I have started the Forum Support Videos

I have started creating the forum support videos and I am 11 videos into the series. These will be made available to all members for free so that they can make the most of the forums. Obviously these are mainly aimed at new members but all members may learn a thing or two about some of the more hidden features.

So if you think there is a particular area of the website and forum that I should be covering then please leave a comment below. And YES Kelvin I am doing all the Challenge videos as well

Do you think The Big Picture is Expensive?

Well I am here to tell you that it is not. Want proof?

I dipped into one of my fellow competitors website yesterday and low and behold they have a 3 day course called the "The Big Picture". I know the girls from Annabel Williams lurk on here regularly. Hi girls!! Now I have done some consultancy work for Annabel in the past and they are a great team down at Staveley but business is business and I think its pretty cheeky nicking my ideas. Gotta love your spirit ladies!! YES! I know there is loads of things called "The Big Picture" but its a funny old thing when you see your course name popping up elsewhere very soon after you do it.

So what does Annabel's "Big Picture" cost... I hope you are sitting down?

Its £695+VAT That's £799.29 in real money... for 3 days training!!! Have you come around yet from fainting?

Now remember that you also have to pay for your accommodation. (I can recommend the "Eagle & Child" lovely little pub and you can walk to Annabel's) If you drive down for the first day and leave on the last day that means you will only need 2 tonight's B&B so there is another £90 onto the course fee's. But to be honest you will be so knackered on the first day from driving to the Lake District that you had better make it 3 nights to be on the safe side... so that's £135 onto to the £799.29 bringing the total to £934.29 so far...

At least the course gets you a pretty nice buffet lunch each day from Wilf's along the road from the studio, but because you will make friends on the course know doubt someone will suggest a night out or two, so if you all have dinner together their goes another £60 which makes a grand total of £994.29 for a 3 day course!

BUT the big question of the other Big Picture is will you learn anything? The answer is yes you will learn a "little" because you get very little to take away with you so make sure you have a tape recorder and note/pen with you otherwise if you are thinking of booking in on this course it may be be a lot of money wasted if you can't take it all in.

Now, don't get me wrong Catherine and the team are past masters at getting you excited, inspired and enthusiastic about what they are doing, so much so that you will have signed up for more courses than you ever needed... There goes another £2000....

However, if you want to get "Your Brand to Speak" and "Take on board their Big Picture" then go ahead.... be my guest.

or you can buy "The Big Picture" for £151.98 inc P&P and you will learn way more than you will ever learn on a 3 day course... I give good value for money and it lasts a heck of a lot longer than 3 days....

Nice try girls, but your going to have to do a lot more than call your 3 day course after my flagship product, to beat what I do...There's only one real BIG PICTURE.....


CLICK HERE TO WASTE £1000

What's Next

I have been asking myself that question for a few days now that the Big Picture eStore is finished as we are ready share it with the world. I look upon The Big Picture as a rebirth of my product range and it is only the start of the journey along an explosion of multi-media ideas that up until 6 months ago I could only dream of whilst in the shower! Yes I do a lot of my thinking whilst getting clean of a morning.

I can't tell you all the difference Greg has made to this website and to the my product range. The Big Picture really is just the starting point for the future and I am not sure where we will end up. Ask Tim, and he will tell you that I have only now managed to fulfill ideas that have brewing around for the past 3 years and longer. Things like a bespoke interface for the videos, documentary featurettes, a truly MAC and PC compatible product that is informative and entertaining. Plus and this is most important, 100% my own content and not me using either stock or another photographer's images. (As much as I am very grateful to every photographer who has supplied me with images over the years).

So what is next? Well I have a mountain of paper work to catch up on and I think the website is overdue some daily TLC for the remainder of the month, plus I need to get into a routine of a weekly email again. But now though I can see Greg and I doing some more polished video tutorials for the video library and I would also like to expand the range of free video tutorials that I do. So we will be both working on that. I will then need to have a good look at my to do list and see what else is in pipeline.

As for the next product well I am going to take some time to think about that some more but it will be along the lines of the Big Picture only smaller and obviously a different theme. It also very much depends on how well the Big Picture sells as to how much money will be available to invest in the next idea. There will be no more pre-orders or heavy discounts because in this economic climate I cannot afford to do either plus I know a lot of you were a bit miffed the length of time it took to make the Big Picture. so that was the last of that. Next time the dvd will be in its packaging sleeve ready for posting before you get to hear about the launch date.

Now, I am skipping the title of this Blog post! What's Next? Well I would quite like to do something that involves Green Screen technology. I have already been dabbling with and I am sure it will be of great interest but much thought and brainstorming needs to be done before hand.

So watch this space...

The BIG Picture on Sale Now!!

Its been 6 months in the making and now its finally here... THE BIG PICTURE IS ON SALE NOW in our new e-Store... In fact saying as this the only product we are selling at the moment its really the BIG PICTURE store .

Learn to Retouch like Pro...

Some of the most interesting photographs are of people portraits, family snapshots, wedding photos and Adobe Photoshop helps to make people look their best in pictures. In The Big Picture, professional photographer and Photoshop expert Stuart Little takes you on a journey of the retouching secrets used by pros.

He demonstrates tricks for covering up skin flaws, correcting discrepancies in color and tone, removing backgrounds and other visual distractions, fixing teeth and hair, enhancing facial features, and sculpting body parts. This inspiring step-by-step training course is full of secrets that will help professionals and hobbyists alike create stunning photographs of people.

Exercise files accompany the tutorials and each DVD shows you highlights from the 6 photo shoots including commentary by Stuart on his choice of lighting setup and equipment used, proving that you don’t need to spend a fortune on gear to be able to achieve amazing results.

4 DVD Box Set Includes:

Documentary Videos (with commentary) - Lighting Setups - Over 180 HD Photoshop CS4, Lightroom 2 and Bridge CS4 Video Tutorials - DNG Exercise Images - Tips, Techniques and Much More...

The Big Picture will selling on Amazon for £199.99 +P&P but you can purchase it online today for £149.99 and if you think what a one day seminar or evening class would cost you this represents amazing value for money.

Greg has done an amazing job getting a lot of information into a very small space and you will find plenty of samples and videos to watch so that you get a preview of the massive amount of content that's in the 4 DVD box set. I am very proud with what we have achieved and it is by far and away the best training DVD I have ever produced.

MORE INFO...

Getting the e-Store just right

Greg and I are currently working on the new e-Store for the Big Picture and we are hoping to have the bulk of it finished today. Just like the Big Picture itself its taking way longer than originally planned but I think its important that we get right for those of you who have not purchase this amazing product as yet.

Similar to the video library Greg is employing the use of tabs on the page and this allows me to put a lot of information, videos and samples etc in a very small place which is really clever. The page is being hand coded and we are using all manner of javascript and web 2.0 goodies to get you in the mood for what is the ultimate step by step guide to beauty retouching that you will find anywhere.

So if you are sitting back with ants in your pants waiting for the Big Picture then you wont have much longer to wait.

Frustrated by the CS4 Tabs

Ok so I gave them my best shot, but the CS4 tabs are very annoying. So how do you switch them off and get back to using Photoshop CS4 like CS3 and all the other earlier versions? Press Ctrl+K (PC) Cmd+K (MAC) then go to >Interface>Panels& Documents and un-tick "Open documents as Tabs" and "Enable Floating Document Window Docking" This will bring your Photoshopping back to a normal and peaceful existence...

The Big Picture Trailer

Well the Big Picture has been 6 months in the making and after nearly 2 months of having to do other business both Greg and myself are gearing up for at least 6 months of promoting the Big Picture. Yes the UK economy is in tatters but I truly believe that we have a very special training product that is not only informative but also entertaining and that is a very difficult combination to get right. Enjoy the trailer above and I look forward to telling you more about The Big Picture as we go about creating the new e-Store.