The 2018 WPPI trade show, for veteran or begging wedding and portrait photographers, was held recently in Las Vegas. As usual the trade show portion of the event brought out companies introducing new innovative products to help photographers to do their job.
Hahnemühle showed customers their natural white cotton printing canvas Cézanne 430gsm, which contains no OBA’s and features a finely woven, elegant surface structure. The canvas is ideal for stretch frames and has a first class side color gamut with deep, high blacks.
Decades ago Hahnemühle invented fine-art inkjet papers for digital prints and, I can personally say their tradition of optimum quality exists to this day.
Once you use their products, you’ll see that their motto of producing photo papers based on user demands and new market segments is a tremendous benefit.
www.hahnemuehle.com available in a variety of roll sizes; 24-16.4-inches $41.90
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LumiQuest showed off the LumiQuest Lastand, which they refer to as Swiss Army Knife item, since every photographer will want one.
The company calls it the only all-in-one light stand, tripod and monopod with aluminum construction featuring the exclusive LumiQuest Quick-Connect, which accepts cameras, flash and LED lights.
The patent pending octagonal self-aligning base also features a built-in umbrella receiver. The kit includes a convertible umbrella with case/ballast holder. The Lastand has a seven-foot maximum height, which collapses to 7-inches for ultra-portability at 3.2-pounds. A handheld grip for mobility is included.
https://lumiquest.com $189.95
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Skylum, Luminar 2018 is new software for Mac and Windows users, designed as a universal all-in-one photo app, offering everything a photographer needs for photo editing.
It includes intelligent filters and over 100 built-in presets. Some advanced features including tools for layers, masking and blending, lens correction and transform tools, which any photo editing job most certainly requires.
The software has a digital asset management module for organizing photos and Raw image processing. The Skylum site has a free 14-day trial or you can purchase a full license for $69.
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nPhoto has a new sleek and stylish Folio Boxe, which is perfect for presenting your personal photos or images to a client. They are handcrafted with the choice of either high-quality textiles or leatherette with a variety of color options. There are more than 60 design options, including Laser Etching, UV Printing, and Embossed text and fonts.
Choices for printing images include printing on Fujicolor Crystal Archive Digital Silk Paper and preserved on state-of-the-art image mats designed to allow your artwork to last a lifetime. Or photographers can have their images mounted on durable foam prints.
Sizes vary to safely fit 5, 10, 15, or 20 images per box. The boxes range in sizes of 5-by-7-inches for 4-by-6-inch prints up to a 12-by-16-inch box for 8.5-by-11-inch prints.
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FrameALIVE is a new app that is really cool. After hearing about it at the show, I went to the FrameALIVE site, which makes you an offer you can’t refuse; use the free App for three free FrameALIVEs.
The app combines image recognition with videos to produce pictures that “come to life with a click.” This creates masterpieces simply by selecting a still photo and lining it to a video in the FrameALIVE dashboard, which bring your pictures to life!
Videos can be added to photo albums, design moving portraits, make printed books with YouTube videos, and so much more.
www.framealive.com Additional FrameALIVEs are $1.99 each, 30 for $50 for 120 for $190
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Contact Gregg Ellman at greggellman@mac.com. Follow him on Twitter: @greggellman
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