rob_s___san_francisco_bay_

">>>> Since suddenly 99% of my competitors don't even know how to shoot"

<p>

As many people wiser than I have pointed out, you should look at "competitors" more as colleagues than "competition". We are all better off in every way if we support each other. I know I would not be where I am without the help of some very cool photographers I've met along the way, and I've hopefully been able to help them out equally in return. I've also started using assistants/second shooters and have been glad to offer helpful advice. Instead of complaining about people not knowing how to shoot, why not help them shoot better? <p>-- It just raises the bar for everyone in many different ways. It's also another way to **market** your photography education.

I generally don't like taking the time to set up off-camera strobes at a wedding, but I've used one off-camera 580EX with an umbrella (about 36" I think) and pocket wizards on occasion in poor lighting conditions like for altar portraits. Pocket wizard transmitter on the hot-shoe and the receiver hooked up through an hot-shoe to 1/8" adapter. The umbrella is convertible to be either bounce or shoot-thru. <p>

I tend to mix in a lot of ambient light for natural looking fill and background, so I don't need a lot of power. I'll also throw a gel on the flash to balance the color temp inside a church. I have Lumedyne gear and used it once, but found the 580EX to be plenty for my needs. I'm a also not shooting humungus groups with this kit, and I like to keep things as simple as possible. Works for me anyway.

I set a manual "K" when I have time at the location. Otherwise I almost always leave it on Auto White Balance and Manual exposure mode.<p>

In post I simply use my eye and always just adjust for good skin tones (RAW files + Lightroom). Super fast/easy to batch groups of images shot under the same lighting. I don't bother with trying to find "neutral" references. That works great for me. But I know some people are really happy with gray/white cards or the expodisc.

Dana,

<p>

I'm so sorry this happened to you. If the photographer is a decent person, I would expect

a full refund along with heartfelt apologies and more. That can make you feel a little

better, but those moments/images can't be re-created. <p>

The photos you posted just plain suck. They look to be pretty un-salvagable. Proves that

a $3000 camera (plus probably some expensive lenses) doesn't come close to replacing

years of experience and a good eye.<p>

I just had a bride not book me because they are having a friend of a cousin shoot their

wedding... apparently, he just bought a brand-new camera (I'd bet it's a 5D) and he thinks

he can do a great job at it. I wish them well, but it's a risky move.

For starters...<p>

 

http://www.ascap.com/licensing/pdfs/brochures/using_copy_righted_music.pdf

<p>

http://www.ascap.com/licensing/

<p>

http://www.bmi.com/licensing/entry/C1223

<p>

http://www.copyright.gov

I'm looking for ideas for how to package and present 24x30" mounted/matted prints to clients. I already

have a source for nice boxes but they only go up to 20x24". <p>

Appreciate any recommendations for a source to get nice larger print presentation boxes or other ideas

for packaging/presenting prints this large.

Hi Kari,<p>

1. Regarding the XMP file, you probably need to go into Preferences->FileManagement

and check the box that says "Automatically write changes to XMP". Otherwise, I believe

Lightroom just stores the metadata in it's central database. Once you do that, the

metadata and develop settings are pretty much compatible with the new ACR 4 in CS3

Bridge. I actually go between the two depending on what stage of editing/processing I'm

in.<p>

2. You can completely customize the Batch Renaming feature. There's a drop down menu

available when you first bring up the Rename dialogue. Clicking it brings up a

customizable template where you can insert the filename, date, sequence numbers (with

or w/o leading zeros, etc).<p>

3. The dragging thumbnails has a wierd quirk to it... You must have the same "Shoot" (or

folder where your images are located) selected in the left hand pane or Lightroom won't let

you drag them around. But otherwise it works like you'd expect, and you can then choose

sort by "User Order" or by date or filename, etc..<p>

 

I still use Bridge/ACR, but Lightroom definately gets lots of use in the first stages of

editing. Good Luck!

Anne,

<p>

That's a fantastic image! The composition and timing make the shot, but the lighting really

enhances it. So I hate to hijack this thread and get all technical and geeky, but I'm wondering

if that light you're bouncing off the tent ceiling is just a bare flash head or if you had an

umbrella or something on it, and also if you used another light to fill in the couple or if that's

just ambient/bounce light?<p>

Thanks

Allan,<p>

I was able to get a referral list of photographer friendly accountants and lawyers from the

local APA chapter (SF). I think you might have to be a member (I'm not anymore), but maybe

you could try contacting someone affiliated with them or another local professional

organization which should have a similar listing. And, yeah it's good to find someone who's

familiar with photographers and small business.

I agree with setting up a couple lights. If it's possible, then getting some distance from the dance floor will be helpful to minimize falloff where the action is and give you more consistent exposures. The tradeoff is you'll need more power and longer recycles (depending on what flash units you use of course).

I always meet potential clients at my location. One exception was when I drove about a half-hour because the bride was pregnant and needed a break. She booked me on the spot.

<p>

It just takes too much effort and time to travel for every inquiry. That, and you can also usually give a better presentation when on your own turf. If a client is truly interested in your work then it should be no problem for them to come to you.

I've shot with a 20D, as well as with film cameras, out in light rain more than once and

they've all survived fine. Not a big deal as long as it's not pouring down. Most good cameras

are pretty resiliant tools.<p>

If it's too wet, you can just have an assistant hold an umbrella over you and your camera

while you shoot.<p>

No doubt !!<p>

Anne does beautiful work and provides some of the most helpful advice available on this

forum.

My price for an 80-side Asukabook (10x10 EX) is just over $1000 and I still know that I'm

priced too low.

I try to make every shot creative in some way. Whether or not it's "art" is arguable. Certainly

not every shot is amazing. But I'm always shooting for myself as well as the couple. I think

(or hope) that part of why I'm hired is because of what people see in my work. To shoot any

other way would be a compromise to myself and to them. In other words, it's hard to

separate the "must have" shots from the "artistic expression" shots.

Funny story. So does the lens autofocus faster now that it's been greased up? :-)

The Knot scares me :-)

I cut a big rectangular hole in the top of my omnibounce. I saw some other example of that

somewhere before also. It sort off turns the omnibounce into a little mini Lightsphere, but

doesn't throw as much light around as the LS. Like a LS without the dome, it's more efficient

when you're bouncing off of distant surfaces. The results aren't earth-shattering though.

<p>

The trick with any on-camera flash use or modifier is to just be creative with your bouncing

and mix of ambient light.

Reminds me... I've still got maybe 20 or so rolls of APX-100 in 120 sitting in the fridge. One

day I'll make good use of it. That was one of my favorite films before digital got in the way of

my film habits.

Another nice thread Anne. I got your new photolovecat blog bookmarked!.<p>

It's not free but there's a lot of great action on the <a href="http://

www.digitalweddingforum.com" target="blank">DWF</a><p>

Also, here's some non-wedding specific stuff...<p>

<a href="http://www.pdnonline.com" target="blank">PDN magazine</a> - great for the

latest industry news and their annual wedding issue

<p>

<a href="http://www.updig.org/guidelines/index.php" target="blank">Universal

Photographic Digital Imaging Guidelines</a> - for digital newbies<p>

<a href="http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/photography.htm"

target="blank">www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/photography.htm</a> - for luddites

who still love 35mm film cameras<p>

<a href="http://photonotes.org/articles/eos-flash/" target="blank">PhotoNotes.org</a>

- Canon EOS Flash Photography Info & many other articles<p>

Thanks for this thread Marc. I think albums are a huge selling point and marketing tool

and I'm going to be focusing much more energy in that direction this year. I think

InDesign could really help.

<p>

Also thanks to Anne for that New School link.<p>

It's raining here so I just spent the last few hours watching Kevin's video tutorial and

playing around with the trial version of CS2 InDesign (I don't have the whole Creative

Suite). It really is rather easy to get going and I can see many advantages over

Photoshop.<p>

One question... Does anyone using InDesign have a good solution for the lack of high-res

JPG exports? Do you know which album companies & printers accept PDF's? Do you do as

Kevin mentioned and create JPGs from the PDF's (less desirable because it means spending

more money to get the full version of Acrobat) ? Or hopefully the new version of InDesign

will have better export options including JPG.

Yup, I'm using the new Beta version of CS3/ACR which is amazing btw, except that Bridge decides to unexpectedly quit every now and then.<p>

But the curve adjustments can be applied using any editor that has that functionality... CS2, Photoshop 7, Lightroom, the old ACR, etc. <p>

The Vibrance control was new in Lightroom and Adobe incorporated in into the new ACR. It's similar to saturation, but more subtle. But honestly, the biggest factor is the curve adjustment.<p>

As mentioned, these push/cross processing kind of effects are cool and all, but they can easily be overdone. Most trends eventually die. I actually prefer a bit more natural look to my images with only a subtle boost in contrast/saturation. Of course there's endless possiblities and directions you could go. It's just a matter of first knowing the look you want and utilizing any of the many tools at hand to achieve it and develop your own individual style (that's why I never liked pre-packaged actions).

Here's a quick example. Obviously this is just one image and everyone uses different

techniques on different images. And of course, I'm not Bobbi. I'm Rob. I'm looking

forward to learning something from what Bobbi has to say.<p>

Just to illustrate that you don't need to boost saturation or create complicated masks to

get bright colors, the top image is right out of the camera, no adjustments in ACR. Pretty

flat, huh? The bottom image just has an exaggerated s-curve applied. If you're familiar

with film, you know what s-curves are. Basically, taking the characteric curve of the film

and adjusting contrast through varying exposure/development. Okay I also boosted the

"vibrance" slider up to 10. Nothing else. Most of the effect is really accomplished from

the simple curve adjustment. Try it!<p>

Cross processing techniques are just as easy with the new split-toning controls in ACR

and Lightroom.

 

<p><div></div>

Hey Jaimie,<p>

I hear you. I know graphic designers with skills that would put almost any photographer to shame. I certainly don't claim to be in that league.

<p>

Summer - Let us know if you hear anything from Bobbi. This is interesting because I actually almost contacted her a short time ago about something else.

<i>"...knowing many graphic designers and how much time they spend on their skills I would say that it is not as simple as the above poster mentions"</i><p>

hmmm... do I smell a photoshop challenge thread coming up <b>:-)</b>

<p>

I guess "simple" can be a relative term.