jason hinds - columbus, oh

If you're underexposing your shots, the noise will become more of an issue, even at ISO 400. Can you post an example? Maybe the histogram from one of the images in question?

Go to www.tap-usa.com - you can see a PDF version of their catalog, and get a listing of distributors in your area. :)

Tap-Loomis makes a nice 10X10 flush-mount album, where the entire page is a peel-and-stick. I think it is called "superior mount" or something like that. Relatively cheap, too. I've been happy with them since I started using them this year.

Casey...

 

While I'm not a mom, I think my situation may be relevant in this case. Currently I have two young girls (4 and 1 1/2), and I just finished a Master's degree. I have a full-time job during the day, and a photography business that has been growing substantially over the past 5 years. Needless to say, it's a pretty hectic time right now.

 

Here are some tips that may help:

 

1) Designate 1-2 nights a week for photography. Only work on photography stuff on those nights. The rest of the week should be for your family, friends, etc. Concentrating your efforts on a few nights will not only make you more productive, but your family will be much happier as well.

 

2) Consider how much work you want to do. When I first started, I said "yes" to everyone, and it can get overwhelming really quick. Sometimes you have to just politely say "I'm sorry, I can't work that into my schedule right now". It stops being fun when you're stressed out all the time because you have so much going on.

 

3) Set your prices at a point where it's worth it for you to spend the time away from your family. Weddings are pretty easy to price, but smaller events and portrait shoots can be tricky. Make sure to price your services so that you actually can make it worth your while. Avoid the temptation of offering huge discounts because you want to help someone out - you'll end up kicking yourself later, plus you're setting the precedent for future customers.

 

4) If you want to do in-home pictures for customers, you may be surprised at how much you can accomplish with available light, or a good bounced flash. If you're looking to get some strobes, you may want to look into 1-2 Alien Bees or a Novatron kit. I use the Novatron 240, because it's light, assembles/disassembles quickly, and it meets my needs.

 

Hope this helps. Feel free to contact me offline if you'd like additional pointers.

 

Jason :)

Hello everyone. I haven't posted in a while, but I've been doing my share of

reading. Many of you on here offer great advice, which is really invaluable.

 

Anyway, on to my question. I recently shot a wedding in a church that had

some really nasty light hitting the altar/stage area. Probably the most

unflattering light you'll ever encounter when shooting a wedding, in terms of

harshness and color. I struggled to get a decent exposure when shooting the

formals (luckily we took many outside formals as well), and the color varies

immensely from a person's head down to their legs/feet.

 

I've attached an example image, but here's my question. I've broken it into

three parts...

 

1) What can you do, while shooting, to minimize the impact of the nasty

lights? Should you increase your flash output and deal with the "deer-in-the-

headlights" effect, which reduces the amount of ambient fill that is killing

the image?

 

2) What, if anything, can be done post-process to deal with different colors

of light in the same image?

 

3) When you encounter this type of lighting in a church, do you say anything

during the formals to the B&G about the lighting conditions? For example,

would you suggest another location, or possibly going outdoors, even if that

was not the original plan?

 

Any insight would be much appreciated. I don't encounter this situation very

often, but I'd like to be prepared for the next time, whenever it may be.

 

Thanks in advance!<div></div>

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I use 2 60 CT-1's, and I picked up a bunch of new accessories (power and sync cables) from B&H, plus I found a great supplier on Ebay for the dryfit batteries - $35ea new. Plenty of stuff to go around - good luck!

I have a question about monitor calibration that I hope someone can

answer...

 

I have struggled with monitor calibration for some time now, and it

seems that the more I try to learn about how everything works, the

more confused I get. I recently purchased a Huey monitor

calibrator, but my prints are still coming out different than what

I'm seeing on the monitor. I'm not sure if I'm doing something

wrong in this respect, or if I'm missing a step, but something's

just not right.

 

Does the white/black/grey dropper in the curves function in PSCS

serve as an appropriate calibration tool for images? For example,

If I have a picture of a bride/groom, and I set the white point as

the brightest part of her dress, and the black point as the darkest

portion of his tux, will that provide an accurate print with respect

to color and brightness/contrast, regardless of how it is displayed

on my monitor?

 

I'm sorry if this question seems trivial - I'm still trying to get

this subject nailed before I lose my mind. Any assistance would be

appreciated. Thanks!

Elena...

 

Looks like you're in the same area as me. If you'd ever like to get together to chat, please let me know. I'd love to swap ideas and techniques. Contact me offline if you're interested.

 

Jason

I've used both the 283 and 285 - the 285 is a little more versatile in my opinion, but both are workhorse flashes, and can be bought for very little on the 'bay. Make sure to get a Wein safesync, especially for the older versions with high trigger voltages.

William...

 

The lab I use does not imprint anything on the back of the images (contact me offline if you would like more info). Also, one thing you could try in a pinch is the stick-on postcard labels that fit on the back of your 4X6 prints. They come in packs of 25 or 50, and are very easy to write on. Just another thing to consider.

Jason Hinds - Columbus, OH

Jason Hinds - Columbus, OH

I'm actually meeting with my insurance agency today for this very thing...all my gear will (finally) be insured, and I'm getting $1MM in liability insurance. They gave me a quote of $350 per year, which seems like a pretty good deal IMO. Try your auto/home insurance agent first, as they may be able to give you a better rate since you have multiple policies with them.

There's just something about these great cars...<div></div>

I haven't had anything printed yet, but I just got the Pantone Huey monitor calibrator yesterday, and I couldn't believe the difference it made on my monitor. I have a couple test prints that my lab gave me to use as a reference, and when I open the digital version on my PC and compare to the printed version they gave me, the colors are now spot-on. It also has a cool feature that automatically checks the ambient light in the room and adjusts the monitor accordingly.

The shadows are caused by the flash being used directly with no diffusion. Here are a few simple things you can do with single flash...

 

Bounce the flash off a wall or ceiling (no cost)

 

Mount the flash off-camera and have a reflector (large piece of foam core will do) on the other side of the subject to fill in shadows (little to no cost)

 

Buy a light stand and umbrella and aim your flash through that (around $100)

 

Hopefully this helps. Good luck!

My youngest daughter will eat just about anything - including yummy

birthday cake!<div></div>

This isn't really a question, but more of a reference to a great

tutorial on how to read a histogram, and the benefits of shooting

RAW.

 

For those of you who read American Photo, you have probably already

seen these articles, which I have found to be monumentally

beneficial in my understanding of my camera's histogram and the

benefits of shooting RAW.

 

The first of these articles appeared in the Jan/Feb 2006 edition of

American Photo. It focused mainly on the differences/pros/cons of

shooting JPEG/RAW. It touched a little on how to read a histogram,

but it really goes in depth in the second article, which is in the

newest edition (Mar/Apr 2006).

 

Basically, there are two main points the author makes:

 

1) Half of the tonal range is captured in the brightest stop of an

exposure. Then half of that data is captured in the next stop down,

then another half, etc. There's very little left to go around when

you get to the last stop (usually 5 or so in many SLRs), so shadow

data is often lost down here. This is why people often

mention "exposing to the right". When looking at your histogram,

You want to shift the peaks as far to the right as possible without

blowing out the highlights in order to capture the most detail

possible. There are always exceptions to this rule, but for the

most part, it is a good practice to adopt.

 

2) Difference between JPEG and RAW. JPEG is 8-bit, meaning that it

can record 256 brightness levels. 128 of these levels are in the

first stop (the rightmost on the histogram), then 64 on the next,

and so on. RAW is 12-bit, meaning it can capture 4096 brightness

levels. 2048 in the first stop, 1024 in the second, etc. MUCH more

room for adjustment in post-process. "By moving the dark tones

higher up on the curve, it places them where more data space is

available. The result: smoother and more pleasing gradation."

 

My apologies if this topic has already been discussed elsewhere on

this forum. I know there may be others out there, like me, who keep

hearing people on this forum shouting "SHOOT RAW, SHOOT RAW", but

did not fully understand why RAW was so much better then JPEG in

terms of exposure latitude.

 

The article was written by Michael Reichmann, and can be found in

the Mar/Apr issue of American Photo.

When I shoot in RAW with my 300D (with the Russian hack), I'm also

saving Large/Fine JPGs along with the RAW file. However, when I put

the card into my computer's card reader, the only thing I can see

are the RAW files. Where are the JPGs stored?

I use two Epson Picturemates, and I love them. Easy to use, and the print quality is second-to-none. They now have matte-finish paper, which looks really professional. You won't be disappointed if you bought one.

Mary...Thank you for your wonderful response. I was thinking of doing the same thing as you, and show prospective clients the difference between a "good" lab, and a professional lab. All these years I've been using a good lab, and the results looked OK to me, but when compared to the same images printed in a professional lab - WOW! What a difference! I didn't realize what I was missing.

Eddie...

 

I currently do not offer viewing or ordering. The former will be added to my site in the next week. The ordering piece is what I'm struggling with. I've heard that pictage is a very good service that integrates with your own site, but I understand it's rather expensive, although I have not yet looked into it in great detail. Does anyone use pictage for online proofing/ordering?

So I'm facing a bit of a dilemma. I've been shooting weddings for

the past 6 years, mainly by word-of-mouth, but now that my technique

and ability have matured, I'm ready to take my photography business

to the next level. I'm still planning on keeping my current job

during the day, so it would still be considered part-time. I'm in

the middle of revamping my website, packages, contracts,

presentation albums, etc., and I'm struggling with one particular

aspect of the process - whether or not to include the "negatives"

(full-size digital files) with my packages.

 

Up to this point, I have included them in my packages, not only to

cut down the amount of work on my end, but also to make the bride

and groom happy by allowing them to enjoy all their images to the

fullest. I gave full copyright release to them and said "thank you

for your business" and was done with it.

 

Here's what I've been tossing around so far...

 

Including the negatives with my packages - PROS: No reprint orders

to deal with, increase in package cost (to make up for lost print

sales) CONS: Could lose out on profits from large print orders,

Possibility of poor image quality when printed at a consumer lab

 

Not including the negatives with my packages - PROS: Print sales,

Full control over image quality, cheaper package prices CONS: Need

a way to effectively deal with print orders, Low volume of print

sales due to extra cost involved, Potential clients could hire

someone else that does include source image files with their packages

 

After seeing the difference between images produced at a "prosumer"

lab vs. images proofed/printed at a professional lab, I really like

the idea of having full control of everything that gets printed.

However, I don't have an effective way of dealing with print orders,

and I'm not available during the day to talk to customers wanting to

buy additional prints.

 

So I ask you, how are your packages constructed? Do you offer the

original files, either for free or for a fee? Those of you who do

not include the original files - how do you deal with print orders?

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for your time and

input. :)

 

Jason

This may not be my best shot from 2005, but it's one of my favorites. The bride happens to be my sister, so it was a very exiting experience for me! Shot with a 300D and Canon 24-70 2.8L. The venue is a very pretty conservatory in Central Ohio.<div></div>