kev_400d

<p>Hi All, Thanks again for all your responses. (Particularly WW). </p>

<p>To answer some of your points: </p>

 

<blockquote>

<p>Amongst your reading – <a href="/wedding-photography-forum/00bsPR" rel="nofollow">read this and then act on it</a>:</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Great article, interesting to consider how someone who is clearly an accomplished pro 'tographer had challenges with his first wedding. I'm a very methodical person and intend to spend a lot of time understanding what will happen when and therefore where I should stand when. I intend to do that with the Groom on a reccy. several months ahead of time. Which will also give me the opportunity to test lighting levels from my intended standing positions. <br>

The summary points of the article were (with my comments in <strong>BOLD</strong>) </p>

<ol>

<li>Use equipment you know well; well enough that you aren't thinking about it. Don't buy a bunch of new equipment unless it's backup. You aren't going to make the right shots because you have some new equipment. And that back up gear should be gear that you already use and understand. <strong>100% agree. I am very familiar with all my equipment and have 10 months to get familiar with any new equipment. For starters my photography has been missing defuser / bounce card and the associated skills (and they're cheap) so I'll probably get started on that right away. </strong></li>

<li>Spend a lot of time with the people getting married (and anyone else in the decision loop) to find out what they want and to give realistic expectations. <strong>Totally on board with that, I know the B+G very well, I plan on bringing my limitations clearly to their attention and will work with them on the "must have" and "nice to have" shot list. </strong></li>

<li>If you are not going to do what you should do, which is assist first, then hire someone who knows a lot more than you. <strong>Hmm, interesting story about sub-contracting, however seeing as this is pro-bono, I don't have this option, I will certainly ensure that at the weddings I attend between now and then I am "thinking photographer" eg where would I stand now, where is the pro standing, when does he anticipate action and thus move position. </strong></li>

</ol>

<p>I fully intend to make up for some of my shortcomings by doing extra prep. Where a pro has the luxury of their experience I need to make up for this by doing much of my "thinking" ahead of time. </p>

<p>Re CF cards, I've got a couple of new pro quality 8GB CF cards so I'll use them (and bring spares). <br>

Re Trendy ultra-wide dancefloor shots. I'll just have to skip them and keep coveting the 10-22 <br>

Re long lens. This requires some thought, I could rent a 70 200 f2.8 IS, but then wouldn't be able to practice with it, A friend has a 70-200 f4 (non-IS) that he would probably lend me or I could buy a lens but, good = expensive when you get to telephoto. I do need a telephoto for the rest of my photography. </p>

<p>Thanks everyone. </p>

<p>Regarding backup, I was thinking my 400D and kit lens would suffice most of the pics that the caused the B+G to ask me to photograph their wedding were taken on the 400D and obviously I am very familiar with this camera. I am also considering buying a bunch of 1GB CF cards and swapping them frequently to minimise the impact of a card failure. Is this good practice? </p>

<p><strong>Re Flash:</strong></p>

<p>I was thinking that the on camera flash (on both of my cameras) might be a suitable backup but now I'm not so sure. I'm pretty accomplished at bounce flash and find the results pleasing, however when there isn't a convenient white ceiling I tend to push the ISO, Aperture and shutter speed as far as possible and use direct flash to pick up the rest with varying results, perhaps a good diffuser would improve things? I have also got pleasing results photographing people outdoors by under-exposing by a stop or 2 and allowing the flash to fill in the people. With FEC, I tend to chimp the image / histogram and adjust accordingly. </p>

<p>I forgot my flash at a friends wedding a few years ago and found that because the venue's (trendy) lighting had almost zero blue, my indoor evening pictures were (to me) unsatisfactory, so perhaps I will buy another 430exii (I've been wanting to experiment with my 7D's ability to control multiple flashes wirelessly). </p>

<p><strong>Re Lens: </strong></p>

<p>I tend to use my 50 for portraits or pictures of "things" and my 28 for scenes or groups. A super-wide for the trendy "dancefloor" shots is attractive. Is the 17 on a 17-55 wide enough for this? I'm pretty committed to crop so I'd benefit from this lens big time. I definitely need a longer zoom, but which one? The 70-200 f4 IS is out of my price range. My only real option is the 70-300 f4-5.6 IS. Is this adequate? </p>

<p>Hmm so: <br>

- 17-55 - £680<br>

- 70-300 f4-5.6 IS - £250<br>

- 430 exii - £190 <br>

- Grand TOTAL - £1120 </p>

<p>£1120 is totally out of budget! Maybe I'll get the 70-300 and the 430, use my 28 for group shots, 50 for people shots, 70-300 for "reportage" shots and my 18-55 for anything wider than 28. Will this work?</p>

<p>Pointers towards tutorials on shutter dragging would be appreciated. Also Flash modification (diffusers seem to be cheap enough) as I haven't always been happy with my indoor shots when there isn't a convenient white ceiling. </p>

<p>Luckily the venue is very close to my house and I've already agreed with the Groom to do a couple of reconnaissance missions (they have a bar / restaurant that is open to the public). So I'll be able to suss out: lighting, focal length, where I should stand etc. </p>

<p>Anyway lots of time for thinking / practicing between now and then. </p>

<p>Hi All, </p>

<p><strong>The Situation</strong><br>

<strong> </strong><br>

A very close friend has asked me to be the "official" photographer at his wedding. I'm not expecting any remuneration (but he may buy me a gift to say thank you). The wedding is in June next year so I have plenty of time to prep and the venue is about 10 miles from my house so reconnaissance will be easy. </p>

<p>I am as you could probably imagine intending to do the best job I can and want to be honest about what I can achieve with my abilities and the abilities of my gear. I'd rather get less done well than run around trying to achieve too much taking a large number of poor quality images.</p>

<p>The first question you are probably thinking is "Why is this fool of a groom asking his id*ot mate to be 'tographer rather than stumping up the cash for a pro". Well I would guess it's because he has seen my pics taken at other weddings and is impressed. </p>

<p>I am an enthusiastic amateur photographer. I am at the stage in my life where I find myself attending a lot of weddings. I always take my camera with me, mainly because the bits before the ceremony and between the ceremony and the drinking can be REALLY boring. So I amuse myself during these periods by photographing the venue and wedding paraphernalia from interesting angles and with interesting lighting and by taking "reportage style" pics of the guests enjoying themselves. I have no interest in standing near the pro taking similar pics on inferior gear from an inferior angle but I have taken pics of the pros arranging guests etc. for the formal shots. </p>

<p>A number of people have commented that they prefer my images to those of the pro and have used them in their albums. I feel that what they are preferring is my "reportage" style and almost always the Pro pics they are referring to are perfectly captured but tend to be posed and a bit dull. <br>

<strong> </strong><br>

<strong>My current Gear</strong><br>

<strong> </strong><br>

I shoot with a 7D. Lenses are 28 1.8 and 50 1.8. I have the 430 EXii flash and a range of accessories (grip and spare batteries, memory cards, tripods, etc) <br>

I have my old 400d and 18-55 lens that would serve as a good backup. </p>

<p><strong>What I need from you lot</strong></p>

<p>Advice really!</p>

<p>I remember seeing on here years ago a document with a comprehensive list of potential shots. If someone could repost it (or something similar) that would be very helpful so I can work with the B&G to trim it down to a list of "must haves" and "nice to haves" . Also I am entirely unaccustomed to working as "the" photographer and the pressure that comes with it. I am used to taking pictures entirely for my own amusement and the satisfaction of "capturing a moment" or using challenging lighting conditions to achieve a great shot. I take pictures because I like them and if someone else happens to enjoy it also then great but it's not my motivation. </p>

<p>However obviously on this occasion I will be taking pics as a favour for a friend so the B&G's opinion will be more important than mine.</p>

<p>Also gear wise what do I need? I like shooting with primes but would a zoom be better? Also my long lens (a consumer grade 55-200) has recently expired, it took great pics outdoors in bright conditions but was unsustainable for indoor stuff. I have been looking at the 200 2.8 for a while, but have been hesitating because I'm not sure if a single telephoto prime would be too limiting. Would I be better off with a 70-200?</p>

<p>Any advice is gratefully received, I'm also happy to post a few example images if people would be kind enough to tell me how I could make them better.</p>

<p>K</p>

 

<blockquote>

<p>Slightly OT, but were you robbed at home? If so be careful with your replacement equipment. The thief/ves know you will be replacing it and might return for a second helping.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>+1</p>

<p>When I was robbed I significantly increased security. 360 degree lighting. Expensive new locks. And a Dog! </p>

<p>You don't have to have the best security, just the best on your street! </p>

<p>I work in SEO. Firstly I don't want your business but am happy to give you some free advice. I deal with clients paying anything from $750 - $10,000 a month for SEO. $2500 a month is firmly in enterprise level SEO. </p>

<p>A couple of points that are relevant to everybody:<br>

- Link building does not equal SEO <br>

- Quality of links is much more important than the number of them<br>

- If you don't have a blog start one (and link to your site)<br>

- If you don't tweet start<br>

- If you don't have a Facebook Page get one</p>

<p>Some forums allow you to put your URL in your Signature take an active role on those (relevant) forums even if you need a paid membership. Also, post links on forums whenever possible. EG post on here "this really interesting thing happened on a shoot the other day here's a link to the pics. What would you guys do differently..." </p>

<p>I had a 10 second look at your website. From an SEO perspective it's truly horrible. I'd start with a new site that doesn't use Flash. </p>

<p>Hey all, </p>

<p>Your advice is much appreciated! </p>

<p><strong>The Situation</strong><br>

The company I work for are designing a new website and we've decided to have a "meet the team" page on the website. For this we need a pic of each team member. The company holds images of each team member but they are truly terrible (P&S, inbuilt flash, random background, etc.). There is no budget for a pro so I have agreed to take pictures for the new website...<br>

Seemed like a good idea at the time but now I'm getting nervous. <br>

"photo shoot" is Tue / Wed (28th/29th) so advice before then is much appreciated! </p>

<p><strong>My Experience</strong><br>

I'm an amateur! I've been interested in photography for a long time and have been shooting with a DSLR for about 4 years. I find the physics of photography comes easier to me than the creative side. I have been shooting with hot-shoe flash for a couple of years. <br>

My flash technique is: point the flash at the ceiling, use an aperture that gives adequate DOF (usually between f/2.8 and f/8) and a shutter speed between 50 and 200 depending how fast the subject is moving and how much background I want. <br>

I am generally happy with the results. The only thing I am unsure of is that using AWB tends to result in slightly warm images.</p>

<p><strong>My Equipment</strong><br>

Camera: Canon 400D<br>

Lenses: 18-55 (kit), 55-200 (kit), 50 1.8, 28 1.8<br>

Flash: 430 EX II<br>

Tripods: various<br>

Misc: 30" Shoot-through umbrella, 3m straight TTL flash cord, tripod to umbrella/hot-shoe adapter, 24" circular reflector. </p>

<p><strong>My Plan </strong><br>

My plan is to use a projector screen as a neutral backdrop. Tripod-mount the flash to shoot through the umbrella positioned to the left of the camera, pose the subject body and shoulders towards the flash, face towards the (tripod mounted) camera. I plan to let TTL do it's job, take some test shots and use FEC if needed. </p>

<p>Please feel free to pick apart my plan, and give advice on settings, setup, how to get the white balance right, etc. </p>

<p>It's unlikely that I'll be able to get any additional equipment between now and the shoot. </p>

<p>Help and Advice much appreciated.</p>

<p >This is a problem that keeps us all awake at night (well me anyway!).</p>

<p > </p>

<p >There is no perfect solution. However some practices are just asking for trouble.</p>

<p >- Never put data on the same HD as your OS</p>

<p >- CDs or DVDs are not suited to archival storage (far too fragile!)</p>

<p >- Always store your data in more than 1 location </p>

<p > </p>

<p >There are other obvious things to do/not do but the above should do for now.</p>

<p > </p>

<p >Things to consider:</p>

<p > </p>

<p >Storage is cheap! Replacing lost data is: impossible, expensive or time consuming!</p>

<p > </p>

<p ></p>

<p >Consider potential threats to your files and have a solution eg:</p>

<p >- HD failure (very likely)</p>

<p >- Human error (what if you delete the wrong folder then don’t notice for 3 months)</p>

<p >- Other computer failure (eg virus)</p>

<p >- Power spike (can blow all powered up equipment)</p>

<p >- Fire, flood, earthquake etc. </p>

 

As discussed there is no such thing as a "personal item" at LHR.

 

1 bag 56x45x25cm, everything else gets checked or binned!

<p>Another consideration is that a terrorist alert anywhere in the world could result in no carry on at all!<br>

You need to be prepared to check everything!</p>

 

<p>You will be unlucky if your carry on is weighed. If it is very overweight I just keep it out of sight or on my back when checking in. <br>

Security is a different matter!<br>

Size is a the important factor! Never travel with more than 1 bag and make sure it is no bigger than: 56x45x25cm. Sometimes you will be allowed on with an additional purse, briefcase or laptop bag at the starting point only to be asked to check them when you change planes or on the return trip. <br>

An example is LHR, even if you are only passing through, even the smallest purse will not be allowed in addition to your regulation carry on. The only way to be sure is to buy luggage specifically designed to the EU carry on specifications. </p>

 

<p>In my experience security personnel at airports all seem to be on their first day! They have no clue of the rules and seem unsure even when enforcing them. Often they are downright corrupt!<br>

<br>

2 examples that actually happened to me that I found funny:<br>

</p>

<p >1) Milan airport: I was in the long queue to go through security with a 0.5l bottle of water in my hand that I was drinking from. Guard comes up and confiscates it from me, I watch as he drinks it before putting the bottle in the bin!</p>

<p ></p>

<p >2) Balaton airport (Hungary): walking past customs the Guard waves me over and growls “cigarettes” I pull my pack of 20 from my pocket he grabs it puts it in his shirt pocket and waves me on!</p>

 

<p>To put this into context I have had 4 Drive failures this year, luckily I have data drives and OS drives and the drive failures have all been OS drives. That said I am nowhere near happy with the level of redundancy I’m currently running on my data drives. (BTW laptop HDDs do not last long at all when running 24/7!)</p>

<p>I am looking into a RAID 5 setup with a “hot spinning spare”. Basically you have 6 drives, the data is spread across 5 of them in such a way that if one fails the remaining 4 contain all the data, the “spare” can then be automatically re-built and you buy a new spare. </p>

<p>This together with an archive backup once a day / week to a USB or similar drive that can be taken off site is probably as much redundancy as you will need. However the cost of parts, together with setup effort, power consumption and ease of scalability are currently putting this on the back burner for now. </p>

<p>All of this said the HDD is currently the weak link in computers and is fundamentally unchanged in decades. Solid state is rapidly maturing and no doubt 1PB (peta byte) CF cards with rock solid reliability and fast data transfer rates are only just around the corner!</p>

 

<p>I'm not sure it is prudent to ask for advice on tax avoidance on a public forum.</p>

<p> What he said ^<br>

The country is in a financial mess. Drastic spending cuts are urgently needed along with tax rises. Duty was added to Booze, Fags & Fuel to even out the cut in VAT to 15%. Do you think they will put the duty back when VAT rates go back to 17.5% (or 19% as the original plan!)?<br>

Fuel tax is 222% according to: <br>

<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_tax#United_Kingdom">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_tax#United_Kingdom</a><br>

That will only rise! last year without the Duty and VAT rises I was paying £1.35 per litre for Diesel!<br>

By the way we have to pay VAT on the Duty. Yep that's correct we even pay tax on our taxes!</p>

<p>There have been a number of cases where members of the public have photographed police assaulting members of the public (usually demonstrators). <br>

The police have responded by arresting the photographer using extreme restraint and distraction techniques (ie trussing them up and putting pressure on pain points on the neck etc).<br>

Watch the video: <a href="http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/uk/film+raises+police+brutality+questions/3225227">http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/uk/film+raises+police+brutality+questions/3225227</a><br>

<br>

The police seem to think they are the masters of society rather than their servants! </p>

 

<p>I assume you are a US citizen? In that case it would be difficult / expensive for you to get a work visa for London, Paris or Milan...</p>

<div></div>

<p>I like Gimp, there is a bit of a learning curve but as long as you take your time and experiment with one feature at a time to figure out how to use it. Figure out cropping first then curves, then the repair tool, the unsharp mask. <br>

Btw i don't really understand unsharp mask I know what it does but technically but that isn't translating into getting the best out of my pictures (but i digress).<br>

Also noisware community edition is free, you need to pay for the version that'll do loads of images at once but the standard version is good.</p>

I can't believe US citizens are complaining about tax on fuel. In the UK about 85% of the price is Tax!

 

We have the price of (fuel + duty) * VAT yep that's right we have to pay tax on the tax! I paid GBP 1.22 ($ 2.40) today for a litre that?s GBP 85 (USD168) for a tank!

The technology we hang off the back of our glass will no doubt change beyond recondition in the next few years, good glass will always be good glass (well unless of course digital moves towards MF)...

Sounds to me like someone who knew what you had and that you were away, they maybe even knew where you kept it!

 

Still a suprise that they didn't take your laptop.

 

Hope insurance pays up, they are just as criminal as the thieves IMO and will use any lies, intimidation and dirty tricks they can to avoid paying up!

Not sure when the conference is so my advice may come too late. I'm not a great photographer but I do work in conferencing and events and we often hire photogs so I can tell you what they will expect.

 

Delegate registration -

- Registration desk looking busy

- People picking up badges

- etc

 

Conference sessions:

- Close-up shots

- Each speaker

- Looking passionate

- Waving their arms

- Taking questions

- Audiance members

- Looking interested

- Asking questions

- Wider shots of the whole scene

- From the back of the hall

- each speaker - getting the audiance and screen in

- Looking passionate

- Waving their arms

- Taking questions

 

- From the front

- The audiance

- Looking interested

- Hands up

- asking questions

 

Break out sessions

- People in conversation

- People having coffee

- People looking at the schedule

 

If it's the sort of conference where you get sponsors

- Delegates talking to sponsors

- Dleagates at the sponsors tables

- Delagates looking interested in the sponsors materials

- Delegates looking interested at the tacky freebes

 

Etc. there's loads of other stuff but those above are the important ones. Ask for a briefing meeting to discuss what they want, use the above as a guide that'll give them the impression you have some idea what you're talking about. Also get them to show you what they've used the pics for in the past. Look at their website, brochures and look at pics from past conferences...

 

Equipment wise:

 

You would be much better with a longer lens, anything longer than you have would do but I'd sugest hiring a 100-400L or a 70-200 2.8l you'd be suprised how cheap it is!

 

Most of what you'll be looking for are candid shots so a longer lens would help with that and unless you can get quite close to the speakers along the side the sessions'll be quite dificult as well!

 

For the shots of the speakers: it tends to be quite dark but use a tripod / monopod and don't be afraid of long exposures speakers tend to pause motionless at the right moments, just count on a high proportion of rejects.

 

Good luck!

"I prefer to carry a laptop separately in its own bag"

 

How long is it since you last flew? Turn up with 2 carry-on bags and one will go in the hold! You would be given the choice of laptop or camera!

 

That said we should count ourselves lucky that they let you take carry-on at all. Remember when there were 10,000 "lost" bags on the tarmac at LHR at a time when peoples phones, keys (inc car keys), valuables etc had to be checked in!

In the old days any light tight box with a decent lens could technically take just as good a picture as a state of the art camera.

 

The only thing you get for the extra money that a decent camera body costs is "luxuries" such as a decent frame rate, better :-) metering, better auto focus etc.

 

These days with digital the sensor has an impact on the number of pixels, dynamic range, noise levels etc. So the body is more important. That said if you are not using high iso (eg you only use 100-800) any current dslr will take pictures with very similar quality to any other.

 

If you took the same picture with the same lens and the only variable was the camera body then made 8x10 prints even the most discerning eye would have trouble telling them apart. Although some would probably be able to guess the sensor size by the FOV.

I think I read somewhere that some old lenses aren't suitable for digital cameras because light reflects from the sensor onto the rear element of the lens then back onto the sensor this is in addition to the angle that the light falls onto the sensor.

 

Neither of these problems could possibly have been envisaged by those who engineered the lens back in the film days.