Holiday Office Closure

Hello friends of Kubota Image Tools! We hope you are well on your way to an enjoyable holiday as this year comes to an end.

Please take note that our office will be closing at 4PM on Friday, December 23, and will remain closed through January 2, 2012 so the staff can enjoy some much deserved time off with their families.

If you face difficulties while our staff is out, please be sure and read our very detailed Frequently Asked Questions and browse through our plethora of Tutorials and Webinars to see if there is a solution. We'll be returning emails and voicemails upon our arrival back in the office on Tuesday, January 3rd.

Warm wishes to you and yours. May your New Year begin brimming with excitement and inspiration!

Posted by Kubota Image Tools 

Kicking Off WPPI Las Vegas With A Bang!

Kubota Image Tools and WPPI are teaming up to give you the third annual Photographers Ignite! Photographers Ignite is this year's opening program at WPPI Las Vegas. We're currently accepting submissions for Ignite presentations. Do you have a stellar idea that you think would inspire, educate, motivate or create some contagious laughter? Grab an iPhone, webcam, or snazzy DSLR, put your face in the camera and blow our minds with your ideas!

Submissions are due by January 15, 2012, and those chosen to speak will be notified by the end of January. Want to generate some creative buzz? Check out the blog or some presentations from past events!

What is Photographers Ignite, exactly?
Ignite is a style of presentation where particiapnts express their passion for photography with five minutes to speak on a related subject accompanied by twenty slides. It's like a really cool version of a pep rally, sure to excite your brain cells with innovative ideas and creativity for the coming year.

Even if you don't want to present, join us!

Sunday, February 19, 2012
Doors Open: 7:30PM
Event Begins: 8:00PM
After Party: 9:30PM
Central Ballroom, MGM Grand

Posted by Kubota Image Tools 

Meet Dixie Dixon

When I first met Dixie she had just given a presentation entitled, "Get Lit" at the WPPI Road Trip in Austin, TX. I was expecting a professional wedding photographer to stand up and talk about posing, but when I saw Dixie's images I knew she was not a wedding photographer. Her passion is high fashion and her images are undoubtedly attention-grabbing, which is why she has clients like Kodak, Living Magazine, HDNet TV, MAV TV, Florsheim Shoes, ProFoods, Meregrass Jets, Garland Drake Int'l, and Darian Thomas, just to name a few. Dixie graduated from Texas Christian University in 2007 with a major in Business and opened her own studio, Dixie Dixon Photography, in 2008. Dixie currently resides in Dallas, TX, which means a lot of traveling to California and NYC, but she says Dallas keeps her grounded and it's near her family.  

Facebook: www.facebook.com/dixiedixonphotography
Twitter: @iamdixiedixon

Websites:
http://www.dixiedixon.com/
http://dixiedixon.tumblr.com/
www.camera-crush.com

Awards:
2006 FujiFilm Contest Winner
2007 Hy Sheanin Int'l Emerging Photographer of the Year
2009 Accolade of Excellence in WPPI 8x10 Print Competition

What is a day in the life of a fashion photographer like? How is it different from portrait photographer?
As with any type of photography, a day in the life of a fashion photographer is an insane amount of work! Though if you love what you do, you'll never work a day in your life! Honestly, most of my days consist of some of the following:  dreaming up ideas, planning out shoots, pre-production work such as casting, researching and scouting locations, portfolio/website updates, designing promos, cold-calling, networking events, blogging, paperwork/bill pay, traveling, and last but not least, SHOOTING! My hours are all over the place, but I find that I am most creative in the evening after about 10pm, so I tend to work later hours.

Which Kubota Action could you not live without, and how do they help your workflow? 
Kevin's actions have completely ROCKED my workflow!  Basically, they allow me to transform my raw images into magazine-ready work in a much shorter time period. That way I can spend more time shooting and less time editing! "Sepia Deep Black 3" is definitely one my faves, but it's really hard to choose just one!

Tell us about your Camera Crush business.
The business nerd in me is always looking for ways to supplement my photography career with passive income. Camera-crush.com is about merging two of my favorite things- Fashion and Photography! This project is in the very beginning stages so I'm working on a bunch more products to come besides just the camera necklace. We'll see where it goes.

You spend a lot of time traveling, what do you do in your down time?
The past few months have been crazy! I've been working in Toronto, Miami, Costa Rica, Ibiza, Barcelona, and LA, but when I do have some downtime, you'll find me hanging out with friends, drinking wine, or catching some sun. Honestly, I feel really lucky to be able to travel, it's definitely one of the perks of being a photographer.

What is one goal you have set for yourself this year?
To find more balance in my life. The past 3.5 years I have literally been married to photography. I love it and it is definitely my passion, but you have to make time for what is most important, or life will pass you by!  

Business-wise, I am currently working with a consultant on a marketing plan that will roll out Jan 2012...I'm really excited about this!

What is your favorite charity and why?
I've shot for and been involved in quite a few different charities, but eventually I'd love to be involved in or start a charity that helps encourage kiddos to dream BIG and supports creative endeavors such as music, painting, photography, fashion, etc. In my opinion, art is just as important as math, science, or English because we all are creative in one way or another, most just need the opportunity to use it and exercise it. I love this quote, which comes from Pablo Picasso,  "All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up."

Posted by Kubota Image Tools 

Cyber Monday SALE is Back!

Purchase any qualifying Photoshop® product in our store on November 28th and receive $50 off EACH product immediately! The best part? On November 29th, for every order containing these Photoshop products, we'll send you $50 in Kubota Bucks to spend on another purchase in the future!

If you're feeling stocked up once your purchases have been made, why not gift your $50 KubotaBucks to a friend? After all, they could use some sweet, time-saving tools during this busy season, too!

For all the details, click HERE.

Posted by Kubota Image Tools 

It's Hot off the Press!

Have you heard the news? Better yet, have you ordered your copy? Kevin's Lighting Notebook is out!

You can read some sweet reviews, check out all the info, and buy your own copy today. If you purchase before October 4 from our store, you'll get some freebies, too! Not only will Kevin autograph your book, but you'll get a FREE set of Lightroom Presets Kevin compiled as a thank you, AND we're giving you $25 Kubota Bucks to use on a future purchase. Yes, feel free to insert cheers of jubilee right here.

Don't forget to post a review, if you would be so kind! And did the Lighting Notebook inspire you to create some stellar new work? Show us on our Facebook page!

Posted by Kubota Image Tools 

Before and After: Gimme Some Glam

We all know what's beginning to happen up in the Northern Hemisphere: no, not just fall, fall fashion. HELLO, there are gorgeous boots, sweaters, and accessories showing up in stores everywhere! Can I get an AMEN?! The new fashion trends rolling out always seem to get my toes tingling...or maybe it's my fingers tingling as they reach for my wallet... Either way, I'm itching to see some serious glam.

I saw that this image had some great potential and could be seriously transformed into something extra captivating if I gave it just the right look. I wanted the final image to match the sultry expression on the model's face. In order to do this, I needed to use an effect with a bit more contrast and color, so I combined one of our fabulous cross-processed looks with a texture to give it some depth. This is what I came up with:

Here's the recipe used to enhance this image:

Skin Powder Genie (Artistic Tools V3)
Doll Face (Artistic Tools V3)
TenSixties (Viva la Vintage)
    2010 60's layer @ 80%
Kapchorwa (Texture Tools - Industrial)
    Remove Texture Color @ 40%
Vignette 2 Interactive (Artistic Tools V4) @ 80%
Shadow Killer Brush (Production Tools V2)

How many of you out there include fashion photography in your repertoire? What's your style of processing?

Cheers from the Image Diva,
Eryn

Posted by Kubota Image Tools 

Shooting and Editing HDR: Kevin on Post Pro

Cheers to another week of great learning tips from Kevin Kubota on the [FRAMED] Post Pro segment. This week he's got some tricks to help you in the process of creating beautiful HDR (High Dynamic Range) images.

Posted by Kubota Image Tools 

reDefine with Kevin Kubota

After the last SNAPshot here on the Kubota Image Tools Blog, we're pretty sure you're now excitedly following what Tamra Lackey is up to in all of her adventures. Recently she ran into Kevin at Skip's Summer School in Vegas and snagged an interview with him. Catch the latest and greatest in this episode of reDefine:

Posted by Kubota Image Tools 

Find Your Flair with Kevin Kubota & Doug Gordon

My friends, you'd be wise to click The Wonderful Link below for very exciting news about your plans for October!

When you click The Wonderful Link, you'll find out plenty of information on how to get into the club of Kevin Kubota and Doug Gordon's stellar workshop this October 24 & 25 in Lindenhurst, NY.

The workshop will kick off on the 24th with a night shoot alongside Kevin and Doug where you'll get to watch, shoot, and learn side-by-side with them. You'll pick up on their professional knowledge of posing, style, and lighting techniques throughout the course of this two-day workshop.

As a thank you, Kevin will also be giving each attendee a FREE copy of his soon-to-be released book, Kevin Kubota’s Lighting Notebook: 101 Lighting Styles and Setups for Digital Photographers™! How nice of him, right?

Register today!

The Wonderful Link. (Click it.)

Posted by Kubota Image Tools 

September's Prudent Purchase: Need to Beef Up for Your Families?

Anyone else just get shivers down their spine?

Ahhh... the holidays. They can be such a loving time of year, right? Love during the holiday season is most often shared and embraced with family. And we all choose to record and document that love year after year with horrendous sweaters. Oh, and photographs... of course.

This can make the next couple months very lucrative for photographers who specialize in Family Portrait Photography. (You down with FPP?) Whether it's for a holiday newsletter, an annual update to the wall above the mantle, or under another threat of abandonment from Grandma Lucy, family portraits are a very sacred tradition to many families and the demand for pro-level photography can be dramatically high.

To cash in on that demand and remain competitive, every photographer ends up frantically searching for something that will give them an extra edge--a performance-enhancing... something. They seek the means for producing the most artistically stunning pictures while turning around their photographs more quickly than their competition. That, and a new lens. (Come on, doesn't that end up on our wish list every holiday?) Right now you're probably thinking, "So, I suppose you have the solution I seek and you're going to now entice me with said solution at a special discounted price."

WHOA! I could NOT have said that better myself! See, we're closer than you realize. We're practically FAMILY!

We don't make lenses, but we hope you're familiar with our Kubota Actions and our critically acclaimed Kubota Action DASHBOARD which, when working in unison, provide THE FASTEST and MOST INTUITIVE way to enhance your images in Photoshop. We currently have six unique Paks of Kubota Actions, which you'll see listed below. Each Pak is assembled to provide a focused, yet well-rounded, collection of approximately 50 Kubota Actions powered by the Action DASHBOARD. We also offer Super Savings Paks made up of various bundles of our Action Paks aimed at saving you money.

Well, we have an ANNOUNCEMENT for you and a SPECIAL OFFER... Kubota Image Tools has a NEW Super Savings Pak called the Kubota Action DASHBOARD Three Pak. You will select ANY COMBINATION of your THREE MOST DESIRED KUBOTA ACTION PAKS and SAVE 25% ($138!) when compared to purchasing three Action Paks a la carte. AND... for the entire month of September, when you purchase this new Kubota Action DASHBOARD Three Pak, we'll throw in a FREE PRO VERSION DASHBOARD UPGRADE which bumps the savings to over 30%! This is your chance to round out your collection of Kubota Actions in a la carte fashion but at bundled savings!

ONE MORE THING:

As usual, new customers installing the Kubota Action DASHBOARD for the first time will have FULL FREE ACCESS to every one of our over 300 Kubota Actions during a 30-day trial. For September only, anyone who has already expired their 30-day trial will regain FULL FREE ACCESS to every Kubota Action through September 30 when they purchase the Kubota Action DASHBOARD Three Pak. Write that down... the sooner you purchase your Three Pak, the longer you will access FREE KUBOTA ACTIONS!

Build up your arsenal in September so there will be no scrambling during the Family Portrait months to outshine your competition. As always, if you have any questions or would like to receive custom recommendations for which Kubota Action Paks are best for you, please call our friendly and knowledgeable Customer Care staff. To start you off, I've provided descriptions below for each of the six Kubota Action Paks, each linking to Before & After galleries and many more details about our Image Enhancing Tools. When you've decided upon your customized Three Pak, visit our Kubota Action DASHBOARD Three Pak store page to place your order and enjoy the savings! 

Good luck to you and all those loving families braving the portrait experience!
Craig
Buzz Guy

Kubota Artistic Tools VI
"Classic Film Effects Pak"
B&W Photoshop Actions, organic film grain, cross-processing, sepia and monochrome toning, and more.

Kubota Artistic Tools V2
"Modern Chic Pak"
Enrich skin tones, add romantic glow, color enhancement, contrast and ethereal effects. Includes the famous Lord of the Rings series.

Kubota Artistic Tools V3
“High Fashion-Edgy Pak”
Eye-color enhancer and skin retouching tools. Glowing and deeply romantic B&W and color styles, perfect for portraits and fashion.

Kubota Artistic Tools V4
“Cutting Edge Pak”
Interactive B&W converters for perfect tonal blend and richness. Cinematic 3-D effects with Enter the Dragon and 300-esque.

Kubota Production Tools
“Get it Done Pak”
Spend more time creating images, and less time getting them ready. Includes the famous KPD Magic Sharp!

Kubota Viva La Vintage + Pow Wow! Combo Pak
"Flashback Pak" & "High Fidelity Pak"
25 time-warping enhancements to heighten your mind and bring you to the edge PLUS 26 popping-fresh enhancements including Black & White, Color, and Creative Effects.

Posted by Kubota Image Tools