new to large format...any suggestions?????

[megan_griffith]

<p>hello, i am a photo major and i will be taking a commercial photography class and i have never used a large format camera, i have used a medium format camera and worked in the studio in a portrait class i took a couple years ago, does anyone have any pointers or suggestions , thanks for your time, megan</p>

[leicaglow]

<p>Megan, that is a very broad message, for which I will offer a very broad response: Be very methodical in your approach to your LF photography and you'll be better off. E.g., develop lots of your own standards about loading and shooting film backs, which way you put in dark slides, how you meter, set exposure, closing the shutter, unloading film from backs, processing your film, and just about everything else.</p>

[paulh]

<p>You might want to take a look over on http://www.lfphoto.info - a specialist LF site.</p>

<p>Things to consider are:</p>

<ul>

<li>what you want to shoot - landscapes, portraits, architectural, product shots</li>

<li>size/format</li>

<li>is weight an important consideration</li>

<li>do you ever want to shoot handheld</li>

<li>etc., etc.!!</li>

</ul>

<p>Do you know someone or somewhere where you can try a LF camera? Good luck, and enjoy the world of LF.</p>

[jim_norman4]

<p>I'd recommend you get a basic book on large format, such as Steve Simmons' View Camera. It will give you a lot of info in a hurry. I agree with the advice previously given. Be ready to work slowly and methodically. Be consistent and patient.</p>

[randall ellis]

<p>I'll second Jim's recommendation. That is an inexpensive book, it covers everything you need to know about movements, and you can keep it with you while you work.</p>

<p>- Randy</p>

[vick_vickery]

<p>Megan, the folks here could be alot more helpful if you told us more about the course you signed up for...for example, what kind of equipment will be available for your use, what does the course cover, is it all studio work or are you going to be doing field work? The suggestion to do some reading is a good one, check out the photography section in your library, it could be productive. I started with Ansel Adams' 5-book series and its available in many libraries..."Camera & Lens", the first book of the series has alot of info on the use and adjustment of the view in it.</p>

<p>Have fun!!</p>

[sknowles]

<p>I agree with everything said. The key to working with LF cameras is the same process with the camera, especially when it's time to insert the film holder and take the shot. A lot of time and work can be lost forgetting the steps in order. It's an easy process to remember and an easy one to skip a step, so it's about practice so you can focus on the scene, the image, and the exposure than the camera. Good luck.</p>

[brucecahn]

<p>Some good suggestions except the book idea. Figuring out what the writers of LF books are saying is usually more difficult than figuring it out for yourself. I tried to read some instructive articles in one of those magazines. After spending several minutes trying to figure out what the dude was saying, I realized that he had selected the most obscure possible language to explain something that I do all the time. Camera movements are, with a few exceptions, so simple that common sense is the best guide, except in a very few cases. It would be astonishing (but possible) if they did not explain these special cases, such as Scheimpflug, in class. The Ansel Adams trilogy is an exception. It is very well written and a must for advanced film photography and helpful for view camera users.</p>

[martin_schuler]

<p>More than likely you will be getting a monorail camera for your class. That is, the camera sits on a single rail that allows the front (lens), and back (film) standards to move independently of each other connected of coarse by the bellows.<br>

Just remember that the same photographic principles that your learned in your previous classes also apply to large format photography but to achieve the best image result those principles will be enhanced, ie. calculating exposure, depth of field, etc. Also, if no one's warned you yet, be prepared for the image on the glass plate to be reversed which includes upside down. It takes a little getting used to but if the composition of your image looks good upside down, it will look good rightside up when it is printed.<br>

Take to large format slow and deliberate. It may take you 10 minutes or more to set up a single shot but that is one of the best aspects of large format photography. Do not be in a hurry but look at every aspect of the subject, the composition and the settings of your camera, etc. before you trip the shutter release. I think of it as being an artist who is using light and shadow instead of paint and brush.<br>

Most of all, practice, practice, practice.<br>

Good luck in your class.<br>

Martiin</p>

[ivan_j._eberle1]

<p>I'd suggest that the best reason to get into LF is because you love photography and do it for fun or to expand your creativity. That's reason enough and I wish you much joy and happiness in this endeavor.<br>

But I'd urge you NOT to think of studio LF experience as the key to commercial success, these days. It might have given you a leg up as recently as fifteen years ago, but this was a tough market to crack even then. It has since become a much worse business model.<br>

A very large percentage, certainly more than 75% and perhaps 90% or 95%, of the commercial work that once required medium or large format studio film gear (largely for printing press considerations) is now being shot much more cheaply with full-frame digital 35mm gear. Unfortunately job prices paid photographers also reflect this new reality; it is a business model of diminishing returns for most professionals.<br>

The work that still demands LF is so specialized as to have a very high financial bar to entry. To be truly competitive in a commercial studio environment in LF means spending $50K-100K USD-- and that's without getting much beyond a one digital back and studio monorail, laptop, software, lenses and a bare minimum of lights. That's before ever building out a studio. The value of used digital equipment drops precipitously within 2 years, meaning you'll have to rapidly amortize new equipment in order to remain competitive by replacing it with newer, better gear. Worst of all, the field is tremendously crowded; the many new folks graduating each year from Brooks and similar schools are thrown in among the pool of experienced professionals, who themselves are chasing after fewer and fewer advertising clients each year as traditional print advertising markets dry up.</p>

<p> </p>

[bennie_nickolas_hinojos]

<p>If you are in the situation that I was in when I took my large format class then I'll tell you about the things I ran into since I didn't know anything about Large Format and using sheet film. First off I didn't know that every part of the camera comes separate! You ahve your camera body then sometimes you have to get a mount for the tripod, and you have to get a nice tripod to be able to handle the heavier camera, especiall when you have the bellows extended and the weight can be shifted to one end of the camera.<br>

Lenses have the shutters in them if you didn't know that already..(i didn't when I started) and you would like to get a Copal shutter and not the older Compur shutters which are getting harder and harder to find a place to fix and parts are very hard to get. You want to start off at 210mm-240mm lens which gives you a large image on the back of the focusing glass to be able to do the movements that camera is able to do without venetting. If you are buying a lens and it is not new, you are going to want to have the shutter speed tested to make sure that it is accurate so you are not setting up everything to your light meter only to find out the what the numbers on the lens says and what it really does are two different things. (found out the hard way)<br>

Film holder....i was looking around and didn't know if you needed certain types to fit into certain camera.....no! A film holder will fit into most LF camera. I first thought that each one had their own shape, cut out, groove...like the lens board does. You'll want a nice big focusing cloth..either something you made or bought, just get some clips and weigh down the edges so that the wind doesn't frustrate you too much if you are shooting outside. You'll also want a nice light meter and spot meter especially if you are shooting outside. You'll want a cheap roll up tape measurer to measure bellow extension, for example a 210mm lens will be at infinite focus at about 8.25 inches (which is 210mm converted to inches) and if you want to focus closer you have to extend the bellows and every inch you extend it past it's infinite focus spot you'll have to open up the ampeture or slow the shutter 1/3 of a stop.<br>

Last thing that I think you will need to keep an eye on is dust....if you are loading your own sheets in the holders and not getting the quick loads from fuji for triple the cost, you'll have to make sure the holders are clean and the dark slides are clean. A speck of dust can really piss you off when you are printing and find this dark spot on your prints and you look at your neg and you have these clear spots that the dust blocked the image at that point. You'll also want to get into a routine about shooting with your camera. Good word of advise is whatever you do just make your last step "removing the dark slide" You're shutter can misfire if you don't cock it right and if your slide is out you just wasted a sheet of film. Also when you remove the dark slide pinch the rear standard to the camera body, because if the spring that holds it up against the film holder is weak and you yank out the dark slide at an angle you can pull back the film holder and fog your film as you remove the dark slide.<br>

I am sorry that this is a long post, and yes you being general with your question made it hard to help you in any certain area, or maybe you were like me and didn't know anything and were just looking for help in all categories? Well which ever it is, just take your time setting up your camera and taking your shots. Also another good book "Photography" by John Upton. You are going to want an older edition I believe the 5th edition which you can find on Half.com for about 20 bucks. I think it is the 1994 published edition. Take care</p>

[jimsimmons]

<p>Megan, there are many different types of advice to be given, but I'll give two. 1) if you are a person that learns well from books, then arm yourself with a book or two on LF. The Simmons book is a good one, so is one by Jim Stone. You'll learn more from using the camera, but you'll learn faster by using the book and camera together. 2) Just to make the very first start of the actual shooting process less stressful and more guaranteed to be successful, create a little index card with numbered steps to follow. Different people do things in a different order, but in general, once you've framed and focussed your shot and metered the light, you close the shutter, set the shutter speed and aperture, cock the shutter, insert the film holder, pull the dark slide, click the shutter, push the dark slide back in, then remove the film holder (or reverse it and repeat if you're bracketing your exposures). This is a lot to remember when you first start, so having a cheat sheet is very comforting. The next step is to wean yourself off the cheat sheet and create an acronym out of those steps that is easy to remember as you go through the steps. Something like CASCIPSI. Before long you'll find that it all becomes pretty automatic, but at first it's a good idea to create a system that makes it less stressful.</p>