rob_piontek

<p>Hi Howard - I'd rather not use strobe... I can and do use an umbrella with a strobe if I need to. The main question is if a large silver reflector is more useful than the normal size gold one I have already, when there isn't much directional light. </p>

<p>I have a sunbounce mini with the zebra/white fabric. I love it, and when the light is right I try to use it whenever possible instead of off camera flash. To me that means there needs to be some strong directional light which I can bounce with the reflector back into the subjects eyes. <br>

<img src="http://robertpiontek.com/en/images/blog/2011.09.28/.junecode/450x950/DSC_6851-Edit.jpg" alt="" width="450" height="596" /><br>

In this example the girl is in the shade, the sun is on it's way down behind her, and I'm bouncing that strong light back into her from the front. My problem is when there isn't enough directional light to get the effect I want on the subject. For example a cloudy day in an open area. I end up using off camera flash most of the time.</p>

<p>But... I debate about buying a silver color fabric for my mini sunbounce (this is about 4 feet by 3 feet in size), or else a larger size reflector (6 feet by 4 feet) also with a silver fabric. How much more flexibility would a larger silver reflector get me?</p>

<p>Thank you! </p>

<p>I would suggest a TLR as a nice compromise. I like to bring a TLR and a P&S and feel this works out really well.</p>

<p>Very nice job. I don't care, however, for the desaturated color images. I think you'd be better off going for B&W. </p>

<p>Unfortunately I tried it, and the install failed. Too bad as I was happy to see it was only 25MB in size!</p>

<p>Hi Marko - does it have a full screen mode that shows only the image without any borders?</p>

<p>JPEG is fine. I have LR, it's very slow on my laptop and does not do a real full screen mode as far as I can figure. There is always some kind of border around the image</p>

<p>If you'd like to make a living at it, I'd encourage you to think about how many clients per week you would like to photograph. How much time per client would you like/want/need to spend to do the job? How much do you want to earn per year? How much per sale goes into costs & overhead? Then you can start to get a feel for what you need to get out of a typical sale in order to meet your goals, and then you can try to figure out how to price your work. </p>

<p>I'm looking for some free or demo software which should be:<br>

1. Light on CPU/RAM - it needs to run on an old laptop<br>

2. Full screen mode where the image fills the screen ENTIRELY (assume the image is sized for the screen).<br>

3. I need to be able to rate and sort/view by the rating (i.e. 1 to 5 stars).<br>

Any suggestions? Thank you in advance!</p>

<p>I suggest you actually try calibrating/checking your own holga to see what distance the symbols actually correspond to. Mine focuses much closer than what I would have thought based on the symbols. </p>

<p>I have been following this thread and just wanted to encourage you to try and realize the problem in the camera, fix it right then and there, rather than after the fact. You'll spend far less time editing, and the final image will likely look better as well. One disadvantage of reflectors is that it can be difficult to get the correct exposure on the subject. That's one advantage of flash. Not saying you should have used flash, just that you can usually put a flash were you want it, and it easy to adjust the power. </p>

<p>Yes I think you are right, I can get a new roll for something like $2. Thanks everyone!</p>

<p>Unfortunately I don't think I have a lab nearby. The places I take my film to send it somewhere else. </p>

<p>I do have light tight bags left over from photo paper. Can I put the film in one of these bags and just take it in to the shop? That would be a great solution!</p>

<p>At the end of a 35mm roll, the film pulled out of the canister, while in the camera. It is still in the camera. It is color C-41 film. I am not sure what to do with it. Nothing super important but it would be nice to save it somehow. My best idea is to try and develop it as B&W at home, I could load it in to the developing tank in a changing bag no problem. I've never done this, but my impression is that it is possible. My other idea was to load it into a re-usable bulk film canister (which I don't have and haven't used before), then send it to the lab. But then I wonder if the lab can deal with this? Thoughts?</p>

<p>Best was maybe not the right word! I guess I would just say that I find it difficult to get something I'm happy with when I try something in the sun. Maybe it's me that's the problem! I agree about the snap, too, in shade. But you can get this back without too much trouble by adding a light source. Here is a shade shot with 1 umbrella....<br>

<img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/13780692-lg.jpg" alt="" width="720" height="580" /><br>

One thing I did try once that worked really well (in the sun) was to block the sun with my shoot-through umbrella, as the main. But I still used flash in the same umbrella, basically bringing the exposure back up to what the bare sun would give. The advantage was my 'sun' was now bigger, and my subjects weren't squinting. Only will work if the sun is not too high, though. Learned this trick from a smart person in this forum!<br>

To me the challenge with lighting is learning to understand what the problems are, what you want it to look like, and then how to get it. </p>

<p>My feeling is that reflectors are not a good option when the subject is backlit by strong sun. The problem is that the light required to balance is essentially the same as the sun, and your subject won't be able to look at you. So in this case flash is better, but now you have problems with your max sync speed or flash power. If you do get the balance right it feels a bit unnatural as your brain knows where the sun is. What can work well is to have your subject in open shade, and bounce sunlight in to use as your main light. </p>

<p>The best thing you can do to start is get out of direct sun! Sure you can work with it, but it's way easier to simply avoid it and look for better light. The better the light is to start with, the easier it is, and the more options you have, to get it where you want it.</p>

<p>It has to be a real frame. I wondered about the alignment as well, but I am more optimistic. If the frame is somewhat wide and black, probably minor misalignment won't be very visible. Or, if I simulate a large matted print alignment also is not so critical.</p>

<p>I didn't know they were making digital frames that large, but 32" is still way too small. </p>

<p>The idea is to project into a frame, so that you get the impression of seeing an actual framed print, as it would look hanging on your wall.</p>

<p>I just ordered a projector to present my work to my clients. I would like to project into a frame, in their home. I think I've decided I will use a square frame so I don't need to worry about rotating it. What is the best way to hang the frame for the presentation session? I could imagine using an easel, or rigging something with my light stands, but neither seem ideal.</p>

<p>Also, what is the best material to project on? Is normal white canvas ok, or is something specific for projection screens better?</p>

<p>I think some people, possibly the OP as well, are mixing hair lights with rim lights?</p>

<p>Thought I don't use mine very much, what I really like about the 18-200 is that it does go to 200, and that it has VR. For what it is the IQ is totally fine. </p>

<p>Check out this book: Marketing Fine Art Photography by Alain Briot. There is a chapter on doing shows. There are many things you can do to increase the perceived value of what you offer, which will help to make your experience more successful. </p>

<p>I haven't tried it. But you should be able to find an MF epson flatbed film scanner for $50 on the auction site. I picked up an epson 3200 which will do up to 4x5. Quality is not much different from the new models available today. The main difference is there is no ICE dust removal.</p>

<p>I had a 6x4.5 neg printed at 1 meter X 1.5 meters (I guess about 40 x 60 inches) and it looks great. It is soft and grainy close up, but from normal viewing distance it's really nice. IMO you can go much larger than many people say you should. Wall size prints don't need 300 dpi - text on a page needs 300 dpi. You can test yourself at A4 to get a feeling for it.</p>