ibdnzgr

<p>I've also been robbed by scam sites that flat out never deliver or do just as the site above did. But I've also had incredibly great results with other sites and then seen them go down in productivity... poor management or bad marketing that year or whatever.<br>

As far as Decidio (mentioned in this thread) I have booked several weddings from them and have gotten legitimate leads. It is a free service other than paying for the lead... so I am not sure why that particular site would be blacklisted by anybody. I have had great success with OurWeddingDay.com and with WedPlan.net (my main lead services). They are legitimate and produce LOTS of real leads for me on a DAILY basis for very little cost. Photographypros.com is also a good site.<br>

I did the Knot for a while. They are legitimate, but never gave me more than a couple of weddings and are very expensive. Gatheringguide is also another good one... free and not very productive, but not a scam. Eventective is also a legitimate site and I have booked weddings through them. <br>

NEVER got anything useful after paying $199 for weddepot.com. They had a fantastic looking interface but no local leads. Respond.com used to send me very consistent and productive leads but not for the past two years so I dropped them. If they got their act together I would be glad to go back to them.<br>

Especially don't give money to a site that doesn't already have local photographers you recognize signed up. There is probably a reason!!!!!</p>

<p>Indeed a nightmare.. I am so glad I have a wedding to shoot Saturday. Yep, got my authentic Canon gear, complete with the 70-200 f/2.8 IS... :)</p>

<p>Ian Danziger<br>

Member PPA, Accredited BBB, Geared up and ready to shoot!</p>

<p>Is the question about "combating" the $400 weddings or the $400 wedding "photographers?" If you have the superior talent and offer a $400 wedding then you basically eliminate the wannabee photographer because they can't offer the level of product that you do. And let me tell you just because you charge $400 to show up and shoot the wedding, doesn't mean the customer should get "everything" for that.<br>

All that said, my full package runs in the neighborhood of $2,000 or so, here in Oklahoma. More with added options, less without. But basically the bride gets everything she could want with the higher level such as a print package, digital negatives, video montage, engagement session, etc. The lower level prices get the same "coverage" of the wedding... full day coverage, unlimited images, free online gallery, lifetime retouching. But they DON'T get a disk, don't get downloadable images and print prices are much higher. But they DO get the photos of the day, safe and secure in an online gallery that never expires. And I let brides upgrade their packages at anytime in the future as funds become available or through referrals. This means that two years from now, that $500 bride can pay to upgrade and lower her print prices or get a disk, etc. An extra $1,000 arriving in the mail "out of the blue" for a job that is already finished is really nice!<br>

Quality of the product remains high. Lower budget brides can get high(er) budget coverage of the wedding day. Brides with the money can get what they expect at the price they expect to pay. Everybody is happy.<br>

I never understood why so many photographers feel that lower prices should mean lower service... less time on the job, fewer images, etc. I have photographed so many events that have paid off year after year as people keep ordering from the galleries that never expires. (yay for my smugmug account!!!!).<br>

Anyway, anybody wanting to see what I have come up with for my business model is welcome to view the site and online galleries. Those galleries in their entirety serve as my portfolio.</p>

<p>Ian</p>

<p>I bought the 70-200 f/2.8 IS last year and don't know how I ever survived without it. Incredible lens for wedding photography and I actually end up using it for engagement, family portraits and seniors as well. Fantastic depth of field. For wide angle (absolutely necessary for weddings) I use the 17-55 f/2.8 IS. I use the Boda Dry bag to carry and swap lenses and just sling the spare body/flash over my back durign the ceremony. But DEFINITELY an advantage to a variable zoom with constant f/2.8 over a 200mm. Just more versatile.</p>

<p>I photographed a couple for an engagement session. This was at the end of a pedestrian bridge and leaning back against a railing. Not till later when I enlarged the image to 20x30 did I see graffiti on the railing just to the left of the bride's hand, written in sharpie. Well, I was glad to have caught it and photoshoped it out!</p>

<p>I think you are right on target.I think people are sick of the mall packages for single poses and are refreshed by the choices we offer by taking LOTS of photos and giving them the option of ordering individually or getting everything on CD. I usually do full body shot of the couple, close up head and shoulders, child kissing dad, dad kissing daughter, individual full body shot of the daughter and close up of daughter.<br>

I do this type of event all the time. Just finished doing onsite Santa 4x6 prints for $5 each but also recently finished a couple of shoots... family portrait day at a school where families paid a $20 sitting fee as a donation to the school to buy equipment. Then they can buy prints starting at $10 online as well as digital downloads. I took maybe 40 photos of each family. They pretty much opted to just order a CD with all images and print permission for $75. For Daddy-Daughter dances, I like to charge a $10 sitting fee per couple, take lots of photos and then let them order prints online at 4x6 $1.50, 5x7 $3 and 8x10 $5 or $10 full res digital download. Maybe the CD option too. It is VERY popular.</p>

<p>I may try those Powerex or Eneloop. Has anybody tried this... just wondered since it claims 3000mah...</p>

 

<h1 >Bower XPB430 Bower AA Rechargeable Battery 3000mah 4 Pack</h1>

<p>Simple solution that will make money for you. I have a basic website that has nothing but information and pricing. All my client galleries are hosted in a nother site by smugmug.com that offers unlimited storage and file size for a very small fee per year. You can save $5 off your smugmug site using my coupon code tzuOgkf1Q1pBk.<br>

Your smugmug.site can be made to look exactly like your regular site and you can link back and forth. Also you can of course set prices and various gallery options so people can order prints, digital downloads and merchandise off your gallery. All you do is have the money deposited into your checking account. Pretty simple.<br>

<br /> Ian</p>

<p>http://ibd-designs.com is my main site and my galleries at http://ibd-designs.smugmug.com.</p>

<p><img src="file:///C:/Users/Ian/AppData/Local/Temp/moz-screenshot-2.png" alt="" /> <img src="file:///C:/Users/Ian/AppData/Local/Temp/moz-screenshot.png" alt="" /> <img src="file:///C:/Users/Ian/AppData/Local/Temp/moz-screenshot-1.png" alt="" /></p>

<p>I've had trouble with SD cards getting weakened from inserting repeatedly into card readers. Takes too long to just plug the camera in! At any rate, one time the card casing just split apart at the seams. I just managed to hold the plastic together enough to get it into the card reader and unload all the images before it was a total loss. So just try to at least put it in a reader and see what you can get off it.<br>

And it is a ritual for me... walk in the door from a shoot, download the images to external HD and then burn a DVD of unedited images.<br>

Ian</p>

<p>On the issue of reducing time to allow lower budget packages, I provide flat coverage... no time limit, free online gallery and lifetime retouching. From there, the only difference is in the price of the prints and/or availability of digital downloads or images on USB drive. Coverage of the wedding remains the same and I always let brides upgrade their packages after the wedding, either through payment or through referrals. Relieves the stress on the client if they can only afford a minimal package. At least they are getting full coverage and the opportunity to get the lower print prices and better access to images later as funds permit.<br>

So... I would never leave before the wedding is over or the client simply releases me to go. The face-stuffing time is great for just following the bride around greeting people, for photographing cute kids, for catching more detail shots, for eating!!!!, for swapping out batteries, etc. And NEVER eat if there is ANYTHING you should be pointing a camera at. I can't tell you how many times I've seen videographers stuffing their faces as the best man is giving a toast!<br>

Guess the standard is to leave early, provide minimal coverage and keep adding to the fees if the party goes late... but I just don't operate that way. Just a philosophical difference.</p>

<p>I never did understand why some photographers impose short time limits on wedding coverage. I charge plenty enough and provide full day coverage, typically 8-12 hours without "watching the clock." What is more important for me to do on their special day... grocery shopping? LOL...They are paying for my services and I am there for them.. to capture every moment of their wedding day. End result is a story in photos and lots of details in between. I have always been amazed by the way a photo literally freezes a moment in time.</p>

<p>I make it a point to capture at some point in the wedding, every guest attending. I usually go up and down the aisles photographing guests sitting, waiting for the groom to make his entrance, etc. Then at the reception, I take lots of candids, and yes, I make a point of shooting every table. I try to avoid the stuffing the face shots. I like to follow the bride around the room as she greets each table, mingling and hugging the guests. Some guests seem to HATE being photographed and it is like pulling teeth to get people to so much as look up at me as I am standing there pointing my rig at them. And then there are other weddings where people at each table call out to me over and over to take their photo. Of all the weddings I've done, a Vietnamese wedding was the most receptive for table shots. As soon as I approached, EVERYBODY at the table stopped what they were doing, turned and posed for me. Lot of happy faces. And then as a formal event, the DJ went from table to table, recording comments from a representative from each group to the bride and groom (followed by a toast... lots of toasting). And I followed, taking additional table photos. And THEN we did photos of the bride and groom with EACH guest in the lobby of the reception hall. LOTS of photos, but very much enjoyable. The reward for me was the feeling that the bride and groom and all their guests were happy I was there and glad to be photographed. Feel free to view the entire wedding for John and Quynh at http://ibd-designs.smugmug.com. Ended up with about 2,100 photos! My point is that I don't feel obligated by what I DO or DON'T shoot. The workflow is dictated by the event. If it happens I shoot it. And if guests are receptive to being photographed.. then I photograph them.<br>

And something to remember... people tend to order photos of themselves! So the more photos you take of the guests, the more likely they are to order prints.</p>

<p>I use Smugmug.com for my online client galleries (the photos sell themselves and my business) and Smugmug is EXTREMELY visible in google. I find my online galleries in searches more than my main website! Here is a coupon code to get $5 off a professional account there tzuOgkf1Q1pBk . I've made thousands of dollars in photo sales from that website. My galleries at http://ibd-designs.smugmug.com and you can actually customize your homepage there to actually BE yor main web page. There is NO LIMIT on uploads to the pro account.<br>

For my main website at http://ibd-designs.com I just reserved my domain name, leased some webspace (fatcow.com) and maintain it all myself with Adobe DreamWeaver. Of course my photos are my artwork, but as a graphic designer as well, I am able to customize to suit my needs. Stil a simple site but works for me.</p>

<p>Ian</p>

<p>In all honesty, this has not been an issue with me since I started using Canon's highlight tone priority system. The camera controls that in situations where it simply would get blown out. Just like the IS in my lenses keeps the images extremely sharp. Yes there are lots of things you should be doing right to get the proper results, but this feature has made such a huge difference I don't want to shoot wddings without it. And in the most extreme cases... you can fix in Photoshop. Try adding a layer, set blending mode to multiply and then adjust the opacity. Keep doing that and guess what.. there are your details! Then you only have to dodge or delete areas that ended up too dark. Easy fix. Perfect photos.</p>

<p>Try learning how to use your camera, how to use flash for outdoors shots. How to use studio lights. Once you are able to adjust your camera settings to create a properly exposed and sharp image with your very advanced digital camera (autofocus, exposure control, etc.) then the rest is up to you to properly frame the shot. How else will it be frame worthy? Try looking through the viewfinder and literally capturing the image you see. If you don't see a great image then why capture it? I am not saying you have to shoot in manual mode or buy expensive lenses. Just use the Program mode for starters, but pay attention to your subjects through the camera... where the light is hitting their faces, their expressions, where their hands are, etc. If you can't train yourself to "see" the photo then how can anybody expect you to capture it? Anybody can press the shutter and it even has a machine gun mode... but what is the purpose of that other than exercise for your finger. If I take a photo and it doesn't look right, I delete it right away and take another. I dont' bring back bad or blurry images.</p>

<p>In a two hour engagement shoot I might come away with anywhere from 200 to 500 photos. Feel free to browse the engagement galleries to see the quantity and quality of my work.... just as a sample. http://ibd-designs.smugmug.com.</p>

<p>ID</p>

<p>I am actually glad you started this question. I've got a multicoated UV filter on my lenses (all of them) but after a recent outdoor wedding shoot I'm seriously thinking about getting a good circular polarizer filter for those outdoor shoots so I get a blue sky, cloud details, etc. And I think Tiffen has a "low light" polarizer filter for using indoors that only affects your light by one stop. I am thinking the polarizer would also help eliminate glare and reflection on people's glasses and particularly my own reflection on glass windows behind the subjects.<br>

That said, I've also found the diffusing filters... and realized that I am "softening" many of my shots of brides to smooth out the details in their skin. These filters promise to smooth out that skin from the start without affecting sharpness of the eyes which is very important. Why not get the soft look right away and not have to do all that work in photoshop?<br>

I really wish filters came with a hinge setup so I could just open and close them to apply quickly without having to unscrew them from the lense! I have Canon 17-55 2.8 IS and Canon 70-200 2.8 IS.</p>

<p>Ian</p>

<p>As a professional wedding photographer, I really can't go emailing over 1,000 6mb files to a customer. I upload all my edited images in full resolution to my pro account at smugmug.com where they may be displayed at various resolutions and downloaded at those sizes as well as the full resolution image. You can see what I am talking about on my account there ... http://ibd-designs.smugmug.com. Also, if you want to get a discount on joining smugmug, you can use my coupon code: tzuOgkf1Q1pBk<br>

<br /> Another quick and dirty way of downsizing photos is photoshop's automated web gallery tool. You can specify the pixel dimensions of the large images as well as the thumbnails. I just generate the gallery and delete all but the images folder. Then I just use those files as a low-resolution version suitable for email.</p>

<p>A lot depends on how you cover a wedding... whether you only shoot for two hours or like I do.. shooting a solid 8 hours or more. I wear comfortable black dress shoes (or solid black tactical boots for outdoor events), black dress slacks, black polo shirt and a dressy black jacket. I wear a utility belt with business cards, memory cards, lens cleaning tools, and lots of extra batteries as well as my Canon flash battery pack to power my 580. I wear two cameras (which can get uncomfortable). Once body has the 70-200 2.8 IS and the other has the 17-55 2.8 IS. The camera bags stay in the car. I have great endurance, but in my early 40s, the button down shirts tend to get untucked or gap and look really BAD under the duress of work. The black polo works fine and I actually change to a clean polo halfway through the day on summer shoots.</p>

<p>I've used associate photographers as second shooters, etc. and that is fine since I still own the copyright and can treat the images as part of the bride's product. But having two actual photographers (not just guest enthusiasts) running around capturing shots of their own sort of "steals" from my coverage of the wedding. I would feel silly going up to people to do poses and shots that the other couple just completed while I was doing another shot. As professionals being paid to be there, this is our "performance" and any kind of competition just changes the worflow and the total ambiance of the event. I would be constantly having one eye on them to see what they are up to. Consider explaining to the photog couple that you have an exclusivity clause and the only way they can shoot the wedding too is to sign a work for hire contract with you and pay them $10 as part of the contract. This way you own the copyright (why should they care if they are just doing this for the bride's benefit) and can use the images in the albums and as part of the presentation to the bride with her fully aware that their work is included. Maybe make their images displayed seperately. This is what I do with my associates' work. Their part of the wedding goes into a different online gallery. And if you ARE selling prints afterward, they would totally KILL your sales. And what happens if they decide to sell their prints too? They will have totally usurped your gig. NOT COOL.</p>

<p>You might do a simple trick in photoshop. Select all, copy, paste new layer, blending mode on the top layer to multiply. Now adjust the opacity so it isn't too dark. Then subtle burning or dodging.</p>

<p>I did a wedding after party in a pub (bar). I did a lot of creative bouncing with my flash. used my hand to additionally diffuse or direct the light. Did some shots without flash. Black and white worked the best in the end.</p>

<p>http://ibd-designs.smugmug.com/gallery/5404609_yugTJ#330680175_rMPKe</p>

<p>Add me to the list. My price is well under the budget, so transportation and lodging fees should not be any problem. Unlimited images, no time limit, free online gallery that never expires, freely downloadable full resolution images, inexpensive print ordering, USB drive, lifetime retouching. Incredible images capturing the moments of your day. Combination of photojournalistic and traditional with plenty of digital enhancement.</p>

<p>I use the Canon battery grip with my bodies and can shoot an entire battery on those two batteries in the camera. Of course I also use the 580EX flash with its own eight-battery pack attached to my utility belt. So all the flash power comes from the battery pack and the two camera batteries provide more than enough power to run the camera all night. I use the 17-55 f/2.8 IS for the majority of my shots. The 70-200 f/2.8 is perfect for the long shots down the aisle during the ceremony or from the balcony, and for great shots at the reception. The flash battery back allows for very quick shots in succession without having to wait for the flash to recharge. Incredible for flower toss, cake cutting, wedding party walking down the aisle, etc.<br>

Best bet for the future... don't even take the kit lenses. Sell them or just keep them for when you are ready to sell your bodies and upgrade. Get a wide angle f/2.8 (like the 17-55 IS) or even the new IS kit lens. Image stabilization is incredible! Anyway, nothing wrong with your XT bodies, but you might note that the XSI which isn't very expensive... has highlight tone priority and other features as well as much higher resolution. Basically it helps with shooting wedding dresses so the white doesn't get blown out and you keep the details in shots.<br>

Forget about the lenses without low f/ranges... like the f/4-5.6 zoom. Totally worthless unless you outside in the daytime. Furthermore those lenses will make your flash have to work harder and eat through the batteries faster.</p>

<p>I make a point of telling people up front that they will never find me grazing when I should be capturing a moment.. but I also tell them that after 7 hours of constant shooting I may be getting a bit hungry and will only eat once guests have had their turn and once things have gotten to a point where I am not missing anything. And then I only take what I can quickly eat and get back to shooting. I certainly don't sit at a table and feast. More like grab a carrot stick and a glass of iced tea then shoot some more.. then maybe a meatball and a cheese square, then back to shooting. Usually the bride or groom have to insist I get something.<br>

Really, it is a good idea to eat BEFORE you start shooting... and eat something simple and not too filling. I go for small and high calory... usually a cheeseburger or something and an energy drink. Also keep a bottle or two of sportsdrink handy.</p>

<p>Ian</p>

<p>I think a potential client asking about my availability on a date and even setting up a meeting is NOT the same as somebody saying they want to hire me. I respond to several inquiries at once for a particular date. Maybe one responds, maybe several... maybe none. Brides often send the same spam mail to a dozen or so photographers just to see who is available and some even plan to meet with several photographers the same day or week before making their decision. Don't start celebrating just because a bride asks if you are available on a date! When I respond to an inquiry I say that I am interested in providing services on their date, I describe my services, refer them to my website for details and then say that if they are interested that they should immediately contact me to CONFIRM my availability. I also clearly state that the ONLY way to reserve my services and LOCK in the current rate is to send me the retainer and contract. Once a client contacts me stating they are actually hiring me, I consider the date TAKEN for five days pending receipt of the retainer and contract. I also clearly state that if I am not available on their date when they do finally decide to hire me, that I will send TWO associates to cover their wedding for the same price and services. I have double booked several dates this way. Sometimes I offer incentives for prompt booking, particularly if the wedding is a year or more away. Definitely be honest and say you are meeting with another client about the same date but don't make it look like you are trying to pressure them into a decision. You are SUPPOSED to be such a hotshot photographer that brides are on a waiting list to book you anyway right? :)</p>