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james_osborne

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Posts posted by james_osborne

    Family Portraits

    in Portraits & Fashion

    Posted

    Forget the SB800 - save the money and grab a handful of old SB24/26/28s instead. With the rest of the money you saved buy some cheap radio trigger/receivers/ With the rest of the money you saved buy some stands and clamps.

     

    Get high! For large groups it helps to get the lights and the camera high so that the people at the back get seen.

     

    Good luck

    What do you charge for location busines portraits?

    in Business of Photography

    Posted

    One metric that hasnt been mentioned yet it usage.

     

    Your shoot fee is one thing, but how and where are these images going to be used?

     

    An extreme example is that one of your shots is so good that the CEO decides to use it on Billboards, fullpage ads etc. If you just 'sell' the images then you woudn't get any more revenue.

     

    Plenty of methods for pricing based on usage.

     

    Jim

     

    Jim

    Same sex wedding-slide show

    in Wedding & Event

    Posted

    I really enjoyed this. I wasn't expecting to, slideshows to music always fill me with a sense of dread!!!

     

    The music wasn't traditional, but neither are the Groom & Groom!

     

    The images are good, and despite a couple of random technical nitpicks they convey the mood(s) very well.

     

    Kudos!

     

    Jim

    Prensenting Results

    in Lighting Equipment

    Posted

    Just gel a flash gun with a tungsten filter, make sure it is mimicking the directional light from the lamp in shot and you there you have it! Any non-tungsten bulbs will still cause a colour caste.

     

    You may have to snoot or gobo the flash to keep it from illuminating the lamp itself.

    Making a living

    in Business of Photography

    Posted

    John,

     

    I have a friend who makes a good living. He earns almost $300 a month. Of course he lives in his moms basement and has no outgoings.

     

    Some people consider a McJob as making a living, others would only countenance $120,000 per annum as acceptable.

     

    Without defining your terms you will only end up with meaningless answers.

     

    Jim

    Advice on used strobe for outdoor portrait work

    in Lighting Equipment

    Posted

    If you want outdoors capabilities thenyou are pretty much 'limited' to flashguns rather than teh Alien Bees/Bowens style studio strobes that need AC power.

     

    That said I use flashguns outdoors for exactly this reason. My expensive Elinchrom stobes are used only in studio or indoors.

     

    Have a look at www.strobist.com for some excellent examples of what can be achieved with $100 worth of kit. I can recommend the Nikon SB26 flashgun, even if you dont shoot Nikon, I mean you will almost certainly want to shoot in Mnaula mode anyway for maximum control so why bother buying the all bells and whistles SB800 for $400?. You can get a used SB26 on Ebay for $50! Buy a lightstand, some cheap ebay radio triggers and maybe an umbrella and umbrella holder and you are set.

     

    Read lots of info on balancing ambient & fill, and practice!

     

    Jim

    Another web site critique please

    in Business of Photography

    Posted

    Georges,

     

    My random thoughts/opinions:

     

    - Pretty nice design, I like the concepts and most of the detail.

     

    - As JJ says WAAAY too much on the first page

     

    - Not sure what the purpose of the site is. It looks like a (good) personal 'vanity' site with your photographs and musings etc, but then you mention that you are available to book. But you have posted this in the Business Forum... Sites like Flickr and Pbase are a better/easier way of sharing your photos.

     

    - "Amateur with pro standards" sounds catchy but which are you? At the moment I would assume that you shoot for free, for the love of it. Right at the bottom of the page you say that you will work for free, so this isn't a business?

     

    - If it is meant to be a business site, I would cut some of the fluffy, unrelated text. Eg "After a painful break-up and while a stagiaire at the European Commission (where boredom and procrastination rule)" This is fine in a personal vanity site or Blog but as a prospective client this is WAAY too much information.

     

     

     

    The core issue for me is that I have no idea what your site message is. If I was looking for a portrait photographer I would move on and find a "Pro with pro standards", if I wanted to read your life history and look through your photos I would probably prefer it in a Blog or I would already be browsing Flickr.

     

    Jim

    State of the photography industry

    in Business of Photography

    Posted

    As a near full time pro (I also retouch professionaly... gotta pay the bills!) I can also add my view on this.

     

    The middle class of photography is dead. When I was trying to move out of portrait work (which was lucrative, but not very predictable), I started doing more fashion work. The amount of times I would meet small fashion labels who EXPECTED the photogrpapher to work for NOTHING - and to provide all the images on CD royalty FREE, was astounding. The worst thing is, there are literally hundreds (in London) of wanabees offering to shoot this stuff with their DSLR. Even worse, when the shots end up poorly lit and looking like cr*p the client is fed the line that it is artistic - if you don't believe me pick up a copy of a top end fashion magazine (ie iD or Dazed and Confused) and check out the frankly amateur photography masquerading as 'cool' and 'urban'.

     

    So we end up with the old paradigm of a vanishing middle class. I was trained by a photographer who spent 30 years shooting weddings and portraits. He was never known outside of his small city, however he paid off his million dollar house, has a yacht and put 3 kids through uni (college). He has now quit photography and is making lots of money training the horde of new photographers entering the market (including me).

     

    That said there is always opportunity, the market has sure changed in the past 3 years that I have been in it, and is unrecognizable from the market 30 years ago - we need to change the way we do business to survive and prosper in this new brave world...

     

    Jim

    Best lens for low light interiors

    in Nikon

    Posted

    Have a look at the Sigma 18-50 EX DG 2.8.

     

    This is my main shooting lens. It is great for groups and extends to a decent portrait @ 50mm (equiv to 80mm on a 35mm).

     

    Excellent quality, with only minor CA wide open at the short end.

     

    Pretty goot value for money as well.

     

    James

    how many photos on postcard for promo

    in Business of Photography

    Posted

    I have had great response from my postcards/biz cards which have one of several images in the same design, so when I leave a bunch of cards at a location there are at least 5 different card variations, so as people pick up a card they see a different version underneath etc.

     

    My advice - if this is your business and if you are not a designer, hire one. (Being a photographer does not equal being a designer, just like being a plumber does not equal being an auto mechanic despite both using wrenches!)

     

    Jim

    My New Website

    in Business of Photography

    Posted

    <p>Eboh, </p>

    <p>You should also take some inspiration from the excellent sites out there in the www - I did.</p>

    <p>Have a look at </p>

    <p><a href="http://www.davidbaird.co.uk/">http://www.davidbaird.co.uk/</a><br />

    <a href="http://www.eddiebaute.com/">http://www.eddiebaute.com/</a><br />

    <a href="http://www.stuartweston.com/">http://www.stuartweston.com/</a></p>

    <p>*these all rely heavily on Macromedia Flash - however more compliant HTML/CSS versions could easily have been created. </p>

    <p>and whilst not at quite the same level, my site <a href="http://www.jamesophotography.com/">http://www.jamesophotography.com/</a> ;) </p>

    <p>Take inspiration, and if you can't execute a fantastic design get someone else to design & build it with input from you. Yes it will cot, but you don't fashion your own lenses from pringle tubes and old spectacles, and you shouldn't build a professional website without pro help - it *will* pay for itself (if your business model is right in the first place, of course).</p>

    <p>Good luck</p>

    <p> </p>

    <p>Jim</p>

    My New Website

    in Business of Photography

    Posted

    Eboh. You have some nice pictures on your site.

     

    That said I wasn't sure what the point of the site is.

     

    If it is just a vanity site, then fine however I get the impression that you are trying to promote your business.

     

    If so, then here is my brutally honest feedback:

     

    The page layout and design is generally poor. You wouldn't expect a graphic designer to be able to take stunning portraits would you? Get a pro to desin it - it is a business expense. Plus, a gmail.com email address destroys any chance of an upscale pro image.

    DSLR for Portrait photography?

    in Portraits & Fashion

    Posted

    Jay,

     

    I use a D200 for my portrait and fashion work. To qualify this I am not a Nikon die-hard - I only own 2 lenses! I just found the controls on the Nikon to be more natural comapred to the Canon.

     

    That said feel I have to 'correct' a couple of comments here:

     

    Tito said:

    "...I doubt that the D200 will dramatically change your end result. Portrait photography (especially in a studio setting) will not tax your camera significantly, at least not to the point of needing the added features of the D200. I question the need to jump to a new camera immediately unless there's something wrong with what you have now."

     

    I have to say that a MAJOR downfall with the D70 is its performance in the studio.. no PC Sync socket and more importantly no ISO100, which makes working with strobes very difficult - your strobes will be twice as powerful as they should be!!!

     

    Secondly Ignacio pointed you to a thread comparing the D200 to the 5D - this is pretty irrelevant. I would agree that the noise in the ISO800+ range is better in the 5D, however you will never use these high ISO's in a studio!!

     

    Anyway, IMHO the BEST option is a Medium Format with a Leaf or PhaseOne digital back, however expect to pay $30k++.

     

    A D200, D2X, 5D or 30D or S3 Pro will be more than adequate for almost every occasion.

     

    James

    Flash and newborns

    in Portraits & Fashion

    Posted

    I read an article in the Harvard Medical Journal which pretty much catagorically stated that flash would be extremely unlikely to damage the eyesight of a baby or small child. It made the point that a flash will only emit the same amount of light as a sunny day (otherwise it would overpower our film/sensors) it is only because it flashes at a split second that the light seems very bright.

     

    For an example try this, look out your window on a moderately bright day and wave your hand quickly in front of your eyes. You will start to wince at the perceived brightness of the light, however when it is static you will have no problems handling the moderate light.

     

    That said I always ask parents when I shoot what their preferences are and would not expect to need flash for a sleeping newborn. I am also not a medical professional, so do your own research and make up your own minds!!!!

     

    My son is due in 4 weeks, so I will be able to put my own advice to the test soon enough!!

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