don_hill

Elizabeth,

It is your work, and your creativity. You should decide which is best for the final image.

When I am working with clients, they give me a range of what they would like for proofs.

Generally, they pick about 50% color and 50% B&W. From there I decide what happens in

post-production.

Giving them both is too much work and not cost effective. Put on some good music, and

then take a good look at your images in post. If you are stuck,

take a look at what other people are doing. The best way to gain experience is to emulate

people who are successfully doing what you want to accomplish, and then follow their

lead. What do their prints look like, and what are they converting to B&W?

This should give you a good starting point, and by all means experiment.

Don

Peter,<br><br>

Show it slideshows are as common as blu domain websites these days, and I would not

consider using it for my work. I have touched on this before, but the final result is not

visually appealing. I believe the term I coined was "Rick Burns on crack."<br><br>

I have not used the software, but if there was an option to remove all the panning and

zooming functions, it would be a useful product to show images. My one concern is that

most

wedding photographers are using it in a way similar to the early days of Photoshop. There

are a few creative individuals that utilized the entire potential of the program. Then the

other 80% found there niche utilizing the filters, and flooded the market with low

quality images that looked neat with a filter applied. The filters got old fast. In that same

vein, low quality images panning and zooming to elevator music get really tiresome. I

have yet to ever make it to the end of one of the Sho wit slideshows.<br><br>

Marc,

I make my own beer, so you can have your choice. I'll make it two cases and deliver them

next time I'm driving though to Grand Rapids.

Don

Yeah, the 5d is junky. Tell you what, I'll trade you a case of beer to take that paperweight off

your hands.

Don

Brandy,

It is fine to use engagement photos when advertising wedding photography as it is a

major aspect of what we do.

Remember to think of your ad as a resume, it gets you an

interview and the interview gets you the job. Accordingly, always showcase your best

work, as you don't

want to dilute creative and inspired work with

average work. You want to create a positive impact with advertising, and simplicity sells.

Don

These are a good start, but the designs are too busy. If I had to choose a specific ad, I would

pick #3 as your images look stronger/better cropped. I would reduce the opacity of the

background image or make it a solid color for a more graphic look.

Your strongest image is the engagement shoot, so I tried a little something.<div></div>

Not a DVD, but this is a good start:<br><br>

<a href="http://www.onelightworkshop.com">One Light Workshop</a><br><br>

It's a fast day, but highly informative - you will not be disappointed.

It loads just as fast as most people above have mentioned.

I have never been able to sit through a Show It slideshow to completion, yours

included. The images look great, but the presentation looks like a Ken Burns on crack

production with the panning, zooming, and quick cuts.

Most clients will never see the same distractions within the slideshow. They are looking at

the images and their associated memories. Since I have no idea who these people are, the

presentation is much more important to me as a potential client. You have wonderful

images, but the final piece is just too distracting to sit through.

This is in no way a personal attack. Your stills just look better without this particular

multimedia effect.

This is an old article that has been debunked.

Not only is it a silly article, but it is little more than uneducated opinion. Take what you like

from it and leave the rest.

Laura,

Those are standard prices, and it sounds like you are using Pictage? If so, you are certainly

competitive with your rates. Unfortunately, many brides assume that since you can make a

print at Wal-Mart for .19 then you should sell them for such.

Don't worry about one clients opinion of your pricing. When you begin to see trends from

many

clients that are concerned about your rates you have an issue to deal with.

Hi Jeff,

Have you had any resistance to your album only wedding services from clients?

I assume that most clients are sold before they book you, but what are the most common

concerns that your clients have regarding the album as the first and final product that they

receive from you?

Thanks in advance, this has been a great thread.

Don

One lens that you should not be without is the 50mm 1.8. If your pockets are much more full

then purchase the 50mm 1.4.

Think of any images sent as portfolio pieces and your Deletes will be much easier to swallow.

Remember that your best images do not make your blurry images look better. It is the exact

opposite. Your lesser images make your stunning ones have less of an impact. So, hit that

delete button.

Many potential photographers I meet with tend to show way too many images in their

portfolios. This is not good. Always show and deliver your best work, because (cliche

coming) one bad apple does spoil the bunch.

At your price range, I would consider offering less. $1000 is a shoot only fee that includes

processing of the images and uploading to an online proofing agency.

Everything else is an a la carte option so proofs, albums, DVD's of corrected images, 2nd

shooters, etc., are all purchased individually. For pricing, mark everything up at least 100%.

The budget conscious clients can build their own packages and you will earn more for your

creative work.

Is either waterproof?

Between the two bags listed, the shootsac seems like a better option for a wedding. As they

are both new products we will have to wait to see how they hold up after the early adopters

use them, and their various reviews surface.

Mark - always show your best work.

I like to keep 2 albums on hand. One is a Bella album, where you can easily swap out

8x10's if individual prints get damaged or you want to drop in work from a newer

wedding. The Bella is a nice album, and is the basic offering with my services. The

second sample is a Premira album that is an upgrade option and my album of choice. It

also has the ability to swap out pages, although it is a more expensive change

as the images are fixed to a removable base page. It is a beautiful contemporary album,

and a majority of my clients prefer the Premira.

When I get too many sample albums at the studio, I usually offer

the oldest album (or the one that is the least relevant to my current work) to previous

clients at a reduced rate. Since the albums are kept in their original shipping and storage

boxes, they are still in excellent condition and are basically new offerings. Generally,

parents will purchase my sample albums so everybody wins.

My primary work is weddings and I only use 3 lenses with the 5D - 28/50/100. I had

previously used zooms, but found the 2.8 too limiting for low light work. Also the 24-70 is

one tank of a lens.

Get in touch with Mike at Larson Photography,

<a href="http://www.larsonphoto.com">Larsonphoto.com</a>. Mike is a great guy to work

with and you

will learn more than expected. He is based in Grand Rapids and does weddings thoughout

Michigan. Contact me for more information or contact Mike via his website.

After a season with the R2400, I found that it was easier to order prints through whcc.com.

The R2400 is a very nice printer, but the prints were more expensive to produce per unit than

whcc. But the real distinction was that R2400 prints show bronzing on premium lustre,

frontier prints do not.

Before you drop your cash, try this first:

<a href="http://www.abetterbouncecard.com">A better bounce card</a>.</p>Same basic

priciple and quality of light as the lightsphere, but you are only out .88 cents. I did a test

with both, and preferred the bounce card for wedding work.</p>Both soften the light, but

the lightsphere looks better when you point the top directly at the subject. When the flash is

pointing straight up, the bounce card gives pretty much the same results.

Gary Fong has boat payments - or at least you could help him buy another house. At any

rate, he needs the money more than you and offers a simple product that will fill your needs,

<a href="http://store.garyfonginc.com/webalsh.html">Album Showcase</a>.

Shawn,</p>Another option would be to purchase your equipment used from <a

href="http://

www.keh.com">keh.com</a>, as their

ratings are very understated and they have excellent service and return policies. At your

budget, you will not find a suitable zoom with good

quality for wedding images, so your best bet is to utilize good inexpensive primes. Any

prime will be a much better solution than a zoom and you cannot beat the price.</p>My

Suggestion would be a canon 10d for $429, a wide lens - either the 28mm f2 for $126 or

35mm f2 for $172, and the amazing 50mm 1.8 for only $73.95 new. You will need a

good flash, and your best bet is the 550ex for $265 but that would break your budget.

However, you can do amazing things with the Vivitar 285HV that was recently reintroduced

for around $99. You can buy it used through KEH for $79. One note, you need the 285HV

not the 285

for your camera.</p>The total for a 10d, 28mm, 50mm and 285HV would be $707.95.

That

would fit your budget as you would still need a few compact flash cards and batteries for

your flash.</p>In a wedding situation, the 10d/20d/30d bodies are an excellent solution

as

they have the scroll wheel on the back of the body. The rebels do not have the rear scroll

wheel, and that limits your ability to work quickly during a shoot. I've used a 10d for a few

years now, and now it is my main backup for a

5d - but I fully endorse the 10d and still use it quite often. It is inexpensive and makes

impressive 16x24's. Another selling point of the 10d is it is a very quiet camera in

operation - my 5d sounds like a gun going off in comparison.</p>Best

of luck,</p>Don

For the last 3+ years I have used the 550EX for about 90% of my wedding work when a

flash is required. It has plenty of power,

and if you are only using it on-camera, you will not need to upgrade to the newest model.

However, if you are using it at full power on every flash you can drain the batteries quickly.

So if that is the problem, you should invest in a Quantum Turbo or similar battery pack.

Most weddings I will

change the batteries once, but I rarely am shooting the flash at full power.</p>The other

10%

is when lighting with a flash is not practical, such as lighting formals in a very dark chapel.

For those times, I

will use a White-Lightning 1600. It rarely leaves its case, but it is invaluable when I need it

for formals or faster recyling.