frolickingbits

I usually use bare reflectors, or sometimes a beauty dish when shooting in windy full sun situations. At the distance needed for a medium to large group, there is plenty of light spread, and any modifier is just going to waste light and/or blow over in the wind. This shot was with a single 300w/s strobe, 7" reflector, camera left about 4 feet high.http://d124mew9vpoaxs.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/MaineFamilyPhotographer-23-800x794.jpg?x69424

<p>I really don't worry about what other photographers are charging. If I were to tell a photographer to raise their prices, it would be because I thought there work was good enough to justify it and I wanted to see them succeed and in doing so, bring the entire profession up. </p>

<p>I've been on the fence about them for a while-I've had a $100 a month listing there for a couple years now, and I've only booked a couple weddings directly from the listing, but I discovered that a lot of my brides viewed my profile on The Knot even if they heard about me from another source (referral, vendor, FaceBook, etc.) So I think it does serve a reinforcing role-couples hear about me, then see me on the Knot, and it shows that I'm a legit photographer.</p>

<p>I see you bought the Stratos, but I have 4 of the Youngnuo YN-622, and I love them. Fully compatible with my 5D3, TTL passthrough for the on camera flash, wireless TTL or manual flash power control through the in camera flash menu. And they're cheap-$100 for a pair of them.<br>

I have also used the PW Flex system, and loved it with the 5D MarkII, but even with the firmware upgrade, it never worked right with my 5D3. They are also a pain to troubleshoot in the field, since you can't change many settings without connecting them to a computer.</p>

<p>Absolute waste of money. When I was younger and dumber, I had a YP ad for a year, and it was the worst. I would saying even worse that being listed there could make you look outdated and old fashioned-the Yellow Pages name has a pretty negative cachet amongst the younger generation.</p>

<p>The Pros are a rather piss poor national chain of subcontracted wedding photographers. Hopefully this venue does not require their couples to use them, as that would be a really awful business practice. <br>

Having seen the work and service they provide, I can say without hesitation, everything on that page is complete BS. They pay next to nothing, and will take any photographer willing to take their lousy pay. Do not work for them, all they serve to do is drag the market for professional photography down.</p>

<p>Most rental companies offer their own insurance coverage, so you could rent the 70-200 f2.8 L IS for $94 for a week from BorrowLenses, with $14 for insurance. Put the 24-70 on the MarkIII, the 70-200 on the MarkII, and you would be in good shape. <br>

Also, is the insurance policy you have a business or personal homeowners? Because if it is homeowners, you wouldn't be covered if you are earning income of any sort from the equipment that is covered.</p>

<p>Definitely agree you should buy the new camera, having that muscle memory of knowing where every setting is will be extremely important the day of the wedding. I rely heavily on knowing my gear inside out, to the point it is an extension of my body. This goes for lenses as well-I wouldn't try out a focal length you've never used the day of a wedding. I can look at a scene and know exactly what will be in the frame with each lens in my bag. <br>

At a bare minimum, you will need a decent camera body (40D, 50D, 7D, maybe even a used 5D), a wide angle (either zoom or prime), standard prime, something tele, a flash and a backup flash. Plus memory cards and batteries.</p>

<p>Interesting concept, when I'm shooting a wedding, there is almost always a white shirt (or dress) or a wall nearby that I can bounce from, or a white ceiling. I also use off camera flashes at almost every reception, so if I do use a bounce card on my flash, it balances with the other flashes and doesn't look too harsh. This contraption seems like it would look a bit silly, but not really any more so than a Fong Dong. And like Nadine, I won't completely discount it without trying it first. Being from California SunBounce, I highly doubt it will be cheap, so odds are I won't buy one.</p>

<p>If you're just shooting before the pro arrives, you should be completely fine in terms of etiquette, as long as you step down and stay out of their way once they arrive. If I was going to rent a lens with the 5D2, it would be the 35L, I absolutely love that lens for getting ready shots. But I think you will be good with what you have, you should be able to do very good getting ready coverage with your 50mm and 430EX.</p>

<p>I use the term editorial, meaning for the most part I let things unfold as they happen, but I will gladly step in to move people to better light, take things out of the background, and do whatever else I can to control the situation to create a better photograph. I avoid the phrase photojournalistic, because it has rather been co-opted by bozos with rebels that don't have the guts to set up a photograph. In a similar way, the term 'natural light photographer' seems to be used by every newbie that can't figure out how flash works.<br>

I agree with Nadine, though-whatever words you use to describe your images, it's best to let the photographs speak for themselves. I have one particular image of a groom crying as he hugs his bride that's gotten me more weddings than I can count. </p>

<p>I keep all my raw files, i find it's cheaper to buy new hard drives than it would be to spend the time to select which files to delete and which to keep. Several years ago, I was only keeping JPG files, and I have a number of images that would be good portfolio pieces had I not done what in retrospect was a rather awful post processing job. For a while I was duplicating JPG files and editing the copies, which is much better than working on the originals, but not nearly as streamlined as my workflow is now with LightRoom. Like Nadine said, with raw files you can also go back and reprocess as your skills and the software improves. With the current price of disc space, it costs me about $10 per wedding to archive the raw files. I figure that's an acceptable cost.</p>

<p>I still get excited before every wedding I photograph, and I'm doing 15+ a year at this point. I don't get nervous really, but connecting with my clients and sensing their excitement gets me pretty amped. I think if I ever stop feeling at least some sense of excitement, it will probably be time for me to stop doing weddings.</p>

<p>Find out if he wants to second shoot for you, since clearly he likes your style. Or contact the magazine and let them know he doesn't have a model release, if you want to play hardball. I would re-word the 'pro gear' portion of your contract too, I've actually had much less trouble with photographers that bring pro gear than those with consumer level dSLRs. One of the nicest guests with cameras I've worked around had a 1 series body and 50L, and she was sure to check with me before the wedding and told me to just tell her to move if she got in the way. <br>

The worst experience I had with another photographer was at a destination wedding where the resort had a videographer and photographer at the ceremony. The videographer was literally 2 feet from the couple the entire ceremony, and the photographer spent a good deal of time over the officiant's shoulder. <br>

It all comes down to communication for me-if I know I'm working with a videographer, I will chat with them for a few minutes before the ceremony. If I see a guest with camera that's becoming a problem, I will enlist them to help round up people for group shots or to hold a reflector.</p>

<p>Nadine's advice is right on point. I tell couples that my retainer is non-refundable, but I am also clear that if something truly catastrophic happens (one of them ends up the hospital for example), I will return it. However, if it is just a case of the engagement was broken off, I would allow it be used against other services or maybe for a future wedding, but I wouldn't return it. </p>

<p>Yes. Some people use it as a 'diffuser' with their flash pointed forward, but it really serves no purpose at all outdoors.</p>

<p>Most of the really top quality album companies only sell to pros, you need to have at the very least a website with a pro portfolio. <br>

I've never worked with them, but a Google search turns up this company that seems to have sub $200 albums: http://www.weddingalbumsandmore.com/ </p>

<p>Good thread-I had no idea my PocketWizards wouldn't work with my MarkIII, I just got it a few weeks ago and I've been photographing my kid to get the hang of it, but I haven't used it with my triggers with it. PW has a prioritized beta release plan, and the MarkIII is #4 on the list, but they don't seem to have a date for when that might be. My QFlash is always on manual, but I like using TTL for the off and on camera 430EX flashes, I'm going to see if it will pass the TTL info through to the on camera flash and fire the off camera flashes in manual.</p>

<p>Get your flash off camera, that will let you get it closer to the subject and higher up, and you can shoot with a tele lens to compress the background, which tends to make an overexposed background look much more appealing than it would if shot wide. I shot the attached photos with a Quantum QFlash, which gives a more diffused light than a shoe mount flash, but the technique would work with a 580EX too. </p>

<p>I second the Super Clamp suggestion, lighter in your camera bag and they hold on to just about anything very tightly.</p>

<p>My standard head shot rate for a location shoot is $150 per photo if it's less than 4 people in a go, $100 a person for 4 people or more, so my charge would be $1400.</p>

<p>There is a guy in my area that does homes for $150 a pop, which I am absolutely unable to compete with. My rate is a flat 0.15% of the total listing price, with a minimum of $250, and a max of $1,400. Real Estate photograph is a lot of work to do right. To really make a space look good, you need to worry about staging, and lighting will either be a composite or a multi light setup, both of which take time.</p>

<p>Not really that shocking of a model, I've done several photo booth events for local charities where I charged $5 for a 4x6 print, and $4 of that was donated back to the charity. I see it as a good way to give back to a cause I believe in without costing me money.<br>

However, I approached these organizations with this offer, I have never had a group explicitly ask me for a percentage of sales. And I could see where there could be a conflict of interest. Let's say photographer A offers a $20 8x10 with a 20% donation, and photographer B offers a $30 print with a 25% donation. The latter raises more money for the organization, at the expense of the parents.</p>

<p>A corporate shoot as a test for a wedding job seems very strange. An engagement session is a typical try out for a wedding, and I do them pretty frequently before booking a wedding to make sure the couple is a good fit and we have a good chemistry. <br>

For pricing, it is going to depend on your experience level and location, but for a group shot and 6 head shots, I would probably charge between $250-$400.</p>

<p>Another vote for the MarkIII, it has the AF, dual card slots and improved weather sealing of a 1 series body, plus it's twice the resolution of the 1D MarkIII, better in low light and a whole host of other improvements. The downside of course is that it's $3900 with the grip....</p>