derrick_morin___fallon__ne

My brother was married in Knoxville and used this photographer:

 

http://www.swaggertyportraiture.com/

She sent me a few. One was a really good shot with some red-eye from hell - no prob! Another was just a really dark snapshot that is totally fixable, and a few others were just really bad blurry, noisy, over-the-shoulder shots of bridesmaids... ouch. I was hoping some of you guys had better luck. Sucks for Lisa... it's just wrong!

Count me in, Lisa. I'd be willing to try a few as well.

Jorge,

 

No - the R220 and some other printers print directly to CDs that are designed to be printed to. No adhesive label, and that's why I like it! I don't know about silkscreening.

Print to the CD with the Epson R220 - does a great job on a smooth matte finish. The color is bright and looks shinier than a matte should - very professional! The software is simplistic but works well - just browse for any photo and it prints to the CD using an insert for the printer.

 

I like the idea of Lightscribe, but printing is MUCH faster. I don't know if the R220 is still available. I paid $100.

ECF is one of the features I miss the most from my EOS3. Once I got it calibrated properly it was extremely useful! Now that I am shooting more weddings I wish I had it back.

As the client, I would think I'd be more appreciative with some background levels corrections in this image. Do people really want to be 'corrected' this way?

Thanks Mary!

 

Derrick Morin - Fallon, NV

This was a great idea, Mary - thanks!

 

Derrick Morin - Fallon, Nevada

Home. Just bought my first house last year and my bedroom is my office (Yuck!) I'm adding about 1000 square feet this summer including an office just for me - it's about time! No studio.

 

Interesting question. I'd be interested to know how many are working at home.

The monitor came with a tutorial and calibration tools, and software for the rotation feature, but no driver. The notebook is a Dell Inspiron 8200 with GForce 4 64mb graphics card. Thanks for the input so far!

Video RAM 64MB.

768mb of RAM. Plenty. In fact the notebook will display two resolution settings that are higher than 1680x1050, but the monitor won't go that high. 1680x1050 is a widescreen setting that just isn't available.

I just got a new monitor - Gateway 21" widescreen. The resolution

is supposed to be set at 1680x1050. I have it plugged into my

laptop while I await my new computer and I can't get the right res

set. 1680x1050 is not an option on my computer's resolution

settings. I'm running XP. Does anyone know of a way to to add a

resolution setting in XP?

I was shopping for the 35 1.4L yesterday as well and noticed it was not available at B&H. I want it for the same reasons - great event lense. If I had the money now (as soon as I can) I'm sure I can find it somewhere.

I have a part time wedding/portrait business. You don't necessarily need a business license to claim expenses on your taxes. In my state (Nevada) you do not need a business license if you operate out of your home and earn profits less than half the state's average annual income. As a part-timer, I have not yet needed a license, and I am still able to operate a business and deduct my expenses legally. This has nothing to do with needing a tax ID number. Check out the laws for your area - I asked various state agencies and all of them told me I needed a license (either the folks I spoke with didn't know all the rules, or they just wanted to squeeze a few dollars out of someone who didn't know any better). I found the above rules in the Nevada Revised Statutes (NRSs) on a state web site. Good luck!

Does the fact that they are twins have anything to do with the shoot? If the article is highlighting the 'twin angle', then definately have fun with that. Otherwise, I'd treat it like any other portrait gig. Keep it professional, pose them to compliment (not mimic) each other.

I think your best shot is to display your work locally. Some great suggestions were made here. In my small town, some coffee shops and restaurants have the work of local photographers and artists on their walls with price tags on them. I'm sure you could find such a place where you live. Remember: presentation is everything. Have a few of your best photos framed nicely and bring them into a local business and ask if they would display them. If your work is good, they just might sell. Unfortunately, while being "too young" SHOULDN"T restrict you, it often DOES restrict you. Don't let old people get you down. Keep shooting, and good luck!

Wee Lite You Photography ;)

On my daughter's field trip with a 10D and grip - all the moms had p&s digicams and eyeballed my gear for while until one of them approached and said 'I found digital to be so much easier, I haven't touched a film camera since I got this thing'. To her bewilderment (I guess she had no concept of a DSLR) I said 'Me too!' I showed her the LCD on my camera and (to my amazement) she was amazed.

 

I walked on to a beach at Tahoe on the 4th of July to shoot the fireworks with my 10D, tripod, and full bag. Learned later that it was a private beach - paid access only. I remember walking past security while they smiled and nodded, but had no clue I was supposed to pay.

 

Got the guts to try it just to see. Walked into an entertainment event with two DSLRs, grips, flashes, and bag and was stopped by security before I got all the way in. The guy asked if I was the official photographer and I said "no, I just wanted to see if I could get in with all this gear". The guy chuckled and let me in.

 

"Prejudge" is a great word. Happens all the time.

Wow - some great stories here! My favorite is still one I read last year of a photog who performed the ceremony in absence of the priest who showed up after and signed the papers.

 

For me, the most harrowing was at a Quincenerra. Something started rattling around in my 10D during the party. Couldn't figure it out and just kept shooting. Drove me nuts! Turned out to be the battery door loose inside the grip (fell out of the little slot inside the grip). I was relieved to learn when I got home that nothing was actually wrong with my camera. I bought a second DSLR that week for greater peace of mind - I did not like the idea of pulling out my wonderful, dusty, EOS3 as a backup. Not bad huh? No horror stories. I only shot 10 weddings though. It's probably a matter of time....

It seems well established that you'll gain little optically for your purposes with the 1.2 vs. the 1.8. The two other obvious advantages would be build quality ("L" ruggedness) and the low light advantage. Do these factors get you anywhere in the studio? I wouldn't think so, so I probably wouldn't spend the cash for the 1.2 in the studio. According to reviews I've read on the 1.8, you'll find it does way better than "sufficently sharp".

Lots of great tips from Ben. Young children are tough. I have found that it helps to have someone on your side - literally. Ask the family to envite someone to the shoot who the child will respond to (friend or relative) and will not be in the photo. This persons job is to stand behind you and draw the child's attention toward the camera while you shoot. This can help with allowing the other subjects to devote more attention to posing rather than focusing entirely on the child.

 

Like Ben said, biggest thing to remember is your widnow of oppurtunity will be early and fleeting! Good luck!

I have a part time portrait business and almost all of my business is

by referral. So far (about three years) about 80% of my senior

portrait business has been female. There are just as many guys at the

local HS as there are girls, but the guys mostly seem to prefer just

showing up at the HS for their appointed blueprint yearbook photo op.

I'm not complaining about the business I'm getting... just wondering

about the business I'm not getting. There doesn't seem to be as much

interest among the guys - which is probably fairly common.

 

As I build my new website, should I place more emphasis on the guys -

include more guy pics (50/50 or more?), or should I show a portfolio

that more accurately represents my business history? Do you think

showing only 4 - 5 guy photos out of 20 total would further alienate

the guys? Has anyone noticed an inequity in your portrait clientele

regarding male to female ratio? I'd like to hear from those with a

marketing background, but all insights are appreciated - thanks!

Wow. $600 for an effective PS machine seems extremely optomistic. I am not really a computer geek, but as far as bang for your buck, your priorities should be 1) processor speed (my old 1.2 GHz is insufficeint - look for 2.0 minimum. 2) RAM, 512 could be limiting depending on your file sizes and how many you work with at once. RAM is cheap - buy more. 3) Hard disk space - PS implies lots os large files. Plan for more than you think you'll need. Hard drives are cheap - get at least 100GB onboard and archive externally. Fast graphics are not really important unless you'll be working with video or video games, so you can save a few dollars there. Try newegg.com for building the system yourself. They also have some barebones systems ready to go. Good luck!