larry schaefer - chicago,

Lauren

 

I have begun this experiment. First I went to local major grocery store and produced some auto enhanced 4X6's through the "machine" they looked pretty good. These were digi shots from a Rebel XT

 

Next I uploaded the same shots to Kodak gallery (Ofoto) got the prints in 3 days. Ofoto made the store produced prints look so inferior.

 

Next question I quess is how do the wedding specific online labs do vs. Kodak. I thought the Kodak process look awesome.

Dang! I need to get more proficient atmaking my files smaller. Sorry.

Buck up and grin Scott. Most jobs are beset with their own unique hassles and annoyances. I still like the idea of giving the all the silver bullet shooters to get their photo jones satisfied to make way for the pro.<div></div>

Erb the law of "selective gravity" was favoring you for a change.

Hire Al Kaplan as the main.

Thanks for the responses. I sort of wish my demographic had the waning interest albums too. Must be a midwest thing.

 

All advice was helpful.

Kap you have liberated my mind and arm. I bought the "can't shoot with out it" bracket to shoot some practice work. It gets respect but I think it fried a lot of otherwise good shots.

 

The face of my 550EX speedlight is almost a foot above the center of the barrel on my Rebel XT. Plus . . .I succumbed to a Lumiquest soft box gadget and hey, that crazy thing reaps bigger dividends than the flippy floppy bracket.

 

It seems when shooting with the roll bar you have to conciously crop the top of the viewfinder close to the tops of heads to pull of a passable shot unless a lucky bounce covers for you.

 

If its working for the rest of you stick to it.

 

I am pleased to know it is not based 100% on my level of experience.

 

Thanks Al this may be one type of bracketing I will never have to mess with again.

I'm new. That out of the way, I need to know with urgency, how

those of you who offer albums represent them to you clients.

 

I have not seen any manufacturer/vendor that provides some sort of

physical samples that can be shown to the client. There is no way I

will sit with someone and scroll though websites.

 

Am I destined to pay closed to $2000.00 in order to represent a line

of albums and mattes?

 

I need really good advice here.

 

Thanks

I see all the print film shooters just sitting back tongue in cheek. (sigh)

Bruce!

 

Have I a mentor and visionary in my midst? I have been wondering if anyone has discovered off camera processing. Our Wolf Camera will dump your memory card and individually color correct each image and print to archival grade photo paper(4X6) for $0.25 each.

 

The results that I have seen so far are excellent. Sounds out of school but a well exposed high res JPEG cleans up beautifully on the machine's auto correct/enhance feature if you shose to do some shots individually.

 

In a digital sense is this not like toting a face cord of roll film to the processing lab?

 

I would love to see the response to this topic in another post.

 

Thanks

Stacy,

 

Thanks, just getting started here and have two more practice weddings ahead of me. I am constantly thinking about what a package should be.

 

Shooting in digital I am always wrestling with the decision of creating a package around printed proofs or watermarked disk images, or selling the disk with unlimited use or proofs and disk. It is vexing to say the least

 

Sounds like a whole new topic.

 

Thanks for your insight.

Stacy,

 

Your question poses another more naive inquiry on my behalf.

 

Directed to the digital users - Can I take for granted that the hundreds of proofs are printed by a lab or service?

Sorry for the bad articulation. I meant that, it is doubtful that you will have any hellish setback.

Suzanne,

 

If 50 people are amicable to standing/sitting for a group shot you should have no problem experimenting as you have the digital advantage of seeing and validating what you have shot.

 

Ms. Ruthmann has again put a wealth of experience on the table this time with a bit of a martyrish twinge at the end.

 

It is doubtful that there will have a hellish setback.

A further question is . . . Does the file info show in the slide show to help aid in making selections?

Dear Lauren Paul and Tim

 

I Shot my first "practice" last Saturday. I was given full reign buy a high class pro. I came up with great shots and had a good time.

 

Lauren get a separate speedlite and give us some more details on your equipment.

 

Good Luck,

 

Larry Schaefer

STRESS - RESPONSIBILITY - LOW SELF ASSESSMENT

 

I have loved photography since I was 14 years old. I was enamored with the science, the magic,and the art. It is an instantaneous creative outlet. Does anyone still like it?

 

At 17 I was asked to be "the official" photographer at my great aunt and uncle's 50th wedding anniversary so . . . I latched on to half a dozen rolls of Agfa print film to run through my Pentax Spotmatic with a Strobonar flash and shot the heck out of the event. I didnt worry aboout anything other than the flash batteries going dim.

 

Wherever I could I watched composition and that was it. But worried, stressed, heck no I was happy someone wanted me to shoot.

 

With the onset of digital its like photography was invented for the first time and I love it. I love the equipment, the digital concept, the flexibility, and even the desktop aspect.

 

Just to have a variety of something to shoot I have decided to go after some weddings. I like looking at and judging my work, I like it even better when other oooh and aaaah when I had them a print or a DVD video I have authored. It is an awesome thing to do.

 

Now I can try to break even on the equipment I just purchased and if my wedding career ceases after that I will have had a few interesting experiences. I hope most of you still like to shoot.

 

AND if anyone in the Chicago area needs a back-up or a second let me know I could use the practice.

 

Have some fun!