You’ll see some changes immediately. Our website has a new logo and url – https://exposure.software. We’ll be updating our social media channels with our new name over the next few weeks. When Exposure X5 is released this fall, the transition will be complete.

One thing that won’t change is our commitment to amazing service. We’ll continue to offer the best customer support in the software industry, and to deliver tools that are fun, reliable, and inspire creativity!

I’d like to offer a special thanks to everyone who has used our products over the years. We couldn’t have done it without you, and we hope to keep serving you for many years to come.

The post Alien Skin Software is now Exposure Software appeared first on Exposure Software.

Our Founder

Alien Skin’s founder, Jeff Butterworth, dropped out of computer science graduate school because he was interested in creating finished software products that helped people with real work. He noticed people struggling to use Adobe Photoshop. In those days it lacked many useful features people take for granted today. Jeff created Eye Candy, one of the first commercial Photoshop plug-ins, to replace long recipes for special effects.

Garage Startup Days

The early days at Alien Skin were a typical garage startup story. Jeff started with no money. His family thought he was crazy for dropping out of school, and wouldn’t invest in the business. He worked out of his apartment, using his roommate’s computer during the day to write the software. He wore a lot of hats – programming, taking orders, shipping packages, duplicating floppy disks, assembling manuals, and designing ads. His roommate’s cat would occasionally barf on invoices.

Listening and Learning

At first, Jeff didn’t know anything about running a business or making commercial software. He learned by talking to experienced people. He was surprised by how generous people were with their knowledge if you simply ask and listen carefully. He learned how to do press relations by talking to reporters. Even many competitors were happy to share their knowledge. We have always devoted real humans to tech support so we could learn from our customers. Our best product ideas came from customer suggestions.

The Transition to Digital Photography

In 2003, we had several conversations with customers who asked for a plug-in that would recreate the look of film. At first we wondered why people needed it, but after studying a lot of film photos, we learned that film selection was a creative choice that had a lot of impact on the look of a photo. We hadn’t seen these styles in digital photography and were inspired to bring them to modern workflows. This was the beginning of Exposure, which we created with the help of a lot of helpful photographers.

Exposure

Since I took over leadership of the company in 2013, Exposure has grown into our biggest product and is our main focus today. Over its lifetime, it has grown into a full-fledged raw editing solution, but its film emulation engine lives on at the core of the product. We’re continuing to listen to our customers as we add new features, and are committed to making Exposure the best photo editor available.

Thank You

Many thanks to our loyal customers for taking this journey with us. We are looking forward to the next 25 years!

The post 25 Year Alien Skin Software Retrospective appeared first on Exposure Software.

The post Our Thoughts on Customer Service appeared first on Exposure Software.

A few things they mentioned during their speaking session about perfectionism and procrastination really spoke to me. Later, I followed up asking them the tough how, why, and what questions. One of the best pieces of advice they shared was with regard to getting started. Sometimes that first step is the hardest for all of us. Their advice about perfectionism and procrastination may have been intended for professionals only, but the longer it sunk in, the more profound it became. The article below came from them.

Don’t let the path of perfection lead to procrastination.

This was one of the most influential things that we did to get to where we are today. We didn’t wait around, we kind’ve just jumped in and went for it. And, of course, we encourage others to do the same. You don’t have to have everything before you start down your path to success, just start down it!

Had we waited until we acquired all of the professional equipment necessary to shoot weddings as a full time business, we wouldn’t be anywhere near where we are right now. Are we saying to drop everything and start doing photography full-time? No. You need to build up to that. Don’t think that you have to have it all before you start. You just have to start.

In a nutshell, start small and grow from there. Here’s what we did, we built up our bookings until we were ready to fully focus on photography. We chose to go by a earnings amount before we were ready to quit our day jobs. At first, we thought it was a crazy amount of money to earn before we could think about leaving the dependability of a consistent paycheck. Funny thing is that we hit that amount of income much quicker than we expected. Once we were there, we pulled the plug and completely went out on our own.

Why do this? Well, we needed to know that there is a parachute, or a safety net. We have small children, so it’s scary to not have a second income option for our families finances. We knew that we didn’t need the perfect camera, or the perfect website, or anything of the sort before we got started. We just had to get started. And that’s just what we did.

Wise words to consider, if perfectionism and procrastination has ever been an issue for you. Check out more from Heather and Jamie on Facebook, or their website.

The post Perfectionism and Procrastination: Advice for Photographers appeared first on Exposure Software.

During our chat, I prodded her a bit about turning a profit from photography. I meet a lot of hobbyist photographers who feel they’re ready to take the next step, but who don’t know when or how to start asking for money. The professional photography tips Jenn gave were so delicious that I took notes. Read on for some tasty advice to teach you the ropes.

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Make $$ Plans, First

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Photo Favors

Being marketing-centric, like I am, I’m always getting people involved in photography-related projects. The hope is that these projects will help them build a better name, resulting in new clientele, but they aren’t for pay, per se. How does that fit in? Are my little projects a complete waste of time?

What if someone famous (or infamous) is involved? Do you pull out your camera for free? I mean, if The Hoff want’s you to take a few snapshots, wouldn’t you be a fool to pass up the opportunity?

Photography favors are always a temptation, especially when friends or influential people are involved. This doesn’t mean that you’re supposed to do them, though. The path from amateur to professional is already a long and treacherous road. Giving your professional-level photography services away for free will only lengthen your trip.

If you’ve tasted the forbidden fruit of volunteering your professional skills, you’ll need to find new clientele. It’s near impossible to change a non-paying client into a paying one, especially after you were willing to give your services away for free, before. The client will have trouble seeing you as anything more than ‘good with a camera,’ and will most likely tell everyone they know the same thing. You want them to consider you a professional, so you have to charge them something, even if its only enough to cover gas in your car or a babysitter to watch your kids.

Marketing projects specifically are a bit different. You’re essentially bartering for publicity, which doesn’t always work–it’s more of a gamble.

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Total Newbie Compensation

Let’s talk about when you’re just starting out. Say you just bought your first camera today, and you want to go out and make fat stacks of cheddar, tomorrow. How do you charge? What can you expect? Should you start charging as a “professional photographer” from day one?

Expect compensation at the level of your experience. If you’re just starting out, you may only make enough to cover equipment rentals or dry cleaning. Most newbies think that their new DSLR is a cash cow, but nothing is further from the truth. Photography is hard work. Until you’re fluent with shooting professionally, it’s difficult to make decent money.

While on the subject–use the term ‘professional’ as an adjective. Professional work is crisp, clear, instantly readable, has superb composition, great tones and colors, and is certainly something you’d pay money for. Anything less isn’t ‘professional.’ If you’re not able to deliver a selection of images that fit this description, don’t consider yourself a pro or charge as one. Professional work is also consistent. It’s only camera magic if you can do it twice, otherwise it’s just dumb luck! Tell your clients that you’re an aspiring photographer, tell them that you’re talented, or tell them that you grew up with a camera in your hand, but don’t, DON’T oversell your capabilities. The best thing to do is be honest, share accurate information, and only show your own work. Everyone starts somewhere. It’s not bad to admit that you’re just starting out, but again, only expect compensation at the level of your ability.

The value of learning your gear or taking classes is always underestimated. I can’t tell you the number of people I have that contact me wanting me to “teach” them something, when they are not even sure what kind of gear they have. I recommend starting there.

Jenn, you’re a gem. I should take you out for a meal sometime. This time I’ll actually pay for it, too. Let me see if Joe has change for a hundred. ;-)

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The post Professional Photography Tips: Photographers and Profits appeared first on Exposure Software.

One of the things I’m most proud of at Alien Skin is our annual giving program. Every member of our team joins in the process by choosing a charitable organization to receive $1,000. This gives each of us the chance to support a cause we feel passionate about.

This year we donated a total of $12,000 to the following organizations. Some people split their money between multiple charities.

• Reedy Creek Middle School PTA
• Multiple Sclerosis Foundation
• Coast Guard Mutual Assistance
• National Parents Organization
• American Red Cross
• LGBT Center of Raleigh
• Audio Dharma
• Pullen Arts Center
• SPCA of Wake County
• El Futuro
• Second Chance Pet Adoptions
• Conn Elementary PTA
• Baucom Elementary PTA
• Duke Ovarian walk

Please consider making a donation to an organization that does work you believe in!

The post Our Giving Program, 2014 Edition appeared first on Exposure Software.