savagesax

One of the tricks with the Quantum batteries is to charge them for about 6 hours the day before your job. They should last about 5 plus years with heavy use, such as shooting weddings every weekend. If you leave the charger on for a few days or more, this actually kills the batteries and you will have to replace them much sooner, like once a year. They won't hold a charge if you overcharge them. If you don't use the flash battery for several months the batteries will go dead. Don't worry about it. Simply recharge the batteries the day before you need it. Let the batteries die. Thats a good thing! I think Quantum uses the same battery cable for all of their T series flash units. Call them to be sure. The shoe mount flash may use a different cable. I can't remember. The people at Quantum are pretty nice and usaully very professional. I've used their gear now for perhaps 15 to 20 years.

Can I make a suggestion? I worked in a camera repair store for a few years. Take the battery out for about 5 to 10 more days and let the camera sit somewhere near the sun, such as by a window, inside of the house. Water can continue damaging the cameras circuits for several more days. Sometimes tiny rust spots can start forming. Hope your good luck continues! bob

A lot of photographers that use medium format with the longer lenses use a pretty heavy duty tripod with good brackets, such as Kirk Enterprises. www.kirkphoto.com He has some pretty cool stuff, but his costs are on the high side. Very well made though and this should solve your problems.

Maybe look up, google, what corporate, commercial, and product photographers charge? Ask to view their contracts? You may be able to use your present wedding contract and just add an "Amendment," - meaning a change to a Formal Document. Don't go on this trip without the revised contract. Everything must clearly be documented, such as all of the expenses being covered, the hours per day that you will needed, even breaks, such as an hour break every 8 hours of work. Do you want to charge by the day, 1/2 day, or per hour? Avoid making a contract saying you are available anytime for the whole week, because you may get stuck working 14 hour days or having to shoot until 4 AM! Make sure your room and food is covered. One time this happened to me. I shot a wedding in Ohio and they, the couple, said that the room was covered. When I went to check into the motel the desk hostess asked for a credit card, because the room hadn't been paid for yet. Well I told the bride and groom about it and they promised to take care of it. They didn't. Upon checkout time I was stuck with the bill and the B&G were long gone on their honeymoon. They never did pay that bill and when they returned they never sent a check to me. It wasn't worth suing them, because they lived in Ohio! Be sure to check and double check anything and everything, even things like tipping your room waiter should be talked about. Make a list. Write things down such as hidden taxes for the cruise. Call a travel agent and see what the hidden fees may be on these cruises. What a blast this will be for the both of you! Keep us posted with how things work out.

He's a good guy. He lives up the road from me. First name is Dick. I'd order another set from him and perhaps send him a message about the situation. I'm sure he will respond. He made a living for many years buying, fixing, completely overhauling them and selling 1000's of hasselblads. If you don't hear from him let me know and I will forward you his email address. Feel free in using my name. I've known him for about 30 years or so. The camera movement kind of sounds OK. After looking at the pictures, the body looks like it's fine. So I'd try the light traps again. He also sells manuals for the assorted parts of the camera, such as the film back. He's written the manuals so well that it's pretty hard to mess something up. You may wish to ask him about the manual for the magazine. He shows you how to fix other problems that sometimes go wrong with the backs. When you load the film then close the film loader, does it fit tight in the magazine? I'm wondering if it was dropped at one point and something is slightly out of alignment. Probably not, Just a thought. I still think replacing the traps is the answer. Anyway, he's a nice guy to get to know.

Marc Williams said it best regarding finding clients with a bit more money. I'm at the end of my career with weddings. When clients call and their first question is how much do you charge and how many images do I get kind of kills the desire and the passion to shoot weddings. People want 2000, 3000, plus images. They want you to shoot the 8 hour wedding, plus another 8 or more hours of editing for $500. Well I'm rethinking my next steps. I will surely be slowing down. I just spent some money on medium format gear and I'm after product and commercial design type of photography. Kind of cool, the digital back is an 80 megapixel back. I haven't shot with it yet. Can't wait! Maybe this weekend. Marc is right on target about lighting. Understanding lighting, whether its for weddings for product shoots, this really makes you an elite specialized pro. For example a lighting expert knows all about the different setups and forms of lighting. For example, when doing a bridal portrait how do you set up your off camera lights for that Rembrandt effect? Every wedding photographer needs to know and understand the different names of lighting. Taking one quality, amazing, bridal shot using perfect lighting is often better than taking 75 somewhat candid bridal shots, simply because the bride wants 2000 images. We have to teach the brides the differences when they come to the studios. I often refer to this issue as "Weddings 101." Then they are educated and often willing to dismiss 2000 candid shots for 400 breath taking quality images. It's been years since a bride walked out of the studio and didn't book with me or my photo partner. Quality is still everything. The brides need to be educated. In the studio we have 40X60 framed wedding portraits around. This is how you sell yourself, by quality work. If you get those $500 brides in your studio/house, you show them amazing albums, not DVD's on a labtop, I promise that these brides will find $2000 somewhere to have you shoot their wedding. Lighting is often your selling point. We can't forget about wonderful posing. Thats a must! I think I got carried away here, however I am looking forward to trying out other forms of photography. Hope this helps the beginners to the advanced pro's that are having trouble finding clients willing to spend a few extra dollars.

Leo, what do you like to do in photography? Nature, weddings, portraits, kids, street, travel, or more interest in design and product photography, commercial photography, corporate type of work? Something else? Knowing what you like best will surely give me, us, easier recommendations to share with you.

For wedding photography I'm mainly using Photoshop CS4. I know that a lot of people like Lightroom. I have the program, but it seems complicated. Is the learning curve difficult? It's also an earlier version and it won't open Raw files from the new Canon 5D Mark 3. I also have Photoshop CS 6. I'm having issues with learning this program, mainly RAW. I actually have a new 5D Mark 3 but you can't use RAW in Photoshop CS4. CS4, the program doesn't support the 5D Mark3. The camera is new, I've only shot 2 weddings with it. It seems to sit at home as I still carry with me 2, 1Ds Mk 3 cameras. So is the Canon software better to use for converting Raw wedding images? Maybe Capture One software? Will the Capture One software work with the 5D Mark3? I'm actually so frustrated that I'm considering selling the 5d Mark 3 and buying another 1Ds Mark 3. Long story short. Can all of you editing wizards give me some advice? A book? A DVD that can teach you Photoshop 6? Or should I try other programs. Or simply spend several hours learning the program? I just bought a wicked camera system. PhaseOne. It came with a bunch of lenses, it's medium format, with an 80 megapixel back. I'm getting more and more into Product photography. It uses both, Photoshop and CaptureOne, however it comes with the CaptureOne software. I haven't used the camera yet. I have to keep this short. I'm fine with Photoshop CS4. I can edit a wedding, the RAW images in a few hours. However, just trying to crop an image in PS CS6 is so different and it takes me at least 10 plus hours. Am I being too impatient? Any and all advice, good and bad is welcomed. I've been a member of this site for several years and I think this may be the first time at showing frustration! Mainly frustration at Adobe Photoshop for not allowing updates for the newer cameras that come out every year. Angry at the new versions of Cloud, requiring monthly payments. Thank you! Have a great weekend folks! If you are into Easter I hope all of you and your families have a blast! My best, Bob

Hi Neil, The film backs always have some play in them, but the question is how much movement is too much? Also how much wear is on the body, where the back connects to the body? The bottom part of the camera body. There's a plate there. Can you take a picture of it? I don't think it's the plate on the body. They usually last for decades. From looking at the photo's above it looks like whoever did the seal replacement may have had a defective seal. If it was my camera, I'd redo the seals and also change the dark slide. The dark slides get damaged easily sometimes. For about $20 to $30, whatever the present cost is, it's worth having a perfect dark slide. When I shot with Blads I'd change the dark slides often, whenever they got bent. A minor bend/fold is usually OK. Depends on the location of the bend. So they don't always have to be in new condition. However, there could be more to the problem and the seals are fine, but in my opinion it's unlikely that something else is wrong, such as the camera body. I need more information. Did you replace the seals yourself or did a repair shop? These seals are kind of an interesting material. A repair shop could have used seals that were too thin or something, so was this a Hasselblad repair shop? If the seals were too thick, the repair shop didn't use true Hasselblad seals, well the dark slide could have ripped the rubber. Last question for now is what shape is the dark slide in? Any bends, sharp edges? The reasons for asking about the condition is dark slides can damage your seals, even if the seals are new. A bent dark slide can create havic. It would also help if you could include a photo of your dark slide. Kindly post a bit more information! As I've already said, I'd replace the seals again and if needed replace the dark slide. Your problems should be solved. Good luck! bob

Yes I agree with the others. Have a female asistant. Will you be advertising any of these pictures or displaying them? Get a modeling release. I don't like the hotel idea. A lot of porn movies are made in hotel settings, she could use this against you. I'd rather see you hire a female photographer, if you decide to use the hotel scene. Good luck, cover your steps.

Looks good to me! I'm unaware of any hasselblad copies. I think you are safe and the 150 is a great lens.

The magazine winder must stop at 1. If the winder keeps turning the magazine back needs a very minor service repair. So did the winder stop at 1?

I use soft filters. My favorite is the Softar 1/2 or the Softar 1 for older people.

Dark bags are cheap. Buy one! Then simply rewind the film and start over. Takes about 3 minutes or less to rewind the film. The cost of the bag is about $15 or so depending on the size. It's simple! If you don't want to buy a bag, simply don't shoot the last frame on the roll, or the last 2 frames. Simply stop and change film. Your first shots taken will be just fine. If you are totally mixed up throw out the film and open a new pack. It's only a few dollars. I think everyone on the planet that uses medium format film has screwed this up a few times. So when you aren't sure just throw out the film and start over.

Well my advice is NO! Up until about 4 or 5 years ago I'd let wanna be photographers tag along. Not anymore. No way! The reason is a lot of my fellow professional photographers, gifted photographers aren't getting booked and have closed their studio's. They are lucky to book 20 to 30 weddings a year, so most of the time they'd be happy to work with me. Long story short, if I have a bigger wedding to do, over 150 guests or so, I hire them and pay them at least $75 per hour. Usually more, depending on the contract; the amount of money the wedding couple is paying. They are happy because we have a lot of fun and it's easier work and less stress. They walk away with around $600 and I get the very best professional photo's from them. They already know how to set up multiple lighting and off camera flash units. Using several radio slaves isn't a problem. These guys are good. Most of the time you can't tell which photographer took the shot. We shoot pretty much the same. I don't want to train anyone. I want my life to be easier by having a true pro working with me. It's much more fun! Training someone kind of sucks, because you train them for about 6 months to a year and you never see them again.

It's easy to be a pro wedding photographer! You go to Costco, Sams Club, places like that in the US and buy a kit system. That includes a flash 1 or 2 cheap zoom lenses and a cheap camera body for under $400. You are now a pro! No classes are needed, no college degrees, no websites, no referrals, just an ad on Craigslist will get you started! To get photo's of weddings for the clients to view your work, you steal photo's off of the internet! I know how you feel. I see this going on all of the time and every year it gets worse. In the film days, after I was trained for about 2 years,1988 or so, I was well prepared and well trained. Went to a college, worked for free for local pro's and I then put an ad in the Yellow Pages and there were only 3 or 4 photographers listed. Now there must be 100 wedding photographers! Maybe more! It won't be long before the cell phones become the cameras of choice for wedding photographers! (Joking perhaps) Actually, this could be true in 5 to 10 years! Maybe in the near future cell phones will come with a zoom lens range of 20mm's to 500mm's, with a megapixal rating of 35 or more! They already have short zoom lenses! No flash will be needed because everything will be automatic and the ISO ratings will be as high as 25600! Glad I'm retiring shortly. I haven't set an offical date yet. On a positive note, there are families looking for the very best photographers and they are willing to pay for quality. This is why my photo partner and myself are still pretty busy. We shoot about 2 or 3 weddings every weekend. I've slowed down this year and I'm only doing 1 wedding a weekend, unless 2 photographers are needed for a wedding. Good photographers are still wanted and needed. So we have to market ourselves correctly. The true pro's are getting old and retiring - from the film days. However there are young pro's taking photography seriously, going to art schools and mastering photography. There will always be a place for them.

Thanks Ellis, you are the best!

"Who are thinkng of buying from? " A friend owns a camera store and some older gent is retiring and getting rid of all of his Phase One gear. I guess it's alot of gear, Several lenses. Perhaps about 6. The guy is only asking for $5000 and the owner of the store said it's in like new condition. Needless to say, it's probably something that I can't pass up. The owner of the store and I have been friends for about 25 years, thus the decent deal. It surely beats spending $130,000 on a Hasselblad system! Thank you Ellis and Brian. It's good to know about the needed learning curve. It's pretty exciting to work with something with so many megapixels!

One time I dropped a light off of an 8 foot light stand. The 3200 unit. It was out of warranty, plus it was dropped! I asked for a rush and I got it back in a week at no charge. I called them saying that I dropped it and I should be charged. They said not to worry about it. I've never bought any other lighting system. Support doesn't get any better. Yes, the shipping was even free.

Does anyone have any experience with the 80 megapixel Phase One backs? What programs do you use, such as Photoshop or does the camera back come with a good program? Thanks! It will be used for product shoots mainly.

A lot of the Nikon shooters, the pro shooters really like the D800 series. I think the cost is about the same as the Canon 5D Mk3's. The D800's have around a 35 megapixel sensor, the 5D Mk3 is around 23 megapixels. Kindly don't jump all over me with the exact megapixel count. So how many Canon lenses do you have? If it were me and you already have several Canon lenses, buy the 5Ds for about $3500 or so, with a 50 megapixel sensor. Most likely the only thing better than the Canon 50 megapixel sensor would be to make a move over to the medium format range and pick up the new Pentax 50 megapixel camera system. If you have the cash look into the Phase One cameras with an 80 megapixel sensor.

That surely sucks. It's such a great company. I hope the company survives without him. A great man, with the highest standards. I still have 2 lights from the 1980's, when he first started out. The lights still work fine. I have several of his later lighting systems. I already miss him. Thanks for sharing this news. I have to send off a card. He will be missed...

Well if the event planning company will advertise your name, website, phone number, perhaps it could benefit both of you. You can also refer this company. In the wedding business it's sometimes best to be friends with all of the venders, even other photographers. If they aren't willing to do that, well demand them to remove all of your photo's. Also adjust your contract to say that all of the wedding images are copyrighted and belong to you. Consult an attorney if needed. It's worth the money. Keep us posted with the final results. Hope you develop a new professional business friendship.

Bob is right about the 2 or 3 day beard. It's actually kind of the "In," style for men right now.

A mixture of hard light from above, most likely without a snoot or a barndoor was used; hard light. Then a light with a small softbox was used set up right next to the photographer on his/her right. You can see the shadow on the floor on the left side of the purses. Notice that the white background went kind of gray. No lights were aimed at the background. So my guess is 2 lights were used. An overhead light was set at a higher output, probably 1 1/2 stops hotter and a light with a fairly small softbox, surely not an umbrella, which most likely would have casted a reflection off of the purses. It's amazing how simple lighting techniques can be! So the top overhead light perhaps was set to F11 and the softbox light was set to F8 or so and the camera was set at F8 as well. Good question!