kwest1

<p>Wow, sad to see this happening. (To the people who were duped: not the photographer.) It may seem petty to some, but if he knowingly provided altered images that wasted government resources, that's some serious fraud.</p>

<p>HAHA wow... you're all right - I accidentally pressed one of the top-right buttons and didn't realize it. I didn't even think to check that because I never really try to change my focus points for any reason. I was being dense when I though the exposure weighting had anything to do with it. I probably hit them on accident when I was trying to zoom in and out of a photo in 'play' mode.</p>

<p>Thanks so much for helping guys - this is my official blonde moment of the week! :-p</p>

<p>Just today I started having focusing issues with my Canon 30D. It hasn't taken any serious knocks that I know of, but no matter WHAT setting I use for the focus (Center-weighted or not, AI SERVO or Auto, etc.) it is focusing on the far right AF point as the center. I'm having this issue no matter what shutter speed, ISO, or lighting situation. I've changed out lenses and it's having the same issue with both my EF and EF-S lenses. All of the prongs and various other connective surfaces where the body meets the lens look clean and undamaged.</p>

<p>Here's the other strange part: it does this in every mode except full-auto. (Vs. Av/Tv/P) I am guessing somehow I messed the calibration up somehow, but I can't for the life of me figure out what I changed. Clearly it is able to function properly somehow, but not under all of the settings I use! Even if I change everything to be identical to what the fully-auto mode chooses, it still uses the far right AF point as its center. This is a pretty monumental problem for me, as I rely on AF to capture fleeting moments during weddings.</p>

<p>Does anyone have any advice on this matter? I'm getting to where I'm giving up on thinking it's user error... but then again, I really don't know!</p>

<p>Haha, yes, I've recently realized that Nadine. I have spent most of my time doing photography without collaborating or interacting with others, and have never taken a class - hence the sort of 'culture shock' over the past couple years. That probably has something to do with it, I would say. I'm just kind of glad I have been insulated from that enough to not really have that attitude. (That I know of, haha.) </p><p>Hmm, I've been reading about the wedding photography business on here (when I have time) for a couple years. I started out just photographing weddings that I happened to attend - just to see how things went and what went on. I'm more or less a beginner in terms of the business end of things. I have been too busy with other life happenings to devote as much time to it as I would like, as well. (Health problems have been scattered around in there.) I understand the frustration of those who make profits mainly from selling prints and releasing proofs only to clients. (Initially, at least.) However, all I can really do is shrug and say, "Well, most people's careers evolve over time... and this is an example of how things can change." <br></p>

<p>I see where you're coming from now William, I just wanted to clarify.</p>

<p>To explain the interpretation: I have been in an occupation for many years now that makes me very suspicious by nature. Being suspicious of people is how I determine whether or not there is a problem to be dealt with, whether or not people are lying to me, etc. (I am in law enforcement.) I am insulted on a regular basis, sometimes by people who think they are cleverly hiding their condescending remarks. That of course has also happened to me on this forum: if only I had a dollar for every snobby, rude photographer that I came in contact with whose aim was to insult anyone who decided to ask a honest question. More often than not, that's not the response I get from the Photo.net community, but it happens... and I'll never understand why so many photographers express immense frustration with beginners, rather than compassion and understanding.</p>

<p>It's that background, combined with your succinct writing style, which made it difficult for me to determine how the comment was meant. (Was it sarcasm or not?) I knew that I'd get an answer if I mentioned it, and in doing so I assumed that you were probably not one that was easy to offend. There are also some other personal contributors that I would prefer not to mention here, but wouldn't mind discussing privately.</p>

<p>I haven't taken any psychology courses that directly deal with marketing strategies, for the most part... more of my focus has been on neuroscience and cognitive up to this point. Good to know about height: I'm over 5'9" Much of my consulting is done online right now, so I haven't run into that issue yet. I will be meeting with clients in person more (most likely) as my schedule frees up in the summer though.</p>

<p>Thanks for all the input, and being kind enough to respond a second time!</p>

<p>Re: Bob<br /><br />Yes, I am very skilled in Photoshop CS2 and Lightroom, and each photograph is indeed retouched by hand. (Drawing is what led me into fine arts when I was a kid.) I use my own presets, but do not batch process without individual attention to each one. Special attention is given to formals as opposed to the snapshots, obviously, in addition to close-ups and so on.<br /><br />At this point, I would not 'refuse' to do an album in the future. However, in the past, yes, I would have. I would have literally not had any time for it. I am a full-time student(14 semester hours), and I work a soul-sucking full-time job... in addition to running this business by myself. (I am not an undergraduate with 'all bills paid by mommy and daddy.') By summer, the full-time job will go. I have always been very clear with anyone who talks to me about what I offer. They know from the get-go what I do and do not offer, and so far it has yielded many happy clients.<br /><br /><br />Re: Jon<br /><br />My pricing is based on what skill level I believe I am at, and what equipment I have. (I don't even shoot full-frame, because I wouldn't be able to afford a backup body if I used, say, a 7D. Does reviewing my portfolio make you think otherwise?)<br /><br />I don't know what makes you suspect my photography business could be illegal, seeing as I pay my taxes. I have a TIN and file an annual return. I have not turned a profit yet, but am on the borderline of doing so. Like I said, I haven't even been doing this for a year, and it has been in addition to a mountain of other responsibilities - it's a transition period, and it's not my full-time job.... but that is something I'm open to, depending on how things go. I've carefully collected a lot of my equipment and software over the years rather than all at once, and I know how to budget fairly well. Not to mention I have been fortunate enough to receive some of my tools as gifts from friends and family. <br /><br /><br />Re: William<br /><br />Yes, I agree with much of that. That's the problem I'm running into, and knew I would probably arrive at this point - yet couldn't really predict what was going to happen. i.e. I had a hunch that I would need to narrow down what I was willing to offer, but couldn't figure out what issues I would be faced with. Also, it is in my nature to be as accommodating as possible while building my portfolio in particular. Most brides I've known get their hair and makeup done within a reasonable timeframe in relation to the ceremony, but some of them... well... some of them set themselves up for an 18 hour day. I just couldn't foresee that in the beginning, so that's why I'm here asking questions, lol.<br /><br />By the way, not to sound trite, but mentioning my fields of study is a bit irrelevant and comes across as rather rude; whether you intended it to be that way or not.<br /><br /><br />Re: Juanita<br /><br />Thanks for the input! That's generally how I feel about things. I can't do huge weddings when shooting by myself, and right now I do have some weak-points with my lighting and timing that explain the pricing. Not to mention, it doesn't exactly crush my ego to be in the budget market while I am still learning and pursuing other interests simultaneously. It may not turn a profit just yet, but it has just about paid for itself and lets me live comfortably while continuing my education. If I decide this is something I want to do instead of pursuing a Ph.D., then of course I'll be more interested in working my way up into a different price bracket.<br /><br /><br /></p>

<p>Oh yeah! I just starting doing that John. Or at least, I put the word out to a photographer I know. He's considering hiring me on as an assistant, but if that doesn't pan out I'll look for another photographer to learn from. My main issue is working with my flash equipment. I've got most of the techniques down, but am just a bit slow when it comes to getting creative with it/troubleshooting lighting situations I'm not too familiar with. My timing, framing, post-processing, etc. are all things I'm generally happy with and I keep getting better over time. (My progress has been noticeable even to me, which is very encouraging.)<br>

I haven't had a lot of opportunities to experiment on my own since the start-up of my business has been happening whilst working another fulltime job AND going to school full-time. (The job is about to go in lieu of financial aid and photography work only.) That should change soon though... I should have a few weeks over the summer strictly for spending time 'in the woodshed.'</p>

<p>That's exactly what I was thinking, Nadine. I am just getting lots of people wanting to do things that are probably an attempt to save money, yet are still going to cause me the same amount of effort as the full-day package. (They don't realize sometimes that even if I'm sitting around waiting for stuff to happen, I'm still on the clock.)</p>

<p>I think I'm going to go ahead and set some prices for slightly smaller packages for the time being, because I'm not quite busy enough yet that I am willing to turn down a $300 or $400 gig. That and I need to put a time limit on things so that I'm not getting called to photograph hair getting done at 8AM, when the ceremony doesn't even start until 7PM. (I really don't understand that timing.)</p>

<p>Do you have any advice on how to limit the time-frames for which people can book you? (Or maybe I should say, how do I word this?)</p>

<p>I've been doing wedding photography professionally for a little under a year now, and I'm basically offering an all-inclusive package for $700 that includes the following:<br>

- 8"x10" print<br>

- CD of high-resolution images that have all been digitally retouched by hand. (I don't send proofs and charge per print.)<br>

<strong>Scope of coverage:</strong> Hair & makeup/dressing through the ceremony and end of the reception.</p>

<p>I charge this because I haven't expanded to offering albums just yet, and I'm not as satisfied with some of my lighting as I would like to be. Not to mention, I am shooting by myself and do not have an assistant.<br>

The issue that I'm running into lately is clients that are asking, "Hey, can you just shoot the ceremony?" or "I just want you for the ceremony and the reception, but none of the before stuff." Or, "Can you shoot the ceremony and use getting ready, but nothing else? It's only going to be maybe 3 hours." Most of the weddings I've done are LONG days where I do <em>everything</em> from start to finish.<br>

I'm having trouble figuring out how to give these people a fair price/quote; does anyone have any suggestions? I prefer to use a 'creative service fee' model with pricing, but I'm having a bit of trouble figuring out what to do in these 'specialty' situations. I'd kind of like to accommodate these clients for now because I'm just starting out, but it's making me rather uneasy and I would like some advice. Maybe I'm not being as clear as I should be - I don't know, please let me know if I should narrow my question down any.</p>

<p>Nice, and thanks for the little tutorial. I was guessing it was something like that, but couldn't quite figure it out.</p>

<p>I agree - when it's overdone people look absolutely possessed.</p>

<p>I've noticed a lot of photographers use some sort of lighting or retouching technique that accentuates the wetness and depth of eyes. Many examples of what I'm talking about can be found at this website: www.julieharrisphotography.com<br>

A lot of her baby photos, in particular, use this effect. Anyone know what actions, lighting, or retouching is used for it?</p>

<p>Awesome: that's a relief. I ask because I just got done with the h*ll that is Craigslist. Apparently that community hates it so much that even though it's not against CL policy, all of the users flag 'free help wanted' type posts to have them removed on the spot. It's an unwritten rule the users have created themselves, and it really aggravates me.</p>

<p>Anywho...</p>

<p>Konrad - I'm located in Austin, TX, and this wedding is 45 miles Southeast of the city in a small town called Smithville. The ceremony is at 4PM on this Saturday, and I only need an assistant to help set up my lights for formals, move things around if I am too busy with something else to do it, and perhaps hold a reflector every once in a while. You are welcome to practice taking candids during the reception, although the only thing I could afford to let anyone borrow (at this point) would be my Rebel Xti that I use as a backup to a backup. Am happy to share what knowledge I have about my experience so far with anyone who is wanting to learn, although you should know I am still getting into the groove. Teaching what I have learned helps me reinforce it to myself and perfect my own system.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>I'm trying to find someone to help me schlep gear for a Saturday gig, who would ideally be trying to learn about the wedding photography workflow. I'm nowhere near able to pay assistants at this point, and a friend I had scheduled to help bailed on me because of a family emergency of some sort.</p>

<p>That's generally what I was thinking - thanks for confirming that. I would like to avoid limiting myself by getting something that is compatible mostly with AB units, but I figure if I move into another type of setup I can always sell it and buy something different. For now, the CyberSync should be ideal for my needs - I definitely need something that won't fail and does the job.</p>

<p>I'm trying to decide on a set of radio slaves for the two Alien Bees I have. Does anyone discourage the CyberSync setup that Paul C. Buff makes?</p>

<p>I'd like to stay under $250 for two receivers and a transmitter, but don't want anything unreliable either.</p>

 

<p>I highly recommend getting a laptop that is fast and what you can afford (a type of Mac, preferably) and ignore the size of the screen. Get an external monitor, like the others said. You can usually get a very large screen to work with for less than what you'd spend on a 17" laptop. (I have a 17" PowerBook G4, and it's rather cumbersome to travel with at times, despite the slimness of it.)</p>

<p>The advice above on RAM is accurate as far as I know: just be sure that if you upgrade your RAM you buy it from a reputable dealer. I've been having some memory issues lately that I think are caused by the RAM I bought from an outlet.</p>

<p>If you're going to be retouching portraits, I do recommend getting Photoshop in addition to Lightroom or Aperture. You'll want to use it for airbrushing/masking and other specific things that Lightroom can't do on its own.</p>

<p>You'll also want to look into a calibration tool like the Spyder 3 for whatever type of monitor(s) you have. It's a little investment that will go a long way once you see your photos come out in print.</p>

<p>Shannon: I have to agree with the others who have commented on your 'retouch scale' - it's a fantastic approach! I will definitely be making use of that in the future, as I recently found out that I went a little 'overboard' with the retouching on a couple graduation photos for someone. (I went to the 'glamour magazine' level with a few shots, and she was a bit creeped out.) It left me perplexed as to how I should tactfully handle this issue in the future. Now I have a great answer, hah.</p>

<p>Thank you for the thoughtful response John. I was looking at Texas law and the sales tax exemptions are pretty specific - and at times seemingly arbitrary. (Florists and 'amusement services' like live bands are among the exempt... flowers die and rot, hah.)<br>

I have a friend who works for a small business, so I think he's going to be able to help me quite a bit with getting an organized bookkeeping system set up.</p>

<p>Sounds good. Thanks Aimee. I haven't made any money that I haven't declared - other than maybe, $40 or $50 once or twice, years and years ago. (Probably before I was even filing a W-2 at all - I'm young.) Good to know about deducting my equipment purchases: I was wondering about that.</p>

<p>Kelly - thanks for the heads up. I am definitely the type to hate haggling with people over B.S. like that. I think I will figure in taxes to the total rate rather than adding it later, just to protect myself and avoid the, "Jeeze I didn't know it was going to be THAT much after taxes were added..." reaction that I'm sure some clients would have.</p>

<p>I know it may sound laughable Michael - I feel silly asking - but I honestly had not been doing business before, and the realization that I'm actually attracting a number of clients has been a huge surprise. Despite that I'm very fiscally conservative, I definitely wasn't trying to give the impression of wanting to avoid tax laws altogether. How can I make a comparison... I'm just so small potatoes now that I couldn't help but wonder, 'Would not charging sales tax on three gigs be serious like, going 10mph over the speed limit because you're learning to drive serious... or... is it stealing a car serious?' I had no threshold for it because I'd had no reason to think about it before.</p>

<p>Right now I am merely in the process of booking people, and all work I have done before has been for practice/fun. I've just happened to land into a perfect opportunity to start a business that I've been considering for some time, but lots of things in my personal life kept me from seeing that I really could do it until now... there's a lot more behind that than I care to elaborate on here. (Thus I hadn't researched the legal end, save copyrights and contracts.)</p>

<p>As far as permits/licensing goes, in Texas I only have to have a permit to collect sales tax, and it's free. The rest of the filing will be a chore I'm sure, but fine-print isn't anything I'm not used to... and I do have a CPA. I just happen to have plenty of experience with self-promotion for the sake of sharing my work, so that's pretty much taken care of.</p>

<p>Bruce: Not entirely sure how you meant that, but excuse <em>me </em> for being new to the world of owning my own business. I'm quite aware of the law: I work for it; just not the financial side.</p>

<p>True... I wasn't entirely set on 'going under the radar' once I saw that the permit is free and easy to obtain, it was just something I hadn't given any thought until I suddenly got multiple requests for my business from only one ad. I've done random portrait shoots for pay here and there, much like a kid getting $40 a month for mowing somebody's grass or something, but this is the first time I've felt like I have something with a lot of growing potential on my hands. It was genuinely a surprise to get interest quickly, so I'm playing catch-up I suppose.</p>

<p>*scurries off to comptroller office*</p>

<p>The subject of taxes just hit me today when giving a client a price. I am curious as to what everyone's opinion would be on whether or not to 'fly under the radar' while I am just getting my footing and building my portfolio at discounted rates. (I ran an inexpensive promotional special for that recently, it has worked very well so far.) I highly doubt I will book more than 6 weddings/portrait session during the summer, but I am likely going to make enough money to pay for most of my new equipment... maybe I will get into profit range if people keep contacting me.</p>

<p>Does anyone advise against doing this while I am small potatoes and testing the waters of the business world? I would rather not deal with filing and charging my clients 8.25% sales tax (Austin, Texas) until I have a season under my belt and I've officially decided to declare myself as a business/do the appropriate paperwork.</p>

<p>It doesn't seem like it would be very difficult to obtain a sales tax collection permit though - would I be better off getting this and being 100% legit from the start to be on the safe side?</p>

<p>Thanks for the advice - those were definitely things I was thinking about. I decided to take the plunge and get a new 30D from Adorama, despite that I would enjoy a couple more MP with the 40D or Rebel XSI. (Maybe I'll make an XSI a second body and use my XTi as a backup instead of renting.) I am definitely not a fan of the 'mystery' involved with whether or not something with moving parts is in good condition. I think lenses - despite the autofocus and potential IS components - are generally a safer bet. (Please correct me if that's not a correct assumption.)<br>

By the way, I've tried the website for KEH repeatedly to look at products, but for some reason I keep getting an error page. Anyone know what is wrong with their site?</p>

 

<p>I'm on a budget, so I'm thinking about buying a used 40D or 30D online. Is buying a used body a 'hazardous' sort of venture, or would you - if money was an issue - do so comfortably?</p>

<p>Is there anything I need to look for/ask about specifically that would indicate the camera is going to break down or have a short life?</p>

<p>Very good! Thank you for all the moral support, haha. I'm sure I'll be posting and/or reading more when I start making my lighting selections.</p>

<p>The reasonI'm thinking about a 30D instead is because I can definitely afford a <em>new</em> body - I just want to keep it around $600 or under. Perhaps I will get a new 30D body to ensure it will last a very long time, and purchase a refurbished 20D as a second body. (Leaving my ol' faithful Xti as a backup.) I definitely wouldn't go without a backup to a wedding where I'm charging the B&G more than $500 for my services. I've seen some very cheap 20D's all over Ebay. I take it that the 20D and 30D are similar enough that it wouldn't be difficult to switch between the two.</p>

<p>I would definitely love to get a 5D: I'm just not in the place to spend quite that much right now, although hopefully I will be able to in a few years. My plan is definitely to profit as much as possible with my new equipment - I'm hoping that it will be a nice way to earn money in a smaller chunk of time, as I work and go to college. (and of course, I just enjoy making people happy)</p>