Saturday, November 17, 2012

Take Advantage of Professional Printing

There are so many different ways that printing can help a company promote itself in the community. Every employee needs business cards. Every customer wants a pamphlet or flyer for more information. While the work can probably be pulled of with a computer and a business printer, handing over the entire project to the professionals can ensure that the results come out better then expected. Look around to see which company provides the largest personalized selection with a price that fits your business' budget.
Gather Up the Information
Whether you are needing company letter head, employee business cards, or sales menus decide how what information will needs to be included. Each printing project will vary in some way. For example, your sales sheet will require more information and possibly more graphics then your letterhead. Before you begin to place an order or meet with a sales representative, collect everything from your company logo to all of your business contact information.
Get an Idea of What It Should Look Like
When working with a professional printing company, you have several options when it comes to the final product. You can come in with your own ideas and ask the company to replicate them or you can just turn over your information and let someone else come up with the design. You can chose what your role will be and how much you will have to do with the creative process. Some companies offer customers a template to take advantage of. You just take your information and plug it into the appropriate areas.
Check the Proof and Give Final Approval
Once the work is done, the company will send you a proof. This is an example of what the finished product will look like and it is created to get your final approval. Look over the entire thing and check for accurate information and spelling. While every company works hard to bring clients that best possible, sometimes mistakes are made. Once you sign off on the proof, you become responsible for any issues or problems with the printing.
Reorder When Necessary
Once the proof is approved and the order begins, the professionals will keep a copy of your order. When the time comes, if you need to order extra quantities, you can just call or place an order online. It saves time and you don't have to go through the process of gathering information, creating a template and approving the project. If you are a new business or this is your first order, keep an eye on how long the business cards, pamphlets or letterhead last. You can come up with an idea of when you need to reorder to make sure that you are never out of these critical supplies.

Saturday, November 10, 2012

Title Companies and Their Purpose and Responsibilities

Title companies are groups that are often consulted when a person wishes to know more about a particular piece of property. They are a sort of research company that will eventually supply the answers that the buyer wants to know about. Basically, the company can also help with the transaction of buying the piece of property that the buyer has in mind. It is vital that the prospective buyer know if there are any issues regarding the land that he or she wants to purchase. If it is purchased without any research or background study, the problems that come with the piece of land will be transferred to the person who has just purchased it. This is just one of the good reasons why there is a need to hire the services of title companies.
Responsibilities
These groups actually have steps which they have to take in order to meet the demands of the person who hired them. One of the very first things that they usually do is to do and abstract of title. This is a term meaning going through records of the pieces of properties in the county or area where it is located. This research will be able to glean who the real owner of the land is as well as any liens, mortgages or other issues that the land may be under. If there are also leases and restrictions that the property may be under, the abstract of title will also be able to show these in detail. These are important aspects of gathering information about the land and presenting them to the prospective purchaser or the lender. When it is completed, a title opinion letter will be issued to the person who is interested in this particular piece of property. This issue will contain information about the land which title companies will deem important aspects which the prospective buyer or lender might be interested to know. It will list down the things that will need to be completed and the problems that may be connected to the land or building.
If things are satisfactory and the buyer or insurance company is willing to close the deal, the group will then do the necessary paperwork to convey the title, deal with collateral issues and secure the lender. The cost of the closing of the deal will also be discussed between parties. This is an important matter because there has to be a mutual understanding and agreement regarding the costs. After the closing, the funds will be collected by the title companies to pay off any existing mortgages of the property, pay off the seller and get the costs that they might have incurred with the deal. All the transactions will be recorded at the local county courthouse to make the deal legal and absolute.
These services can be confusing for ordinary people with no legal or real estate background. They can save the purchaser, seller and lender a lot of time, money and effort with regards to the sales and closing of the deal.

Saturday, November 3, 2012

So You've Been Asked to Photograph a Friends Wedding

It's a common request, more common than you'd imagine. Especially in times of recession couples are trying to stick to tight budgets. They are considering every purchase, working out if every purchase can be done for less or even for nothing.
So they know you. You're a friend or a relative. They know you've got a fairly nice camera and they know you like taking photographs. They have seen some of your pictures and they think they're quite good. So you can do the photography for their wedding can't you, why not?
This article will help you to understand what you are about to undertake and whether you say yes or no!
The first question to ask yourself is "are your technical skills up to it?".
If you have never taken your camera off the P setting then it's time to learn and fast. You will not be able to shoot a wedding in its entirety in all locations using the P setting. Why?
You need the flexibility that shooting with some degree of control will give you. Do you understand the relationship between aperture, shutter speed and ISO? In certain circumstances you will want to control the aperture. For example when taking the group photographs you would select a fairly narrow aperture to ensure a good depth of field. In certain circumstances you will need to ensure that your shutter speed is fast enough. For example for the bride walking down the aisle in the gloomy church. How are you going to ensure that the shutter speed doesn't drop so low that you get motion blur or camera shake?
Not sure how to achieve this or even why it's important then you should consider saying no to their request or taking a course! Otherwise some really important images will simply not be good enough.
So you're comfortable with using aperture or shutter priority or even shouting in manual. You understand how to use ISO to help control exposure. You recognise what settings are appropriate in different situations. That's excellent but that's not all you need to know...
My next question is what are you going to do if it's a really bright and sunny day? How are you going to ensure that there is a nice even balanced amount of light on people, especially their faces?
You really have to use some fill in light. If you're working on your own then it's got to be fill in flash. Do you have a decent Speedlight (aka flash gun)? Your pop up flash (part of the camera) simply won't allow you enough control. A Speedlight works fundamentally by communicating with your camera and by assessing the picture for you and sending out the appropriate amount of flash. If you don't use fill in flash you run the risk of dark faces or shadows across the faces.
Using a Speedlight isn't as straight forward as it seems. Yes you can set it on ETTL (electronic through the lens) and hope for the best but I wouldn't recommend it. You will need to control the amount of flash and so should know how and why! It's also important to think about defusing the flash somehow.
The easiest and cheapest way is to bounce the flash off a wall or ceiling. There are other ways for example by using a diffuser that fits on to the Speedlight. The principle is that the larger the light source the softer the light. That's why overcast light is better to shoot in than a bright sunny day. It's also why bouncing the flash works.
By doing this you increase the light source from your small flash head to the size of the wall or ceiling.
In part 2 I'll explore how you need to be in control and organise the day in order that you get the job done and I'll discuss the hard work that needs to be put in before, during and after the big day and that you will NOT be a guest at your friend's wedding you will be there to work ALL day!