One of my mentors in school used to always say “do not be afraid to make it BIG, you never know how it will change your photograph.” I love the size but I also really like the look of the texture of the canvas with photography. Not having to frame it was awesome too!

This was the image I used and, yes, there are people in it I do not know. Trying to find an empty cafe in Venice is impossible and I find I like the people there because it is more of a snapshot in time. Takes me right back to standing on that bridge.

I used canvaspop.com for my print and love, love, loved them! I used my iPhone and natural light for the image on the right so you cannot tell but the color is almost dead on. They are a bit pricey but if you sign up for emails they are not stingy with their sales. For Valentine’s Day I received a 25% off coupon and plan to put it to good use.

#1 If any of you heard about the GoDaddy boycott, it is something we are participating in. We have moved 14 domains to NameCheap.com and will no longer be using them or referring our clients to them. Their business practices have spurred our involvement in the boycott and if you would like to also transfer your domain it is something we can help you with.

If you were not aware of the boycott, here are a few resources for you that spurred our involvement:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidcoursey/2011/12/28/idiot-godaddy-deserves-boycott/

http://community.namecheap.com/blog/2011/12/26/godaddy-transfer-update/

http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2012/01/05/why-the-esa-is-wrong-to-support-sopa/

We encourage all of you to do your own research on this SOPA bill as we know copyright is a big issue in the photography industry also. Another alternative bill to look into would be the OPEN Act.

GoDaddy’s original support of the bill is not the only reason we are pulling as much of our business as we can from them but it is a factor. Mainly we want to be involved with businesses with the same business ethics we put into our own company. Not to mention, I LOVE elephants! (have to read the first recommended article to understand that one)

#2 We have an abnormal amount of people suspended for nonpayment. We are assuming it was because of the holiday and we did try to postpone suspending as many as we could over the holidays. If you have been suspended please email us at billing@portfoliositez.com and we will help you get your site back online. Please be aware, this is done after 3 overdue notices are sent out over 10 days. Suspensions of sites are a last resort to get the client’s attention to the billing issue that has arisen. As soon as payment is made the site comes back up and email is updated.

If this is embarrassing we do apologize but we have no other recourse in these cases. We cannot keep services active that have not been paid for. Clients with this issue may want to consider changing to the discounted Yearly payments as we have far less issues with those than we do with Monthly payments.  Also, please be aware, no matter how frustrated or angry you are at the suspension we cannot tolerate profanity. If one of our employees used the profanity we have seen in emails to us they would be fired IMMEDIATELY. When a client does this it is our policy to ban them from our services and their site with us will be terminated.

Please be aware because we are a small “family-run” company all you need to do is ask us for an extension, if you are having trouble making your payment on time. We often give the extension because we would much rather avoid having to suspend your site. We also offer holds to our clients for just $2/month if you have run into financial trouble. Most of the time though these overdue payments come from issues with PayPal. Because of this we do now also offer credit card payments. The credit card option gives us more control over when and how you are charged which also helps us to avoid suspending sites.

#3 Less serious more exciting news: WPPI is coming!! We are so excited to be participating in the trade show again and we are busy making plans. We always have so much fun meeting our clients and cannot wait for this year. Make sure to post on our Facebook giveaway for a chance to win a free full pass to the convention. It includes access to all the classes as well as the trade show and that giveaway ends later today.

Everyone have a happy and prosperous New Year!

Here is a list of the biggest changes:

• Image Stats
• Non-Image Products
• FTP Upload Capabilities
• Favorites and Compare Images icons can be turned off (set at client level)
• DPI setting for Digital Downloads
• Coupon Limitations Settings
• Package Descriptions
• Packages can have an Auto Coupon (when used with coupon limitations, this allows the ability to discount specific other items when a package is ordered)
• After order has been placed, “change payment method” and “pay now” buttons are available on the “view order page” that clients can access at any time. Availability of “change payment method” is set in general settings of cart admin.

We are continuing our improvements of the cart and plan to have more and more features for you all. If you have any suggestions for features please let us know.

If you have not checked out the Flexcart before you can see our sample here: http://www.portfoliositez.com/flexcart. The password to enter the cart is “test”. Be sure to take advantage of our Thanksgiving sale to receive $10 off or $100 off depending on which service you want. That sale ends today so order soon!

CONTEST: Don has been working very hard to get this release out to you all. Post how awesome Don is on our Facebook wall and we will select a random person from those posts to win a free Flexcart.