suzanne carey

Hi there. I live im MS and what I had to do was register with my Sales Tax Commission and pay a 350.00 fee. After that, I got an account with them and they sent me all the paper work I need.

 

At first I paid on a montly basis but my intake is so small, I do it part time, that I changed mine to quarterly payments.

 

Since you are collecting the sales tax from your clients all you have to do is set it aside and pay your sales tax with it when its time.

 

I agree with everyone else, I would not take it lightly. Its best to play it safe and do it the right way b/c you can get in a lot of trouble down the line.

 

Look up the State Tax Commission in your area and they can tell you all you need to know.

 

Hope that helps!

 

Suzanne

Todd, these are great and inspirational. I am going on my third year of wedding photography. Time has really flown. I do not do it full time but on the side and all by word of mouth.

 

I have a couple of questions for you. First, how do you find time to get such "creative" shots. I feel so rushed that I feel I get so wrapped up in taking pictures that I forget to stop and really take a look around me and focus on more creative shots, which I feel would represent me better. Does that make sense?

 

Also, I see you have a mix of black and white with the color. Do you take creative control over which ones you want black and white vs. color? Or does the bride decide? You may make that decision while setting up the shot and not post processing.

 

Well thanks for sharing. I think they are great and I feel inspired by them!

 

Suzanne

I love that place! My husband's sister and her family lived in that area and we went there to take pictures there one day. It was so hot that day I remember and very humid. That place really has lots of potential. I know the thought of taking a picture in a graveyard sounds strange, but this one is great.

 

http://www.pumpkinpatchphoto.com/children/index.html Starting with the 8th picture of my 3 nephews you can get an idea of how pretty it is there.

 

I think your pictures are looking good. I would use a little fill flash in the shade. Going near the end of the day is a great time for pictures b/c the lighting is so soft. I like to use Gary Fong's Lightsphere sometimes too and that makes for nice lighting.

 

Thanks for sharing!

 

Suzanne

Very Nice Mary! I have used Gary Fong's Online Movies and have been happy with it but this price is much better and I can use 5 more images with Big Folio than on his site.

 

Here is an exmaple of a movie I created with his product:

 

http://www.instantmoviesonline.com/show.php?id=6363

 

What I like about his is that you can create a slide show before you spend a penny but I think the Big Folio is more smooth in its presentation. (And the price is better) :)

 

My question is, has anyone used this type of product to display your images on your website. So instead of like a gallery of images, you have this nice slide show with music. I do my website myself and I wonder if showing my work in a slideshow such as this would have more of an impact?

 

Thanks!

 

Suzanne

Hi guys.I hope I am not in the wrong forum. I was not quite sure

where to post this. Just wondering who out there did school

photography, like pictures for the marching band. Large group photo,

individual photos of each member. I am curious of pricing. What do

you include in yoru basic package for parents and how much? I was

thinking maybe 1 8x10, 2 5x7's and a sheet of wallets. Not sure what

to charge for that yet but thinking that's what I would include. Any

pricing help would be greatly apprciated. Do you charge for time at

the school, or does it come out in the price of the package? Thanks

for any help you can provide.

 

Thanks!

Hey Eric. I agree with one post about cropping in tighter, at least on one of the Studio shots. But this was my favoite. I like the flowers in the foreground. http://www.photo.net/photo/3503731

 

Suzanne

Hi guys. I did a search before I posted this question. If I missed

some good info, please point me in that direction so no one has to

repeat themselves. I have been using Breezebrower to show my clients

their photos. I use it in 2 ways. 1. I let the bride pick out her

200 proofs she wants printed for her book. 2. The site is used for

reprint sales. Breezebrowser works great for galleries but trying to

use their shopping cart version is way over my head and I can't seem

to figure out how to make it work. So even though I have paid for

software that can do this, I am wondering if there is something

easier out there to use to offer a shopping cart to my clients. As

it is now, its quite unprofessional because they have to give me the

image numbers and it can be quite cumbersome for them to do that.

 

Does anyone have an online ordering system they like to use? Maybe

some links for examples?

 

P.S. - I like to do my own printing, so I just need the order to

come to me.

 

THANKS!

 

Suzanne

Hi guys! I cannot thank you enough for such WONDERFUL advice! This will definently be bookmarked. It ends up they are going with a friend who will do it for FREE. I told her, well you can't argue with free. But despite not getting the job, I find your information invaluable and I truly appreciate the time. I have not had good experience with groups and my 20D, but I think I may attribute that to my lens. (Tamron 28-75) The lens works good for me, but in groups, people are a little fuzzy. I was even stepped down to 13 with camera on tripod and remote cable. I think I may try my good ole' "nifty fifty" next time. Thanks again for all the wonderful feedback! Suzanne

I have been asked to do a family reunion and the largest group shot

will be 50 people set up on bleachers. Just wondering if you feel

the 20D is up for the task? What settings, lens choice would you

use? I have tripod and remote cable to help with the task. Thanks in

advance for your help!

 

Suzanne

Thanks guys! You told me just what I needed to hear! The house is acutally quite pretty so I think it will work just fine! We are using a canoe for the groom's pictures. I asked them to leave it just where it was. It will be nice and shady.

 

I agree about the ligthing. I talked and talked with the homeowners yesterday about lighting. So I think I have a good idea of lighting around the time I need it.

 

Thanks again! I will post some pictures to share!

 

Suzanne

Hi everyone! Well I have my 3rd wedding tomorrow. Everything went

well with the first and second. I learned with the 2nd that I am

totally sold on shooting RAW, so another memory card will be added

to my bag! :)

 

This is my question. This is an outside wedding at someone's home.

They have a beautiful yard with nice plants, fountains, benches,

etc. Its right next to a lake. But the only thing is, everywhere we

look, there is something "household" like around. For instance, she

had GREAT flowers in her front yard, but to set up formals there

would show the house. If I turn around the other way, I see nice

greenery and cars if they are parked in front of the house. So any

ideas on "appropriate" background choices for formals? Underneath

where they are gettting married cannot happen either b/c there is a

boat house, a boad, etc. in the background. Is having water has a

background a good idea?

 

Anywho, any experience with this will be great! I already know some

great shots for bridal shots and some individual pictures. I am more

concerned with the larger group formals.

 

Thanks again!

 

Suzanne

HI Stacy! Congrats on your weddings! I am too in your same situation..I just finished my 2nd this past Saturday and I have another one this Saturday. I will admit, I get better and better with each one. I have my sister along as an assistant. We do have a printout we take with us and she is really good and managing people so the 2 of us together are a great team. I also meet with the bride and groom before the wedding. So far I have had a very good repoir with my clients so we have worked well together. One thing I have notieced is that a lot of people will "pose" themselves. I tell them to stand there naturally and comfortably. Then, I will "tweak" the pose to my liking. That has worked out well for me so far. People see to feel more comfortable in front of the camera when they can be themselves. I also always say "pumpernicle bread!" right before a shot and that makes people laugh. They don't expect it. ( yes, not even sure if I spelled it right!) Good luck!

 

Suzanne

Hi MC. I used mine at my fist wedding a few weekends ago. Overall, it seemed to work great. My only complaint was my flash seemed to have problems recycling. Some images had no flash at all b/c of the poor recycle time. I was using a 550EX flash and fully charged NiMH 2500 mAh batteries. So I am not sure if this was an issue with my flash or using the LS. If anyone has any ideas, I am very open to ideas! :)<div></div>

Hey Darrin. I like the desaturated look. It does help them to "blend" better or something. I like it! Thanks for sharing that idea. I may have to get one printed like that too, just so she has options. :)

Eeek, I cut her head off! :) Actually, I like the framing, but I do like weird framing. I did get plenty of her beautiful hair. She actually does hair, she did mine in fact and is very talented. We also have her bridal portraits planned for a future weekend so we can get some outside shots, which is what she really wanted but it was raining cats and dogs on the day of the wedding. I shared my concern with her about doing it after the wedding was her bouqet. They were live flowers. Do we just not use a bouqet for her portraits?

Sorry, I missed some comments! Bruce, thanks for the advice on the white balance stuff. Good point! Thanks for all the details. Jewan, yes I do need to lighten the face. Thanks or your attempt. Her face looks better.

 

Thanks again!

 

Suzanne

Thanks Jim, I appreciate the comments and from the others. This was actually the only image I did any "effects" to. The rest were just straight up photography. It's funny, I showed the print to a friend yesterday and she said, "I love it!" So I guess the photographers may get tired of it, but like Jim said, to some...its "new" and different. Hee hee. Hey, I am from Mississippi so we are behind the times anyway. What may go out of style on the East and West Coast is just coming into style for us! :)

 

Thanks again for the feedback!

 

Suzanne

Here is the color original after some white balance editing.<div></div>

This one is original.<div></div>

Hi guys. Thanks for the feedback! Whenever I use that effect, it always blows out highlights. I am posting 3 more images to show you the original, the original black and white one before effect, and original in color using dropper in curves for white balance.<div></div>

Hi everyone! I did my first wedding a few weeks ago and I was

playing around with a few of them. This was one of my favorites. I

did some processing to it, which some don't jive on, but I thought

it was fun. She will love it.

 

Thanks!

 

Suzanne<div></div>

Great work Marcin! I think they look great. What lens did you use?

Thanks Jon. What did you use for your border? I love it!

Okay, this one one is maybe more extreme than what you were asking for, but all I did on this one was click in her eye with the white dropper in Levels. I thought it was a neat effect b/c it really shows off my daughters eyes.<div></div>

Hi Grant, I was using NiMN 2500mAh rechargable batteries. they were all freshly charged from just the evening before. So I am not really sure to be honest. It was frustrating b/c sometimes it just would not flash at all so of course those are like black. But I took enough where it was okay, but it made my lighting a little variable.