I write extensively about photography -both photographic technique and aesthetics- about the business aspect of photography, and about photography as art. My writings and photographs are published both in print and on the internet.

PDF files make it possible for you to read my articles without being logged onto the web. They also make each article easy to print the articles. Furthermore, content has been added to some of the articles and the presentation is book-like. If you enjoy reading my articles online you will love reading the articles on these CDs. The CDs will allow you to have all my articles in one convenient place so you can refer to them easily. It will also allow you to search through my diaries easily -- such as my Epson 9600 diary-- because a detailed table of contents has been added to it. The diaries are also in chronological order for easier searching and reference. Finally, several presentations are provided on this CD. These presentations have never been published before and their content is not duplicated in any of my articles. These are a must read if you follow my work and my writings.

In January of this year I decided to make PDF files of my articles available by subscription. This decision was motivated by the cost involved in researching and writing my current series of articles (Being an Artist took over 3 months to write) and the cost associated with providing the necessary bandwith to allow for constant PDF download (last year I used to make PDF versions free for download from my site).

Your purchase allows me to continue writing these essays and supports the maintenance of this site. Natalie and I very much appreciate your support. We believe that when you see the quality of my current articles you will agree that the cost of your subscription is very much worth it when compared to how much it will help you improve your photography.

Alain

About the Composition CD
This CD features a complete system designed to help you study Composition in the field and in your studio using my photographs as examples.

Composition is both one of the most important aspects of photography and one of the most difficult to learn. Without strong composition skills your photographs will not rise above a certain level. Yet, while you hear that all the time, not much is available to study composition at a professional level. Alain's Composition CD is the first composition teaching tool of its kind. It brings an end to this situation by providing you with help in several different ways:

- First, by offering you a tool to study composition in the Field and in the Studio.

- Second, by offering you a tool to study composition in all the most popular image formats, from 6x6 to 6x17 with every other format in-between.

- Third, by providing you with tutorials in essay form (in PDF format) and as Quiktime movies, in which Alain tells you exactly how to use the materials on the CD and the viewfinders. This is the first Beaux Arts Photography CD to feature movies.

- Fourth, by using Alain's photographs as examples and showing you exactly how each of Alain's photographs was composed. A total of 20 examples using Alain's Photographs are provided on the CD, in both vertical and horizontal format and for 10 different composition styles. These photographs are provided on the CD as layered Photoshop files.

- Fifth, by providing you with overlays, on each Photoshop files, showing exactly the structure of each composition. These overlays are located on a separate Photoshop layer that can be turned on or off.

- Sixth, by providing you with Blank Overlays Photoshop files, in 10 different composition styles, onto which you can paste your own photographs and check the exact composition of each photograph to see if it matches the composition style of a specific overlay. The overlay layer contains a sketch of the composition lines for each composition style. This drawing appears over your photographs as lines when you pasts your images onto the Blank Overlay files.

- Seventh, by providing you with tools to practice cropping your photographs in ways you never dreamt possible until now. Alain's Composition CD comes with 6 Layered Photoshop Files which contain 3 different types of masks for the 8 most popular photographic formats. These masks allow you to
A - create a border showing the photographic format of your choice
B - place a black mat around the border of the image
C - place a semitransparent colored overlay showing the boundaries of the composition of your choice

All the teaching materials on Alain's Composition CD-1 work together to offer you a virtual "Composition Lab" in which you can build and refine your composition skills like you never did before. When you head back into the field you will be armed with knowledge that will allow you to compose photographs with the underlying structure you need to have to guarantee a professional result. I am so confident that this CD will allow you to improve your composition skills that if you do all the exercises on it, use all the materials, watch all the movies, read all the essays, and do not improve you composition skills I will refund your money!

Here is the complete list of contents of this unique CD + Viewfinders package:

1 -  Viewfinders:
• PDF Article “How to use the Viewfinders in the field & In the Studio”
• Eight viewfinders (see photograph above) in the following sizes:
- 6x6
- 6x7
_- 4x5
- 6x4.5
- 6x9
- 35mm
- 6x12
- 6x17
2 -  Cropping Masks – Layered Photoshop Files
• PDF Article: How to use the Cropping Masks in Photoshop
• Movie: Alain personally explains how to use the Cropping masks
- Black masks
- Border line masks
- Solid color masks
3-    Composition Overlay files
• PDF Article: how to use the Overlay files in Photoshop
• Movie: Alain personally explains how to use the Overlay files
- Overlays with Alain’s Photographs
- Blank overlay files to paste your photographs on.

About the Marketing CD
This CD features an extensive collection of writings and materials on How to Market your Photographs. Basically, it contains a lifetime of knowledge. The price I ask is far below the actual value of the contents. I want to make it affordable to you, which is why I keep the price so low. Others ask $1000 or more for the same materials. Get it now before I change my mind!

This CD contains all the materials you need to get started with your photography business, take your existing photography business to the next step or learn how to market photography. If you enjoy reading my articles you will enjoy reading the texts on this CD, even if you do not currently sell your photographs. The Marketing CD is available now for $84.95.

All files are both in the original file format -Word or InDesign- and in PDF format so you can open them on any computer whether or not you have Word or InDesign. If you do have Word and/or InDesign you can then use the original files as templates and modify them for your own needs. All the writing, formatting are done, you just need to change the information. This feature alone will save you years of work!

Alain's Marketing CD-1 contains 14 folders filled with files, note, photographs, examples, and much more. Here are the contents of each folder:
1 - Marketing Secrets
- Why marketing is so important to your photography business
- The Six crucial steps to building a photography business
- The Twenty Three Salesmanship Secrets you cannot afford to ignore if you are in business to make money
- The Twenty Marketing secrets that will revolutionize your business when you implement them
- PDF files of all files
2 - Testimonials
- Why Testimonials are important
- Original & PDF files of Alain's Testimonials
3 - Unique Points and Warranties
- Why your Warranty is your most important business asset
- Why it is crucial to have a list of Unique Aspects
- Original & PDF files of Alain's Warranties and Unique points
4 - Artist Statement, Biography & Vitae
- Why your Artist Statement, Biography and Vitae are so important
- How do you write an Artist Statement, Biography and Vitae?
- Original & PDF files of Alain's Artist Statements, Biographies and Vitaes
5 - Labels & Notices
- Why having great labels and notices is important
- Original & PDF files of the labels and notices used by Alain
6 - Signs & Price tags
- Why having carefully-designed signs & price tags will help you generate many more sales
- Original & PDF files of the Signs & Price tags used by Alain at his shows
7 - Stationary & Invoices
- Why the Stationary and the Invoices you use are so important
- Original & PDF files of the Stationary & Invoices used by Alain
8 - Business cards
- The secret you need to know about business cards before you even have them printed
- Original & PDF files of the Business Cards used by Alain
9- Certificates of authenticity
- Original & PDF files of the Catalogs used by Alain
- Original & PDF files of the Certificates of authenticity used by Alain
- Many additional styles of Certificates, in original and PDF formats
10 - Gift Certificates
- Why having a gift certificate is a must
- Original & PDF files of the Gift Certificates used by Alain
11 - Ads & Special Offers
- Why you cannot afford not having a special offer
- Original & PDF files of the Certificates of authenticity used by Alain
12 - Order forms
- The best kept secret about order forms
- Original & PDF files of the Order forms used by Alain
13 - Catalogs
- What you must know before you ever publish a catalog of your work
- Original & PDF files of the Catalogs used by Alain
14 - Show display examples
- Photos of Alain's display at many different shows
- What you should and shouldn't do to have a successful show