Fundy SOS - Album Design Software, Online Album Proofing, Work Flow Software, Photography Pricing Software » Fundy SOS

Album Builder v3.6 Final Beta Released to Current Users

"Fundy" — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 22:32:38 +0000

We are releasing the final beta of Album Builder v3.6 to current users working in CS4 and CS5 only. (CS3 coming soon) This is the final beta release, meaning that there will be no other enhancements to the functionality. If there are any bugs, then those will be fixed.

Step 1 Uninstall

You’ll need to uninstall your current version of Album Builder. Simply open up Adobe Extension Manager and choose the item called Album Builder and click “Remove”

Step 2 Download the New Version

Head over to our upgrade page, simply enter your Invoice # and you’ll be given the download file. Caution: you may only download the file 2 times in one month due to security measures, so keep your Invoice # in a safe place. If you don’t know your invoice ID, simply click “Forgot invoice ID” and enter the email address used to purchase Album Builder. (Attn: if you purchased Album Builder or a package containing Album Builder before October 28, 2009, you’ll need to have two invoice numbers to upgrade, first your v2.9-v3.x upgrade ID, then your original Album Builder or package ID. You may have purchase under two different email addresses, please check accordingly.)

Step 3 Install

We have a brand new installer for both Mac and PC. To learn how to install on a Mac go here. To learn how to install on a PC go here. Be sure to restart Photoshop.

Registering your Album Builder

We take your investment in Fundy SOS products very seriously an want you to be able to protect that investment. Learn how to register your product with your Invoice #.

New Features in Album Builder v3.6 in depth

"Fundy" — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 20:12:22 +0000

We are proud to have a video showing all of the features available in Album Builder v3.6. The major update in v3.6 is the ability to automate file handling. What does this do for you? It means Album Builder will automatically save out your current design, close it and open up a new spread for you with a click of a button. You’ll also be able to open up past albums and navigate them with just as much ease. Benefits of the free upgrade:

Automate file handling while designing.
Save your favorite album sizes as sets.
Instantly go to any page in your design.
Open and navigate old album designs as easily as new ones.
Easily insert spreads between two previously designed spreads.

This will be a free upgrade for all users of Fundy Album Builder v3.0 or above.

Hot One Award Entry

"Fundy" — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 18:38:08 +0000

Fundy SOS will be submitting the following products to the Hot One Awards by Professional Photographers of America.

Album Builder
Album Proofer
Work Flow
Action-o-matic
Batch-o-licious
Price Builder

We really feel that we have a fantastic chance of success with many of our products. One thing we really take pride in at Fundy SOS is not copying the pack. We don’t just duplicate what is already on the market. This wouldn’t benefit the end user or the industry. With each product we take a completely new approach based on better design, faster work flow and increasing profits. Hope to see some Hot One Awards on our WPPI and Imaging USA booth background…

Fundy SOS announces Price Builder

"Fundy" — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 20:52:06 +0000

Fundy SOS has just today announced the development of Price Builder. Seeing the need for help in both profitable pricing and package creation, Fundy SOS becomes the first software company to offer a fully automated and integrated way to both price individual products and create photo packages based on business standards. Andrew “Fundy” Funderburg has put extensive research into how large multinational companies price their products and packages. Researching everything from Apple Computer’s iMac pricing strategy to Honda’s car model pricing strategy, he’s been able to tap into the psychology of pricing. Using his MBA and personal research he’s discovered that proper pricing strategies can guide clients to certain price points, effectively enabling you to predict sales. “From what I’ve seen in the industry, pricing and packaging is one of the most difficult parts of a photographer’s business. The reason is simple. There is no industry standard, and, therefore, nothing for photographers to base their pricing off of. For the most part, we are just pulling pricing out of our hat. My feeling, is that by looking at how some of these multi-national companies price, we can use the same fundamentals to increase profits in our studios,” says Fundy. Price Builder begins by using standard retail pricing mark ups to help photographers price their individual products for maximum profit. Using mathematical formulas unique to each type of product in the studio, the photographer can be confident that each product they sell will be profitable in the studio. Once the products are entered into the program, the magic really starts. Photographers can then start a new package set, whether it be price list for weddings, portrait sessions, etc. They choose their target price, how much they want to average for each booking or sale. The program then automatically chooses the best price position for that target based on event or session photography and fills in the other suggested price points for the rest of the packages. The suggested price points and steps are strategically calculated to push clients toward your target price point. Then it is just a matter of adding the products to the packages. Price Builder even suggests package discount targets. Price Builder will include the following features:

Save all of your individual products and prices.
Include special design products, time-based and print credit products.
Create unlimited package sets.
Auto create price points based on one target price.
Export price lists as print-ready pdf and editable Word Documents.
A quick album pricer, for creating album pricing on the fly for clients.
A quick package builder for creating custom packages on the fly.
Export of order sheets and order folders.

Price Builder is set to release in early fall at the price of $199. Fundy SOS will guarantee that it will make your business more profitable or will refund 100% of your money. Here is an early mockup of the program.

Tip of the Week – Meet my kids, meet CS5

"Fundy" — Tue, 18 May 2010 23:20:41 +0000

So this last weekend we were out playing in the park in downtown Portland, OR. My kids were having a great time playing in the fountain and I yelled at them to run over. Of course my wife wanted me taking photos, so I did what I was told . The shot turned out great, but of course my wife was complaining about the kid playing in the background. I would like to personally thank Adobe for saving me a ton of grief. Pre-CS5 this would have been a nightmare. I would have to get out the clone tool and spend a good hour cloning her out. But now with CS5, I just select the girl and go Edit>Fill, select content aware and I’m done!! Wahoo. Now check it out. Now, do a little retouching, convert to BW and my wife is a happy camper!

New Favorite iPhone app

"Fundy" — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

This is my new favorite iPhone app!. It’s called Tiltshift Generator and does a lot of really cool tilt shift effects on photos.

Just take your photo and choose your focus spot. You can then adjust how big the blur will be off the focus spot.

Then you can go into the color section and adjust your color, saturation, contrast, etc.

Then add your vignette (my favorite function ever, I’m always adding vignettes to my portrait and wedding images).

Hit the save button and voila you have art!

This is my iPhone rendition of Multnomah Falls here in Oregon.

Fundy

Tip of the Week – Quirky Keylines

"Fundy" — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

I just discovered this little technique while playing in Photoshop. You can use this whether you own Fundy Album Builder or not. Album Builder will allow you to batch apply this technique, versus doing it one by one.

Very simple, just click “Keylines, etc.” in Fundy Album Builder or choose Layer Styles from the Layers menu in Photoshop.

If you have a texture under your photos (or a color, but textures work better), choose “overlay’ as the Blend Mode on your Stroke. That will allow an overlay function to blend with the color of the texture, and, in turn, give you a very cool looking keyline, border or frame. I’ve done a very thick version above for the example so you can see the result.

The cool thing is that it is so fast to do. Just a couple of clicks. Next time you use a texture under a photo, give this technique a try.

New Album Builder v3.3

"Fundy" — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

We’ve added 6 custom action presets to the Album Builder palette. Have some favorite actions? Now you can apply them with just one click.

Simply choose any number of images on your layout and click your preset button and that action will be applied. You can use this with any action in your action palette. We’ve created a simple, intuitive button setup module for you.

This will be released next week and will be a free upgrade.

Fundy