toddcwilson

<p>Lightroom antique, recovery, and reduced exposure.</p><div></div>

OH - and No cameras from pros at the wedding. Digital p&s on tables maybe. Points is for people to have fun. You may not be able to get rid of the narcissism of their professions; however, you can gen the tools out of their hands long enough for some fun. Might actually be cool back at the office when all photog's had the same cheap p/s digital cameras and were forced to expound upon creative experience/ inspiration. Other thin, there will be a limited number exposures so they will have to get back to the social gathering. GOOD LUCK!

"In the years I have worked with you, developed relationships with each and every one of you, I would be personally devastated if you were present at this joyous occasion and I looked back on my photo album and saw you in a capacity other than sharing the love that I have meticulously planned and thought out for this special day."

Some venues (spas, hotels, etc.) will only recommend you if you are listed with a 'preferred' registering publication. No vetting whatsoever. My suspicion is a little kickback - or "referral fee" is occurring in these situations - unconfirmed though but just makes sense since there isn't any monitoring of quality and the only barrier to entry is a $500 fee. I've seen several such books/ publications and they are thick. Although I'd like to work with some of the venues, there are certainly some vendors I do not want my name remotely associated with. Take some wedding planners out to lunch and offer them some really nice photography for promotional use - $500 much better spent.

Or maybe she will be flexible if you have her photographers as guests and open up to outside work? Just a thought?

Invite the other photographers/ employer as guests, and say that it is important to you that they enjoy this wonderful celebration - and get the photographer you want. This assuming you like your co-workers;)

Well, hard to say without knowing what time of the day and that the ground surface consist of. However, I was a second once and recommended to the, main at his request, what my thoughts were on a beach in July at 7:00 PM without shade. As I watched the processional I noticed that nobody was squinting and I didn't need fill flash. This was roughly a 45 degree angle (give or take) from the sun. So, come from formal time when I was asked I chimed in , and with a little fill flash I think it all worked out well. Keep in mind the line-up though so as to not cast unnecessary shadows.

Ah - No need to even partition you Mac these days. VM Ware runs as a file. Insane. Fast. Large infrastructures implement this protocol for setting up domains, trees, forests ... crazy. BUT - no need for a partition if you don't want one.

OH!- and the beauty is you can run your Win App while in OSX - just make sure you add virus protection installation for the windows operation. This is also good too for sites that are optimized for IE. Easy solution all around, just takes a little time.

"MAC is not as popular these days so you might need to organize to run the software with your MAC as a PC based one. I have a few friends who can run both MAC and windows compatible on their same computer and that solves the problem."

 

Most likely a virtual machine like VM Ware. There are several others out there but this on got the best press at the time I got it (4 months ago).

 

"MAC is not as popular these days so you might need to organize to run the software with your MAC as a PC based one."

 

Aside from the commercials we see;) the financials for these companies tell a little different story - both server based and end user. Although not dominant, they are becoming more popular. POINT HERE - cross-platform capability is the way ahead. Good luck!

VM Ware for Mac and install Windows on your Mac machine. Them install whatever app you need for your particular situation in the Windows environment. I know, sounds counter intuitive, did to me at first, but for those apps that still hold out only for windows it's the way to go. Good luck.

Oh, and I provide 100 4x6's up front. Sorry.

I see people in the 4x6 range of course, but the 5x7 I see a lot of. Now, funny thing is I give print rights with instructions, but my instructions are a little detailed and color correction gets folks a lot so they still come back. But I did the same and built in the loss in print sales, discounted it just a bit to make it fair to offset their cost, and came up with my general pricing. I don't see any large print sales anymore that aren't collages, and in 1 couples house I saw what would have been a 11"x14" but was a collage of 4"x6" in a 3 dimensional arrangement. Sounds funny, but very tasteful. They were beautiful shots, and what I personally am seeing is couples want more on display, in a classy and sophisticated way rather than 1 large image. Blame it on the multimedia world.

BTW - that was just 1 diffuser on the master SB-800 mounted on the camera. The other 2 no diffusion firing into the umbrellas at +2. This should overcome your fluorescent light at distance if the ceilings are very high and the lights are a good distance away. You want the flash to become the main light source as much as possible. The diffuser on the camera stops the light down a bit, but also evenly disperses it. The light from the umbrellas will already be nicely dispersed. This is a light weight system with minimal setup time and sets you far, far apart of others at the event snapping shots of your setup who do not have the advantage of your lighting. Somethings it's technical proficiency like this, along with creativity, good demeanor, and mind blowing photo's that get referrals.

Oh, and with this setup you are good to go for future indoor formals. Plus it is light anf easy ti set up.

2 flash stands with sb-800's and 2 45" Photogenec umbrellas. Use TTL and set camera to ISO 400. Set the SB-800 on the D300 as master and use the diffuser. The 2 SB-800's on the stands add about 2 stops. I say all of this assuming the worst in your "high Ceiling" statement with no bounce ability. I use these umbrellas and settings in less than favorable lighting and get GREAT results. Good luck!

Get a day job, one that pays your rent, groceries, utilities, and can accommodate a savings program to fun your long term goal of becoming a wedding photographer. Now, if you can swing that in the photography industry then great, but you would be one of the luck few to start out in a profession on one's choice and being happily compensated. Find something 9-5 that allows you to assist a pro who's style you aspire to emulate. Good pro's may not let you use the work in you portfolio, so once you get enough experience under you belt take on less work and seek out your own. Most important thing though, LEARN BUSINESS (not necessarily the business of photography). Different. Learn tax, contract law, marketing, etc. Keep your $2000 while in college, you'll need it when you get out. Oh, SB-400 is a waste on my opinion for weddings. Low power, limited tilt, more of a pain than an asset. Fisheye is a creative lens, period. I've seen group shots done where the photographer was on the roof of a building and took a shot of a group, but the fisheye effect was what they were after. Right now you have $2000 (assuming it isn't credit a card). I think it would be good money chasing bad money as a student doing weddings. Brides who hire college students are most likely on a very tight budget and are not willing to spend on a photographer's creative abilities, no matter his/ her equipment. Just think it through.

Funny William , that nasty black and yellow Bic lighter is gone though!

Marc,

 

Couldn't help it. Beautiful couple. Great setting. Beautiful dress ... then there is a plastic yellow Bic lighter, Always happens to me as well! Great vantage point though.

Usually try to get the bride and father coming down the aisle from about the 4th row, then move quickly further

down the aisle once they pass to get a shot of the flowing gown. Then remain in position for the father to give

the bride away with a longer lens.<div></div>

Usually try to get the bride and father coming down the aisle, then move quickly further down the aisle once they pass to get a shot of the flowing gown. Then remain in position for the father to give the bride away with a longer lens.

Try more exposures in your bracketing range. There just isn't must dynamic range the the difference in EV of -2 to +2. Try something like 5, 7, or 9 stops. Nothing less that 5 though. This was shot with a D70s - 5 exposures merged for HDR - just learning how to do it.<div></div>

In this order - 50 1.8, 12-24, then 18-200. The 50 is nice and sharp, and with a small group you can get some nice shots there (head and shoulders). Although I've not used the Tokina 12-24, from what I've read you'll get great results. Ultra wides are nice for small groups provided you have a nice background. I personally don't think you need another lens for this assignment. The 12-24 I think opens the creative doors wide open with a nice beach setting in the early AM or sunset. If you are shooting into the sunset you will need a good flash as mentioned above, and with a group of 10 you will need 2 sb-800's, 1 in the camera commanding the 2nd remote flash on a simple stand.

A lot of good info already, but here is a neat resource to help get your head around DOF.

 

http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html

Sole proprietor, Liability Insurance, Errors and Omissions Insurance, detailed contract. Also, business license in my county and registered to collect and remit sales tax. I've heard of many businesses folding up because of run-in's with their local DOR.