forrest.berkshire

<p>Thanks to all for the quick replies, I am dropping off the books to her this evening and needed some advice fast (she just told me about this right before i posted). A couple of points regarding the advice above:<br>

Katrin: I am not "mad" that I am missing some additional revenue. But internet sales are factored into the price I charge for photographing a wedding, so I do not feel at all ashamed for thinking about the money. That's why I spend my Saturdays doing this. I don't see ethical problems with selling wedding photos. I am sure if you shoot weddings, you also do it for money.<br>

Jon: I do have a legal leg to stand on. Just not sure I want to.<br>

Keith: if she asks me to shoot her second wedding (which I am thinking is a virtual certainty, I will politely decline. I don't need brides dragging me into their fights which she ried to do during the portraits session).<br>

But several of you pointed out the bad rep./bad-mouthing to potential clients, which I think is a very valid point. Word of mouth is the best marketing, and although I feel this woman is vindictive and petty, she's my client.<br>

Again, thanks all for the replies. I appreciate your input.</p>

<p>Got a new one for me, although I am sure some of you have dealt with this in the past.<br>

I have a bride who has requested that I password-protect her online gallery because she is feuding with her inlaws. The day of the wedding, her and her new mother-in-law got into a huge screaming match during the portraits session. Now she wants to make sure the mother in law doesn't get any photos.<br>

However, I have my site set up as an e-commerce site where people can purchase photos. I know the family is wanting to purchase photos, because they have already contacted me asking about doing so.<br>

While I make the vast majority of my money from the service, every little bit of revenue helps, and this bride is impacting that revenue stream by trying to shut out potential customers. I offer clients the option of purchasing the digital files and reproduction rights, which she has not done yet.<br>

So my question is:<br>

1st: can I tell her too bad (legally, ehtically?), that I sell photos and this is how I make money. Maybe I could set up a separate gallery with photos that do not have the bride and groom in them for sale?<br>

2nd: should I do the first option and risk upsetting her, thus impacting future referrals from her?</p>

<p>I was shooting a wedding a few weeks back and a lady asked me about shooting her son's senior portraits. Since I was in the middle of working, I only spoke to her briefly, saying I would be willing to consider it, but I warned her that is not what I do and this would be my first time. She told me of a portrait photog she was considering, one whose work I am familiar with, and informed her in no uncertain terms that I would probably not match what he does, simply because that is what he does and he has been doing it for a long time.<br>

She contacted me the other day and says she wants me to do the portraits. But I have no idea how to structure a package or price. I am not looking to get into the portrait business, but hey, if it can fill in the gaps between weddings, why turn down money? I feel I have adequately warned her of my inexperience (I did so again in the email she sent me recently). From a technical aspect, I have no problems. But there are intangibles to shooting portraits that I am not familiar with (besides wedding portraits, but I feel a senior portrait situation.<br>

My question is: any advice? Should I even do it (I haven't committed yet)? I don't have a studio, but could do some on-location shots like I do for engagement portraits.</p>

<p>Any advice/warnings appreciated.</p>

<p>RAW all the time, even on non-wedding assignments where i am on deadline. I just convert using Aperture, and get better saturation and vibrance. Not really too much longer of a workflow. Since I bought a 5D MKII, I always travel with lots of cards and space on my laptop to transfer. Last wedding I shot took up 20 GB of storage. But then afain, I have 2.5 Tb of storage at home.</p>

<p>I have my wife as my second shooter, and while she has only a basic grasp of the technical side (I have to set her ISO for her) she gets great photos while I am doing portraits. She helps out some with the posing and staging, then stands quietly back and picks off shots of people interacting. She has a good eye, and I am kind of jealous that she gets to shoot the "fun" candid photos while I am working on portraits. Some of the best shots in my marketing portfolio come from her. The rest of the time I use her to supplement shots I am taking, shooting from angles that would be hard for me to get to during the ceremony without causing a distraction. One wedding I stuck her up in a balcony with a 300mm 2.8 while l I worked up close.</p>

<p>Simple fix, really -- Just don't upload high-resolution pics. If they want a pixelated print to hang on their wall, well that's their poor taste. If you want to have a place for legitimate customers to download high-quality prints for sale, then there are many options out there on the Web, you probably are just going to have to pay for it.<br>

For the record, whether it is legal or not, I feel people shouldn't do this, at least to pro photogs who are trying to make a living. But the fact is there are ways to protect yourself.</p>

<p>That might be what happened. I inserted a memory card that was unformatted that I used in my 1DMkIIN because there were images on there I wasn't sure I had downloaded. Would that cause the file numbering on the 5D images to start at a higher number?</p>

<p>What is the default start file name on a new 5DM2? Reason I ask, I bought a new camera at a reputable local camera store. However, when I started looking at the images, they started off as IMG 4700s. The setting on the camera was already on continuous file numbering. I thought they normally started at IMG 1001. I am wondering if I was sold an open box item as new.</p>

<p>Aperture also supports 5D2 files</p>

<p>Apple's Aperture supports 5D2 CR2s. I do all my RAW work in Aperture, then export to JPeg or TIFF and tweak in PS CS3. It annoys me how Adobe does this, I understand not supporting CS3 after a while, but CS4 just came out, and you would think for the $$ we plunk down for the program, they would not engineer obsolescence into the program so quickly. That being said, I am already on an Aperture workflow for organizing, ranking and other processes. If you have Aperture (and a Mac), this works reall well for me. I haven't used ACR since I bought Aperture.</p>

<p>Michael,<br>

I currently use Apple books designed in Aperture. Not sure if they are any different than ones designed in iPhoto, but for the cost, quality and software capabilities I have been hard-pressed to find anything better. And I have looked around. Every time I think I might have found a better product, I download the software and it is cumbersome or buggy. The price is not bad, if you ask me, of $35.<br>

What I would like to find is a similar service where I could upload PDFs that I design in InDesign or Quark. Anyone know if such a service?</p>

<p>A coworker of mine is having trouble with his 1dMKIIN and his images. While he was on assignment he noticed a white band running through the center of the image, he describes it as a ghostly streak running across the center, and the right-hand side of the image was not exposed at all. He detatched the lens and saw some piece of black plastic hanging down over the shutter, originating from the top of the chamber near the prism. He ripped it off. He said that stopped the underexposure of the image, but the white streak continued. When he shoots indoors, he said it was less pronounced. However, when he shot outdoors, it was very pronounced.<br>

Anyone dealt with this before? Save the chastisement about him ripping out a piece of his camera without knowing what he was doing (I've already yelled at him for that, as well as getting his fingerprints all over the sensor).<br>

I am attaching an image he gave me to better illustrate.</p>

 

Is flash absolutely necessary, or could you position a reflector to catch the light and bounce it back on your subject's face

where you feel it is being underexposed? I assume there is good directional light coming into the room from what you said in

your original post. This might cause you to purchase some new equipment, but would that work? It might make the photo look

a little more natural, as well.

 

Forrest

Just got a message that Albums Inc is now offering a new line of photobooks and was wondering if anyone had experience with them? The

link to the product line is http://www.albumsinc.com/about/photobook_landingpage.asp I have found photo books to be very popular with my

clients, but cost is a factor for some. Some of them are happy with the books you can make in Aperture and pay for them, but I want

something higher quality that doesn't cost as much as an Asuka Books album, which I offer as an add-on to my packages, but the price is a

serious deterrent.

 

Anyone tried these yet? I know they are new, but thought I would ask. Thanks

I have brought along my Canon G9 on one wedding. Didn't use it, but I am the type that likes to overcompensate on

equipment. I would rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it. I thought I might be able to use it to be a little less

obtrusive for some of the reception shots. Still might give it a try, but it's awful hard for me to put down my 1D Mk II when I am

in the thick if it.

Dave,

 

Yeah, we survived. Had some major damage just about 1.5 miles from our house. I see you

are in Cincinnati, that's where I am from originally. At least, I saw one photo with an old

Cincinnati skyline in the background. Those are some really interesting photos on your site.

Do you do restoration work or something? Or are they reproductions?

Dave,

 

That would be great. So you have a snow machine I could borrow? No, seriously, I thought

about outside, but it is gray and rainy here, and likely to stay that way. If it were a

warmer/nicer time of year, I have about a dozen spots that would grab the judges' attention.

I do understand what you are talking about with grabbing their attention, though.

Thanks for the answers.

 

Rand, I know they won't use my photo for the swimsuit calendar, these are shots for her to submit for the initial selection process. I'm not saying I would turn down the job, but believe me, I have no expectations of getting such a job from this assignment.

 

Just to update, I pulled a few strings with some people I know and got access to a local theater where I should have plenty of room. Now I am just looking for the backdrop. Another photog friend of mine suggested running to the local hardware store and picking up a drop cloth, much cheaper than muslin (or paper) and he said it works great. Any experiences out there with a drop cloth? I will probably go with white (either paper or drop cloth) or gray (paper or muslin).

 

Any other suggestions would be appreciated.

I run a wedding photography business on the side and recently was contacted by

a lady who works for Hooters and needs some photos to submit for consideration

for her being in the Hooters calendar. She said she needs two headshots and

four body shots in a bikini.

 

The deadline is nearing so she wants to shoot this Friday.

 

My problem is I do not have a studio I use. Since we are in Kentucky, the

weather will prevent from shooting outside. The option I am looking at is

setting up a studio in my house, I have a room that might work in my finished

basement. It is horibly outdated, though (faux wood paneling, 1950s-style

linoleum floor). I have two 800w strobes and a few speedlites and remotes and

all the other photo gear.

 

However, I do not have any backdrop material. I was looking at ordering a

backdrop, but not sure what to get, material or color wise. I was thinking

muslin for the material, and white (high-key) for the color.

 

I have a few questions for anyone experienced in this sort of shooting:

 

1. The ceiling in the room I am looking to use is only 7ft. high. Will this be

a problem?

 

2. Would muslin be a good material? Or is there something more appropriate?

 

3. Would the white/high key color work well, or would someone suggest something

different? Remember, these are not for print, but for her submission. I thought

the white background might isolate her well for the judges. But there is also

the neutral gray or even black.

 

4. Anyone who has shot this kind of assignment, are there standard poses for

these photos? Remember, this is not for publication, but for her to submit for

entry into the calendar.

 

5. Any other advice, you think I might benefit from. Remember, my bacground is

photojournalism and wedding photography, this type is a new animal for me. Any

resources you have found helpful?

 

Thanks in advance for any helpful advice.

I have learned a lot about PS simply by using some of Kubota's actions, then going back

through the process via the history palette and watching how it is done step by step. As to

organizing them, I have a few I use more than others, and have organized them myself into

different folders for quick reference.

Thanks for the reply William. I always add the author in the metadata through Aperture, but for my portfolio work I don't like to have that displayed or my filenames. Keeping track/seperate for my purposes is not the problem, so much as making sure I do not misprepresent my work or slight a talented photographer working for me.

I agree with Peter. Reference an approximate megapixel. Most people have no idea what the term even means, but they are familiar with it (thanks to the marketing departments of the camera manufacturers). Only problem there, though, depending on your camera, if you shoot with a six megapixel camera, which is perfectly adequate to produce decent-sized prints, the new benchmark for consumer cameras seems to be around 8 to 10. So you might have to do a little educating when talking to your clients to let them know megapixel isn't the only factor in getting a good print. I used to run into this all the time when shooting sports for a newspaper and using a Nikon D2h. People would approach me on the sidelines, compliment the camera and usually their first question - how many megapixels is it? When I would respond 4, they would get this look like I was using something inferior to their point-and-shoot 8MP.

I categorized this in the legal questions department, although it might not

necessarily apply, it is the closest I could find. This is more of an ethical

question.

 

I was wondering if/how people deal with assistants' shots in their

portfolios/wedding galleries. I do not always use the same assistant, but I

always have a second shooter who I pay while covering a wedding. Often, they

are the ones grabbing candid photos, especially during the portrait sessions,

that are quite good and would make a nice addition to one of my galleries to

show potential clients.

 

I do not want to misrepresent authorship, nor do I want to infringe on their

work. However, they work for my business during those sessions, so it is

representative of what I produce for my clients. I own the copyright, and they

are working for me (they are granted permission to use their work they do for

me for their own self promotion, as well).

 

How do the rest of you deal with this? Do you add something alongside the

copyright image directly onto the photo in a (Flash-based) gallery? Do you add

a general nore at the bottom of a gallery just listing who assisted you and not

worrying about identifying each photo's authorship?

 

I really need to update my galleries on my Web site, since they are old and not

representative of the quality of work I am now doing, and wanted to figure out

how to deal with this.

 

Thanks

Just shot a wedding in an old church with lots of stained glass. During the

ceremony I shot some flash and some natural light. As I am processing the

photos, it seems that the correct color temp is real low. mTo get good looking

images, I am setting the WB at around 3,500. I shot RAW, so it's not a problem

adjusting the WB, just seemed odd. Any similar experiences out there?

FOr Slideshow Pro you need a copy of Flash MX 2004 or Flash 8 right? I have MX 2004 running (non-natively, I might add) on an Intel Mac. Would that combo of Flash ans SSP be best for me?