kacy_hughes

<p>I agree with Bob. Only give them your best work. I try to narrow down the selection for the couple by keeping only one of the same shot. For example, I take at least 3 or 4 pictures of the couple in one particular spot and they didn't move in any of them so they look like duplicates. Rather than give them all of those, I choose the best one from that series to give them. It saves your time with editing and it also saves them from looking through too many images that look the same. You just need to find what works best for you. I personally like the first one as well because it's more natural and photojournalistic! I'm sure they will love it either way but don't get in the habit of giving them cropped and uncropped options for too many pictures or you'll create way too much work for yourself.</p>

<p>Hopefully someone hasn't already said this...I am just wondering what your background is. You said you are just starting your business so are you wanting this to be a full-time job or something you do on the side? Also if you don't have a large enough portfolio, you may need to start really cheap and eat the cost of your time so that you can build up a portfolio. After that you can raise your prices. I agree that once you have a portfolio you should charge a middle price between the low and high end photographers. I found that I booked a lot more weddings when I raised my prices. It's definitely important to look at your talent..don't just price yourself what you'd be willing to pay for quality wedding photography. As a photographer, you know the value of getting great pictures so your judgement could be off a little. I'm just saying don't start out charging $3,000 for a wedding if your talent is more at the $1,000 level. Just my two cents....good luck :)</p>

<p>I have spent many hours searching online to find out how to create wedding album templates using photoshop. The easiest thing I found was using smart objects. However, I don't always want the standard shape. I want some of my pictures to show up as squares. Is that possible with smart objects? I also found limited info on clipping masks but nothing to tell me how to use them in a wedding album. I would like to design a bunch of templates that I can just plug my pictures into the holes and only the shape I want shows up and the rest is hidden. Can anyone shed some light on this for me? I don't want to buy any album software, I'd like to use PS but album design is taking up so much of my time right now!<br>

Thanks!</p><div></div>

<p>I have been very entertained by all of your responses & overwhelmed that there were so many! I do agree with Mary that there are reasons to give the deposit back to clients but I dont' think that choosing someone else is one of them. If I were to somehow book a wedding for that date, I wouldn't have a problem giving back someone's deposit. However, I will not go out of my way to desperately try to re-book for that date. If one fell into my lap, no harm done. But in the meantime, I am loosing a lot of money by not having a wedding at all on the date they are cancelling.<br>

Anyway, to those of you who are curious as to what I did...I wrote a letter to both the husband and the wife and sent them by certified mail. The husband's letter said that I needed to hear from his wife in writing stating that she wanted to cancel my services and that the retainer fee is non-refundable should she choose to go ahead and cancel. I also put in there that as of right now, I am still holding the date for them until I get written confirmation from the wife stating otherwise. <br>

The wife's letter said that I had heard from her husband that they were wanting to cancel but since she was the one who signed the contract, I needed her to cancel in writing with a signature. I again told her that the deposit was non-refundable if she chose to cancel but I am still holding the date for her until I hear from her otherwise.<br>

I mailed the husband's letter to his law firm and the wife's to their home. <br>

Thanks again for all of the responses. I really appreciate all of your input!</p>

<p>Actually they are already married and now they are doing the big wedding. I definitely think it's just plain rude to cancel because someone told you their photographer was really good. I do agree that he's probably just trying to get it back just in case I would be ok with actually giving it to him. Ethically, I think I am in the right...he doesn't give me a valid reason for wanting to cancel the contract. I will talk to a lawyer friend of mine as well and keep you all posted as to what happens. Thanks for the comments!</p>

I met with a bride back in August about her Jan. 10, 09 wedding. She decided to book with me and sent me the deposit and contract shortly thereafter. Today I got an email from the groom (who happens to be a lawyer) asking me for their deposit back because they decided to hire someone else! My contract states that it's non-refundable. What should I do to handle this? Suggestions please.

Letter from groom, names taken out.

 

"I am (bride's) husband. It is my understanding that (bride) retained you for wedding photographs for our wedding on January 10, 2009 and tendered a $200.00 deposit to you. Please be advised that (bride) and I have selected another photographer at the recommendation from a family member.

 

I believe this notice is sufficient amount of time for you to secure new clients for the January 10, 2009. Therefore, I ask that you refund the $200.00 deposit to my office (see below). Please call me if you have any questions. I would appreciate receipt of the check no later than December 19, 2008. Have a good weekend, and thank you in advance. "

 

How is 3 weeks enough time to book another wedding on that date?!

Here is what my contract says...

 

RESERVATION: A retainer fee of $200.00 (A,B,C) or $300.00 (G,S,P) is required to reserve photography services for your wedding day. Photographer reserves the date and time agreed upon and will not make other reservations for that date and time. For this reason, retainers are non-refundable. The reservation retainer is to be paid at time of signing the contract. The retainer is applied towards the contracted wedding photography package. If the client chooses to break this contract and cancel wedding photography services, clients agree to notify the photographer in writing with signature and date of cancellation.

I recently designed a baby shower invitation in Photoshop. I made the card 4x6 inches with 350 dpi, turned the

background blue, stamped some cute things on there and typed the text in white in the middle. Then I merged all of

the layers and saved it as a JPEG image to print off a bunch. In the printed version (I tried 2 different places) the text

and designs are slightly blurred or pixely. Is there a way to design these types of cards to make everything print

clearly? I also design cards for wedding clients and I just don't know why this particular card didn't turn out as clear.

Thanks! Oh...what size in pixels do I need to make the card to print a 4x6 with nothing cut off? I left plently of room

around the edges of the card and it still printed funny and cut off the bottom of the card and left a white strip on the

top.

I am wondering if there is album design software that will allow me to create and

save page layouts. I want to then be able to customize colors and backgrounds.

Right now I am using photoshop for album design and it takes so long. I would like

to speed things up a bit! I know there is software like picaboo and blurb but I like

to be able to have full control over my designs and they don't always offer the

layouts I am looking for. Thanks for the help!

I had a bride cancel 3 weeks from her wedding. Obvioulsy the deposit is mine

but do I need to have her sign anything saying that the contract we both signed

is now void?

Hi I am thinking about renting a lens for some of my weddings coming up that

will be in dark catholic churches where flash during the ceremony is not

permitted. I also want to check out some other lenses to see what I may want to

purchase for future weddings with the same conditions. I am shooting with a

Canon XTi and right now I am using the kit lens. My rental options are: (all

canon) 24-70mm EOS EF F2.8L, 24-70mm EOS 2.8L USM, or 50mm EOS F1.4

 

What do you all think I should rent? Obviously I would practice with it and I

have a back up body so don't worry.

picaboo.com has really nice leather albums that aren't too expensive. They also allow you to use thousands of different backgrounds. I use this album for my clients in some of their packages. If you design pages in photoshop, you can upload those or you can use their templates.

Actually, Most of the original pictures were overexposed and made the couple's faces way too bright and washed out. So I don't think it's an underexposure problem.

I know it's a different picture...I couldn't remember which one I posted earlier but either way, it doesn't look any pinker to me..<div></div>

Ok I messed around a little more in Photoshop (by the way I only have elements until I get CS2 in a few weeks) but I got the sweater pink. The first picture I will post is an original before any white balance adjustments (RAW). I use Canon's Digital Photo Professional to handle my RAW images. The 2nd picture is my try at fixing the sweater in PS.<div></div>

one more

Here are some that I gave to my client.

I have a client that I took engagement pictures of a few weeks ago. I finished

the editing and gave her all of the pictures. She emailed and said how much she

loved the pictures...but, she was wondering why her bright pink (magenta?)

sweater was red in all of the pictures. She took a picture of the sweater with

her camera and emailed it to me and said "doesn't it look a lot more pink in

this picture?" I have tried messing with the colors in Photoshop and other

programs and can't get it to look much pinker.

I took the photos in RAW and then did shade white balance afterward. The skin

tones looked way better that way. However, even in the original pictures

(before the white balance change) the sweater does not look any pinker. She is

concerned because bright pink is one of her wedding colors and she wants to get

the "problem" worked out now. I have never had a color issue with my camera

before this (or after for that matter).

I'm not really sure what to tell her to appease her concerns. Nor do I know

what I can do to fix the issue. When I took the pictures it was a sunny day but

most pictures were shot in the shade. She was wearing a white shirt underneath

the sweater and her finance was wearing dark brown...I will post a picture but

I'm wondering if the sweater looked pink in the picture she took because 1. she

wasn't wearing it and there was no white shirt underneath it and 2. The flash

cast a white glow/tint onto it making it appear pinker? Any help would be

appreciated.

Is there a way to recover images that have been deleted and then new pictures

were taken on the card as well. I deleted some images and didn't realize they

weren't on my computer. Then I took 120 pictures on the card. Now I need to get

back the 85 images that were deleted prior. Anyone know of anything that would

help? Cardrecovery.com did not work on all of the images.

Thanks Nadine. I think that one of the problems is focusing. The background is sharp in all of my blurry pictures. The ones that are blurry from camera shake, I can definitely tell because everything is blurry. I will continue to practice of course and there weren't too many from that wedding that weren't salvageable. Thanks again.

Thankyou all very much for your help. I really appreciate all of your opinions and will see what I can do about getting a faster lens. In the meantime, I will try to up my ISO, use a tripod in low-light situations, and avoid shooting wide open when shooting groups. Thanks again!

I have started taking more shots in manual mode. Things are going pretty well

except that some of my formal group shots are a little blurry and I'm having to

fix them up in Photoshop. Here's the situation: Late afternoon wedding,

pictures taken in the shade. I am using a canon xti with a speedlite. I have

the camera on manual mode. (lens is 18-55mm) ISO 200. Because of the lighting,

I am having to have the aperture wide open somewhere around f/3.5-f/5.6 with

the shutter speed as low as I can hold it at 1/60. (I should mention that I

have the speedlight on a flash bracket as well) Anyway, I am shooting from 18-

25mm so 1/60 second should be fine to hand hold right? So am I getting blurry

people because of the aperture setting? What do I do if the light is telling me

I have to have the aperture set that low without using a higher ISO? Should I

just ignore the camera meter and set the aperture somewhere around f/7.0 and

keep the shutter as low as I can get it at 1/60 and use my flash to give it

enough light? Should I just start using the tripod for all of the formals in

the shade late in the day? What is a "safe" aperture to go with when I need it

wide open for exposure but also need it clear and in focus? Sorry for all of

the many questions! Thanks in advance for any responses.

Thanks for the responses. Should I get a off camera cord or will I be ok to just push the shutter release myself? Also, I just looked at the lightsphere website and I am very impressed with what it can do. Obviously I won't have one in time for this wedding but would you recommend them?

I have run into lighting issues recently with the bride and groom planning

their ceremony at sunset and pictures of them afterwards. I am shooting a

wedding outdoors tomorrow and the sun sets around 5:40pm. Their ceremony

starts at 5:15 and they want the bride and groom pictures afterward. I don't

have a fast lens, nor do I have lighting besides my speedlight. I know I can

bump up the ISO. What about a tripod? I use a flash bracket usually. Is there

a tripod that can hold the camera and flash bracket or will I have to take the

flash bracket off and put the speedlight directly on the hotshoe? I have been

shooting manually but I did some photos last night after the sunset and the

couple was lit mainly with flash and the background was dark. I don't want

this for the Bride and Groom pictures. They are getting married at a beautiful

place and I'm sure they would like it to be seen in the pictures! Any advice

would help! I am using a canon XTi.

Ok I checked the settings on my camera and I wasn't shooting very many pictures on the 80mm side of the lens but more around 50mm. The shutter speed was 1/60 and the aperture was f/5. ISO 200. My guess is that is was indeed camera shake. It almost makes me want to not use it though if I have to worry so much about what the shutter speed is at.<div></div>

I recently bought a lens from another photographer. It is a tamaron 38-80

lens. I have the canon XTi. Anyway, I recently took engagement photos with it

and some of them came out a little blurry/fuzzy. Luckily, I took so many

pictures it was no big deal to delete the bad ones. My question is, I was

using the lens in auto focus mode. I am wondering if it will work if I use it

in manual mode or if it just won't work with my canon. I'd love to be able to

get some use out of it even if it means doing the focus manually.