mark_harrington1

Rick, I did not post this image with the intention of setting a trap, either an image works or doesn't work. iI posted this

image because it has good and bad points and I'm totally ok with discussing them. I've had more than my share of

critiques, both good and bad, so I am fairly immune to feedback that is specific and well reasoned. Saying a photo isn't up

to professional standards without specifics is not only unfair to the maker, it can damage their reputation and persuade

others who may google them for potential commissions to avoid using them. It is for this reason that a rebuttal on my part

is required, and perhaps why there isn't more life in this forum. Posting metadata adds nothing to the conversation unless

you say by using an aperature of 3.5 you could have reduced the shutter speed to 1/125 for example, and helped

separate the subjects, but that wasn't expanded upon, so who cares that I used a D3s with an effective fl at 35mm. Again,

my reasoning was to discuss what works or doesn't work not to make personal attacks such as this is not up to

professional standards. You expect to be taken seriously but your critique was not serious...

 

Lex, again I am good with critiques of my work, silly me for using the opportunity to review images as an opportunity for

others to benefit from, especially those who are lurking in the shadows trying to decide how to improve their work, a

model I've been trained in and use in other critique forums (pretty much most professional critiques explain why) however,

when a critique is offered which is not substantiated and has the potential of discouraging business prospects a reply is

mandated. Technique is quantifiable, art is subjective.

<p>Rick, I don't get offended by constructive criticism and I don't explain why an image does or doesn't work, but in this case, I will. For this image the focal point was set on client's face, shadows were opened up with fill flash due to the afternoon sun streaming in directly behind the subject; contrast was reduced in post to apply a painterly soft effect to the image which the client wanted. The image was captured in RAW and intentionally underexposed slightly to keep the whites of the dress from blowing out and shadows blocking up. Actually there was only one spot to shoot from so the POV is what it is, and I have presented the image full-frame to stimulate conversation. The final image was cropped to a 10x20 image for the client's book tightening the crop. As far as separating the client from the background, the easiest way would have been to lower the ISO and open up the aperture but this was a quick shot taken on the path back to the reception venue and we were running behind so more than three images was out of the question and I needed to make sure the faces were in focus. Side lighting would have been better to carve out some depth but not possible given the hassle of setting up the light stand in the rocky terrain and lack of time. Sometimes you just have to work the best you can, with all the elements involved and get a workable image. I think you must be seeing the effects of the paint texture layer for the oof areas because I can assure you the focal point was dead on the face. As for professionalism of the image, that is your call and subjective. I am a Professional Photographers of America Certified Professional Photographer (CPP) which means I had to pass a comprehensive written test about equivalent exposures, composition, posing, processing and a whole host of photography related topics as well as a portfolio review from 5 certified judges including things such as selective focus, short light, broad light, various ratios, posing and other such things. In addition, I have an AA degree in photography, am a Nikon NPP and support myself solely on my photography business. Does this mean every image I take is a winner? No, of course not and sometimes I just wing it and ignore all the "right ways", but it does mean that I can converse with you or anyone else in a competent, professional manner and have a basic understanding of photography, which is why I say gratuitous statements without reinforcing support aren't beneficial to anyone. In addition to all this, I just picked a recent image that had some good and bad points to discuss and was trying to breathe some activity into a forum that I used to really enjoy. If this forum is going to be just a bitch-fest of egos and one upmanship, I likely will loose interest rather quickly and continue to participate in the other forums of which I am a member. If that is the way it ends up, it will be a shame because in all of this, I'm only trying to grow and help others grow as well.</p>

<p>Everyone has a unique skill set. Some can sing quite well but can't play a note on any musical instrument. Many of the greatest photographers still have lighting technicians, retouch artists, art directors etc. I think its extremely narrow minded to think that a photographer has to be an expert in all areas of photography. Besides, even if the OP knows intimately every aspect of taking and delivering a perfect image, it doesn't mean he likes every aspect or has the desire to do so. </p>

Excellent eye on the phone Peter!

I whole heartedly agree on the crop. I would add that there are some distracting branches between the faces. As far as flatness, focus

and lack of professional look, you need to be more specific and say why and how you would have shot it differently. The purpose is to

learn, blanket ubjustified statements aren't teaching tools...

<p>Let's get the party started with an image review. This was taken at a wedding in December. What do you like or not like about it? How would you have posed or shot the couple?</p><div></div>

<p>I rarely visit this site anymore so my question is a bit hypocritical, but I remember a fairly robust site with lots of new threads. Granted, many were infuriating and repetitive, like What lens should I use or what should I buy next, but there was a good sense of community. I see a couple of old names I remember but sadly looking at the post, there are very few new discussions... What happened? Why is there so little activity on a site that I used to really enjoy?</p>

 

<p>What does your work look like? If it's the same or better than your competition you should charge the "market rate", if you still have more to learn and your images don't meet critical exposure, composition and color balance, charge what you can get...</p>

<p>I received an email from Nikon with my NPS number and a statement that the resource material and card would be sent in approximately 4 weeks. Going on 8 weeks, should I contact them or are they as slow as they seem. Do I even need the card with the number, anything else in the package I should need/want?<br>

Thanks!</p>

<p>I'll jump in...<br>

<br />Lauren and Evan - Poor exposure, focus, cropping, lens flare, contrast and white balance<br>

Crystal and Eric - Poor focus, blown highlights, poor white balance, poor cropping, low-contrast and lens flare.<br>

Jessica and Matt - Blown highlights, low contrast, lens flare, cropping issues<br>

You have the potential to create some great images but you need to master exposure and focus. Use a custom white balance and crop the image for more impact. As far as story telling, I'm not seeing a common thread in any of the galleries to tell the story and the images don't do it on their own...</p>

<p>Just wanted to pipe in and make a comment about delivery of digital images or proofs. I used to put all of my images in a gallery i.e. SmugMug Pro and when they raised their pricing I decided to do in-person sales only. I found that not only did the average sale increase significantly the clients were much more responsive. You are going for the emotional impact of the images, that is what drives sales. If the client sees the images before they are ready to place an order, they have time to pick them apart and the images loose that impulse purchase. <br>

If you want the client's extended family and friends to have the opportunity to purchase images you set that up AFTER the client has selected their initial order. I know its hard to hold back the enthusiasm about the session, but trust me, if you want to develop a business, in person sales is a much more profitable way to go. You can do it with something as simple as Lightroom or as sophisticated as ProSelect. Besides, I've found my image online with the watermark.... It seems that kids today just want to display the images on social media not have high quality prints. If we as photographers limit their ability to have the digital files (until after they purchase them or a print) we take back the power in the negotiating arena....</p>

ProSelect Pro

<p>You should have enough room. You will need about 3 feet above the subjects heads for hair light or use a grid and power back the strobe. You should look into autopoles rather than a pantograph system. I would recommend a ceiling mounted muslin track and use hooks on the autopoles for any canvas. Buy vinyl seamless in white and if you prefer black and a chroma blue or green. This setup will give you the greatest flexibility for your smaller space. Blocking out the window light may not be totally necessary if you are shooting at f/11 or higher but I like the total control of the lighting. As for blackout curtains, i would suggest that you get a piece of black foamcore and wrap the edges with felt. Put some pull handles on the back of it and you can easily remove it when you want to shoot available light. Curtains will clutter up your space and take up room that could be used for muslins etc, not to mention that the curtains will make the space look more cluttered. you don't have to have a huge shooting room, just need to master the space you have. I would suggest that you use lenses above 50mm on 2/3 crop camera and 85 on full frame to prevent distortion.</p>

Or use a blow dryer with a fan tip or conical tip....

Try in-person sales sessions. They are much more profitable. I suggest ProSelect for. Presenting the images

<p>First, you may find that this could potentially be more than a small claims case. The client has a right to request a refund of the photography services as well as to be made whole with regard to the entire cost of the wedding and punitive damages. I know others will balk at this but there are several cases where a judge awarded plaintiff's relief to that extent and more.<br>

Secondly, A written contract is best, but verbal contracts are still contracts. Regardless of how it all worked out, you could have avoided some of the issues by issuing a partial refund and not providing more products. Anytime you have an issue such as this its best to sign an agreement that delivery of or extension of x discount resolves all issues.<br>

Third, there are just some people who will take advantage of the situation. You opened yourself up to this by not having a clearly defined contract and by doing something you weren't sure you wanted to do. Worse, you conveyed this to the customer and planted a seed that your work may not be up to the best standards (even if it was). If you are going to do a job, do it to the best of your ability. If you are a novice wedding photographer be proud of the work you do and show images letting the client know this is the typical work they can and should expect. If it isn't good enough for the client you win they win. If you deliver basically what you show and the client isn't happy its on them.<br>

I sincerely hope you allow common sense to prevail and just return the money if it gets to that point. While you are being taken advantage of, think of the damage to your reputation and brand if this person makes a stink or creates a court record (which is public domain). Not only will court be risky for you, it could potentially harm your full time career in photography. Even if you have several great shots by your own admission you didn't get all the bridesmaids and grooms to the clients expectations. A judge won't care that they were busy doing other things or that you don't normally shoot weddings. If you took money for it, you are responsible to deliver what you contracted for. No written contract then it goes to your word vs. hers. They judge will likely side with the client since they aren't the experts you are.<br>

In short, give in and learn from the experience. Next time protect yourself at all times with a detailed contract and don't accept commissions that require you to deviate from your area of expertise, unless of course you want to move in that direction...</p>

<p>yep Craig hit the answer. Shoot gelled and white balance for tungsten. Your images are overexposed. You can use the blinking highlights option to show blown out areas when taking the picture.</p>

<p>Industry studies show the downward pressure put on the wedding and portrait business. Proliferation of inexpensive equipment and software "fixes" likely means this trend will continue unabated. I think there will always be a place for high quality photography but the photographer will have to set himself apart from the competition by learning excellent sales skills, business acumen and education/certification programs like the CPP certification offered by PPA.</p><div></div>

Of course there are many workshops that teach wedding photography, some even recreating the event and allowing you

to photograph it with expert assistance... Yes they're expensive but any business cost money to start. You are right the

customer will take advantage of every opportunity to save money but there is some disagreement that lower paid clients

don't expect the highest quality work. On the PPA website there is a whole conversation going on about Pintrest Brides

and their expectations.... Sometimes those who spend the least demand the most....

<p>This topic has been around various websites and forums since cameras were invented. Here's the harsh reality - If you have to ask what setting, type of camera, lens or flash you need then you aren't ready to shoot a wedding. Forget trying to give the couple something to remember one of the most important days in their lives, you likely will be giving them your attorney's number. Wedding photography is perhaps one of the most demanding projects you will take on. There is very little room for on the job training so you must be a technical expert, compositional artist and great diplomat who works well under pressure and has excellent problem solving ability. I shot a wedding on Saturday and like almost every other wedding, the church was dim, didn't allow flash extremely crowded and the couple was running late. Top that off with the fact the wedding was at 3:00 so we're fighting the sun position at 4:00 trying to do formals and the cocktail hour starts at 4:45 with the formal reception being at 5:30. Not bad, except the reception venue was 10 miles away and did I mention this all took place in the mountains? The couple wanted to be present at the cocktail party so the formals were very rushed. The reception was held on a patio deck overlooking the lake, it was beautiful but the light was quickly disappearing. Then we had Uncle Bob taking more pictures than both my second shooter and I. I approached him at one point to give him a lens cap he dropped and forgot about, I asked him why so many pictures and his reply - "I'm going to give them an album as a gift". I advised him that they had already paid me to provide an album and his comment was "I know, I'm just doing this because I love taking pictures of people" Now it was too late into the game to stop and make a scene about good 'ol uncle Bob, but he had a very funny way of popping up in front of my lens during the ceremony making it much more challenging to get the best vantage point, especially because I was following the church's rule about limiting myself to the back wall.... Oh, did I mention that during the formals the attendants and family each were calling the couple to look at them as they snapped away with their cell phones and posted immediately to FB? Yeah I know, I did tell them we had a very limited time and I need to get the shots but the happy couple doesn't want conflict so when Aunt Mary or BFF Susie says its just a quick shot for FB they oblige - even though I say I don't allow others to copy my work... So back to the reception, pitch black outside, no reason to drag the shutter the lake doesn't have lights and if they did the tall pine trees shurely would have blocked them anyway... Uncle Bob put his camera away but I still had to find the right spot to use the resort buildings and pool to cast enough light to create some interest for the toasts that went on forever and the cake cutting which the couple acted like they had never even seen done before.... By the end of the day, I had put on the grooms buttenaire, helped with the bow tie, used my lint brush and managed to keep the groom and groomsmen from drinking too much before the vows... The bride's makeup is melting and of course the sun is unbearably hot... Now where in this very brief overview is there room to second guess my camera settings or look at sample poses so I can make sure they get something artistic?<br>

The point of all this is that the above is typical of almost every wedding, and if it isn't you have to be prepared to deal with it because you can't just take a few minutes and get your composure... You have to be in charge.<br>

Now lets talk about telling a story, not just taking 2,000 pictures and let's not forget that the real work begins after the wedding is over. I spend about 40 hours of time on each wedding, the majority of it editing and retouching images to create something that Uncle Bob can't give them. i carry a 2M liability policy, an Errors and Omissions Policy and I bring a second shooter and assistant. My equipment is very expensive because I need to be able to handle very low light with limited noise and I am a great people person. <br>

Comments about low price wedding photographers, shoot and burn guys, can't be ignored, they make me work harder to stand out and even so it puts downward pressure on my pricing. I know there are many couples who just can't afford $2,500 for a minimum package so I have to offer prices starting at $750 just to get a phone call so I have to be a great salesman who can upsell my services if I hope to stay in business.<br>

I love wedding photography for all kinds of reasons and I'm not trying to discourage anyone from becoming a wedding photographer but to say that a couple doesn't have any money for images is not relevant. If you take on a job like this you better know what you're doing because the conditions don't change regardless of how much money is paid. At the risk of sounding an elitist poorer weddings are more challenging to do a good job with than expensive weddings. How do you make the RV cover in the back yard look good? It can look better but still very challenging to look like something you would build an album around....<br>

I guess the point of all this is to support working with someone and learning the ropes if you want this to be your business. If your friend asks you to take pictures just say "no". You can't be a guest and vendor at the same time. I look back on the images I take and don't even remember taking the picture...</p>

<p>There doesn't seem to be a storyline that can make a set like this very good. I think some of the shots could be cropped a bit tighter and some compositionally more dynamic. The images are right on the edge of being too bright and there is some repetition of the images which takes away. One trick you may consider next time is to think of a story of country boy meets country girl and play off of that. It will help you keep the repetition to a minimum and should make a nice flow for an album or slide show. Here's one way to tell the story.<br>

Guy has pick up truck hood open, girl is looking under the hood, guy is looking at girl (or vice versa)<br />Or pickup in the background guy/girl walking with gas can <br />Sharing lunch or a beer<br />Looking around the town/shops<br />Girl trying on guys hat in a teasing way<br />Guy daughter and Girl hand in hand, perhaps the couple swinging the girl between them as they walk<br />Comparing boots or boot shot<br />Couple leaning against wall/fence about to kiss<br />etc.<br />End off set back at the truck at sunset sitting on tailgate with enjoying a beer together or by the truck and the guy on one knee proposing...<br /><br />Something along those lines helps to create a mood and flow to the shoot. That's just a quick thought, but each shot like this should have a storyboard to help you tell the story of the couple and keep you focused as a photographer.<br>

Just my thoughts, good job for a first project.</p>

Jennifer, if you don't have the experience and can't attract quality clients perhaps you should slow things down just a bit. Event photography, ie anniversaries, awards etc can give you much needed experience in a fast changing setting with crappy light and a ballroom atmosphere. Once you can master those things, start doing engagement photos and include great locations, both inside and out. As your engagement pictures improve you will get noticed. Taken as a whole this won't replace actual wedding experience, but it can teach you what you need to know, you can then sell this experience to your next engagement clients, even as a special, then you're off and on your way. Having done the cheap backyard weddings I can say that quality of venue is perhaps one of the most important images in separating yourself from the lower rung of the business. Not that the weddings in a backyard aren't very nice, they usually aren't going to look very impressive to potential guests unless they are getting married in a backyard. Of course a nice home in Pacific Pallisaides overlooking the ocean with a sprawling lawn accepted, but that's not what we're really talking about here. Build your business with education, experience and quality and it will take care of you.

<p>Thought you may find this site of interest...<br>

<a href="http://www.thegreenscreenevents.com/html_home.cfm?menu_itemID=275092&load=html">http://www.thegreenscreenevents.com/html_home.cfm?menu_itemID=275092&load=html</a></p>

<p>So are you going to do this inside or outside? There are some weather/wind considerations to account for... I'm not sure this is as lucrative as you hope, here in the states there are many tourist areas that offer a scenic chromakey image of the venue but most go unsold at roughly 20 US dollars. Something to consider is a photobooth that can be rented or manned for weddings, birthdays and events.<br>

Good luck to you.</p>

Be creative. Offer your set price and define the services you will perform, then give them an option to have your second shooter cover the

reception candids for a nominal fee that you give the second. Not ideal but you could sell it on the basis that the key images are covered

by a well seasoned photographer while the fun, less critical images can be covered by an emerging photographer. Kind of like an attorney

and para-legal or jr associate atty.

Just be sure to delineate your responsibility for images. This saves the couple money while providing much needed experience for the

second. You would have to work the reception with the second until your sure they can do an adequate job perhaps one wedding is all it will take, maybe two...