ubejammin

Alright....Would the same sensor malfunction cause the camera to pick up colors that aren't there? Here's an example of another photo I took where the two people are wearing off-white shirts with blue jeans. If you look at the folds in the shirts, you can see a blue cast. I actually didn't notice this until the couple saw it on their proofs!! The strange thing is that when the jeans were in the picture the blue cast was there, but when I did a head and shoulders only shot the blue cast didn't show. Let me know what you think of this....

 

Also, just something quirky that I don;t know if it applies or not...but the checkerboard does not show on the picture until I view it at 66.7% in photoshop. At every other resolution the pictures look fine, but once I get to 66.7% I get a checkerboard.

Ok...I'm hoping some of the digital guru's on this site can help me

with the strangest problem I am encountering on a senior portrait.

 

I took several photos of this senior and printed about 30 proofs.

On about 1/2 of them I can see a checker-board effect throughout the

entire picture. I went back to my CF card and pulled up the

original pictures there and I either can't see them or they are very

faint. However, as I click on the picture in Photoshop (Elements),

at certain resolutions I can see the check-board really well. The

really bad part is that it is showing up on the prints...but only

some of them. The 3 1/2 x 5's and 4x6's are terrible, but the 5x7's

and the wallets are fine. I have already verified with the lab that

the checker-board is on the files that I sent them.

 

I shot these pics at high-res jpeg with a D70. Has anyone ever seen

this before? Is there ANYTHING I can do to get rid of this? I will

try to post an example; however, because it is showing up at

different resolutions, I don't know if you will be able to see them

or not. The funny thing is I had a family portrait session the same

day just before this session. Same equipment, same lighting set-up,

everything - and their pictures are fine. The only thing different

is the CF card that I used.

 

I appreciate any help. Thanks!!<div></div>

I'm not from the UK, but thought I'd mention this anyway. Zookbinders.com has a presentation box that looks beautiful. I don't know if this is exactly what you're looking for, but the box usually holds 12 matted photos (which they mat for you) and there are many options for the front of the box. Personally, I can't wait to give it a try.

I'm with you, Jammey. I love weddings and the beauty, the emotions and the excitement. I also love photography and being creative. My husband thinks I'm crazy wanting to photograph weddings, but he did his first one with me a couple of weeks ago and now loves it. What meant the most to me was when he looked at me and said "now I know why you want to do this".

 

I got started by deciding I wanted to expand from nature photography to weddings. I assisted a professional wedding photographer for a brief time to see if I enjoyed the work and then decided this was for me. About the same time, a family wedding was being planned and the couple could not afford a pro photographer and we were asked if we would do the photography. That's how it started. The wedding was almost two weeks ago and I pick up the pics tonight. Now I'm crossing my fingers that they turned out as well as I've been hoping....

CD-

I just shot my first wedding less than two weeks ago with equipment almost identical to yours. For my B&W's I used my N80, ambient light only, Nikkor 50mm 1.8, and Kodak TMAX400. For all of the color shots, I used 2 D70's (my husband and I shot this together) - one with a SB600 and the other with the SB800. I used zooms on both of these cameras. One was the Nikon 28-120MM 3.5-4.5 VR (? details), the other a Tamron 70-200mm 2.8. For most of the formals I used 2 strobes along with fill flash from the 800.

 

Here were my issues: The SB600 on the D70 seemed to overcompensate for the flash (I was also using a lumiquest filter to soften the flash a bit) and it consistently overexposed the brides dress. The SB 800 with the D70 and a lumiquest soft filter exposed very well. I know the SB 800 was designed to work with/communicate with a camera such as the D70 and in my opinion it shows on the pics. You may want to practice with your D70 and SB600 with someone in poor light and wearing white to see what results you get. Renting that SB800 may not be a bad idea if you don't like the results with the SB600.

 

This was just my experience for this one wedding and I am in no way a pro. Good luck!!

Yes, I agree with the contrast comment. These are scans of the B&W film and the contrast isn't what I'd like it to be. As for the comment on the baby...the mother of the groom cried - with joy - when she saw that photo. As for the headless bride, I was trying something different and artsy. I actually thought it turned out beautiful, but that's my taste. I've seen others on this forum do similar shots and thought I'd give it a try.

 

Todd - thank you for your kind comments. I knew in general I would get some snyde remarks when I posted and I'm prepared for that. It's the constructive criticism that I will pay attention to.

 

I will be posting more soon. I have spent way too many hours in front of my PC the last few days and need a break. Thank you for your feedback!!

Oops...That was the wrong picture!!! Sorry Mary!!<div></div>

I tried to pick a very small cross section of photos to share from

my first wedding. I have to say I had a wonderful time

photographing the wedding - the first time NOT as an assistant - and

the photos overall look great. We had several lighting challenges,

which I never did get completely under control, in the church. I

tried several approaches to the lighting.

 

I've posted a couple of my favorites due to the emotion captured,

the fun of the event and also the beauty. I plan to post more

images at a later time, but am unable to right now. But, take a

look and speak your mind. They are in my First Wedding folder. In

a separate post I'll be sharing an example of the lighting/shadows

challenges I faced so all of you seasoned pros can give me a few

pointers or other ideas to try next time.

 

Thanks for your input.<div></div>

I've been asked to take some informal pictures at a 90th birthday

party next month. The person who is asking also requested online

proofing since the family is from all over the US. She was hoping

to generate some reprint sales for me while I'm doing a favor for

her.

 

I'm reluctant to sign up for online proofing as everything I've

looked at requires a 1 year membership at $xx/month. I am in no way

able to support this cost with what little I am doing right now.

Believe me, I hope to get to that point someday, but I'm not there

now and won't be in the near future. Also - I don't have a website,

so I can't use that tool either.

 

Does anyone here know of an online proofing company that I could use

for a one-time shot? I'm open to suggestions. Thanks!

For all of us newbies lurking out here who can learn from posts such as this, what type of cable are you using? Where do you get them? I've read on PN about cables with alarms on them, but I've never seen anything like it.

 

I assisted a wedding photographer last year and he was notorious for leaving his gear unsecured and unprotected. After Cliff had all of his gear stolen last year, I became very uncomfortable about it and was constantly checking everything for the photographer I was assisting. When I asked why he left his gear unprotected he was surprised I would ask and just stated that nothing had ever been stolen from him in over 20 years of doing weddings. While I found this a poor excuse, all I could think about was my very limited amount of gear and how I would feel if it were ever stolen.

Well, that's just been my experience. I use UC all the time for nature and pet photography - and love it as the colors are so vibrant, but whenever I've snuck in a photo of a person, the pictures have come out with more red/pink tones in the skin color. Maybe it is my lab, but it has been consistent. Maybe shooting a practice roll before the event would help you determine if you like the warmer tones, or if you don't see a difference.

I'm not sure if you've used UC before based on your post, but I would be careful. It truely is an Ultra Color film and can affect skin tones pretty harshly. My experience with UC film on people is that they come out looking sunburned. I would recommend Kodak Portra 400 VC before I'd use or recommend UC.

Awhile back, several of you held a discussion about advertising and

business cards. The discussion was around using a photograph of a

recent wedding/portrait session and turning it into a business card,

printing 8-10 cards and them giving them to that client to hand out.

 

Well, I love this idea and I've been trying to figure out how to

print these so they don't look cheesy or homemade. I'm curious as

to how you're printing these if you're using this method of

advertising. Are you actually using a business card or a wallet

size print? If a business card, are you printing them yourself?

What kind of paper? Printer? Or lab? Any input would be helpful.

I am looking to assist a wedding photographer in the Mpls/St. Paul

metro area. If you are looking to take on an assistant, or are

willing to mentor a newer assistant, please let me know. I would

love to discuss my experience and goals with you and offer my

services.

 

Thank you for your consideration.

I have been very pleased with West Photo in Minneapolis (University Ave). I've used them for all of my 35mm, MF and digital prints, including traditional BW. I'm not sure about the canvas mount or lacquered portraits, but a phone call would answer your question. Yes, they still print from negs. The photo technician (Jenny) is fabulous to work with. They are one of the best pro labs in the area IMO.

 

Other pro-lab options in Minneapolis are ProColor (I've never used them), National Camera (I've had bad experiences, but others like them) and ImageTech (I've tried them for MF work - was unimpressed). I hope this helps.

This weekend my husband and I are shooting Santa photos with your

pet for a local humane society. While I am completely comfortable

taking the shots and have worked out and practiced with the lighting

and backdrop, I'm getting pressure about being able to view the pics

that day. I am shooting with my D70 (high res JPG's) and will be

able to do some screening of shots as I go, but many of the

potential clients are asking to view the pics that day as they are

taken. If I can get a fast and easy - and hopefully inexpensive -

way to feed the pics to my pc directly from my camera, that would be

ideal. What kind of set-up would I need? What software, cables,

etc? Is it possible/feasible that as I take a shot, it appears on a

computer screen not far from me? I have a spare Compaq PC with

Windows 98 that I could bring to the event and use for this

purpose.

 

I also need to think about how the D70 will handle this as when I

hook up the USB cord to the camera it goes into PC mode and

transfers the pics to Nikon Picture Project. I'm not sure the

camera would allow me to take pics while the USB cord is connected.

(You can tell I don't have my manual here with me right now, but I

know many of you use the D70 and may know this answer as well.) Is

there another way to make this happen?

 

Thanks in advance for your responses.

Well, being that I work in MPLS (and can see the IDS Tower - the home of Windows On Minnesota - as I'm typing this from my desk) I can tell you that you will have some challenges. Yes, the entire place is surrounded by glass. I feel your main issue will be the fact that it gets dark here very early during the winter months. You could be shooting near a lot of glass with it being dark outside. Reflections - of people and of your own flash - are going to be prominent. However, at least part of Windows is split (by regular walls) into several ballrooms and other meeting rooms. Maybe you'll be lucky and get one of these spaces for the event. I've been there for several conferences, just not a wedding.

I'm running into the same problem here in MN (Twin Cities). So far the only thing I've found is a studio 4 hours away from where I live. He will let me assist for free only because I won't be competition for him and his studio near his location. I have been unable to find anything close to being "local". I hope you have better luck than me!

Many of you in this forum have stated that you use mpix for your

digital prints with very good results. Have any of you used them for

your film developing? The pro lab in my area is very expensive for

processing and I don't believe in going to the discount stores or 1

hours for my prints. I currently use both digital and film and am

looking into printing options for both. Feedback on mpix would be

great (especially for film)! Thanks!

AF definitely has its uses during a wedding, although you always have to be careful that the camera doesn't change to focus on something else in the frame at the last split second (rare, but it happens). For those of us who have some degree of myopia and wear contacts or glasses, AF can be a lifesaver for those situations when the contacts have dried out and you can't stop at that moment to put drops in your eyes. Steve, you're very lucky if you don't have these issues, but I know I would struggle if AF wasn't an option for me at times. The use of AF came up in a thread awhile back and several people indicated that they use it at times.

My cousin has finally announced her wedding date for next September

and is in the market for a wedding photographer. While I am in no

way ready to take on photographing a wedding myself (nor would I for

a family member), I thought I would solicit some of you talented

individuals for referrals.

 

Her wedding will be casual and, from what I've been told, a Gondola

ride to the top of a mountain for the ceremony is part of the event.

She is looking for more of a PJ style wedding photographer that will

also do some of the family-required formals.

 

If anyone has any recommendations for a photographer in/near Vail,

she would love the information. Thank you in advance for your

responses!

Besides being a scam, this is also very typical of a money laundering type of request. Any time you are requested to accept money of an unknown origin and then move it for someone else, especially outside of the country, you are opening yourself up to severe legal (Federal) ramifications for potentially aiding with a money launderer. Don't do anything of the sort - especially since the laws post-9/11 are extremely strict and harsh. Any international money movement, primarily through wire transfer, is tracked and investigasted to some level. Even if the proposal for this job were real, the risks would have been too great.

My husband cried at our wedding..... Hmmm.... Maybe that was a sign considering it's a second marriage for both of us!

 

I have to admit, I've been to several weddings over the past few years where the groom was teary-eyed. Can't say what the difference is from the past, except that maybe it's becoming common (and acceptable) for men to show their emotions more?

Thanks for the warnings about the cold; however, being from Minnesota, I have to believe it's better in Maui than during a Minnesota winter!! Brrrrr.... Considering it was 70 yesterday and it's supposed to snow by Friday, it just goes to prove that anything's possible!!

 

Thanks for all the great advice...

At the end of this month I will be in beautiful Maui equipped with a

Nikon N55, Nikon D70, a Hassy 501CM and a couple of tripods. I am

planning on taking several pictures of the sunrise at the Crater and

am looking for best-practices and pointers. Do I need to use

filters? If yes, what do you recommend? I'm concerned about the

brightness...I have meters on both Nikons, and I'm hoping to have a

hand held meter before I go; however, I know photographing the

sunrise can be tricky because it doesn't take long before the sun

appears and you can no longer photograph. As the sun appears to

cross the cloud deck below the crater, at what point is it not safe

for your camera/film to take pictures? I normally take nature shots

in in-direct sunlight, so this is new territory for me. I assume

I'll run into these same scenarios at sunsets...which I'm also

planning to shoot. Thanks for the pointers!!