Christal1664882414

<p>Michael,<br> Actually my octo isn't quite 5 ft. It's only 47". It's one of the Paul Buff umbrella styles that is really easy to set up. It has a ring so it fits perfectly on my Einstein light. When I was at school I found that I preferred the look of having a larger soft box......also liked the Beauty Dish. So I bought the largest soft box I could manage for now. I plan to experiment over the coming days to see what kind of light positioning I like best, but yes, it will be something more on the order of butterfly lighting. I don't want anything too dramatic for head shots.....just straightforward. Oh, and I will have a very high ceiling where I'll shoot this gig, and I hope to find an older building with a high ceiling to set up a permanent studio. We've down-sized to a small house and I don't have room here. I'm set up in the garage for the moment, and that may work for now in a pinch, but we can't leave the equipment here much longer.</p>

<p>Michael....okay, let me clarify a few things. First of all, all of the soft boxes and most of the equipment they used at school were from Profoto, so I assumed the stands were as well. I must be mistaken about that. And I forgot to mention that I bought the caster wheels for the Impact stand. It helps. They don't wheel the best, honestly, but it will make the stand easier to move around than without them.</p> <p>Now can you please clarify what you meant by <br> <em>You will soon realize that the mini boom has it's limitations in reach and you will be extending it almost to the max (which is why you need counter weight) You will soon see that the stand will be in some shots and you will find yourself moving or shall i say dragging the stand again and again to get it out of the shot. That is when you will realize you should have invested in the roller stand.</em><br> <em> </em><br> I'm using a big octobox, so I need some kind of a boom to extend it out. When you say the boom has limitations in reach and that I'll be seeing it in some of my shots, how would a roller stand be any different? Don't you still have use a boom on your roller stand to accommodate an Octobox? Sorry if I'm dense about this. But at any rate, I'll check out the Matthews brand.....I had heard of them but didn't investigate them. Again, thanks for helping me through this! :-)</p>

<p>Michael....thanks so much for the suggestions! I'll print this out so I won't forget where it is and keep for future reference. I'll keep what I have for now because of time constraints, but I'm planning to try to find a spot nearby for setting up a studio permanently (don't have room in the house), so I'll be adding equipment eventually.</p> <p>As for the 'store brand'..... is Impact B&H's own brand? If so, I didn't know that. But they DIScouraged me from buying the Impact boom, saying the Avenger was a better product. So I really don't think they had any bias. And I did tons of research on my own, which indicated the Impact stand, though only $35, was equal in quality to the much more expensive brands. After seeing it, I would agree. We used Profoto equipment at photo school this summer, and I would say this is just as good quality. </p>

<p>Craig....<br> I don't plan to show them their images. If it were an individual, perhaps. But I agree with you that it could be a headache for a group this big. But I still plan to tether because the LCD screen on my camera tends to be bright. I always use a histogram, but I can't always depend on it entirely either. Even when it shows a perfect histogram, my images will be brighter than I like. So I'll probably tether just to make sure I'm getting the exposure I want.....mostly just to save me some editing time later. Once I get something I'm happy with, I won't use it for everyone.....probably just for the first few to make sure I'm getting the exposure in the computer as I like it.</p>

<p>Bill....you're so right about some people feeling uncomfortable about posing (myself included). But that's one of the things that surprised me at photo school......how much I loved taking portraits.....mostly because of the human interaction. I'm a 'people' person, and I loved helping people relax and look their best. There was one young man in my class.....mid-back length blond hair and a hippie-type.....nice guy! But boy was he uncomfortable in front of the camera! I gradually melted that away and that was the first time I realized how much I loved doing that!</p> <p>As for the model thing. Yes, we did have many models for various shoots. But we also spent a lot of time shooting the other students in the class, many of whom were shy and/or uncomfortable in front of the camera. It was good that we had both experiences.</p> <p>And I hope you're right about this being a 'good' experience. I hope it will be.....I'm preparing hard for it so hopefully there won't be any technical snafus or equipment failure. I'm taking extra batteries and gadgets .... and of course gaffer's tape.....that can come in handy! </p> <p>Thanks so much for your suggestions!</p>

<p>Michael, actually I mixed it up, based on the advice of 2 different reps at B&H. I bought the Impact 9.6 Air-cushioned 3-section Heavy Duty Stand, but the boom was Avenger D600. They're easily compatible, and they said the Avenger boom was simply better, but the Impact stands were same quality but better price (I think). Anyway, they've both been delivered and they're good quality and easy to set up. The boom comes in both chrome and black.</p> <p>After putting the stand and boom together, I realized it's not as heavy as I thought. I can manage it, so I'm going to keep the boom.....it's good quality. But I am going to exchange the chrome for black, which is what I thought the salesman has suggested to me in the first place. I prefer the black, though I know the chrome would probably last longer.</p> <p>The boom has a hook on the end of it for counter-balancing. I've bought some empty 5-lb. sand bags to fill with sand to use for that. Is that what you would do?</p> <p>The stand can carry a 22 lb. load, and Avenger boom something like 15.7 lb. Hope this helps. I'll post the links for them.<br> http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/331474-STUD/Avenger_D600CB_D600CB_Mini_Boom.html/mode/edu<br> and<br> http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/253069-STUD/Impact_LS_96HAB_Air_Cushioned_Heavy_Duty_Light.html/mode/edu</p>

<p>Thanks, Michael. I haven't decided if I'm going to keep the chrome one I ordered. It's really heavy for me to manage by myself, and I may not always have an assistant. This time I corralled my husband. :-) But it's nice to know that reflectivity isn't an issue. Thanks!</p>

<p>Michael,<br> :-) I know!</p> <p>As for the tethering....I'm one step ahead of you! Just figured out how to do that. The grooming idea is great.....practical as well as showing that I 'go the extra mile', so to speak.<br> Great suggestions.....thanks so much!<br> Christal</p>

<p>Craig, Michael, Bill and William,</p> <p>You guys are amazing! It's like I've had a class in business from reading your posts. Here is my situation, which may clarify a few things. I recently received certification at the Rocky Mountain School of Photography. While there I learned studio work and did a lot of head shots and portraits. I'm now setting up my own lighting system, which there is a learning curve for, but as far as the photography part goes, I feel comfortable with this gig.</p> <p>For fear of you guys pouncing on me, I almost hate to say that I'm doing this free gratis. I'm a concert violinist by profession and have connections with several of the arts organizations in town. My son sings in a men's group that is quite good, and I of course support them. My son's friends have been following my photographic journey, and they asked if I would be comfortable or interested in shooting this event. They did offer to pay me, but it probably wouldn't have been much because of its non-profit status. So I told them I would do it for free for now (I told them tongue in cheek that I won't work for free forever, so not to spread the word). But I figured this could be my way of contributing rather than giving to their annual fund. And I'll get free advertising in the program, plus connections (hopefully, if I do a good job) from the 75 men in the group. Plus, truth be told, I decided to do it because it forced me to get going with my photography....a real impetus to buy the equipment I need and start promoting myself. If not for this, I may not have pushed myself to do it.</p> <p>Fresh from photo school and looking to do photography in retirement, I thought this was a great way for me to gain experience and develop some contacts. </p> <p>I'm going to print out this thread and have a discussion with the person who hired me. Even though I know many of these guys, it's still a good idea to do this professionally and write up what my services will be after I'm clear about their exact expectations. All we've really discussed so far is what type of head shot/background they want and when/where the event will take place.</p> <p>The day of the event is actually an all-day retreat for the group, so people showing up on time won't be a problem. However, the bummer is that all 75 won't be there, and we've set up another session for those who will not be able to make the retreat. If I know what I'm doing and understand my set-up and equipment well (which I intend to do), then I can actually take a lot of pictures in even 2-3 minutes. So perhaps it will go faster than I anticipate. :-) One can hope! :-) I'm fortunate in that I can set up the day before and leave my equipment overnight.</p> <p>The previous photographer did okay work (JUST okay....they showed me a few head shots from last year), but was extremely unprofessional.....they told me story after story of how unprepared he was and how he kept leaving to get this or that. I intend to do better. :-)</p> <p>When I outline what my needs/expectations are I will mention that I will need a coordinator to facilitate things. That shouldn't be a problem. As for the rest of your advice, it's stuff that I need to consider starting a new business. I've never drawn up contracts or done any work like this before with customers. In my business as a concert violinist, the customers are in the audience! :-) Interestingly enough, I plan to return for the 2nd part of the Rocky Mountain School of Photography next summer. They will teach the business side of starting a photography business, marketing, creating a website, video, advanced editing techniques and much more. But in the meantime, you guys have given me a 'mini-course' in things to consider. Thank you SO much! </p> <p>William....thanks for the link. I'll check it out.</p> <p> </p>

<p>William, Good points and good questions. I'll check with them to see what they've done in the past. They weren't happy with their photographer last year, but they do this every year, so this is a question I can pose to them......about whether they have generally allowed the subjects to order pictures from their head shots. If not, it would simplify things and I could just shoot tight and be done with it.</p> <p>Curious......you said this would take 1 hour? How do you figure? How much time realistically would you allow for each person? I plan to be set up and ready to go and whiz through them, but I was still counting on allowing 3-4 hours......shooting each subject 3-5 minutes, including set-up time and moving people in and out. Is this realistic? Or too much time? Since I've never shot anything like this before, maybe I have an unrealistic expectation. </p> <p>Thanks so much for your response and excellent points!</p>

<p>Thanks for the question. I'm getting ready to shoot headshots for a group. Rather than only depending on my own sense of composition and what looks right, I'm reading up a bit on techniques for getting the best headshots. </p>

<p>I'll soon be shooting my first 'gig'.....a group shot and then 75 individual headshots. For a headshot would you recommend shooting tight with just shoulders and head in the frame, or would you shoot looser with more background showing to give more flexibility in crop and the possibility of printing different size images? Shooting looser would require more editing on my part, but it would also give me flexibility to print other sizes if the subject decides he'd like other sizes. FYI, I have a crop sensor camera. I'd appreciate knowing what you do if you shoot headshots, and thanks so much!</p>

<p>Sorry I'm just now getting back to check for responses. I'll spend time over the next 2 days reading through your suggestions. I actually purchased something, and it arrived on Friday. But it's an Avenger CHROME.....and it's heavy! My concern is reflectivity with a chrome surface. Has anyone had experience with a chrome stand in this regard? </p>

<p>Okay, folks......I've made some decisions, and I'll post here when I get everything ordered. But B&H and Paul Buff are getting most of my business. I'll 'play' with what I'm ordering, and if I still feel I need more before my big shoot, I'll have time to supplement. </p>

<p>Bob....thanks! I'll have to check out some videos of her working. Would be interesting. I admire her work so much! </p>