larry schaefer - chicago,

Stefanie

 

If your gonna play you have to pay. I have listed Calumet Photos locations for you or anyone else interested in rentals. I have no affiliation with this company.

 

A very real case in point: It has taken me 6 or 7 weddings with my mentor to decide for sure that my camera had issues of hit and miss autofocus. I had to make a commitment as to what to do shoot half assed or get another camera. Bad time financially but now I know my confidence will go up. The former camera will be okay as a back up.

 

Do what it takes. I have found lenses are cheap to rent cameras are not.

 

New York NY 212-989-8500

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Calumet Santa Ana

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Calumet San Diego

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Calumet National Call Center

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Calumet Santa Barbara

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Readjusting my orbit a little. Be aware of friends or relatives that may be having weddings, consider posting into P/N and other forums that you would like 2nd shooter work. Thats better.

 

Sorry - you asked for the time and I told you how to build a watch.

Leona,

 

Unless your bored with your portraiture why would you want to pursue wedding photography. I don't imply that wedding photography is bad but I'd cut out an eye to shoot portraits at that level.

 

Although if your portrait skills and style influence your future wedding work that would be a great hybridization of talent. Nice work I wish I were an eighth of the way there.

 

If I've done anything right and correct to form it has been by latching on to friends weddings. I recommend a mentor. This has worked out well for me.

 

I am pretty active at an entry level if you want to know more from that perspective email me and I will gladly discuss this in more depth. AND I seriously think that the technical aspect in your case is a moot point.

 

Have fun in P/N

Do you know how many prospective brides have no notion whatsoever of the term photojournalism or better yet PJistic "style". In my dialogues PJ is never mentioned only a reference to Black and White is made. Its neither good or bad its a look and a style.

 

When sports reporters go on ESPN in garrish pinstripe suits they neither look like journalists or ex-athletes they look like prohibition era gangsters because of the "style" of the suit.

 

Style implies.

I do not recall the specific names but some big high end labs that I have researched request that you use 10. I dont recall the exact reason either.

Clarifications:

 

I was ready to print 2 weeks after the wedding.

Aroeund in the dictionary is spelled around

I'd hang with Marc on this one. The wedding day pay seems awkward and has been based on my limited experience. I made a courtesy call to advise the couple that I was on my way to the church nice and early, as a reassurance. In the conversation they said great and we'll have the check no problem.

 

The reception was over I was milling around aroeund for a while and the requested my balance. The reply was "forgot the checkbook", mmmaybe as this was an older couple. Interestingly as I was just about to take the files to be printed into proofs I got a call from the groom very concerned about the pictures and very considerate about getting the check in my possession.

 

I had stipulated check on the wedding day because the time between the retainer and wedding were close. I try to be too damn considerate unless I have prior info telling me to be wary.

 

Not sure what the Miss Manner's/Martha Stuart propahhh prowtahcawwl is but I think the worst time to be dealing with the finnacials is on the wedding day. That is unless the circumstances are foreseen by photog and client and a clear and amicable agreement is in force.

Mary

 

Around me most people work to much to have wine and cheese parties in the Hamptons for the sole purpose of chat and proof picking.

 

You have a very compartmentalized view of photography as a business; your business - period. It isn't a knock against any sucess you have achieved but there is a whole different demographic west of Cherry Hill.

 

You are fortunate because you get big retro business. It appears that you are the only one that does (at the level you describe)this simply does not mean that the rest of us will do the same.

C'mon !

From wikidpedia: use this as a baseline

 

art1 (䲴)n.

Human effort to imitate, supplement, alter, or counteract the work of nature.

Look everyone Marc and I both know that art is pictures that you coordinate to go along with your new furniture so your living room looks nice. No?

Dave

 

Have you discovered that you can get virtually the same result over half a dozen different flash settings with the 550?

Hey Douma? Did you start on RAW after that workshop? Like me? :-}

Dang I still owe you money.

 

Nathan I think the lesson is, keep it alive as a very viable option.

The more things you you tell yourself you need to SWITCH the more things you set yourself up to forget. Leave it on raw.

 

I have worked my way into raw and I'm likin' it. My workflow is pretty clumsy still.

I know the Rebels have a great deal of stigma attached to them but I know a few people that have them (the 300D) and they blow the doors of my XT in the AF department I am almost tempted to get one for the price. I need my own back up and my budget is slim at the moment.

Stick with it Del it looks sharp to me.

Regretably the XT is very tough when it comes to focus in general. I can't wait to get something to replace it. Its predecessor the Digital Rebel was far better and more consistent in focusing.

 

Originally I was leaning toward Nikon but was so impressed with the quality of output from a friends D-Rebel I went Canon.

Marc

 

I will accept that response as a validation of your agreement with my comments.

 

One more case in point

NOTICE: United States consumers NO ONE buy any iPod for 3 months.

Then you can get that 60gig unit for around $250 - $275

 

The hell of all this is, that there is no way to convince enough people to wait.

With regard to the cost aspect of digital technology I will make an elementary statement . . . DON'T BUY THE DAMN STUFF. If you want to see prices fall keep your wallet in your pants. People just can't resist can they? Almost everyone that breaths is a marketing pushover to every consumer oriented business that dangles a new and improved label.

 

When does picture quality become imperceptible to the human eye the same way computer processor speeds are? (I don't mean RAM either)

 

Define ultimate focus, saturation, tone etc. Does the condition of best truly exist?

M&M's ! easily worth a free extra 8 X 10

Some responses:

 

I have already had one repair and have extended coverage. So I have a while to keep running it through the shop.

 

Good point about two brands of bodies vs. lens assortment.

 

Maybe its a better value to go from the XT to the 30D it is a 2 model jump.

I now have a 1 year old Rebel XT as a result of not researching cameras a

little longer. I think its aout focus capabilities are suspect and the plastic

body is creaky. My confidence in this machine is diminishing.

 

It is time for my own back up camera anyway I don't want to trust a wedding or

event to the Reb XT. Budget is a very real concern or now and I need to have

a highly informed approach going into the next purchase.

 

Logically the 5D should be the next step but the price is out of range. I

have thought about a 20D as the price is right and it is constructed a little

better. In my opinion the 20D is pretty much XT guts in a bigger frame. Bob

Atkin's reviews demonstrate way more similarity than difference. The 30D is

just another marketing insult from Canon a 20D with a bit more jewelry.

 

Can anyone convey from "real world" experience the merits of a 20D over the

XT? With the situation as it is would it be worth it to look at a film camera?

Another thought was to jump ship to Nikon and just pidgeon hole the Canon and

its 3 lenses as a back up kit.

 

For my benefit and the others reading this thread please refrain from brand

and model bashing. I need to have these options sorted out soon.

 

Thanks

I have spelled the word "don't" correctly in the past.

Errol

 

To me the album aspect of our the business still unnerves me. I have purchased a few album samples but I still find the whole sales process very ambiguous. I am not clear on which categories of leather go with which book, and different name versions in the same categories, some styles cannot be purchased one at a time, AND poor visual support as in no catalogs and brochures.

 

I dn't feel comfortartable trying to sell them because it is dfficult keeping all the variations straight. Give me strong backlighting any old day.

From what I have seen including some of my work mixed in with David Schilling's . . . SmugMug seems to be the first service I'd look into when I am ready.