ProPhoto - Premium Wordpress Theme for Professional Photographers - Single Column, big pictures - Blog Template

Hi everybody, this is Jared from www.ProfessionalPhotographerTheme.com, and you’ve arrived at the ProPhoto Tips blog. It’s a blog for bloggers–specifically professional photographers who use the ProPhoto theme for WordPress. I’ll be adding lots of posts in the coming days and weeks covering WordPress installation, ProPhoto theme customization, ProPhoto bug fixes, search engine optimization tips and tricks, ProPhoto featured blogs, advanced customizing tips, must-have WordPress plugins, lots of screencast video tutorials, and much more.

I’m also hoping this will be a community gathering hub for ProPhoto users and me, it’s creator, where we can interact through the comments. So don’t be shy! Comment early and often!

You won’t want to miss any of these tips, so check back often or even better yet, subscribe to my RSS feed right here.

Hey yall.  I thought you’d want to know that the very next version (excluding any minor security patch releases) of WordPress is going to include an automatic upgrader, so that you never have to worry about manually upgrading your blog via FTP again.

I’m running trunk (this basically means I’m running the next version of WordPress as it stands today, while it’s still being coded by the developers) on my development blog right now, and the feature is already there.

So, all you have to do is get yourself updated to 2.7 when it comes out (probably 3 or 4 months away) and then your golden.

2.7 is going to be seriously slick.  It also is going to have automatic installation of plugins and free themes (why use a theme besides ProPhoto?), plus way better comment managment, a redesigned (again) admin interface, and a whole bunch more.

I’m working on a built-in contact form for my new theme, and I’m looking for some input.  What kinds of information do you like to get from an online contact form?  I know the basics:  name, email, phone, potential event (wedding?) date, message… but what else?  If you had a built in form, what input areas would you want?

Comments please!

Hey all, just a quick note:  you’be probably noticed by now that a new version of WordPress, 2.6.1 is out.  This mostly is just a pile of small bugfixes, with no security improvements.  So, if you’re running 2.6 and not having any trouble, you don’t need to upgrade.  There aren’t any major feature enhancemnets, either.

However, if you are still running 2.3.x or lower, you REALLY should upgrade.  That is all.

Thanks to this thread, and some friendly ProPhoto purchasers, I’ve realized this weekend that what I thought was a WP bug is actually a ProPhoto bug.

I always assumed the fact that the center button (or the align right and align left buttons) didn’t work when inserting an image into a post was a WP bug, but, I was wrong.

For some reason I never took the time to look at the code WP generates and see that they expect the theme writer to define the CSS for these classes.

Sorry, sorry. My bad.

I’m going to fix it for everyone who buys the theme from now on, and if you’ve already purchased, just go into your “Stylesheet (style.css)” from “Design” => “Theme Editor” and go to the very bottom, and on a new line paste in the following code:

img.aligncenter {
display: block !important;
margin-left: auto !important;
margin-right: auto !important;
}
img.alignright {
margin: 0 0 10px 20px !important;
display: inline;
float: right;
}
img.alignleft {
margin: 0 20px 10px 0 !important;
display: inline;
float:left;
}

Now your align left, right and center buttons will work.

Upgrade your version of WordPress to the latest release (currently 2.6 as of 7/16/08) right away.  And keep it up to date.

Tonight I’ve spent some trying to help someone whose WordPress blog got hacked.  It’s not a pretty site.  His blog is downloading viruses and trojan horses to anyone who visits it, and Google has banned the site and most modern browsers are throwing up huge warning pages before they let anyone through.

Not good for business. Don’t let this happen to you.  Keep your version of WordPress up to date.

This person was still running version 2.2 which is over a year out of date and has a number of documented security problems.  If your blog is still running 2.2 — run don’t walk to your computer and upgrade.  If you’re at 2.3.3, you’re in slightly better shape, but you should still upgrade.  In fact, just upgrade everytime WordPress releases a new version and you’ll be safe.

The latest release 2.6, is the most secure ever, and has some core security improvements that make it harder to hack than ever.

Why does this happen?

It happens becaused WordPress is the world’s most powerful and popular blogging software, and so there are literally thousands of people working day and night trying to find the slightest security breach in the WordPress core files. Why? Because they know if they can find a security breach, they can write software that will troll the internet injecting links to their spammy sites and viruses into hundreds of thousands of WordPress blogs.

That’s the bad news.  The good news is that the heroic folks at WordPress are constantly plugging these holes and making WordPress more and more secure all the time.

So, please upgrade.  I know it can seem scary at first — but it’s really as easy as

1. Backup your blog (never skip this)
2. using FTP, delete the old core files (don’t delete “wp-config.php” or “wp-content” folder)
3. using FTP, upload new files from http://www.wordpress.org/download (but don’t upload “wp-content” folder).

If you’ve never done it before, please read and watch this post on backing up your blog, and this post on upgrading wordpress.

Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

Oh, and another tip:  if you’ve let your blog stay out of date for a long time, change all your login passwords.  Sometimes if your blog get’s hacked, the hackers can keep your password and then it won’t even help if you upgrade because they still have your password.

Hey all,

Sorry the blog’s been a bit quiet lately - I’ve been cranking through a bunch of non-WordPress related web projects.

Just thought I’d give everyone a heads-up that another version of WordPress is just about to be released, version 2.6.  So, you’ll probably start seeing a notice any day in your WP admin area that a new version is available.

Among the features of 2.6:

1. an option to switch back to the old image uploader/inserter, for people having the “white screen of death” problem.  (my personal favorite feature)
2. Preview themes before activating them (dumb feature - why would you ever want to use a theme but ProPhoto?)
3. Google Gears integration (speed up your admin area)
4. “Press This!” - bookmarklet:  a shortcut to blog about webpages you’re surfing
5. better plugin management and organization tools
6. order your images when inserting using the gallery shortcode (I know some of you were asking about this)
7. umm…. I can’t remember what else
8. oh yeah, option to define the path to your uploads folder and your wp-config.php file (advanced users only probably)
9. probably some other stuff

I’ve already tested the beta versions and I don’t believe there are any bugs with ProPhoto and WP 2.6, so feel free to upgrade whenever you want.

Before you upgrade, make sure you review and know exactly what you’re doing — and ALWAYS backup first, ok?

Here’s a few helpful links about the upgrade process:

Upgrading WordPress
Backing up your blog

[UPDATE: WordPress 2.6 fixed this problem by allowing users to override the flash-based uploader by using a browser-based uploader instead.  So, if you're still having this problem, upgrade.]

Over that past few weeks, a small but significant number of WordPress users (including ProPhoto users) have been experiencing a problem inserting images into posts using the WordPress write box.  What happens is they upload an image, but then their little upload box goes white and freezes, and they can never insert the image into their post.

[note: this is kind of a long post, but keep reading, there are some good tips, and if those don't work, there is pretty good fallback solution at the bottom]

We have dubbed this problem “The White Screen of Death.” It’s a tricky problem.  Some facts:

First, please understand this is not a ProPhoto theme issue.  This is a problem with WordPress itself, not ProPhoto. Specifically, it is a problem with WordPress 2.5 and above.  It did not occur in earlier versions of WordPress.

Second, this is not a ProPhoto theme issue.  Oh, wait, did I already say that?  Sorry, I’ve gotten a few emails where people were upset with me over this and could not understand that there was a difference between WordPress and ProPhoto.  WordPress is the blogging software. ProPhoto is just an add-on of files that makes your WordPress blog look cool.  All of the image uploading functionality is done by WordPress, and not by ProPhoto.  You can de-activate ProPhoto (or even delete it off your web host) and still have the same problem.

An analogy:  if you’ve ever purchased a set of Actions for Photoshop, ProPhoto is like that.  If Photoshop has some kind of bug, it’s not the fault of the poor guy who sold you the actions.  Another analogy:  if you bought a pair of fuzzy pink dice for your Honda Accord, don’t blame the dice manufacturer when you blow a head gasket in your engine.

OK, rant over, sorry.

If you are having the White Screen of Death, here are a few support threads that might make for good bathroom reading:

Thread 0
Thread 1
Thread 2
Thread 3
Thread 4
Thread 5

Here are my thoughts on getting this resolved:

First, if you’re using Internet Explorer, try using Firefox instead.  If you don’t know what Firefox is, it is a free web browser that is faster, safer, and more powerful than Internet Explorer.  You can download it here.

Second, make sure your version of Flash player (a plugin used by browsers to display special content) is up to date.  Go here to update.

Third, try using Firefox with no additional tabs open - just one window and no tabs.

Fourth, use an FTP program and navigate to your blogs wp-content folder, which is in your main blog folder or whatever your root directory for your blog is.  Using the FTP program, change the permissions on this folder to 777.

Fifth, read Thread 0 above, and try some of the other solutions, or continue reading for an alternative solution.

If none of those things seem to work, you’ll probably need to use a blog editor to publish to your blog until WordPress gets this all sorted out. You can post to your blog, including uploading images, using a desktop-based (non-web based) program.  Try using Qumana blog editor.  It should allow you to post just fine.  And it’s free. Just disable the dumb little “posted by Qumana” tag by going to “Preferences” => “Editor” and uncheck “insert Qumana tagline in new posts”.

Finally, if you don’t want to use a blog editor like Qumana, you can downgrade (but I don’t recommend this) to WP 2.3.3.  This is a temporary fix, because you will want to eventually upgrade again in a few months for security reasons, but maybe by then WordPress will fix this bug. To downgrade, first backup your blog, entirely (don’t skip this step), then follow the normal upgrading instructions here, except use this copy of WordPress 2.3.3 >> WordPress233

Questions? Instead of emailing for support, leave a comment below so everyone can benefit from any clarification.

Nicole just left a comment asking how to adjust the font-size for her comments area.  I thought that was a very good question, and one I’ve been asked a few times, so I’m writing it up here for everyone’s benefit.

There are two places you may want to change the font-size in your comments area.  The first is in the area that lists how many comments and has the “show comments” and “add a comment” text, as shown below:

The second area, is the actual comments themselves, show below:

To change the font size in these areas, open up your Stylesheet in your Theme editor by going to “Design” => “Theme Editor” after loggin into your WP Admin area.  Once you’re in your Theme editor, from the right-hand side choose to edit the file called “Stylesheet (style.css)”.

Scroll all the way to the bottom, put your cursor at the end of the line and press return a few times to get on a new line.  Then paste in this chunk of code:

/* font size for comments area */
.meta-inner {
font-size:13px;
}

Adjust the number 13 to whatever size font you want.  This will affect both of the areas I discussed above.  If you’re OK with both areas having the same font size, you’re all set.  Just view your blog (remember to force your browser to refresh so you can see your changes) and check your work.

If you want the font size for your actual comments (picture 2 above) to be different from the other area (picture 1 above), you’ll need to add another chunk of code, like so:

/* font size for only comments */
.meta-inner #comments {
font-size:12px;
}

Again, adjust the number 12 to whatever you want, save the changes, view your blog and refresh your browser to check your work.

Related posts:
Change comment text color,
Display comments by default,
Comments aren’t working

Questions? Instead of emailing for support, leave a comment below so everyone can benefit from any clarification.

Just a quick note to let everyone know that I made all the payments today for people who received a Quick Buck discount code. Thanks Kim, for bugging me about it!

Sorry for the delay, it’s been about two months since I went through my records and made payments.  If anyone thinks their code was used and didn’t get a payment, email me and we’ll figure it out.

If you don’t know what I’m talking about, anyone who wants one can get a personal discount code for ProPhoto theme for Photographers.  Everyone who uses your code will get $5 off the theme, and for every person who uses it, I will also send $5 back to you as a thank-you for your referral.

I try to make the payments at the beginnig of every month.

If you have photographer friends and colleagues, or participate in a forum, email me at: sales at netrivet dot com and put “QUICK BUCK” in the subject line and also give me your PayPal email address, and I will send you your own code.

I’ve got a couple people who have earned more than what their blog cost in Quick Buck payments, so it can be quite lucrative!