If you’ve followed my blog or even spoken to me about photography, then you already know what oomphing means.
To Oomph = verb. Annie Tao’s process of editing images 
I was taking a gander at some photos online recently and saw some BxW images that were plain as can be. I thought BxW would be a terrific blog subject because there are various ways you can process (or edit) BxW images.
Using a recent photo I took at a client photoshoot, I will explain why I changed it to BxW and what some other versions of BxW are out there yonder!
Original Image (Straight-Out-Of-The-Camera)
My thought process:
* There is a lot going on here with the color of the baby’s pants and the livingroom background.
* I wanted to highlight the parents’ facial expressions, which is why I love this photo.
* Changing this image to BxW would accomplish all of this: place attention on the parents’ faces and take your eyes off the background and baby pants.
BxW #1: Plain & Un-Oomphed
Most people have access to photo editing software, so anyone can turn a color image into a BxW image. You can even do this when you walk into the photo section of a drugstore or Costco!
There’s nothing wrong with this image. Many photographers will stop right here.
To me, it’s a little flat. So let’s continue with our BxW journey…
BxW #2
Do you see a difference? Do you think it’s better or worse or the same?
It’s a little brighter, but I find the highlights slightly unappealing.
BxW #3
This version is grainy. I actually like this better than the first two because it has more character. Looks like a photo in a newspaper.
BxW #4
This version has a lot more grays. This would look great on certain photos with less emotion, but I think the steel gray hues make this family photo feel a little cold.
It doesn’t convey a mood that matches the image.
BxW #5
This version is soft and dreamy.
It looks like a scene in my head after I’ve fallen and lost consciousness! Ha ha. Or maybe a scene in a movie about Heaven. Again, not the mood I’m looking for.
BxW #7: My Oomph-ed Version!
This is what my final image looked like. (You may have already seen it in the sneak peek.)
Do you see how it’s different than the other versions? What version do you prefer for this image?
There are a kajillion ways you can edit a BxW image. I only shared a few with you just to give some examples.
My point is that there are many ways to edit a BxW image, so pay attention to how you edit your image if you’re a photographer/amateur photographer/enthusiast. Notice what kind of mood your editing work places on the image and think about whether that is the mood you want to convey.
And if you’re not a photographer, notice what kind of editing work photographers are doing to their BxW images. And if all they’re doing is converting it to BxW without putting anymore thought into it, then run for the hills. 
There should be just as much thought placed into editing BxW photos as there is in editing Color photos!
Only the best to showcase and protect your digital artwork!
Made of tin, these deluxe CD cases are durable, sleek and reusable. I LOVE them and have been searching for them for about 10 months now — ever since I saw a version of this at a photography trade show!
This one is much nicer than the one I originally saw because there is a hinge that allows you to open the cover without chance of losing or misplacing it.
There is also a window to feature your photoshoot-specific, laser-etched image on your custom CD without opening the case.
And the CD itself snaps in by a rim around the edge, so the CD is tightly secured during shipping.
About 99% of my clients order a CD with their photoshoot, so I wanted to upgrade my cases to match the beautiful CDs. My clients deserve a cool, modern way to protect their digital artwork!
Click here for my full product list with pricing.
I am very excited to introduce my exclusive new product for 2010…
The ALL ABOUT ME Book
This is a 10×10 Fine Art Book with the cutest content! Every spread is all about your little sweetie!
This book is intended to celebrate a year in a child’s life. I would use photos from one of your child’s photoshoot with me. And don’t worry if the photoshoot wasn’t exactly on your child’s birthday or even month. It is not an album about your child’s birth day.
What makes this an extra special book is that it not only contains artistic images of your child, but also, it is a parent-child interactive book. I design it and you add the extra love that makes this book truly unique to your child!
DETAILS: This book has 30-pages (or 15 spreads), a hard cover and the coolest, archival matte pages with no gutter! Click here for more info on Fine Art Books.
Book Cover & A Few Sample Spreads
This book is absolute cuteness! And it is the ultimate way to celebrate each year of your child’s life!
These adorable, custom-created books are small in size, but don’t let that fool ya! They are well-constructed on thick, premium paper and protected by a hard cloth cover!
Accordian Fun Books make great gifts for any occasion! And they can feature your baby, teen, engagement, wedding, company products, or an event!
The details:
* You can select from three (3) or five (5) 3×3 Accordian Fun Books. Click here for pricing.
* You select the color of the art cloth cover! See below for the full selection.
* Each Fun Book holds up to 10 photos and folds/unfolds like an accordian. Photos will be printed on both sides.
* Images are printed on premium card stock (Smooth Cover, 100# in weight) and will have a glossy coating to give added protection to your images. You can also opt for Pearl paper (a luminous, shimmery paper; 107# in weight). There is no glossy coating on Pearl paper.
To give you an example of these adorable products, I took a few photos of the ones I just created for the A. Family and their twins boys.
Three Fun Books (shown in Baby Blue)
Fun Book Side A (displays up to 4 images)
Fun Book Side B (displays up to 6 images)
Art Cloth Cover
I am extremely excited to present to you my 2009 Holiday Cards – Couture Collection!
Everything about these cards say couture — from the design to the paper.
These cards are press-printed 5×7 folded cards, and — get this — there are FOUR full-color sides! Every design features more than one area to show off photos of your favorite peeps: your family! You get to choose one of these deluxe press-printed paper types: fine art watercolor, fine art linen, or pearl!
Directly below are the card covers, so you can easily view the collection. Then in the 2nd section, you can see the entire card layout (cover, inside spread, back). At the bottom of this post, you will find the product details, like prices and shipping.
~ ANNIE TAO PHOTOGRAPHY COUTURE COLLECTION ~
Couture Design 1: TOKYO SQUARE
This is a storyboard preview for Jenny M.
I love the photos Jenny chose for her storyboard. Just three photos displayed together can tell the story of how much love and fun exist in a family!
Notes:
* I put Kanoa on the left because of the direction he is facing. And it matches well with the family shot on the right because Patrick is turning towards our left.
* I cropped in where necessary — especially in the left and middle photos — to fit the design of your storyboard.
* I oomph-ed the photos by giving them more punch. I didn’t want light, washed out BxW tones. I like how this looks with a little more contrast. It’ll look fantastic with a black frame.
* The black line around the storyboard depicts the edge of the paper, so you’ll know where the frame will be. (The line is there just for the preview.)
* My logo will not be on your storyboard. (The logo is there just for this preview.)
* The storyboard will be printed on one 10×20 professional paper.
…to deck your halls with photographic artwork.
I was trying to be creative with the title, but it comes across more like a shameless plug!
One of my dear clients ordered a 10×20 storyboard from her last year’s photoshoot. With each storyboard creation, clients get to preview the design before I send it to the lab for printing and finishing. So the rest of this post is client-specific…
L. FAMILY PREVIEW
Note: The thin black line will not be on your print. The line is to mark the edges of the paper, so you can visualize where the frame will be. The images will be printed professionally on one 10×20 photographic paper.
This is what I did:
- I cropped Ally’s photo to be more vertical. Also did some editing work.
- I lightened the kids in the horizontal shot because they were a little dark from their positioning to the sun. I also cropped out some of the “white space” to accommodate the storyboard design, so as a result, the kids are more centered than the original photo.
- I played around with Griffin’s shot to see if I liked a tighter shot of his face to match Ally’s portrait, but I didn’t like it as much. A tighter shot of his face means we’d lose some great details, like Griffin’s cool haircut and his stylin’ flip flops! So instead, I cropped a tiny bit at the top and adjusted the brightness/contrast.
ALTERNATE DESIGN
As I was editing the photos to create your storyboard, it jumped out at me that these images would look awesome in BxW!
So here is what your storyboard would look like with BxW images, so you can compare and contrast. Having a color or a BxW storyboard is a personal preference.
REVISED COLOR DESIGN
This is with a larger version of Griffin, so that he is better ‘balanced’ with his sister’s solo photo!
FYI: This is the largest Griffin could be for this photo without losing his shoes or cropping too much of his hair.
Of all my new products, this is what I’m most excited about!
I’ve looked all year for albums that I can put my name on. I wanted albums that looked polished and modern, not stuffy and boring. I wanted albums where images were printed directly on the pages — thick pages, not the thin magazine-style pages — and where images could run off the edges. I wanted hardcover albums that were easy to handle yet durable enough for frequent viewing. I wanted albums that had the look and feel of an art book. After 8 months, I found them! These Fine Art Books are all that and a bag of chips!
The Collection
I offer three modern books: 10×10 Book of Love, 6×6 Book of Joy and 4×4 Brag Book.
To get a sense of their relative size, I took a photo of the three book sizes with my ring. See below.
The 10×10 Book of Love is the ultimate way to display your artwork. The 6×6 Book of Joy is a great personal-sized book and also makes a great gift. The 4×4 is the perfect Brag Book for moms and grandparents to carry around to… well, brag about their gorgeous kids or grandkids!
The Packaging
All art books come in its own luxurious black satin bag!
Touchable Paper
The pages are matte, not glossy, which will make everyone want to touch it! And don’t worry, the paper is smudgeproof and will not show fingerprints.
The special paper uses archival inks and enhances colors so every image looks vibrant.
Lay Flat Pages
My favorite feature are the lay flat pages! That means, there are no ugly gutters, color changes or color bleeding on the fold crease. And when you turn each page, the pages lay flat.
With lay flat pages, you can really get photos to stand out by using the entire space… from edge to edge. So in a 10×10 book, a full spread image like the one above and below is a 10×20 photo! This is a terrific way to showcase a large quantity of artwork from your photoshoot in beautiful, look-at-me sizes!
And since there are no gutters (that ugly white line that usually runs in the middle of each spread because each page is adhered individually to the book), you could put faces and other important elements right smack in the middle! And it looks fabulous!
Thick Is Better
The thick cover is a laminated hard cover that is durable and washable. It matches well with the super thick pages of the book.
Customizable
The cover, spine and back are unique and customizable.
You can also upgrade to a full leather cover or a 3/4 leather cover. They are gorgeous!
The Design
My design taste is simple and clean. I will design your Fine Art Book to reflect a modern style where the images are the focus on each page.
More Details:
* Each book has 30 pages (15 spreads).
* Additional spreads can be added. See the Pricing page for specifics.
* All books, except Brag Books, can be purchased a la carte.
* The 4×4 Brag Books are special books that are only available in a package or when you purchase a 10×10 or 6×6 book. (This is not my rule, but the album company’s rule! This is because Brag Books are priced at cost.)
* Every image in your Book will be oomph-ified! Click here to see examples.
* Leather cover upgrades are available.
* Discounts are given when you order multiple books that are identical — such as, when you order 1 Book of Love for yourself + 3 Books of Joy to give as gifts = Save, Save, Save!
* The creation process is simple. You give me 3 lists of images: 1) Must Haves 2) Nice To Have and 3) Definitely Do Not Want Included. And I’ll design your Fine Art Book! You can view a draft of your Book and get 2 photo changes, if necessary (ie, swap a photo for another, switch a photo position). And voila! You get your Fine Art Album in 2 to 3 weeks from sign-off!
Click here for pricing of Fine Art Books and other products!
These books are even cooler and more impressive when you see and touch them for yourself! So contact me if you want me to bring it to your photoshoot or meet me at a coffee shop!
For Author Mia King, I took some product shots of her ceramic “live simply” sign.
Since the message was about the simplicity of life, I wanted the environment (or backdrop) of the product to match. So I took a walk around to find some earthy things to hang the sign on. I can’t decide which one is my favorite…
Can’t Choose A Favorite
The sign hung up in a bush, or….
…the sign hung up in a tree.
They both have different textures and both have either green or brown colors, which match the sign. I like how the leaves photo fills the entire image in the first photo and I like the deep contrasts. But in the second photo, I like how you can see the sculpted raffia hanger and a tiny bit of a house, which speaks to the “live” part of the sign’s message.
What is your vote?
My Mia Holding Mia King’s Sign
My darling Mia walked around with me while I did this product shoot. It was over 100 degrees today! Sooooo hot. Anyhow, she was so cute, so I had her hold the sign just for fun.
One of my Los Angeles clients just sent me photos of her wall gallery that she created for her livingroom.
As I advise all my clients who purchase their images on CD, you are welcome to print photos yourself at a lab of your choice, but for artwork you plan to display, you will get much better results by ordering the prints through me. I will not only print from a professional lab and on professional paper, but the best part is that I also look closely at each and every photo you order and “oomph-ify” them!
Some images look fantastic straight-out-of-the-camera, but most professional photographers will admit that most photos can use a little enhancing here and there, even if it is to make the colors pop a little more or to give something a smidge more contrast. You are welcome to give me specifics of what you want done, like “please lighten the shadow on my husband’s face”. I will accommodate all requests!
Here is a photo of my client’s wall gallery… (FYI: This photo was not taken by me)
She ordered all the prints through me, then framed them herself and created her gallery. I think it really completes her livingroom!
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