paul_boyd

<p>I still have the 2200 and also wanted to stick with the standard UC inkset. QTR does a great job with the standard UC-MK inkset and PremierArt Fine Art Smooth paper and PremierArt Platinum Rag. If you give the Platinum Rag print a spray-coating of PrintShield, it eliminates 90% of the bronzing and adds dmax - something I didn't think possible on satin paper with the UC-MK inkset. Give the platinum rag a try.</p>

<p>paul</p>

<p>Anna -<br>

The Miller's flush-mount (hinged and panorama) are very nice albums. Very high quality, lots of options both inside and out. Their remote studio software is easy to use and allows for creative page layouts that can be saved for future albums. It's also free. When you complete an album layout, you can upload it to a Miller's site for approval by the bride. I think you can do two free online drafts. The other nice feature with their software is you can order companion (parent) albums using the same layout when placing the main album order = nice time saver. The "boutique packaging" option is great too.<br>

Their customer service is excellent and the turn-around time for their albums is usually 2-3 days. You can order a lab sample album for 25% off if you want to give them a try.<br>

paul</p>

 

AP-mode will always try to set the proper ambient exposure at the given aperture and ISO, regardless if you have a flash attached or not. In low light, this means you will have a double exposure: one from the camera setting the appropriate ambient exposure and one from the flash setting its exposure. If the two are too close, you get a double exposure / blur. In low light, go to manual mode and under expose the ambient light by 2 stops. Then let your flash expose the scene and freeze the action. Maybe try manual mode, f4.0, 1/125th, ISO 400-800, and ETTL flash set to normal exposure. You want the flash to light the subjects with enough ambient light registering in the background so it doesn't look like they are dancing in a cave.

 

paul

For weddings, I'll take the speed, reliability, dual-card slots, and the durability of the 1D series over megapixels any day. My wife still uses the original 1D with its 4 beautiful megapixels - which are enough for almost everything except for maybe a panoramic page in an album. For my style of wedding photography, my 1Dmk2 is plenty. Our 3rd shooter uses a 40D and 5D, and the extra resolution is almost a waste; and everything takes longer: downloading files, post-processing, hard-drive access and space, burning to DVD etc.. Of course, next year when I get a 1Dmk3, I'll probably wonder how I ever lived without it!

 

Regards,

paul

Hi Michelle -

 

Earlier this year, I did some research on this, so my info is 6 months old. google is trying to compete with paypal, but they are playing catch up. I'm an adwords client as well, so google checkout was very compelling. I went with paypal for two reasons. 1) A client who receives a google checkout invoice must create a google checkout account before paying the invoice, whereas a client who receives a paypal invoice has the option of paying it directly via a credit card without taking the extra step of creating a paypal account. 2) google did not yet have a competitor to paypal's Virtual Terminal feature that allows a merchant to accept credit card order over the phone or at the point-of-sale.

 

Maybe I'll take another look at google checkout because paypal could use the competition. Also keep in mind that google and paypal are not banks so federal banking laws do not apply to them. Finally, the last thing to think about is customer support. Both these companies make it super-duper easy to establish an account, link your credit card and/or bank account to it, and start accepting money. But, in paypal's case at least, getting the money out is not as easy. They can put a hold on your account for any reason, then you are stuck dealing with some of the worst customer service you can imagine. Took us two months to resolve our case, and during this time your account will not accept new payments from customers. If we were dealing with a local bank, it could have been resolved in a day or two after meeting face-to-face with a teller.

 

Good Luck,

paul

I have Canon 1D bodies and an older T2D and QTTL module. I shut off the focus-assist light on the QTTL module a while ago. My feeling was that it was not helping, and it appeared like it made the images softer. Part of the problem I thought was the focus-assist light only covered the center group of focus points on the camera body, not all of them like the 580ex2 flash. So I have no definitive evidence, but I didn't want to spend more time investigating, so I just turned the light off. Didn't really need it on these bodies anyhow. Although now that I have the 580ex2, the focus-assist light is great (different grid pattern than the quantum) but the light quality isn't as nice.

 

You may want to run a test on your setup, comparing performance with the focus-assist light on vs off. Also make sure you have the latest firmware on your module - I had mine upgraded 3 times before it was acceptable (yes some of the upgrades made it worse - my last upgrade was to a beta firmware version - they wrote the firmware code on the module on a piece of masking tape!).

 

paul

I also attended yesterday. Paid $19 due to a PPA discount. I'm not a big seminar fan regardless of the topic. I've never been to a photo class, seminar, or convention. However, I decided to go because it was cheap, less than 10 minutes from my house, my wife and kids were out of town anyhow, and I wanted the DVD that they were giving away.

 

Ed is a very personable and engaging speaker who kept my interest. In the talking segments, he reviewed basic portrait lighting setups and camera white balance techniques. Then he would mix in 5-10 minute instructional videos to illustrate what he was talking about. I found the videos much more useful than his talks because they showed him working in his studio or on-location and interacting with his crew. One of the videos showed his lightroom and CS3 filter techniques, and made you realize how much touch up work is done afterwards in PS by comparing shots from the camera to the final product.

 

The downside to all these seminars is that they have to plug the sponsors, and this one was no different. In fact, me and the person next to me were checking off the sponsors on our brochure as he plugged them during the first 2.5 hours. Personally, I have a hard time believing he would use all this stuff if he wasn't getting it for free. But they did have a nice mix of sponsors demonstrating their kit, and Ed had a bunch of 40x60" canvas prints on display that were done on Canon equipment. Very impressive.

 

I left after the first break so I missed the NILMDTS portion that Dave referred to above.

 

Don't get me wrong, it was well worth it. There were some great nuggets in those videos, and it was a good baseline of the industry that shows you were you fit in. I haven't had a chance to look at the DVD yet, but I plan on doing so soon.

 

 

paul

I still take some 35mm film shots at weddings, scanning them into PS so they are integrated with my digital workflow. I used to just shoot BW film because I never saw the point of color 35mm film anymore since digital is so good. But this year, I've been shooting portra 400VC a lot. Scans great, has a cool ruddy palette that's hard to get with digital, and converts to BW very easily if needed. Kodak just updated 400VC and 400NC in January with finer grain (400VC-3 edge markings) but I haven't gotten any yet. 160VC and 800 are great too. So for me, scanning film is worth the extra hassle and time in order to present my clients with another "look."

 

Best wishes,

paul

Hi Paul -

 

I've used a T2D for years for both portable studio lighting and on a bracket with the TTL module. For studio lighting, I can mount a 3x4' Photoflex softbox using the appropriate speedring. The speedring gets screwed into the stud on your light stand and takes the weight of the softbox, while the flash attaches to the other side of the speedring and hangs supporting its own weight only. (If you screw the flash to the lightstand, the quantum will support the weight of the softbox, but it's pushing it...) This last year, I have been using a large Photek Softlighter on a multi-clamp that mounts like an umbrella. Very nice lighting.

 

On a bracket in TTL mode, the quantum is great at weddings and events. Plenty of power and recycling times to bounce off of walls and ceilings. Even the direct light looks good with the wide-angle diffuser. The downside is weight, size, and no high-speed-sync.

 

The trick to TTL mode is getting the right firmware in the QTTL module that works with your camera. In my case, it took a few upgrades to get it to work properly but that was a few years ago on the older style module. Also, on my module, the focus-assist light does not work very well and doesn't illuminate all the sensors on a 1D series canon. I leave it off.

 

Hope this helps.

paul

I occasionally see a backdrop in Chicago. Depends a lot on your target market and clientele. I would not say it is the norm. Personally, I never use one at a wedding and my clients understand this before they hire me.

 

paul

I started a blog last fall. It is written for the benefit of potential clients interested in learning more about our personalities, rather than being targeted towards other photographers or industry musings. Some of the postings are fairly mundane - discussing payment options etc. And it certainly doesn't read as easy as a Peter Mayle novel, but I do think there is value in it for new clients. My tone is frank and professional with more candor than you would find on my main website. I try to update it every two weeks.

 

 

At the very least, it shows a potential client that we are active in our business and willing to invest the time to keep our online identity "fresh."

 

Hope this helps.

 

paul

 

ps - off to update my blog...

I just open up an explorer window, browse to the files, right click, select properties, then uncheck the read-only box. This happens to me when I copy files back off a cdrom to the hard-drive.

 

paul

For color prints, I still stick with Epson Premium Luster and the Enhanced Matte (or whatever it's called now.) After the 2200 came out, Epson updated the profiles so that each paper has a 1440dpi and a 2880dpi version. Make sure you are using those.

 

For black and white, I use QTR (quad-tone-rip) with Enhanced Matte, Premier Fine Art, and the new Premier Platinum Rag. The platinum rag is outstanding especially after a coat of Imageshield.

 

good luck, paul

I purchased two rolls of 400VC yesterday from Central Camera in Chicago. They came out of a pro-pack with the "now with even finer grain" callout on the box, so I'm assuming they are the new 400VC-3 formulation. I also picked up some Portra800. They were out of 400NC because the photography students at some of the local colleges bought them out. The film counter at Central Camera is still fairly busy, in large part due to the college students. At least 3 came in yesterday during the hour I was there, with their manual film cameras, looking for Tri-X, 400NC, or 400VC. "I'm taking a class and I was told to buy Tri-X." Good to see.

 

paul

Hi Lisa -

 

The jpg you uploaded is tagged with the sRGB profile from CS2, so it is displaying fine on our web browsers. However, I suspect that the images you are sending to your lab(s) are in another color space (AdobeRGB 1998) and not tagged, and the lab assumes they are sRGB causing the printing problems. Or your monitor is way off, but since the picture you uploaded looks ok, I don't think this is causing the problem.

 

Hardware-based monitor calibration is the single best bang-for-the-buck thing you can invest in to improve your digital darkroom.

 

Then, configure your CS2/CS3/lightroom color management policies as described in your link. Be conservative - you don't want these programs changing anything without asking you first. i.e. click on the "ask when opening" boxes.

 

After that, you must preserve the profile chain on your images. Since you shoot raw, the in-camera sRGB setting doesn't really matter much. Your raw images are tagged with a proprietary canon hardware profile that your raw converter (CS2, lightroom, DPP) will convert to your working space (Adobe RGB 1998). Do all your edits in this space. Before sending to your lab, convert your images to sRGB.

 

Good luck,

paul

There's a good lesson with examples illustrating the "depth of field" of light here (a few paragraphs down under the "light position: distance" section):

 

http://strobist.blogspot.com/2007/06/lighting-102-12-position-distance.html

 

Enjoy,

paul

Yes, the NiMH cell in one of my Turbo 2x2s needed to be replaced around its 4th birthday. Just as you describe - sudden death syndrome. Quantum replaced it and upgraded the firmware for around $90.

 

paul

Hi Ray -

 

I use an Epson 2200 with the standard Epson UC inks; matte-black cartridge. I save my files as 8bit tiffs without a profile but they are in the gray-gamma 1.8 working space. 360dpi. The newer versions of QTR include a matte-profile that you can convert your images to before saving. Inside QTR, my EEM preset is:

 

media-type = matte paper

curve1 = UC-EEnhMatte-warm

curve2 = UC-EEnhMatte-cool

curve3 = none

Resolution = 1440 super

speed = bi-directional

curve1 blend = 75%

curve2 blend = 25%

Ink limit shadows = 4

Gamma midtones = -4

 

You can play with the curve blends to your liking, but this should put you in the ballpark. BTW - the PremierArt Smooth Fine Art paper is a nice creamy matte paper, and the new PremierArt Platinum Rag gives stunning results with the standard UC matte inks especially after a coat of ImageShield. Good luck, paul.

Theresa -

 

Check out this thread for some good information:

 

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00NIl1

 

Yes, I always give a spiral-bound digital proof book from Millers Lab.

 

paul

yes! I shoot slide film for my personal stuff: family vacations and other outings. then we have a slide show once or twice a year. the kids love to see themselves on the screen. strange, because I have bad memories of my father's never-ending slide-shows as a kid. I think I do a better job of editing and pacing than my dad did. I also scan the slides to makes prints too. it's a pain to shuffle around the slides in and out of the carousels, but it's worth it. projected slides look stunning.

It looks like a nice site and I may sign up. But, as I was doing so, I stopped. This is more than just purchasing an online add that goes away when the time is up. Your storefront becomes part of your "online identity" and will require time and participation to maintain. Plus, the rating system becomes part of your online message somewhat outside of your control. Down the road, if you don't want to maintain your storefront, I wonder if you can have it removed? Nothing worse than storefront that hasn't been maintained, or worse, trashed in the ratings for whatever reason.

 

If it fits your business model and you are willing to invest the time, it looks like a great idea. But, as my wife says, "there is no such thing as a free cat."

 

paul

Shoot black-and-white :-) Kidding aside, it might not be a bad idea for some shots with weird color imbalances. Also, throw in a BW shot of them near the tree. I like to present BW images of subjects that most people expect to see in color: wedding cake, party balloons, American Flag, Christmas tree etc. They already know what these things look like in color, and it makes them do a double-take when they see it in BW.

 

Good Luck,

paul

Hi Jim -

 

Check out reallyrightstuff.com for a lot of good info on RRS and other vendors' products.

About a year ago, I invested in a Gitzo basalt tripod, RRS ballhead and quick-release

system, and RRS L-bracket and flash bracket for my camera. I carry it on-location and the

stuff just works. No fuss, no fiddling. I can go from tripod to hand-held and back to

tripod again in seconds. The L-bracket allows both horizontal and vertical camera

mounting. I use a tripod more often now.

 

good luck,

paul boyd

Hi Bob -

 

The primary thing you are selling is you - your talent, vision, work, art. The customer is

buying you, and you are offering them your talent, expertise, pro-equipment, customer

service, magnetic personality, charming smile, and "products of photo processing" as the

IRS likes to call it. Don't get into a price comparison on "products of photo processing"

alone without gently reintroducing the other more important components back into the

equation. Never bad mouth the competition. In fact, encourage price shoppers to look

elsewhere - they may not be the best clients in the long run.

 

Don't get a reputation as the cheap photographer. IMO a $950 wedding photographer is

1) working themselves to death, 2) slowly going out of business, 3) cutting corners

somewhere, 4) back-loading their fee structure. Or a combination of all of the above.

 

I read somewhere and will paraphrase: Anybody can get a 5x7" print for 29 cents.

However if they want a 5x7" print with my image on it, it's $20.

 

Good Luck,

paul boyd

 

ps. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

Hi Kent -

 

Keep it simple. Setup your equipment once before the start of the event and leave it alone. No fiddling in front of the guests. This means you will need to setup your lights and camera with the largest group in mind and crop when needed during post-processing.

 

In my example, my setup accommodated groups of 4 but 95% were couples. Single quantum flash into a white 46" umbrella positioned slightly higher and to the right of the camera. Any ambient fill was coming from the candles and white table cloth. I had my ISO, f-stop, and shutter set to allow as much ambient and city lights into the picture as possible. Once we did a few test shots before the start of the event, everything stayed the same: camera, tripod, lights, settings, manual focus. All we had to due was guide the subjects to the table, pose, and press the button. Less than a minute per group.

 

Since you are trying to eliminate ambient light, you may want one more umbrella on a stand close to camera position for fill. Set shutter at max-sync to eliminate ambient.

 

Good Luck,

paul boyd<div></div>