the blinker from hell

I would appreciate some help on this. I did my first wedding that

involved someone who had a blinking complex. I mean in every picture.

About halfway through I figured out that by turning on red eye

reduction it caused him to blink before the actual flash, so that

worked out. But, he's pissed that all the formals are of him

blinking. (he's the groom). Now he was a discount on his package

because the fact that he blinked must be my fault (I'm not saying that

it's not), but I should have stopped him from blinking. Being

relatively new to this I was inexperienced in dealing with this type

of person. Does anyone have any advice on what I should tell him or do?

Tell him to stop blinking. j/k...

 

But if you weren't popping at least two frames per pose, I think it was your fault for the formals.

 

Refund some of the money.

Stephen, just open them up in PhotoShop.

 

(Sorry for using your picture Marcin ; -)<div></div>

Seriously. if you shot a number of shots in the same pose you can swap heads in PS.

Frig a duck it's gollum........LOL. Marc, that is way too funny.

Just kiddin Marcin. I've seen your photo and know that you are very handsome.

OMG!!! Marc that scared the wits out of me! ;-)

Here's the thing, I did take multiple shots of all the formals, and he still blinked in every

picture. Everyone! NO kidding.

What I do is always count 1,2,3 then I fire. (During this count, Im scanning eyeballs to make sure I have full attention from everyone.)When a blinker rears its ugly head, we use a delayed or a short count.This means instead of firing on 3, I hit the button on 1.5 and the element of surprise nixes the blink.

 

 

This was trick was taught to me by an old timer I apprenticed with.

Besides the element of surprise that Steve described, you can tell the blinker to close his/her eyes. When you count to three or whatever, have them open their eyes and smile, but caution them to not over react and open their eyes really wide. Most of the time this works, although you sometimes have to employ the surprise element since people start to anticipate your pushing the shutter button. Some people can't help themselves and no amount of pre-warning is going to work. With these folks, you just tell them (and everyone else) to keep looking at you and smiling, and just shoot, using random pauses between getting everyone's attention and shooting, so you don't set a pattern. My toughest blinker was a fellow who, if he knew a photo was to be taken, would blink very fast, uncontrollably, making even my latter suggestion difficult. Somehow, I managed to get in between the blinks on most of the shots. Digital eye replacement saved me on the rest. On one case, it worked for a blinker to blink really fast while I was leading up to pressing the shutter button and then suddenly stop blinking when I reached the signal. Takes some self control though.

 

For the non-formals, the best thing is to engage in some banter that will make him/them smile naturally and shoot randomly. Make sure he/they don't talk though, because then you get awkward mouth positions.

 

You shouldn't have to give discounts because your client blinks. It is pretty easy to digitally replace eyes, and you should have at least a few shots with his eyes open.

Also, it helps if the blinker isn't close enough to hear the mirror in your camera flipping up, which signals him to blink, or see your finger pushing the shutter button. Put your camera on a tripod with a cable release and hide the cable plunger behind yourself. And possibly use mirror lock up.

I photographed a wedding where the bride had only two bridesmaids so I took three shots since i was told there were some blinking issues. In each of the three photos, a different person had their eyes closed! This was before PS.

 

Suggestion: Put your camera on a tripod and do not look through the viewfinder when you take the photo. Look at their eyes. If you have any hint that someone blinked, especially the bride or groom, shoot again.

 

I loved TLR cameras since I could see the eyes at the time of flash in the viewfinder.

 

A digital camera helps since you can immediately review the image.

 

Try the tripod technique.

 

If you have PS, used film, get the film scanned to a CD, and try the head transfer...to me, that sounds gross and very phony, but it might solve your problem.

Marc, That's really disturbing!

Well Todd...you could keep both eyes open and look over the top of the camera to watch for blinks. Problem with formals is you're usually too far away to see clearly. I missed a few even when I was using my TLR. Also, you can't watch everyone at the same time if there are a number of people in the photo.

Not as disturbing as the dog with lips and human eyes, Michael.

 

BTW if I am assisting I watch for blinks and tell the photographer.

the short count works well and, believe it or not, so does saying, "DON'T BLINK!"

 

I take two photos of each pose "in case" and if it is a big group I take three or 4. someone may be looking off in a large group or blinking.. so you take a few.

Stephen, were you shooting digital or film? If it was digital, there may be hope and the fix is relatively easy.

 

It's very easy to replace a set of eyes in photoshop if needed. Try to find a picture with his eyes open from a similar angle. Use the appropriate tool to cut around the outline of his eyes just under his brow, across the bridge of his nose, and under any skin details under his eyes. Copy this and patch it to the new photo, using EDIT _> free transform to resize the eyes and rotate as necessary in case they're not on the same horizontal line. Lighten or darken the new layer as necessary, blend, and when it looks right, flatten the image.

 

I don't like fixing stuff in photoshop, but sometimes it's necessary.

 

If you shot film, you'd need to have high resolution scans done to make this possible.

Have everything set and ready, then tell the blinker to blink. Take the picture immediately as his eyes re-open. Not sure why this works, but it does.

People actually know when they have a blinking problem. I have info in my tip sheet which asks people to let me know if they are one of those people that have a blink reflex. I do something similar to Nadine. I learned it years ago from someone.. Can't remember who - but it works. <p>I actually say - on the count of three - I want you to blink - at -3-. After I say three -- I wait a milisecond and I shoot. It works!

Question: did the bride's side hire you for the wedding? If yes, the groom is out of luck getting a refund for his skill at missing the flash.

Every time I check back to this post for updates I get the feeling someone's watching me! Is this what they mean by "spyware"?

Yes. You should install some counterspyware (try KGB.com, or CIA.com if you're worried

about making online purchases from the Ukraine), or else buy a Mac...

 

Transferring eyes in PS is very fast and easy. For full-length shots, I've even used a set of

eyes from someone else's portrait, and the "work" was undetectable.

 

Brandon's Dad

Another trick we learned is to have the blinker close his/her eyes. Do the 1-2-3 count and open eyes on three. As SOON as the eyes open, shoot. Takes a little practice but it works. It works well in bright sun/squinting situations too.

 

Rick H.

Nothing ever works 100% of the time.

 

The best I've come up with is to lean down close to the lens and point to it and say "don't

look at me, look into the lens", and just as they do that I shoot. It seems to focus them for

a split second and eliminates blinks.

Assuming that you know someone is a blinker then what I have found to work the best is to watch the blinker and try to take the photo as they blink.... you see them blink you shoot and the delay of shutter is usually just right for them to have blinked and then reopened their eyes.

Then once you have solved this problem you will run into a blinking Bride AND Groom and no.... they will not blink in sync....For that I usually apply the lots of Wine rule once I get home. :)

 

Rick

Marc?! Poor Marcin..

 

 

Often times excessive blinking is caused by tiredness. Sometimes it can be exaggerated

by sensitivity to light. I send out a list of tips for bride & grooms to look their best on

their wedding day which includes things like getting a full night of sleep before the

wedding day. Unfortuantely there are still some people who think that getting wasted the

night before their wedding is the best thing to do. I also try to avoid direct lighting and

flash when I do portraits.

 

Hopefully you have a line in your contract that looks something like this...

"The photographer cannot be held liable for lack of coverage or poor photos resulting

from weather conditions or schedule complications caused by, but not limited to, anyone

in or at the wedding. Due to the limited and subjective nature of the event, the

photographer makes no warranty or guarantee regarding the final photographic results."

 

You can offer to have some professional work done on the photos to replace his closed

eyes for an extra cost, but I wouldn't take a cut out of your costs. In the future, set your

focus on the eyes of both the bride & groom and you should be able to catch this problem

a lot sooner.

 

Chances are if they are trying to get money back for something they did to affect the

quality of their own pictures, you probably do not want the business of their friends and

family. Tough luck. You did your job.