twmeyer

<p>"Photo both generally is cheaper"... and you get what you pay for. <br /><br />I'm not looking to scrape the bottom of the wedding business barrel. You can also hire people to hand over a CD of jpgs right from the camera, for not much money. Even so, good photographers still manage to get hired. I'll aim high.<br /><br />And I know I'm not inventing this idea, but it seems like it's time for a backlash against the corrosive effect of the photo booth, especially at a wedding. The modern day photo booth seems like something invented by a sly blackmailer. I know the institution of (hetero) marriage has taken a hit recently, but I'll definitely be marketing to this new demographic that seems more impressed by its significance, as equality sweeps the nation. A lasting partnership has always been valued in that segment of society, even when it had to be hidden... maybe <em>because</em> it had to be hidden.<br /><br /> <a href="http://www.btapb.com/TWMeyerGallery/ACP_Auction2014/">The last job I did</a>, at a significant event attended by educated, sophisticated collectors of fine art photography, a surprising number of people felt it was an occasion to act stupid when the camera turned to them, even older people who were completely sober. I gently divested them of that inclination. It certainly wasn't like that even 5 or 7 years ago. The first event I ever did like this was in 1987 using that Polaroid 600se. No one (apparently) felt an urge to act drunk then... even the drunk people. Perhaps they would pretend to be excessively sexy, or reveal their sense of self-importance, or feign shyness... but not act deliberately stupid. <br /><br />(Thanks Lex)... t</p>

<p>"SRGB is for web usage only"... not true. Small format photo printers (under 11" in any dimension) require sRGB. I'll only quote <a href="http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/adobe-rgb.htm">one of the many sources </a>that are knowledgeable on this point.<br /><br />Adobe98 and TIF files are preferable for offset, and large inkjet printing. All other applications find sRGB JPGs of low compression to be "perfectly adequate", if not required... t</p>

<p>You need to talk with the photographer. ASAP... t</p>

<p>I've been making portraits at corporate events for many years, mostly fundraiser and holiday parties. A few years ago a wedding photographer friend asked me to handle the group portraits at a wedding he was shooting, so that he would be free to do what he does best, a more photo-journalistic approach. <br /><br />That turned into actually setting up a small studio near the reception and making portraits all night.<br /><br />I really enjoyed it, and have decided to market this service to the wedding photographers who generally don't seem too happy about the current photo booth craze. <br /><br />In addition to actually making deliberate and beautiful portraits at these significant gatherings (no feather boas, silly hats or cliche'd signage to wave), I'm giving the raw files to the primary photographer for them to post in their galleries and sell as prints... something they don't seem to be getting from photo booth operators. More sales for them, less post for me. <br /><br />Here's <a href="http://twmeyer.wordpress.com/2014/11/06/why-make-portraits-at-a-wedding/">a blog post I just wrote about it</a>, I'd like to know what you wedding photographs think about this concept.<br> <br />Thanks... t</p>

<p>yes, with exposure data, too, please. Otherwise we are all left to guessing, and there are many possible scenarios for use to guess at (as you can see, we are on the third page of suppositions)... t</p>

Not using manual exposure mode?

<p>well, it's not <em>exactly</em> the same device. I use the one I linked to, because it's better than the one in the photograph. But it accomplishes the same effect... t</p>

<p>Have a look at<a href="http://www.phottixstore.com/store/flash-accessories/ftx2.html"> this</a> and pick up a second Lumopro (and I second the vote for the Softliter)... t</p><div></div>

<p>wow. this is an active forum :^). <br /><br />Reading all the posts, I think I have a camera problem. All functions have been set to minimize power consumption. Preview has been turned off. Today I deliberately turned the thing off and in about 8 hours the battery (which read "full" at insertion), was completely dead. I have two batteries, they both act this way. The camera does not feel warm, ever. Sigh. Looks like Nikon will get another $250 from me, and if past experience with Nikon repair persists, I'll still have this problem 6 months from now. <br /><br />Thanks for all the considered replies. The sad thing is, I've never really liked the D600... t </p>

<p>If your Softliter is the style with the removable rod, I'll make the bet (with no real-world certainty) that you could put that sucker pretty close and get a killer portrait at f5.6 and iso 200. <br />Stick a fill card close-ish on the other side and you should be good to go, unless you want to show more environment than a very close Softliter will allow (unless you want the light in the shot :^). <br /><br />Add a tripod and you could get a boost from whatever ambient might be available, if the color temps mix well... t</p>

<p>It's ridiculous. If I leave the D600 on, and don't even touch it, it drains a full and freshly charged Nikon battery in about 8 hours. Has anyone else experienced this? My D300s and D700 can sit unused for days, with the power switch on and still have plenty of juice.<br /><br /></p>

<p>Like...</p>

<p>use a tripod...<br /><br />And tell your subject to be still when you make an exposure (as ambient light levels begin to fall, and push your shutter speed slower and slower). (Go ahead and mix color temps, but if you're looking to make a traditional sort of portrait, make sure at least one side of your subject's face has a "normal" (ie: accurate) skin tone... t</p><div></div>

<p>I'm considering using this with my dual SB800 rig, since it has two ports:<br /><br />http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1033556-REG/bolt_cyclone_dr_pp_400dr_dual.html</p>

<p>Unless you have graphic designer clients, who understand color space and compression and have well endowed processors with external storage, I think low compression, 300ppi, sRGB JPGs are the best bet.<br /><br />Many people's computers would just choke on a folder (or a DVD) full of 30mb tif files, and if you're using a higher megapixel dSLR, they could be much larger. TIfs only on request, in Adobe98, and for an additional fee... with an explanation and caveats in writing... t</p>

<p>Mixing older brands of strobe has (generally) created issues of color fidelity for me, specifically old Dynalite and Lumedyne, both of which vary tremendously as their output is raised or lowered. <br /><br />yesterday, I used an SB900 unmodified with an Einstein in a new Bowens Lumiair 140 softbox to photograph ceramics on a white sweep graduated to dark gray by fall off, and the color temp was a completely acceptable match... t</p>

<p>"I would much prefer one pack per head"... I concur.</p>

<p>I concur with that speedlight assessment, especially if you are using large format, small aperture, low iso. I find they work great for the other end of those photographic parameters. <br /><br />Having used Lumedyne for many years, I can attest to it's allure. I finally abandoned them when their long flash duration, color inconsistencies and problematic (at best) repair options pushed their reliability into a category below what I could accept. I did love the interface (especially the old Micro Manual packs), fast set up and their light weight heads.<br /><br /> Since changing to the Einsteins (with or without VMLs), I've found my images to be much more consistent in color and exposure, enabling batch processing in all global adjustments. Recycling time also improved greatly, some of which is because I don't need to push their capacity as hard. Most of my work with them is portraits on full frame dSLRs and moderate iso with relatively wide apertures. Power settings stay in the lower 50% range which means excellent recycling, even on battery power. Set up time, however, is double that compared to Lumedyne or speedlights... t</p><div></div>

<p>and they (<a href="http://www.paulcbuff.com/e640.php">Einsteins</a>) are top heavy on an 8 ft stand. For mostly outdoor work, consider <a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/907121-REG/elinchrom_el_10402_1_ranger_quadra_hybrid_li_ion.html">Elinchrom Ranger</a>s which have much lighter heads and are controlled from a power pack used at ground level, even though they are only 400ws and cost 3x as much. As usual, there is no good solution... t<br /><br /><a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/945193-REG/dynalite_xp_800_pure_sine_wave_inverter.html">then there's always this</a></p>

<p>Yeah if you're using "large format" (is that 4x5, 8x10 or...?), you'll need some serious juice if you want to focus close and/or use small apertures. The Einsteins are the best quality/cost for the money. <br /><br />However, they are monolights, which means you might have difficulty seeing the power settings if you use them high with softboxes. Having radio control of power settings from the camera is pretty essential and there are a couple of options for that. <br /><br />If anything gave the same quality/power as the Einsteins but came as a pack and head system for close to the same money, I'd go there in a heart beat, especially if it had a lithium battery power supply (I'm looking at you, Elinchrom)... t</p><div></div>

<p>These look interesting.<br> <a href="http://www.lumopro.com/">Lumopro</a>... t</p>

<p>I got a Vantec Nexstar HX4 for $139 at Micro Center. USB 3... works great with 8TB total of 4 drives. Has a eSATA option... t</p>

<p>I've been under the impression that this forum is a place one might go to get self educated, so consider this option if you don't need modeling lights or hours-of-shooting battery durability, or massive watt-secondry:<br /><br />Attach a couple of shoe mount speed lights to <a href="http://www.phottixstore.com/store/studio-accessories/phottix-multi-boom-16-flash-bracket.html">one of these</a>.<br />Sync them both via one Pocket Wizard using <a href="http://flashzebra.com/monominiphone/0075.shtml">one of these</a> and a couple of sync cords... t</p>

That's true. But two handed assistants still find them much easier to move through a crowded room. And they hold a mono-light just fine…t

I think that was an SB900 in the Orb, and white seamless for the background. Thanks for the kind words. Oh, 100%Lightroom on the processing.