mark_t5

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<p>Lately all the photographers are wedding photojournalist without knowing what photojournalism really is.</p>

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<p>It's not lately..ppl have always marketed themselves to fit what is in fashion right now to get business.</p>

<p>If one day suddenly it's hip to be a sewer photographer then you will see all the photographers suddenly updating their "about me" page that they are indeed sewer photographers...</p>

<p>whether they actually are or not is irrelevant.</p>

<p>I heard once from a friend's friend that he went to a wedding where the photographer made the couple exchange the rings in the altar 3 times so he can get it from multiple angles..</p>

<p>after that i'm not surprised by anything anymore. maybe until i see a photographer wrestle an alligator or something.</p>

<p>Glad to see you are moving up in the business.</p>

<p>If you are shooting fancy weddings more often now, surely you can afford to go find an attorney and leave the legal advice to the professionals in that field rather than from an internet forum :)</p>

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<p>Don't use a filter at all. I dislike filters bc why are you buying $1800 in glass to cover it up</p>

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<p>uh...we are not talking about UV filters.. that statement is the same as if you are saying don't use ND filters cuz you are covering your expensive lens with cheap filters..</p>

<p>there are legit filter types that are used for certain purposes/effects.. don't generalize plz.</p>

<p>as for the OP's question.. BW's are the ones i use. they are not that expensive.</p>

<p>i don't use a bracket and i'm happy with my results. i can see how some ppl like it but i myself never had a need for it. between bouncing the flash and using off camera flashes i get my shots. i think from all the weddings i've shot, i probably only had 2-5 images where i saw a red eye... i should probably look at them again and see why it happened on those specific ones.</p>

<p>and no...i don't use the tupperware either.. i find them ridiculously looking.</p>

<p>so you are pretty much saying that you are worth $500 for doing something that you never done before?</p>

<p>Do you think for example that a car mechanic is worth paying X/2 for to fix a boat for the first time just because X is the going rate for a boat mechanic?</p>

<p>But I guess you can always just throw any number out there...it is one thing to say how much you are charging and another whether the customer is willing to pay for it. One thing though is that you need to manage expectations, or you will be ending a friendship real quick.</p>

<p>A lot of brides are comparison shopping.. so unless your quality is better than your competitors as well as your prices are lower than your competitors there is little you can do.</p>

<p>and even then, there are some brides who still thinks that price is the most important aspect when choosing a tog.</p>

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<p>the following are just my opinion.. you might agree or disagree.</p>

<p>i'm against bringing large softboxes/umbrellas and stuff to wedding receptions.. it is one thing to bring a couple speedlights but another to have all these giant light modifiers flashing all over the place.</p>

<p>it destroys the mood if you ask me.. if the couple wanted to have bright lights shining all over her reception she would have hosted it in a gymnasium.</p>

<p>too many photographers these days bring these multiple lights to try to capture the perfect shot at the expense of the mood that the couple wanted.</p>

<p>this been around for a while..but i figure i'd post it for a good laugh.<p>

<p>btw..i did not write this, i just stumbled upon it, and if you ask me, the writer seems a bit bitter.</p>

<p>http://studiougly.com/2009/06/17/how-to-become-a-rock-star-wedding-photographer-2.aspx</p>

<p>i don't see what's so special about her style..they look pretty normal images to me.</p>

<p>too many people these days depend on bought actions rather than try to understand what exactly are the actions doing to the images...</p>

<p>a bit of a color bump/curve tweaking and contrast changes should do the job. those images are fairly normal looking like i said.</p>

<p>you still have not answered the question of which lenses you have currently. that is a key question to answer your original question properly...</p>

<p>ie... little point of getting the 50 1.2 if you have the 50 1.8 already.</p>

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<p>I heard that this is norma with canons but if is not are there any tips for me to look at?</p>

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<p>i would like to know where you heard that...cuz it aint true..i use 5dm2..i have no issues with softness.. i think a lot of people these days depend on the AF and don't really pay attention to what they see in the viewfinder.. take a moment and pause and look at what you are seeing...you know you can adjust the focus after the AF does its job.. if you think it's out of focus..then focus it manually. if it is out of focus consistently, then micro adjust the lens.</p>

<p>i would say that the best way to decide which way to go is to go back and look at your pics...and see in which range you shoot the most..</p>

<p>i'm looking at my past 10 weddings, and it seems to be that although many of my favorites are in the wider range...i would say from a quick glance that at least 60% of my shots are above 40mm... so obviously i would go for the long one..</p>

<p>but you should look at your shooting style...and see which range do you shoot the most from.</p>

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<p>But by that logic (having to work with only a single lens)... it's usually easier to move forward than back because of those pesky walls.</p>

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<p>for you as a photographer..but then again this business is about customer service.. if i were the client and my photographer is on my face all day long i would be annoyed. well..i would be pissed first that he only have 1 lens to worry about...but that is a whole different matter.</p>

<p>if i couldn't move back cuz of a wall, then i'll just forgo the shot..<br>

if you gave me a choice...a wide angle shot, or give the couple their space during their wedding, which one you think i'm gonna choose.</p>

<p>some photographers still think that capturing a shot is the most important thing...i tend to think that giving the client a good experience during their day is the most important thing.</p>

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<p>Mark, why specifically do you recommend the <em>Tamron sp af aspherical xr di 28-75mm 1:2.8 macro af,</em> to replace the 28 to 135 and for use on a 40D, as your choice of the three lenses mentioned?</p>

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<p>although i like wide angle shots during weddings, a long reach lens is more useful in my opinion. so if i could only have 1 lens, i would rather have it toward the longer side instead of the wider side.</p>

<p>I can always try to compensate for a wider angle by going further back...but unless i'm planning to be on the couple's face all day long, i won't be able to compensate for a lack of a longer lens.</p>

<p>for weddings... 1..</p>

<p>there are more ways to create bokeh than using aperture. and you don't want to just have your portfolio full of 50mm shots..... i won't even go there</p>

<p>I'll be blunt again...</p>

<p>you sure your first solo wedding is the right place to be testing new techniques?</p>

<p>I'm puzzled at the amount of new photographers thinking that it is a good idea to test new techniques at someone's wedding.</p>

<p>I wonder if you guys take your cars to a mechanic that will be testing a new way of fixing your one of a kind car and pay him for it.</p>

<p><br /> Test at your own time.. when you are on the job...do the job..don't monkey around.</p>

<p>why do some people think they are entitled to get paid at a competitive price simply because they have experience in similar fields.</p>

<p>it's like saying "hey...I have experience fixing motorcycles, how much you going to pay me to fix your truck".</p>

<p>But I guess we can't fault the togs in trying to ask to get paid and make a living...I just sometime feel sorry for clients these days who pays and then get a substandard result. Although one could argue that would be partly the client's fault for not doing basic research... they see a friend who is a "photographer" and suddenly think they can get a deal going... greed gets the best of us.</p>

<p>i don't get what you are saying?</p>

<p>i don't give a hour by hour update to my client regarding their stuff's shipping status..that to me would be more annoying than anything.</p>

<p>i dont think a lawsuit will do you any good now.. he probably deleted the files by now.</p>

<p>maybe you can sue him for more money? but i don't really think you can do much about recovering your wedding day photos.</p>

<p>this is a moot point by now...but anyone who advertises themselves as "grandmaster of all photographers in Western PA" is lying unless he charges in the 5 figures, which I doubt is what you paid for him.</p>

<p>that statement alone should have brought out big red flags as to run away from him... but like i said..this is moot.. lessons learned.</p>

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