Kurt's Kustom Keepsakes

On Saturday, May 2, 2009, I had the privilege of introducing Kurt's Kustom Keepsakes, a Green Screen Division of Kurt Nielsen Photography at Sylvania Southview's After-Prom party. The Southview Theater Department provided props and costumes and the kids had a great time and went home with a 4 x 6 print of their picture.

Blue screen technology has been around since the 1930's and was developed for the movie industry. The green screen became more popular because the image sensors in cameras are more sensitive to the color green and and are able to separate it out easier. Today, green screen technology is widely used by weather forecasters and and film makers who want special effects.

How Kurt's Kustom Keepsakes works:

Before any Green Screen Event,as I do with all events I photograph, I first meet with the client and we choose what package they would like for their event. We also choose which background images they would like to use. These background images usually go along with the "theme" of the event. For instance, the Southview After-Prom theme was "Western" in nature so we selected different "Western" backgrounds for the kids to choose from. At the event, the subjects of the photograph, as in this case it was the students, chose which background they prefered and posed accordingly in front of the green screen background. I then, with the computer, removed the green screen background and "dropped in" their choice for their background. Each student in the picture then received a printed 4 x 6 photo in a mat as a souvenir.

The whole process from the start of taking the picture to printing the photo takes less than a minute to complete and therefore several hundred can be done at each event. Of course, the time for the subjects being photographed depends on how ready they are and how quickly they can decide how they want to pose and what background they want as their choice.

I have several hundred backgrounds to choose from, but if a client has a specific background of their own that they would prefer to use, that is also possible. However, the resolution size of the photograph must meet certain standards in order for this to work. I can give you more information on this if needed.

Within one week of the event, I will also post all of the photographs online at www.kurtskustomkeepsakes.com. These can then be downloaded by any one and used at their discretion.

Because of the nature of Kurt's Kustom Keepsakes, this is a lot of fun for those in attendance of any function, no matter the age. Because I have a high speed color printer, hundreds of photographs can be printed in a short amount of time and those in attendance can go home with an exciting and different type of souvenir. This makes Kurt's Kustom Keepsakes perfect for weddings, Bar and Bat Mitzvah's, birthday parties, family reunions, company functions, and any other type of event. Call my studio at (419) 885-7153 for more information and be sure to check out www.kurtskustomkeepsakes.com.