lisa h

Thanks everyone! I think I am going to get some 'Deoxit' to clean all of the contacts

(after doing a search on cleaning contacts I found this interesting thread regarding

Deoxit :

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1039&message=26374611 )

I have had all of my lenses (& the bodies & flash heads) checked out by a Nikon Authorized Repair Center recently. The 17-55 had to be sent for repair but they said that everything else, including the 85 1.8 was fine! They did clean the 85 inside & out and when I had the issue recently it was my first time using the lens since it was cleaned. It must be the contacts on the body.

I had an issue a few weeks ago with the auto-focus assist beam on my SB-800 not working properly for a little while, then later in the night it was fine. Maybe that stems from the same (contact) issue...?

Hi, yes based on my last experience it sounds like something to do with either the camera or lens contacts. Weird that it has happened with different bodies & lenses though. The recent experience was with the Nikkor 85 1.8 before I changed to the 17-55 2.8.

I'll check out that link.

Thank you.

Hi, I had a focus issue a few time with my D2oo but figured that it was specific

to that camera. Recently I have had the same issue w/ my D300. Basically, the

camera will sometimes stop auto-focusing; the red boxes won't light up & the

focus beep won't sound. When this has happened I check over all my settings

(make sure that the 'S' hasn't switched to 'C' mode) and I turn the camera off &

back on, plus remove the battery, but nothing seems to help except for waiting a

little while. When it most recently happened though, I took off the lens and

put on a different one & then everything worked fine. I then switched back to

the other lens & it was still working fine so I know that it wasn't an issue

with that first lens.

Any thoughts/ experiences on this?

Thanks,

Lisa

The Nelson rules are on their web site. No photos are allowed indoors. You may shoot

outdoors for no fee. I would think this would be a great place for a large group!

You can find some wedding workshops on this link:

http://www.digitalweddingforum.com/seminars_by_dwf_members

There are a lot of wedding photographers offering workshops now (for a lot of money)... some will be great and some will not be, so do your research carefully (make sure it will be geared toward the level you are at and focusing on what you are interested in learning right now).

P.S. I am not clear if you are looking for something based on the digital aspect, or just want a general wedding photography workshop?

Alan's version is great! i vote for that.

#1 is nice if you are going for a beachy feel (it looks like ocean waves).

Hi everyone, I have a Nikon D200 & I think that it is having some focusing issues.

I have had the camera for over a year so it is no longer under Nikon warranty.

I bought an extended warranty through Mack Camera. I have read several horror

stories on p-net about mack cam taking a long time to send cameras back and also

about the repairs not being done properly.

Mack Cam is not listed on the Nikon site as a Nikon Authorized Repair Service

center. I find it strange that major retailers would sell these warranties from

someone who is not Nikon approved?!

I want to know; is there a flip side to what I have read, are there also lots of

people who have been happy with the repair service from Mack Cam?

Or would I be better off paying to have Photo Tech (a NARS repair center here in

NYC) look at it? I have no idea yet of how much it would cost to fix...

I don't want to be stuck with out my camera for a long period of time so would

appreciate any insight.

Thanks,

Lisa

Hi, I know that many people here use the Showit Web software. I have checked out the web site

(http://www.showitfast.com/) but I am not totally clear if these slide shows can only be viewed online? If

I use this software & my laptop to create a slideshow, can I show potential clients the slideshows directly

from my laptop without an internet connection?

Thanks, Lisa

I also find that tips are overlooked for the photographers. Oh well, no biggie.

One of my first few weddings though, myself & my shooting partner at the time EACH received a $200 tip in the mail! It was funny b/c when my partner got his $200 check, he called to tell me and said that he would give me my half later (he didn't realize that they sent me a separate check)! Yes I did tell him that was all his to keep :)

Recently I received a $100 spa/massage gift card as a tip, which I thought was very thoughtful (perfect for the day after shooting a long wedding)!

I wish that 1500 raw files only took me one day!

Lisa

Thanks so much for the responses. I am going to finalize the contract now!

Lisa

Here is the situation... somebody wants to book me for a Bat Mitzvah and definitely wants either a

traditional leather album or an Asuka coffee table book, but she is not sure which one yet.

Generally, If someone wants to hire me to shoot their event, they can always order a book or album

anytime afterwards (after the event is shot) at my always carte pricing. In order to encourage them to

order one when they initially book me, I offer a 15% discount on books/albums if they are included in the

package at the time of booking.

So in this scenario... the woman has decided that she definitely wants to include one, but she does not

want to decide whether it will be the album or the book until after the event (which will be in several

months). There is a few hundred dollar price difference between the two products.

I am thinking that I should include the lower priced product (the Asuka book) in the contract, and write

that if she chooses to she can upgrade it after to the leather album, for the price difference (and still get

the 15% off). Does that make sense? Or is there a better way to go about this?

Thank you,

Lisa

Wow, thanks for your input.

I suspected (& think that almost everyone confirmed), that quality wise it is best to do before converting to jpeg. As far as speeding up my workflow, I was hoping to do after I batch convert to jpeg (Karl that would be option 'A' that you mentioned).

Another thing brought up is to sharpen based on your output. Well in this case (they are wedding photos), they are first being used to print 4x6s, also being uploaded to online gallery for web viewing, then eventually used to make enlargements... do people really have several different versions of all of their photos saved sharpened at different levels? When dealing with hundreds of photos for each wedding, I don't understand how this works...

Thanks, Lisa

Hi, I usually don't do much sharpening on my photos and am trying to figure out the proper workflow ... I

need to apply local sharpening to a large group of images (that I shot in RAW). I am wondering if it is best

to do the sharpening before I convert to jpeg, or will it be just as good (as far as image quality) to do the

sharpening after I convert?

Thank you,

Lisa

Hi, has anyone shot at St. Patricks in NYC?

I have a potential client getting married there next year and I am curious what the typical regulations are

there as far as flash, where you can shoot from, etc, and any other relevant information or tips.

Of course, If I book this event, I will have discussions with the church co-ordinator or priest before the

wedding, but I am trying to get some info. now as this is not my typical shooting venue (so I am thinking

of proposing a package with a second photographer included).

Thanks, Lisa

... where were you taking that picture from, were you in a tree???

Lisa

William, regarding your statement 'You will probably get sharper images if you shoot with a

lens hood than without,' can you please explain why that is?

Thank you, Lisa

The dinner I can understand photographing (though I am not big on photographing people eating)... I guess what I am trying to get insight on is, why people would want photographs of the actual rehearsal (they will be getting awesome photographs the next day of the real thing, so why have the trail run photographed)? Is it common to have the rehearsal phoographed? Is it a good opportunity for special photos or not really?

William did bring up an example in answer to part of this, that it could be the first time some family members are seeing each other in a while.

Any other thoughts?

Thanks, Lisa

Hi again, they did say (when I inquired earlier in the summer) that the printing services would

eventually be available for Mac users... so you may want to see what the status on that is.

Maybe it is up & running already?

Lisa

Thank you so much for your responses so far!

Everyone makes good points about being at the rehearsal to familiarize yourself with

everything in order to make the actual wedding day go smoother. Whenever possible, I like

to attend the rehearsals for those reasons. One thing that I did not mention yet though, is

that I would not be the photographer for the actual wedding day! They already have

someone else for that (and that photog will not be at the rehearsal). So that is making me

view this coverage differently than I normally would, since my sole purpose of being there in

this case would be to take pictures!

Hi, I use Collages for online proofing but I don't use their printing services... I believe that is

currently only possible for PC users, not Mac.

Lisa

Hi, I have been asked to photograph a rehearsal and a rehearsal dinner. The dinner will be more of an

open house, which I think will allow for better pictures versus a traditional sit down dinner. I don't think

that I have ever photographed an actual rehearsal before, and I am wondering if this is common and if you

typically get any memorable pictures from this.

Thanks, Lisa