steve_elms

<p>I usually wait about a week and then send a note saying something like, "Thanks again for meeting with me last week, it was very nice to meet you both. I just wanted to touch base with you and see if you had any follow up questions that arose from our meeting. If you would like to discuss anything further, please do not hesitate to ask".....something along those lines...But I agree you should send something. Good luck, let us know!</p>

<p>I listed about a dozen prints on Etsy about 3 months ago and have sold one print. I've had a few people (members of the site) show interest but only one sale...I wouldn't say it is a super profitable solution for photographers, but it is relatively cheap, so it is just another way to get yourself out there.</p>

<p>I use a template from Portfoliositez.com . It has the ability for clients to add items to their shopping cart and it automatically calculates taxes, etc based on the size of the print they order. You can check out my Landscape and Wildlife section (in my Portfolio) to see an example of how it looks / works. I've sold several prints online this way and it's worked very well.</p>

<p>http://www.elmsphotography.ca</p>

<p>Great idea I will try that for sure! I also want to get a second flash (maybe an SB600 to accent). Thanks for the ideas!</p>

<p>Just practicing by using off camera flash to turn daylight into dark. These 2 photo's were taken in broad daylight using an SB900 off camera and by setting the aperture very small (f22). Kind of a neat effect that I've seen others use and thought I'd take a stab at!</p>

<p><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_0-VqpBQbn4U/SxrWo06u-NI/AAAAAAAADyw/KBAcAyILzHY/s800/20091205-20091205-ELM_4472%20%28Large%29.jpg" alt="" width="511" height="768" /></p>

<p><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_0-VqpBQbn4U/SxrWpPptn1I/AAAAAAAADy0/XCYdawTOq8I/s800/20091205-ELM_4468%20%28Large%29.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="533" /></p>

<p>I was just wondering if anyone has any experience with this lens for use at weddings. I am giving it some serious consideration over the Nikon 70-200 simply due to the fact that it is almost 1/3 the cost (at least of the new Nikon 70-200). Just looking for feedback in terms of low light abilities, sharpness etc. (I will be using it on a Nikon D700 by the way...)<br>

Thanks!</p>

<p>Thanks guys.....with the last shots I was experimenting with dragging the shutter and using rear curtain flash....<br>

The clients love them. They paid $1000 for 7 hours coverage and said they are very happy with them. <br>

Thanks again!</p>

<p>I just shot my 3rd wedding this past Friday in Toronto and thought I'd post a few pics looking for some feedback. I posted my previous 2 weddings and received so many good pointers and critisizms. I tried to apply the things I've learned from the more experienced photographers on this site. If one can learn a bit from each shoot, I would think one could only get better (at least I'm hoping so!)<br>

Thanks for looking!<br>

<img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_0-VqpBQbn4U/SnXR55Vw2bI/AAAAAAAADZ4/JtfxpvQaAnw/s400/300111%20%28Large%29.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p>A few more pics can be seen here: http://picasaweb.google.com/hotelfive/Weddings#</p>

<p>I just thought I'd share this little thing I just made...I basically grabbed an old tripod and pulled off the screw attachment where the camera secures itself. I then put a bolt through the base and secured it with a wing-nut on the other side (to stop the bolt from moving around and falling out). I then took a piece of foam board ($4 at a local art store) and drilled a whole in the center of it, and placed it over the bolt on the tripod mount. On the board side I used a large washer and another wing-nut to secure the foam board to the tripod mount. It seems pretty secure (although I'm not sure how it will fair in windy conditions). My hopes is that the large washer and large mount on the tripod will stop the foam board from ripping right off. The head of the tripod allows me to angle and move the reflector to the direction I want.<br /> <br /> I also made another 2 sided reflector (one silver and one gold) from another piece of foam board. I glued reflective poster paper on each side and then used Scotch Tape all around the edges...<br /> <br /> I'll let you know how it works!</p>

<p><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_0-VqpBQbn4U/Sm4AQjdjIvI/AAAAAAAADZI/gAULhGI8l2c/s800/1%20%28Large%29.jpg" alt="" width="511" height="768" /><br>

<img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_0-VqpBQbn4U/Sm4AQy5JF1I/AAAAAAAADZM/MphvBPsU1cc/s800/2.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="532" /><br>

<img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_0-VqpBQbn4U/Sm4AQzBFONI/AAAAAAAADZQ/wdZVEkyUHk8/s800/3%20%28Large%29.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="532" /><br>

<img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_0-VqpBQbn4U/Sm4AQ5vxINI/AAAAAAAADZU/RbwkG-x-b-0/s800/4%20%28Large%29.jpg" alt="" width="511" height="768" /><br>

<img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_0-VqpBQbn4U/Sm4ARYZPfkI/AAAAAAAADZY/VXCcmhWj2WQ/s800/5%20%28Large%29.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="532" /><br>

<img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_0-VqpBQbn4U/Sm4AUggRifI/AAAAAAAADZc/_fnTi3vj-g0/s800/6%20%28Large%29.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="532" /><br>

<img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_0-VqpBQbn4U/Sm4AUmP0r5I/AAAAAAAADZg/YXqHrz7QNLo/s800/7%20%28Large%29.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="532" /></p>

<p>Yes from all the reading and stuff I've been doing on this, the Demb product does generally seem to be the higher recommended item. At $35 or so, it's not as tough a pill to swallow as it would have been to replace my SB900 which somehow miraculously survived the fall!</p>

<p>Hmmm some interesting points here everyone, thank you....Gonna have to do a bit more thinking on this one! <br>

(I dropped my SB900 yesterday and broke my Nikon Diffuser Dome so I figured I'd consider an alternative before I replaced it...)</p>

<p>I'm still debating whether or not to get the Gary Fong Lightsphere (as per my previous post....) and I just have another quesiton I'm hoping you can help me with...<br>

While using the Lightsphere outdoors for fill flash, do you generally leave the dome cap on and point the thing right at the subject? Is there a maximum distance this will work (ie will the light falloff be too great at a certain point?). Do people ever remove the dome cap while using the Lightsphere pointed straight on for fill flash?<br>

Thanks in advance!</p>

<p>I'm just curious as to whether or not there is a big difference between the Gary Fong Lightsphere and the standard Diffuser Dome that comes with the Nikon SB900?<br /> <br /> Does one produce generally better results? <br /> <br /> Thanks!<br /> <br /> --<br /> www.elmsphotography.ca</p>

<p>THanks for the input guys...looks like I'll be looking at using a different room of the house! You've confirmed my suspiscions so thank you!<br>

<br /></p>

<p>I'm just wondering what the minimum size is to run a home studio? I have a room in my basement that I just finished that I'm thinking of using as a studio (as I start to develop my skills and gather some equipment). The room is about 10ft x 12ft. It seems kind of small, but I guess you don't really need all that much room right? Do you think that would be enough space to run a typical studio out of the house?</p>

<p>I stumbled upon these flash tutorial videos which helped me out a little bit, and thought I'd share the link...</p>

<p>http://www.qflashacademy.com/</p>

<p>Thanks for the reply. I should have added that I'm using an SB900 with a Nikon D700. My understanding is that once I go over my sync speed my flash loses signifigant power?</p>

<p>Please excuse my ignorance here but I'm just starting to get a grip on using flash effectively. I have a question that I'm hoping you guys can answer for me.<br /> <br /> I've been doing a lot of reading and what I've gathered so far is this:<br /> <br /> For indoor shots with flash I should be metering the ambient light first, then adding the flash. My understanding is that this will give me a properly exposed background and main subject. If I want to brighten the background then I slow down my shutter speed and vica verca. Is this correct?<br /> <br /> So am I to assume that I do the same for outdoor shots when I'm using the flash for fill? I guess I'm just looking for guidance on how to meter properly for outdoor fill flash.<br /> <br /> Thanks in advance!</p>

<p>Thanks, it looks great! I like the fact that you used two colours...</p>

<p>Great tip thanks for sharing! Did you simply glue the poster to the backboard? Did you get all the materials at the craft store?</p>

<p>Thanks everyone....I appreciate the comments!</p>

<p>I have both a 50mm 1.4 and a 24-70mm 2.8 that I use on my Nikon D700. I keep reading that the 50mm 1.4 is a good portrait lens but I'm a bit unsure why. I find that to shoot at 1.4 the depth of field is WAY to shallow so I end up shooting around 2.8. So if I'm shooting at 2.8 would I not be better to just use the 24-70 at 2.8 so I have the flexibility of the zoom? Or is the 50mm a crisper lens at say 1.8 or 2.8?<br /> <br /> Thanks in advance.</p>

<p>Hmm that's a good question. I have processed a few pictures in HDR because I like the look of them. I never thought about how they would turn out in print...Im curious now as well.</p>

<p>I'm shooting in manual mode on the camera (and the flash mode is set to normal) with a shutter speed slower than my sync speed. It's weird I'm doing a bunch of tests here at home and I'm noticing something...When I have my flashead pointed straight ahead, the ISO will stay at whatever I have it set to (even when in the settings I have it set to Auto ISO). However if I bounce the flash, it SOMETIMES stays at my set ISO but SOMETIMES it will adjust upwards automatically. It is appearing as though pointing the flash head on acts like was suggested above (the auto ISO is cancelled) but when the flash is tilted up to bounce, it works on sometimes......Wow I'm confused!</p>

<p>Hmmm I think what is confusing me is that after I take a photo with flash, the rear LCD on the camera shows an adjusted ISO reading (ie the reading will be a red 6400), however the ISO does not change in the viewfinder and stays at whatever I had it selected as (like Mark says). I guess I'm confused as to why the rear lcd is showing a changed and increased ISO??? I also notice that the exif info says an increased ISO to 6400</p>