A canon 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 II USM A chap at my local camera shop recomended an 85mm canon prime lense or a 18-55mm Tamron lense. Inshaala (rich) gave me this site that really helps in choosing - http://www.fredmiranda.com/reviews/index.php

http://scoleman123.deviantart.com/ If it does not look like it has post-work, then it does not. The 400D with the kit lens is a great combination. I've had mine for about 6 months and am still learning all it can do. And just recently (tomorrow infact) decided to purchase a new lens. Its a wonderful camera that is almost too east to use. Its great for point and shoot, as well as stills and some macro work. I do look foward to seeing yor work.

I've never really had a problem with foam-core, but I do think that depends on humitity.

Gator Board is sent from God when it comes to backing. Its about as strong as ply-wood and does not bend.

For A sell price, keep it to 15% - 25%. Think about your target market and consumers, and how much they would pay. Also consider how much you would pay for an image that size and quality.

Depending on your clients, you could charge as much as you want.

Way too much experience....

For printing large, you need large photos (duh)
Mine were usually a good 48in wide and 60in tall.

First thing, have the images at the desire print size, at a min of 72dpi.
-The printer should scale it up to 300dpi, with no distortion on the final product.

Next, decide what you are going to print on. Pearl finish, 100# paper, canvas, linen, to name a few.
-Each paper will need to have different settings; more dry time, more ink, ect...

If you have the money, get them backed by the same company that does the printing.
-this will be a lot easier than doing it your self.

A protective coating is a must!
-its usually pretty cheap, a few dollars at most

Your probably looking for standard 100# paper, with a ridge-board (foam board) backing, and a protective coating on the front.

As for personal experience, A client of mine has an Epson 9600, and he let me do my printing for free. Its takes a bit to get used to, calibrating for different papers and inks and so on. They come out rather nice, but having someone else do it professionally is a lot nicer.

I used canvas and 80# - 120# paper
Printed with standard and chromatic inks
And used clear coat spray paint for my protective coating.
Usually matte or foam bored for the backing.

Check out Mpix (http://www.mpix.com/) for an idea of price and such...

Okay, tell me about your 70-200mm... Do you like it, and how well does it function? And do you know of any other brands?

Is that the lense you used in Shinai abstraction #7 and Dark Autoportrait 1?

Is there something a little more on the free side?

I guess I'm a Bishiop, without the monthly challenge thing....

In the bag I keep in my car, I usually just have a UV filter and a lens cloth. In my backpack, for long time shooting; A UV filter, lens cloth, a second lens, rain sleeve, Manual for my camera, light jacket, water, tri-pod, and mini tri-pod. Things can vary, when I first started off, I only had my camera for all day shooting.

^jet car at 10:00pm....

How about water?

When I do the work I usually charge $20 per image, if its something big. But if they have many images, It usually gets knowcked down to a few dollars. By the hour, if its a lot of small things, usually $15 per hour. Most of the work I do is small stuff, nothing too intense. Reason with them, and tell them up front how much, or give them a rough guess.

sRGB is eaiser for the printer to use. When I do prints for people, I open the image, and print as is. I may print the image twice for compairson, that way, i can tell if its the image or the printer.

I would tell them about it, it seems like an issue on their end. It could be just a mishap that no one noticed. If they put up too much of a fight, just take your losses and go find another printer.

Yeah, kinda large.
Might make good bathroom reading however....