francesca_needham

hi, i'm from NYC and am planning on flying to san francisco for a few weeks and

then from there to las vegas for a road trip, and then back home. i'm bringing

about 15-20 rolls of 120 color film and some 120 black and white film to shoot,

and am wondering what the best way to fly with it is. for the first flight it

will all be unexposed, but then i will have it mainly all exposed by the time i

leave las vegas, but it won't be developed yet. i know that the x-ray machines

can damage your film, so i don't wnt to risk losing all those memories.

well the reason i'd really like to get the arax60 over any other is because i love the 6x6 format. i'm a student right now and it's really important to me to have a consistent portfolio so i would like it if it iwas all 6x6. also shooting square is a challenge for me because it's so easy to mess up by shooting too much foreground/background. i like to carry it around and see what shooting street photography is like more than anything.

i'm looking to buy another medium format camera and the kiev/arax 60 seems to be

at the top of the list right now, mainly because of price and i'd like to try an

SLR. right now i use a yashica mat, but it's having some difficulties and i'm

not sure if it's worth it to repair it right now. i've heard the arax60 is

really bulky/heavy, but then again so is my TLR yashica mat. does anybody have

any input or could tell me some differences between these 2 cameras, and your

experience using the arax?

thanks so much!

i'm thinking of just buying the kiev 60 (from that first ebay link). is there a huge difference

between that and the arax 60? or should i wait and save up money and pay $350 for the arax

60? also what are some advantages of the bronica over both the kiev and arax?

i've found two kievs on ebay that look like something i'd be interested in, any input on these two?

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/Kiev-60-TTL-Black-Medium-Format-Camera-NEW_W0QQitemZ170198006834QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item170198006834

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/Camera-KIEV-6C-TTL-6x6-in-original-case-Excellent_W0QQitemZ120235704707QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item120235704707

thanks guys for all the helpful comments!! the only reason i really have my heart set on a 6x6 is for personal reasons - i've been shooting solely with the yashica for my senior year at high school and my first year at college and we have to present portfolios constantly to people who have never seen our work before, and i feel like sticking with the same format, size, and style makes it more comprehensive when presented all together or in a fine art photography show.<div></div>

thanks for that link!!

no i haven't looked at rangefinders, what are some good ones? i saw one of those old mamiya 6 fold out cameras on ebay, but i'm not sure if it's good or if it'd be better just to save up for a different mamiya 6. light meter isn't necessary, it's just nice to have but i know i probably won't find one.

i'm a photography student and i really only like to shoot with 6x6. right now i

use an old yashica mat, but it is not in very good condition and i'm looking to

buy another 6x6 camera. the obvious choice would be a hasselblad, but i'm not

rich by any means so that's out of the question... it'd also be a huge plus if

it had a light meter but i know that's tough to find. another plus would be if i

can just handhold it for a lot of photos so i can do street photography. one of

the main things i dislike about my TLR is that i usually need to use a tripod

with it and that's not convenient for me a lot of the time.

so my question is what are some other 6x6 cameras that are not TOO expensive. i

used a bronica sq-something once, but i don't remember exact details about it,

only that i liked it.

i work in a photo studio, and the canon 20d we use captures images in roughly

4x6. i have a lot of trouble at times having enough room for cropping or

anything. is there a way to get the camera to shoot in a medium format size?

6x4.5, 6x7, etc...?

i'm an amateur photographer, but i have a job in a portrait studio. a few

weeks ago, a family came in for a portrait and loved the results. i saw them on

the street today and they stopped and asked if i could shoot their baptism in a

couple weeks. i'm not sure yet if i'd do it - i know they want digital but i

don't want to use a crappy point and shoot digital, but if i can borrow one

from work i will do it.

if so, how much should i charge? hourly maybe?

i have my first shoot with a model on friday. the woman who i am taking the

photos for is opening a boutique, so these are going to be pictures with the

main focus on the clothing!

she wants the model to be outdoors, but only if it is nice and sunny out,

otherwise we will stay in the studio. the problem: we are buying a second

softbox and all for the studio, but if we shoot outdoors, i don't have a cue

flash! will i still be able to get good results with a natural light? also, what

is a good setting to start test shots on (the camera i will be using is a

digital canon 30d).

now on to posing..i think the model will know how to pose, as she was sent from

an agency. the woman who i am shooting for came in today and showed me examples

of pictures she liked (go to jcrew.com to get a feel for waht she wants - that

is the catalogue she showed me). if the model doesn't know what poses to do,

what should i tell her? i'm used to directing little kids, which is usually like

"sit here with your hands like this, etc...)".

sorry if this post is confusing! i'm just very nervous about this!

i have a shoot on saturday of 5 kids - aged 18,16,11,10, and 6. any ideas for

shooting them? or examples of poses?

i have a shoot on tuesday of a 10, 8, 7, and 5 year old group of siblings. any

ideas on how to pose them? i'm not sure which are boys and which are girls or

anything. or at least a site that has a few examples? thanks!

hi!

tomorrow i have a shoot with two older brothers (10 and 5) and a baby girl,

probably less than one year. any tips on posing?

i was thinking maybe the youger brother with the baby on his lap, sitting on a

stool, and the older brother standing behind him? or maybe the baby in the

middle sitting on a pillow, and the brothers lying on each side.

but, other than these two, i have no other ideas! i am sure it would be better

if i had more than two poses. thanks everyone!

i shot one roll of infrared film (kodak whatever? i forget the exact name, but it's the most common

brand). i love the way they turned out, but i'm not sure why this happened.

i shot a few shots of my brother and sister standing in our dimly lit hallway. the exposure was probably

around 1/2 to 1 seconds. when i developed them, they turned out EXTREMELY grainy, and the

negatives were very dense and hard to print.

does anybody know why this happened? or how i can get this similar grainy, odd look again?

 

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hey mike,

i use 35 mm film for about 3/4 the rolls i shoot in my holga. i found an easier way than

the foam is simply to stuff paper towels around both sides of the film until it is firmly in

place. then, tape the beginning of the film to the spool so that it winds.

you need to put LOTS of tape over the red back. i used about 4 layers of duct tape just to

make sure, otherwise youll end up with an exposed square on your pictures.

also, keep in mind that you will have to wind about 30 clicks after each picture to avoid

overlapping.

-francesca

i have a communion shoot schedule tomorrow for two twin girls. i already know a

few poses for single shots, but how about together? any tips? thanks!!

i have a holga 120S. it does not have a flash, and i would like to have a strobe at least. i was looking at

the lomography.com site and saw the "holga strobe flash", but it says that you need a holga 120gn for

this. is this true? if so, what kind of flash can i buy for the 120s?

i've only shot one roll on my action sampler, and it was a complete failure since i ignored the fact that i

was indoors so my whole roll didn't come out.

anyway, does anyone have good ideas of what to shoot with the action sampler? or examples of what

they've done.

also, can i ONLY shoot with it outdoors on a sunny day, or can it be slightly cloudy as well?

hi guys,

i've never shot color film before, but this summer i'm taking a course at SVA in color photography. (i'm

still a junior in high school!)

my question is: what is the best color negative film for both vibrant, bright colors, but also more dulled

down and antique looking colors. thanks!

-francesca

i think there is something wrong with my light meter in my EOS (GII). when i put it on manual and try to

adjust the aperture or anything, nothing moves to show me the right exposure. maybe i am missing

something completely and this is a stupid question, but it is really bad! i was at the RISD summer

program last year, and my teacher couldn't figure it out either. i have had to shoot on auto for almost a

year now, and it is really bothersome, especially because i like to do more experimental photography.

can anyone help? or has anyone had this problem? if i'm not missing something completely, shouldi

just take it to a shop to get it fixed?

Hi,

I have a shoot scheduled on Saturday for a pregnant woman. i am guessing she wants the traditional

"belly shot", along with a few others. i did a google image search and came up with a few interesting

images, but i am wondering how to make her feel comfortable, or how to tell her how to pose.

this is sort of a general question as well, how to direct people into their poses, etc... but mainly right

now i just need to know for the pregnancy shoot!

thanks

-francesca

i am 17 years old and still in high school. i recently got a job at a portrait studio in my

town. right now, there is another photographer, but she will be leaving at the end of this

month. she only works during the day, and then i take over after school until closing.

i haven't had much training in posing, and one main question i have is how to post groups

of siblings, whether it be 2, 3, etc... this coming tuesday (tomorrow!) i have a shoot with

two boys and a puppy, are there any ideas on how to pose this?

also, i had two shoots on friday, a baby and a communion. the baby was fairly easy

because it laughed a lot and didn't get tired in front of the camera. the communion was

another story. it was partially because the family was completely unenthusiastic and the

mother acted as if she had been dragged along to do something she didn't want to do, like

a child. it was weird. but the problem with the posing was that i couldn't figure out exactly

how to get the girl to hold the bible so that it looked nice, rather than looking like a comic

book or something.

i already looked at joe zeltsman's guide, and it did help a lot, but i still need help!