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Rangefinder
Magazine First Exposure: TopHat Imaging from White Glove, First Edition Books
Today, with the digital revolution that has engulfed our profession, we take pictures cheaper, easier and, some say, better. Although digital photography is cheaper and easier, it does not save time. Not only are photographers still taking photographs, but they now also do the work of the lab. Photographers are compelled to do all of the post-processing work they never did before. The labs are rushing to find their rightful place in this new arena by offering photographers full-service capabilities. The digital revolution is not only changing photographic labs, but it is also changing photographers themselves. Photographers are embracing the post-processing aspect of picture taking and therefore looking for anything that will make their job easier. Many of us have rushed to offer the compelling “multiple image, flush mount” design, which is rapidly becoming the book/album of choice, only to discover a tremendous amount of time must be devoted in the production of these products for our clients.
The question must be asked: Why do photographers want to do all of this extra work? The answer is obvious: control. Photographers have always wanted control of their art and vision. Today photographers can have total control, if they choose to take it. How can photographers be in complete control, yet manage their post-production time with these custom book projects? The first step is to go digital with your camera. The second step is to learn Adobe Photoshop. And the third step is to use TopHat Imaging. TopHat Imaging is a drag-and-drop layout program developed to save the photographer time and give the photographer total control.
The program was created and developed by several talented individuals who understand the needs of professional photographers. Paul Thompson and Larry Crandall, the creators of White Glove First Edition Books, are Master Photographers and have more than 50 years combined experience in the wedding/portrait industry. Steven Haines is a Java expert specializing in B2B e-commerce and robust client and server-side image layout and management. He has authored numerous books and articles on Java Swing and Enterprise Java. Abjijit Manushree is a distinguished software architect and developer, with more than 10 years of software product development experience in the field of process, simulation and automation. This team of talented individuals pooled their creative efforts to create TopHat Imaging, Inc., an easy-to-use drag-and-drop layout program specifically engineered for multiple image layout and design.
TopHat software was initially created for White Glove Books, Inc. and was used in house for the purpose of graphic design, composition and layouts for all books. Thompson and Crandall knew from the beginning that creating a software program was the only way to make their book-making process possible, in order to avoid the tedious process of layout and design. The software worked so successfully for White Glove, its creators began creating page sizes, templates and backgrounds for the most popular book and album sizes offered by other companies. TopHat software has many important features. For example, imagine you, the photographer, just finished your last appointment with your bride, and she has selected her favorite images for her book. The first thing you do is put them on your desktop.
Next, you launch TopHat Imaging, and the fun begins. After you choose the book or album company that you use, TopHat gives you another decision: Do you want to place the images in multiple folders or in one folder? Placing the images in multiple folders gives you a dozen choices, ranging from pre-bridals to ceremony to cake cutting to dancing images. By using multiple folders, categorizing is made easier. If you place all of the images in one folder, you can see them all at the same time when you lay them out. Next the TopHat Editor window appears. Here the photographer can begin to assume control and start the layout and design process. The spectacular thing about the layout process is that you can use any of the over 150 template and background combinations you want. There are no preset templates that you are forced to use. Your imagination is limitless with TopHat’s well-thought-out display of possibilities. The best part is the speed with which you can create page spreads using simple drag-and-drop of background and foreground templates and images.
After a page spread has been chosen, you have the option of selecting each image individually and making it sepia, black and white, full color, cool tone, less opacity color, less opacity sepia, less opacity black and white, stroke line, tinted or drop shadowed. Your own graphic design taste will dictate your final product. Another useful part of this program is the cropping tool. With the ease of a right click (or double click), you may crop your image proportionally to any template you choose. This feature means you can get rid of that person who happened to get into the picture accidentally. It also means the end of cropping cards.
When you have laid out your book, don’t forget to save it. If you choose to have your bride look at your creation, changes can be made without costing you any money and costing only a little time, since your project is still in the TopHat Editor. You can easily continue changing the layout until you and your client are happy with the project and you are ready for the final stage, which is generating high-resolution page spreads.
One reason layout and design works so quickly with TopHat is that you are working with thumbnails, or “proxy” images until you finish designing your book project. Then, when you finish and want to generate your project as high-resolution files for printing, it is remarkably easy. You basically press a button and while TopHat launches Photoshop to automatically generate the spreads, you can take a break or sit down and watch the magic happen. Once the files are generated (conveniently as .psd files in layers), you can print them yourself or send them to your book company or lab for printing. TopHat not only lets you design books and albums for most major album companies but also lets you design layouts for individual images for your portrait clients, teams or seniors. The software provides an easy way for photographers to choose layouts for their senior images. Choose an 11x14 template, drag and drop the school in the background, drag and drop in the school logo, drag and drop in the group photograph and the individual image of the student, and you’re done. For more information, visit TopHat Imaging at www.tophatimaging.com or White Glove First Edition Books, at www.wgbooks.com or call (714) 841-6900. |
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White Glove First Edition Books has created TopHat Imaging software. This time-saving software is meant to put control back into the photographer’s hands.
