[kathleen]

i wonder if there would be a market for using photoshop as an adjunct to home improvement, interior design. like, this is what your house would look like if you paint it white. or your living room. or your couch. perhaps there is something like this already out there; wonder if there is any program that would do this any more efficiently than Photoshop.

for that matter, and this goes back to weddings again, you could try different colors on bridesmaids before the fact.

the advertising end completely intimidates me. gotta get over that.

[thomasgeorge]

While Photoshop could be used I think although some of the 3-D programs out there like one from Eos systems called Photomodeler might be more suited to that task. Another called CANOMA from I believe metacreations, is suppost to be able to take scanned or images from digital cameras and allow you to create photorealistic 3-D models from them. All these come at a price though. Around $750.00 for Photomodeler and around $500.00 for the PC version of canoma. I think the Mac version of the latter program is less. That is a good idea. Also,
Real Estate web sites are beginning to get interested in displaying "virtual tours" for prospective clients. Photoshop WOULD be good for your idea about "color picking" for Wedding attire, who would a person contact to get something like that started,ie, how to advertise or get referrals? Tom

[Doug Nelson]

I saw a thread at the Adobe forums from a dentist wondering how to use Photoshop to preview his dental work for patients.

I also have a plastic surgeon friend that uses it to show before/after effects before the surgery.

So the moral here is: offer you services to real estate agents, dentists, and plastic surgeons. Not as editors, but to teach them how to use Photoshop for their purposes.

[DJ Dubovsky]

Excellent ideas are definately coming out of this thread.
DJ

[thomasgeorge]

Thats interesting. I thought that the Facial reconstruction guys and gals used a special program which allowed the importing of front and side views of the patients face and head via a ccd camera connected to the computer and then the software was used to reconfigure the features which needed attention by automatically using standard tissue depth tables etc.. Guess Photoshop is one of those programs with a LIFETIME learning curve! NEAT. Tom

[Doug Nelson]

Has anyone ever tried contacting museums? There's hundreds of thousands of history museums out there. I always thought that would be a great relationship to have.

[thomasgeorge]

Great idea, Doug. I wonder if mentioning to them about archiving their photos/documents on CD might be worth while. The only "rub" might be that they would want the work done at the museum to avoid transporting entire collections, although preparing copys for display from individual prints should not be a problem, or so I would think. Tom

[Ed_L]

In answer to Kathleen's post, there are several software programs available for the home improvement/construction businesses. As Tom pointed out, many of them are 3D. But I like your take on the color choices for bridesmaids. I think in most areas, there are wedding specialists (might be called something other than that) who handle most wedding related things. You might contact some of them, or you could also set up a table at bridal shows. I think that would be an ideal location to advertise that end of it.

Doug,

I like your thinking about the museums. Go for the big ones. Just make sure you have knowledge about photographic history, and how to handle these precious images before you try to talk to anybody with authority there.

Ed

[Ed_L]

There was one post where it was mentioned that it might be a good idea to make medallions for head stones. I've been thinking about this ever since it was posted. I think it has potential to be a money maker, *BUT* I think it would weigh heavily on my conscience if I thought these were sold to people who could not really afford it. At times like that, people are extremely vulnerable, and might well buy something like that, regardless if they could afford it or not. So I think there might be times when selling something like that would be immoral, at least by my standards.

On the other hand, survivors might well need restoration work done on images of the deceased. Many times, there just aren't many photos of the loved one, and you would probably be doing the survivors a favor by letting them know of your services. I don't think it would be a good idea to suggest this to them in a way that they might think you are taking advantage of the situation. Possibly sending flyers to everyone in the neighborhood, or in some other way get your message to them without them feeling targeted because of their loss. I would give them a little time after burial before getting my message to them.

Ed

[DJ Dubovsky]

OOOH Ed,
That just gave me a great idea. How about family reunions? You could offer to restore and put together a family album with old collected photos and family stories with the cover featuring their upcoming Family Reunion. Then even reproduce the albums at a cost to distribute among the family members. I remember my family did this but it was crude with photo copies of pictures and clipped in an essay binder. But it was the same thing.
DJ

[Ed_L]

With the thinking you're coming up with, I'm beginning to think you should give them a try. You're really hitting on some good ideas. Bravo!

Ed

[thomasgeorge]

Ed you make some GOOD points especially about NOT taking advantage of tragic circumstances to simply make a buck. I wonder though how those mendallions are manufactured, if it would be possible to have them done locally or in lieu of that contact Funeral directors directly and simply sell thru them. Just some musings. I LIKE YOUR STYLE!! Honor is becoming a rare thing these days in the business world and it is refreshing to know that it still is alive and kicking. I ALSO LIKE YOUR SOPHISTICATED SWINE!!!. Elegant!! Tom

[DJ Dubovsky]

You and Tom are my business inspiration. Too bad you both can't come here and grab me by the hands and get me started. That's the tough part, actually getting things started.
DJ

[thomasgeorge]

Dj, Many businesses fail because folks rush in before they have established their "comfort level" with all the nuiances of enterprise and try to do too much too fast. Emerging gently into any endeavor at a pace you are comfortable with is the only way to succeed and to keep alive the joy and happiness you initially felt. I'm not saying to hide from unplesant things or ignore the difficult parts as you have to face all of them at one time or another, just not all at once. Remember, this is the " pay your dues" part of the business equation. NEXT comes the really fun "PAYDAY" portion. Tom

[Ed_L]

Amen!

Ed