Selecting Images, Shipping Images

You will remember I had 20 images to select for submission. I had them chosen, based on screen reviews and my next step was to make the prints. Several images that I had created before finding Akvis Enhancer I tried with this Photoshop plug-in. Sometimes it improved things - sometimes way over the top and requiring toning down the effect (previously discussed), other times it didn't help or actually spoiled the image. It's clearly not a tool to be used on all images and certainly not always at full strength or over the entire image, but it does improve images in ways that simple burning, dodging and curves cannot. I'm still a fan.

Anyway having printed all 20 images, I felt that a few of them didn't hold up as well as I had hoped. I did however have some alternatives for consideration and in fact ended up with about 24 images from which to choose 20.

I picked the ones I thought should be included to replace the rejects but I then had my wife give her opinion on which of the 8 images to use to fill 5 places. Interstingly she pretty much picked the same ones I had tentatively planned, so feeling more confident I bundled up the images and sent them off.

By the way, my favourite way to ship 8.5 X 11 images is to place them inside one of my crystal clear mylar bags then sandwich the images between cardboard on one side and masonite on the other, cut ever so slightly larger than the print size. Normally I place them inside a print paper box but in this case I was anticpating a fed ex padded bag (which the driver didn't have any of so the ended up in a box, padded with some bubble wrap I happened to have for a new chair. In the past, this kind of shipping has worked well and I've not had returns. I cannot say the same about using refrigerator carton corrugated cardboard (three sheets, stripes alternating) which the shippers have managed to fold in half and collapse the corners.

I have sucessfully received prints packed similarly. When it's cruicial that corners not get bashed, even better is to cut the masonite (hardboard) larger than the print and tape the mylar envelop to the board so the print can't slide around inside and get bashed in the corners. This is particularly true when sending a single image but does of course increase the shipping cost.