adjustments Within Books

Exporting and Printing Books

7. Traveling with your images

Exporting Projects

Managing Referenced Files

Relocating Masters

Consolidating Masters

8. Syncing Camera Time Stamps

With downloadable extras including projects, global adjustments, and more.

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Purchase today at shop.sarafrance.com

You might recognize Josh and Carrie from the cover of Studio Photography.  Their wedding image was chosen to be the feature for the cover when they did the article on Sara France Photography in March of last year.

2 days prior to this shoot the groom,  Josh Cox set the US record for the 50k.  That is right,  over 30 miles.  Longer than a Marathon!  Check back in a couple days for more shots from the shoot.  Warning, it gets really messy and really sexy.

I love opening email with a possible surprise inside of it, excluding spam.

I did some shooting for Apple last year and I actually got the opportunity to go out and shoot the team at Quist twice which was a real treat.  They are such and incredible team.  Brett Suchor, their CEO is just one of the nicest and most efficient guys I have met.  His right hand woman, Patty Benson is the assistant of all assistants.  

During the shoot I could definitely see how integrated and organized they were able to stay with their Apple based environment, iPhones and Basecamp project management tools.  If you are looking for a way to stay on top of projects you should take a look at all the great tools that the team at Basecamp offer.  They are incredible for most businesses.  I know Pictage used it internally for a while and it kept everyone on task.  It was great.  

I looked for a way to integrate it with what we were doing at the studio but instead found that there was an even more specifically targeted offering out there that had the same elements.  For photographers specifically you should check out Shoot Q.  We are so excited about using a web based software that is allowing us to streamline processes and keep our clients informed of the progress at the same time.  

I love the little surprises that just get you excited about what you do.  Today, it came from my inbox.

I had the rare opportunity to participate in a really great event for Coordinators called The Special Event.  It is a really cool conference that is done one time a year and is always in a different city.  This year it was in San Diego.  A great coordinator I have had the opportunity to work with and get to know, Cynthia Zatkin, approached me to do a cake themed slideshow for the cake room that she was in charge of during the The Special Event Wedding Luncheon.  The Wedding Luncheon was held at one of my favorite venues, The Hard Rock Hotel.  The top of the line event designers came to show off some of their incredible design ideas and they did not disappoint.  There were so many cool rooms but I have to say the White and the Red room as you will see for my favorite on top of just the great backdrops that the Hard Rock Hotel provide.

So, I show up at the event to make sure that the slideshow of the cake fight / trash the dress goes off without a hitch.  I brought with me one camera and 2 lenses in case I wanted to get a few shots of the cake room.  So, I am there with very little gear and out walks these beautiful models in the gorgeous gown provided by Ines Disanto and M Bride.  

I can not describe the excitement that comes over me when I see a beautiful bride.  However, I was not there to shoot the models and I felt like it was going to be stepping on someone’s toes if I started to ask them to do anything but stand there.  So for a couple hours I just let that burning desire inside of me to eat away at me.  Then I got up the nerve to take a couple shots as the girls headed up for a break and finally towards the end of the day they were still on the clock but that part of the show had died down and they were bored.  Here was my chance!  

I immediately made sure I was not pulling them away from anything and took pictures of some of the girls.  Then I talked to Michele the owner of M Bride and she asked if I would get shots of some of the other girls and that was all I needed to hear.  That gave me the green light to go hog wild.  

Keep in mind that all these shots were done in less than an hour with no lighting accept for the uplights that my dear friend, muse, and mentor, Monique Feil, pulled up and used to give me the best light she could.  Check out her mad lighting skills in the red room shots.  

At the end of the day I was so excited that I was given this incredible opportunity and that I was ready and willing to jump on it.  Here are some of the images that came from that event.

I was up because a good friend and great Coordinator, Liz Beck, asked me to come down  and document their interview on the NBC morning show.  Liz and business partner Natalie Parkington started this great new company called Bustle that I am really excited about and these two girls together are just such a power house of information for their brides.  If you have not checked out Bustle, you must check it out!  Anyways, back to the NBC thing, I was thrilled.  I have always wondered what goes on behind the scenes of those thing.  Here are a few shots from behind the scenes.  They were totally cool with me snapping some shots while they were live which was great.  The ladies were awesome on TV of course.  Total pros!  They were promoting the first GREEN Wedding Party Bridal Show that is this Sunday.

After the shoot I had to take the girls out for some fresh shots since they were looking so cute!  These are just a few of my favorites of them.  It turns out that the light is beautiful that early in the morning.  Who knew?  Liz is a truly beautiful person inside and out and I am so thrilled to even know her.  Thanks Ladies.  There is no one else that could have got me out of bed that early and made me happy to be there.  It was such a blast!