rick_helmke

I have no time limit whatsoever. The record is 2 1/2 years from wedding to the print order for prints they had already paid for. I figure I've got the money so whenever is convenient for them but no rush orders. I'm suprised at the number who never complete their orders. I've got two like that now and I suspect one of those couples is no longer together. Nope, no refunds.

Rick H.

As I'm winding down and if it is offered, sure. I find most of my couples and their families to be hospitable and always offer food and drink to us and that includes the bar. No, I don't over do it but I have no problem with a cold beer when the shooting is mostly done. Come to think of it, a couple of months ago one of my brides, a good friend I admit, had a gift wrapped bottle of Crown Royal for me when we left.

Rick H.

Okay, I just went and looked at your website. Wow. That's great work, just excellent.

Rick H.

I've done quite a few large groups, from maybe 45 up to 250 at one wedding. 90-100 is fairly common. Anyway, 2 studio strobes with umbrellas, put them as high as you can. Shoot from a short step ladder or a chair if you can. Let them all know they need to be able to see you or you can't see them. Shoot several, maybe as many as 10 shots and at least one of them should have everyone with eyes open and in full view. Shoot it before they've had too much to drink. Keep everything simple and it will be a piece of cake.

Something to think about: When I shot my 20th, they all reminded me I was a class member too and insisted I get in the shot. Good thing my wife was there. You may need someone else to actually make the shot so try and have someone available that is competent. Second best is a tripod and timer but that's not a very good option.

Rick H.

Lots of good advice already. I'm in agreement with Al, if you can offer good B&W work from silver based prints you'll have something most wedding shooters don't offer. I'd been looking for something different to offer and found only one other studio in my area offers B&W silver gelatin prints. He's very expensive and doesn't do weddings. He is very succesful.

You will also need a business plan and those don't happen overnight. Do a lot of research, make phone calls, do some reading. Ask questions here. Someone also mentioned you will be quitting your job at the slowest time of the year and that's right in most places. It sure is around here.

If you can get out of the D2H without getting killed financially go ahead. Otherwise I'd keep it and get the D200. If you sell the D2H then get 2 of them though the D70 will do. Lens, you need something around 19mm or shorter for the digital stuff but you have most of the glass. You need another flash for certain probably the SB 800. Keep the film body and add an F100. They are so cheap nowadays and you need backup.

You will need a good computer with good software, cards, card reader and so on. I wouldn't waste time printing my own color. Most of the pro labs can do it much cheaper and doing your own takes time. You are better off using that time to market and sell yourself and develop your product line and samples. Successful business is about selling the product. Lots of good photographers are poor business and sales people. Me for example. Last thing....If you have a good relationship with this relative, be damn careful. Money problems have screwed up so many good relationships, you need to be very sure and very clear on every detail.

Rick H.

Center weighted. I've also found using flash that quite often it is easier to use the flash auto mode and not TTL. Not always but quite often. When using some of the older stuff (F2 or F4) I'll often use a Vivitar 283 or 285. Plenty of power and the results are quite pleasing when used properly.

Rick H.

Can't speak to the Sigma lens but when I was shooting Canon the 28-135 was my most used lens. It's nice and sharp, good contrast and quick enough to focus and that IS is wonderful. It would be nice to have the 2.8 lens for the shallow DOF but the IS will give you more useability in low light settings without a tripod. Based just on that consideration I'd buy the Canon.

Rick H.

The trick is to keep it simple. Find a set up that works and use it. Quit worrying about it. What works for me is 160 speed color film in either 35mm or MF if I'm using that. At a wedding most of my color is in digital. I sometimes also have a second shooter using color film. I also have a body with nothing but B&W. The way I shoot it is to shoot color for a while and then shoot B&W. I don't constantly change from one to the other, that's a pain. If you get an image in B&W but not in color, well, okay. Move on. At the end of the day you'll have a nice mix of color and B&W images that will make the client happy.

I don't generally desaturate color images because I've never been happy with the result no matter how I lose the color. My favorite is to use channels but that has its limits. Bottom line is make a decision before you start and stick to it. Prepare to deal with the unexpected but don't obsess over it.

We're in a run of 99 degree weather here in the deep south and I can honestly say there's no way I'd wear basic black to a wedding, particularly if I'm working outdoors. For the summer I've dropped the coat and tie as well. It's not just uncomfortable, it's unhealthy. I'm wearing lighter color kahkis and button downs, no jacket or tie. It's easy to dress well and professionally and not be miserable at the same time. It's bad enough when the wedding party starts to pass out, the hired help doesn't need to do the same. Stay hydrated and be smart about it. Tank tops and shorts, probably not. You'll figure out a sort of uniform for working weddings after you've done a few.

As an aside for those who are repelled by such casual wear, we have a local pro who has a sort of trademark of wearing flip flops to everything, weddings, reunions, whatever. His literature at one time advertised an extra charge if he was required to wear actual shoes. Don't know if he ever collected on it. Three guesses the name of the business......

Rick H.

Go directly to KEH. Tons to choose from within your price range.

Rick H.

There are times I simply need to shoot the D1-X, mostly because the client wants digital or very quick turnaround or whatever reason and some days I just find it less trouble. I still use and love all of my F2's, the F3 and the F4. I may buy another F2 and another F4 just because I want to but my next major expenditure will be a D200. As for lenses I have several AIS lenses and a few AF as well. My rule is they all need to work on any body. That's why I won't buy a D50 or 70.

Rick H.

I'm generally hard-nosed on non-refundable deposits but I wouldn't even think twice before returning this one. Some circumstances simply demand decency and compassion.

Rick H.

George I think handmade is almost always a good thing. The F and F2 were hand made or hand built and look at how good they still are. Same with the 'Blads from 20 or more years ago. Nearly any of the best mechanical contrivances are largely built individually with a lot of handwork. Look at the best firearms, the best cars. Not that automation produces crap, it doesn't. I have excellent gear made from largely automated processes and use it all day. Still there is a feel to a piece that was was made up close and personally by one or a small team of humans. I see it in a couple of my cameras and one very special albeit very pricey shotgun.

Rick H.

17-35.

Rick H.

Mars, take a look at the KEH web site, it is loaded with so much used gear it is mind boggling. Good stuff, goood prices and they stand behid what they sell.

Rick H.

It's great when you can get so many well thought responses from a number of perspectives. It goes a long way towards solving such an esoteric problem. I probably didn't make it clear before that I've been a fan of Photoshop for many years. I was always intrigued by the ability to do digitally what I did so often in the darkroom such as burning, dodging etc. The color corrections were something I had done during my days in color labs and I learned to do it even if I didn't enjoy it. The clone tool is way cool but seems like I'm cheating somehow. The healing tool is a godsend. In short, I have nothing against PS or digital, use them everyday and a D200 is my next planned purchase to go with my D1-X. BUT....

I've recently run in to two photographers that have simply brought me up short. Both are portrait shooters and their B&W work is magnificent. One I found on OneModelPlace, a guy named Wagnerin I think. His 40's style Hollywood lighting is stunning. I don't know if he shoots and processes digitally or with film and I don't care. It's gorgeous. The other is a local long-time portrait shooter. He's been one of the best locally since he was in his 20's. His B&W looks like film to me and I can't explain why. It is old-school style and he charges, and gets, a fortune for it. I think he shoots an old RB rig and TMax film and does his own printing. Whatever, the results speak for themselves and again, I find it is the kind of work I want to do.

I guess what I am trying to decide is, what do I need to do to keep growing and stay current while still doing the kind of work I want to do and make a living? I don't want to fall so far behind the tech curve that I am hopelessly out of date and forced to begin again. Neither do I want to become a PS know it all. I think either Anne or Nadine mentioned finding a niche market and that may be the answer. Upscale clients that are interested in results, not how I get them. I wonder if those won't be the long term clients anyway. And if I can find a way to produce portraits that have the same effect they had on me, well....Thanks for all the comments, you guys are helping me to crystalize a bunch of so-far murky concepts. I may get the passion back yet.

Rick H.

I just finished a long phone conversation with a good friend and sometime

shooting partner. The upshot of it was how much work he is doing these days in

PS2 and how much time he is spending in front of the computer. I've known him

for several years and know that he is an excellent photographer. He shoots

weddings and some other events but would always prefer to be shooting some

sort of outdoor subject. He spends as much time as possible in the western

states and always brings back some beautiful images. He is currently trying to

get a large collection of stock photos together for an agency and has been

spending many hours PS'ing his work. He's gotten way into layers and masks and

sharpening sections of a shot and God knows what else. He loves to tinker on a

computer and is largely self taught. His position is that a deep knowledge of

Photoshop is a requirement, not an option.

As with most things, he and I see this issue differently. We don't do anything

the same way and tend to complement each other when working together. If we

both shoot the same wedding standing side by side it is obvious who shot which

photo. I find myself moving in the opposite direction photographically. While

I've added digital like many of us, it has lost its cool factor. I'm trying to

work out a wedding option that let's me shoot like I was still a newspaper

photographer. I have good understanding of the commonly used tools on PS but

the more esoteric stuff escapes me. What's more, I'm not sure that I care or

want to get so deeply into what is a very powerful tool. Am I making a

mistake? I like to get out and shoot, bring 'em home and download or get film

processed and scanned. I prefer to have a completed proof set in a day or two

and be finished. If I am shooting a band, nature, whatever, my tendency is

still to do everything I can to get the image correctly in the camera, digital

or film. Shooting in RAW and fixing careless errors later on the computer is a

copout to me. My photographs tend to be uncomplicated. I don't use gadgets in

my work simply because I have them ie. coloring the flowers in a b&w image

just because I can. It has to actually contribute to making a better image

before I will do it.

I guess I am really asking if I am burying my head in the sand? I like to

think people hire me based on word of mouth or by what is in my portfolio but

I see some shooters get by not on their work but because their image and

marketing effort makes them appear cutting edge. One of them is actually not

very good but he is very succesful and I just don't get it. I'm not sure I

want to work for someone who hires me based on my use of the latest tools and

sometimes that is a factor. Younger couples today and many commercial clients

want digital because it is digital, not because it gives better results, even

when it sometimes doesn't. I'm willing to suck it up and learn the things that

will keep me competitive because one has to continue to grow but I'm not

interested in doing superfluous work just because clients want to dictate how

I do my job. I don't know how many others here have this conflict but it is

starting to bug me. I want to produce the best work I can but these days I'm

having trouble deciding exactly how to get there. Maybe I should just move to

a small trailer in the desert where I can breathe fixer every day and get out

my 4x5 and shoot cactus plants or something.

Rick H.

When I shot them last year I did it with simply auto white balance. WB isn't all that critical for this kind of work. Shooting RAW isn't neccesary but if you feel like it, go ahead. Just that much more work IMO. Digital does well on a fireworks show.

Rick H.

I like the 'E' screen in mine.

Rick H.

Adam I'd spend every waking minute from now until then getting familiar with that camera.Get a second and maybe a 3rd card. Doesn't have to be as big but you need a back up. The 28-70 is going to do most of what you need. If you are only going to disc I think I'd just shoot jpeg.

When you aren't working with the camera you need to be getting used to digital workflow. It's going to be interesting. Just in case, take a film body and film.

Rick H.

Stef, you might spend a few minutes pricing rental equipment. It can get expensive. It may prove cheaper to pick up a film body and use it for the engagement shoot. Just get one the same brand as your digital. If you are shooting Canon look around for an Elan 7, if Nikon an N90s or one of several others. You can likely buy one from someplace like KEH for about the cost of a rental. Then you have your backup problem solved. Getting it delivered in time is not a problem if you act quickly. I understand how money can be an issue but if you can afford a rental you can afford to by something used. You will need a credit card with some room on it to rent gear anyway. Trust me on this, you just haven't lived until you've been shooting a wedding and had something fail that stopped you cold. In my case it was a sync chord and I was able to round one up in a few minutes but never ever not ever do I want to have that sick feeling again. Yes, I've had the odd piece fail since but have always had at least something to back it up.

Rick H.

I find myself going more and more old school. Sure, I have plenty of digital

gear and the support widgets that go with it. Worse, I'm planning to update

before the summer is over. At the same time though some of the older classic

stuff keeps finding its way into my camera bag. The single glaring fault I

find with the Nikon F2 is the clumsy way a shoe mount flash like a 283

requires a special attachment to put the flash on top of the re-wind knob.

When I used an F2 everyday I normally had a Sunpack 511 to go with it. Plenty

of controllable power, it did most everything I needed from a flash. Since

I've got all these F2's and F3's I'm thinking I should look around for a 511

to go with them. Has anyone got one they would part with? It needs to work and

have at least one good synch chord and a 35mm bracket. Thanks.

Rick H.

Actually you can do an awful lot with that much money. You could by a Nikon F2,F3,F4,F100 or N90s. Actually you could buy 2 of them. You always need a back up. If you stick to the manual focus Nikkors you should be able to put together lens from maybe 24-200 or 300 and still have money left over.

Medium format? Any of the 645 bodies. Mamiya 645's come in many versions and all are cheap right now. I know where there are 3 nice clean Mamiya 654's for sale, all under $500. He also has 60, 80 and 210mm lenses. You'd still have money left over.

Digital? Canon 20D but only lens or two and you won't have any money left by the time you are able to take photos. A good clean D100 will leave more room for glass and a D70 would do.

I guess if I were doing what you are doing right this minute I'd go with the first option. Actually I am looking at a bag full of Nikon bodies and glass, 2 F2's,one on MD-2, an F3, 28, 50, 55 micro, 85 and 80-200, all manual focus Nikkors all in super condition and a total of maybe $1200. Just one camera? An F2, MD-2 but I need at least 2 lenses.

Rick H.

The Nikon P&S digitals are quite good. That's what I got MY mom into and she's been very pleased with it. Actually, she abandoned completely her N60 and all the stuff she had with it. Guess where that one ended up? There are plenty of good cameras for what you are after. Sony, Canon, Nikon and Olympus all have something out there and you really won't go wrong with any of them. Shop in your price range and you'll be fine.

Rick H.