mariosforsos

<p>Also, they may be aware that you may, for example, not have enough experience in working editorially so they cannot trust your judgement with respect to cropping and framing. Whenever we shoot such portraits, we always make sure we (a) shoot two sets of each, one portrait and one landscape, (b) we leave plenty of room on either side of the subject for titles and copy information and © we shoot different environments suited to the subject because you never know which direction the interview will take and what points the author or editor will want to stress or illustrate.</p>

<p>Trust me, there is reason behind their request...</p>

<p>A friend of mine can shoot hand-held with his Leica, at speeds of up to 1/15th of a second (with ISOs rarely over 400 or 800) with amazing clarity... How he does it, I have no idea, but he does. He's not even a professional - even though he's been shooting for more than 35 years...</p>

<p>So, everything is possible if you know how...for example, leaning against a doorframe can provide so much more stability than one would think...and shooting many frames also helps as the hands stabilise more after the initial shutter press...</p>

<p>Your mistake lies in using a tool which was never designed for layouts for, well, layouts! Switch to InDesign, prepare a few dozen page templates (which you can always modify in seconds) and use them to layout your books. That way your time expenditure on this will be more than halved (true, some initial effort will be required to prepare the templates, but that will more than pay off later) and your outputs will be 10 times better.</p>

<p>Don't mistake frankness for pointless harshness. And it's not about sugar-coating things. Our clients, current and prospective, require - in fact, they demand - our utmost respect, not just from you or me, but from our profession. I come across so much crap work from photographers who decided they "thought it would be a good idea to shoot fashion (or whatever)" and managed to convince a cash-strapped client to entrust them with his livelyhood, that the issue of respect has become very critical for me these days. Sure, I can always charge more to correct a mess left behind by a hapless beginner wreaking havoc with his D700 and 50mm/1.8, but that is hardly the point, is it?</p>

<p>Will the customer easily trust a new, truly talented photographer again? Chances are no and that is where the problem lies! I WANT to believe new talent will out, quickly and easily...I WANT to believe that people can learn how to trust again, but that is not going to happen if literally anyone who believes can shoot professionally goes in guns blazing with little or no experience, with often no business acumen or even modicrum of respect for the profession and, above all, the client.</p>

<p>And ust one final addition/correction: "post" processing is not the same as "correcting" mistakes made while shooting. It never was. Post is about removing blemishes, spots, correcting minor highlight issues, removing wrinkles (facial or on the clothes), ensuring that everything is how it should be - in other words, showing what needs to be shown in the way it needs to be shown.</p>

<p>With fashion you can almost never have the models stand there countrless hours until you get EVERY little thing right. You often, in real life situations, called upon to accept somet things as they are and fix them later. Which requires a whole different set of skills...and those need to be practiced too.</p>

<p>John is mostly correct. Editorial rates tend to be fixed regardless of whether they use one or more of your images, but it's rather rare (at least in my experience) for them to require the rejects.</p>

<p>Of course, there ARE publications, such as National Geographic, which require EVERYTHING (including test shots to clean your sensor!) completely untouched and unedited, but I very much doubt this is the case here.</p>

<p>I usually shoot around 1,500 - 2,500 images (all in), all RAW. The customer gets about a dozen BEST images approximately 3-4 days after the event (at very low rez, usually via e-mail, just for Facebook and stuff like that), and my selection of final images around 2 weeks after the event. If, due to scheduling or whatever, I know in advance I won't be able to deliver within that time frame, I always notify them at the time of booking, so they know exactly what to expect.</p>

<p>What they get? First, they get my selection on a protected part of the website, accessible only through the username/password I send them - through the website they can share them with friends, twit or even like them in FB or whatever. They can also collect comments from friends (to whoever they forward the password to). By courier they get my selection of images (never been less than 250-300) at two resolutions: full resolution TIFFs on DVD and low resolutions JPEGs for whatever they want.</p>

<p>If they've opted for one of my "prints included" packages, they select (from the webpage) their favourites and then I arrange to have them printed at my printers (external lab) and then they are delivered directly to them.</p>

<p>If they've opted for a photo book/album, then it's a different story altogether: they are given an estimate of when the first draft will be ready AFTER they've selected their favourite images. That is usually 3-4 weeks later. The draft is uploaded onto the website and they can make comments/additions/corrections. The second draft is usually 2 weeks later. This time their review is only for approval - no major changes allowed. It is then sent for printing and is delivered to them within 10 working days.</p>

<p>While a white background is indeed very easy to set up, I would ask "why" you need to be able to remove that background. If it is to add something else, then I'd advise you to look into blue/green screening as this enables a much better removal of the background afterwards. White, however easy it may be to achieve, nevertheless remains an ingredient of many colours the customer(s) are likely to be wearing, making its easy removal much, much more difficult.</p>

<p>Personally, (and I am planning a similar trip for this coming Easter) I will agree with the "leave the 24-120 at home" approach and I'd take the 24-70. It will complement your 70-200 much more than any other lens and will produce amazing images under almost any lighting conditions. Also, do not, under any circumstances, leave the 70-200 at home. While most people of the various SE Asian countries are photographer-friendly, there will be more than enough shots that you simply won't be able to take with the 24-70. Plus, at 2.8, the 70-200 has amazing bokeh.</p>

<p>But, heed everyone's advice and think rain cover. Also, if your weight considerations allow, I'd bring a flash with me and some diffusion system (personally I carry a collapsible 30x30cm softbox)...</p>

<p>I very much doubt this was actually shot at f/1.4 - something's dodgy here...it's not only the two ladies who are in focus (relative) but also the people behind - at least much more in focus than f/1.4 would mean...</p>

<p>I'm going to assume you're talking about a shoot with a client... (if not, please disregard and go play):</p>

<p>Fashion shooting is a much more complex, demanding and, frankly, innovative project than "butterfly shadows" and "glitter in a models' eyes". If we're talking studio (or even location) fashion photography, then you need SO much more than just a post in a forum explaining even the two basest concepts you inquired about.</p>

<p>Please, please, please, go back to the drawing board, learn how to light 100 different ways, with snoots, grids, softboxes, reflectors - the works!, experiment again and again and again and again, be bold and brave, challenge the basics, dare to work against "butterfly shadows" and see how you can make it work for you... for everyone's sake, shoot 1000 fashion shots with friends and family, even make-believe ones, and THEN take over a fashion shoot. Don't learn on the client's head based on a few forum entries or random posts and your "desire" and "passion" for photography - it will be helpful for nobody involved and will cost money.</p>

<p>And make-up... I mean, how can ANYONE tell you "what kind of make-up will be best" if even you have no idea what you're shooting, how you're shooting it, what look you're attempting to create, what approach you'll be using! And what does "perfectly nice photographed" mean, really! I must have done dozens of fashion shoots and I have never been able to say this - fahion shoots ALWAYS demand editing, usually a lot of it, even when shot, lit and made-up by experienced professionals...</p>

<p>I'm sorry, but this is the truth...ignore it or gloss over these comments at your (and, unfortunately, your client's) risk... personally I feel sorry for them...</p>

<p>David,</p>

<p>while I would, normally, agree that there is a difference between and 80 and a 20,000 people race, I highly doubt that any fundraising event which actually hopes to raise some funds will only have 80 participants... chances are you'd be talking about hundreds (at least), out of which, around 60% won't finish, so you would need to capture people at 3 stages - start, middle (or any other intermediate point) and end. Doing this with one photographer simply won't work.</p>

<p>The reason I mentioned gear was not to imply the photographer needs $20,000 worth of gear, but that the, for example, 18-55 Nikon kit lens won't do...</p>

<p>I too will agree you did a good job (and will second Mark's comments on the conversions - they need a lot more work). One thing which kinda kicked me in the face a bit were the indoor shots - I cannot see exactly how you did it, but I got the impression of a bare flash (or something) and that robs them a bit in terms of quality. With a couple of D3s and the lenses you mentioned, it's easy to take soft and nice images outdoors...indoors is a different issue altogether...</p>

<p>Work a bit on that and you will be fine...;-)</p>

<p>Well done...;-)</p>

<p>Since you use LR anyway, you could potentially go to the shoot with a laptop and assistant, have a bunch of pre-prepared develop presets within LR and every hour or so, hand the card to the assistant, have him/her apply the required presets and export the images as (whatever format you want) for the client. For a 5-hour shoot, you'd be done in exactly 5 1/2 hours, AND the client will be happy AND you won't have produced un-processed results.</p>

<p>Now, as to the price, I don't usually post-process alot, so post is actually a small part of my quoted price, but I would not accept doing such a shoot for only 1/3 of the price. This is like them assuming (and you accepting) that 2/3 of your work are applied in post which should not be true anyway...</p>

<p>If I were you, I would possibly give them a small discount (say 10-15% - I don't know your cost structures) and explain to them that to have the benefit of instant gratification, they have to pay for it, even if it's not as much as the full post effect...</p>

<p>Once again John gave amazing advice, but I have to stop and wonder one point: if the project is profitable for you and if the clients themselves - in terms of their behaviour and overall demeanour - are not problematic, then how about seeing if you can accommodate their requirements WITHOUT sacrificing any of your legal rights (or at least, not in a way that compromises either your business or your intellectual rights more than you'd care to), then I personally would agree.</p>

<p>In the end, simply hand the contract over to a lawyer and go over the changes together and see what effects it may have on you.</p>

<p>Having shot marathons for a while now (and these marathons are part of the world champioship, so they're massive events, covered by television and literally hundreds of photographers - you can see some images here <a href="http://www.mariosforsos.com/Various-Events/Athens-Golden-Marathon-1/14533820_vfHd3#1079716950_nf5yk">http://www.mariosforsos.com/Various-Events/Athens-Golden-Marathon-1/14533820_vfHd3#1079716950_nf5yk</a>), I can tell you that you should NOT be doing this. Why? Let me explain:</p>

<p>First of all, for you to undertake this task means you VERY explicitly undertake the task of shooting EACH and EVERY person there and providing their images through some outlet (I'll add my vote to the specialist sites) WITH - and this is the important part - some means of them searching for their images (usually each athlete image is tagged with their participation number and that's how they search through them).</p>

<p>Second, you would need to provide those images within a few days, not weeks, properly framed, cropped, adjusted etc, and, of course, appropriately tagged. This is not, and never has been, a one-man job. Marathon-photos, the Australian outlet which specialises at this, usually has something like 5-10 photographers stationed at various parts of the route, with the express instruction of shooting individuals in full frame; it then has a dedicated team of taggers preparing the images for upload.</p>

<p>Third, the equipment you'll need must be top-notch, as nobody will be happy when they purchase their image and see it is blurry or whatever. You don't want to have to deal with that and, let me tell you, the organisers, if they're worth their salt, won't want either. When we were shooting last year's Athens Classic Marathon (which was a Golden event marking the 2500 years' anniversary), both the organisers and ourselves set strict equipment (including lens) criteria.</p>

<p>It's different if you're simply "covering" the event for the organisers, say, to show the overall crowds, attendance, some nice shots for publicity etc - they you can shoot just like it was any other event. But what you're suggesting requires weeks' advance preparation and a level of experience which you admitted to not having. I'll concurr that your experience with the sport will help you should you decide to do it, but I would caution you as much as possible to avoid making claims you cannot support.</p>

<p>Personally, until about a week ago, I had a couple of SB800s which I traded in for two SB900s. Why? Simply because I very rarely shoot with the flash on-camera, preferring to set my flash onto a stand (with my modifier of choice) somewhere out of sight (and, hopefully, out of mind) and set power through my SU800.</p>

<p>Also, I rarely use the flashes at full power - and when I do, I rarely shoot fast enough for them to overheat. So, when, for example I shoot outside and I need to overpower ambient light (and hence I might need more power), then shooting one image every 5-10 seconds, even at full power, won't create any problems...</p>

<p>Having said that, yes, the SB900 can terrify a user with its - in my view - stupidly conservative cutoff circuit, but the solution is usually simple: rather than change cameras, simple switch flashes. The few times when I actually do carry the flash on camera (say, in a corporate event shoot), I usually have another SB900 in my pocket just for those instances.</p>

<p>But to be honest, it has only happened to me twice in the two years (almost) I've been using them and that was in a tiny church, with 200 people crammed in space for 50 and an ambient temperature of over 34 degrees Celsius.</p>

<p>Personally, I would start by adjusting the white balance - it's a bit off. Second, the catchlights at the left give the otherwise lovely girl a kinda sneaky look - as if she's considering looking sideways. I would add another ringlight (or other light) straight ahead (say, for example, behind the camera and high up) and use that to create the catchlights. As for the side softbox, I'd feather it.</p>

<p>For the background, I too would work with something else...maybe even increased my speed to darken it and add a background light with a gobo to make it more interesting...</p>

<p>Now, as far as postprocessing is concerned, your work was a bit sloppy. It resulted in patchy-looking skin and really weird colours...be more subtle, more light-footed...</p>

<p>I disagree with calling it anything other than what it is: a deposit required once they have signed the contract. You do not need to explain what that deposit is for, but I do agree that you should be very careful in ensuring that is is non-refundable.</p>

<p>I usually give the clients a full payment schedule, including the % for the deposit, the % for payment prior to the shoot(s) and the various "installments" until project completion. That way the customers are aware of what will be demanded and when and under what conditions...this makes it clearer and avoids payment (and other) problems later on.</p>

<p>D700 and D3 are essentially the same camera, but having used both, I'd recommend the D3.</p>

<p>Now, as far as work is concerned, I'd have to agree with the other posters - your D300 is certainly capable of shooting a wedding. It may not have the low light capability of the D700 or the D3, but with proper use of lighting (strobes and whatnot), framing and metering it can do amazing work. Combined with good glass you already have a very good combination.</p>

<p>I too agree this trend is inevitable - as pressures to cut costs increase, more and mlore chains will start offering bundles and, if you look at this from the brides' perspective, it kinda makes sense. If something goes wrong, then at least have the resort of reaching out to a large chain, rather than X independent photographer who may make a run for it (and don't even think about telling me it hasn't or it wont happen!)</p>

<p>Personally, if I were a bride, I'd ask the chain to show me their photographers' portfolios and book it if I found something I liked. Remember, more and more brides are heading down Craigslist and uncle Bob way when it comes to photography, so this "professional" alternative is not bad at all.</p>

<p>Can you prove you're better? Can you compete in terms of price (not price alone, but price as well)? Can you differentiate enough? If yes, then you should be okay...if not, then..well, if you can't beat them, join them...;-)</p>

<p>First of all, why on earth would you think that you need to use a windows machine to "bridge the gap" between yourself and your customers? This makes absolutely no sense whatsoever! It's like saying "my clients use compact cameras and I should too to make them feel most comfortable"...seriously!</p>

<p>Second, if you ONLY want to use something as a portfolio, you could even buy one of those picture frames for $50 and be done with it. If you want integration of calendars, images, contacts, files, offers and any of the tons of photography applications out there, then simply buy a 16GB WiFi iPad and be done with it. Something more stylish, NO, you will not find...</p>

<p>Once again, we're failing to distinguish between DX lenses. Sure, the 50mm 1.8 DX lens is not the best of lenses, certainly, not on par with the 50/1.8 FX lens. At the same time, for example, the Nikon 17-55/2.8 DX lens is a superb lens, well on par with the 24-70/2.8 FX.</p>

<p>So, it is not a matter of DX vs FX when it comes to image quality, but rather WHICH DX vs FX.</p>

<p>Of course, the issue of focal length adjustment should not be taken lightly, especially at the wide end...</p>

<p>It may not be "polite" for someone to tell you, to your face, they're testing you, but it's honest. And you should know that - you're being tested each and every time you pick up a camera for your clients, regardless of whether you've already secured the contract or not...</p>

<p>So, do or don't do the shoot - that should be a choice you make based on your chemistry with the couple and your own abilities, rather on the premise that they may not like your work in the end...after all, that is a possibility every single time.</p>

<p>Personally, IF I ever decide to take the plunge, I seriously and honestly pity the poor photographers who'll submit themselves to me for selection...;-)</p>

<p>Check them out. They should have, assuming they exist, a website. Then, if they're local, take a stroll down there and have a look see. THEN, draft an e-mail regarding what you would expect from that agreement. If they agree, THEN you can think about sending them digital files...</p>

<p>Initially, it sounds like a scam to me - museums (and I've worked with some) tend to contact you personally by phone the first time, rather than an e-mail such as this...but then again, you never know...</p>

<p>In my experience, prevention of flash and tripod photography in "the western world" is NOT to protect postcard sales, it is because (a) flash photography IS damaging to artwork (and do not judge based on a professional using a softbox or whatever professional light and/or modifier - think random tourists, thousands of them, using their bare flashes a couple of dozen times per minute at a distance of 30cm from the artwork!), (b) tripods ARE (and I have seen that happen a number of times) a danger of tripping and knocking down items (even though, increasingly, museums and similar spaces do issue, subject to approval and sufficient advance notice, special tripod licences, usually only applicable VERY early in the morning or 30mins prior to closing) and © the local photographers DO NOT make money from the sales of EACH postcard or anything. They have long sold the rights to those images (albeit for good money)...if the person who shot the Cappella Sistina was getting royalties from every postcard sold, he'd be the richest man in the world!</p>