david_rosenthal1

<p>O-K Guys, and thanks!</p>

<p>I tried to do an edit on my last post and clicked on the wrong button, resulting in more than 1/2 of my last post being deleted. IF the OP does come back I'll try to remember to re-write what I said including a story about building albums for the families of WTC Attack victims who both worked on the 92nd floor. A real heart-tug that lay-out was. They were the B&G. They found a piece of her through DNA, and never did find anything from him.......</p>

<p>Customer service is best done face to face, NOT reading complaints and answering them on a computer screen. Sometimes all you have to do to make them happy is to crop-out or extend the length of the mini-dress and cover-up the "girls" on the wedding "hoe" in the background and all of a sudden they love the image instead of hate it.......been there-done that-got the t shirt!</p>

<p>Take care everyone and have a great weekend!</p>

<p>Dave</p>

<p>Bob,</p>

<p>If you're referring to me as "going away", I really don't understand why.</p>

<p>I've been in the trenches for decades. I have proofing jobs in storage from Brides who never picked-up their proofs and finished paying me my last 1/3 of the contract. I have finished albums in storage with low balances still waiting to be paid on a COD basis (that a years old). </p>

<p>I've had Brides have a breakdown on their wedding day cause the flowers were wrong (try selling a copy of any image with the flowers in it). And I've had Brides that LOVE the proofs in the studio, hug & kiss me at proof pick-up, even leave a tip for the assistant at proof pick-up and then pay for the entire balance of the contract (including the finished albums) and NEVER contact or repond to us (phone or email) to do the album lay-out.</p>

<p>I had a Bride & Groom that both worked at Carr Futures</p>

<p>John Deerfield gets an "A", for he is the only poster to hit the nail on the head!</p>

<p>If you're going to bitch about a client's wants, you have to show us what you gave her and then we can advise you. Not saying anything about your style, but if you deliver washed-out highlights like a fashion photog's close-ups and her sister's point & shoot captured all of the fine details in the shade at the park, you could be in for a long ride: The Bride went fickle and changed her mind on what she likes cause she saw something from a point & shoot that you didn't produce!</p>

<p>This brings to mind an example in what labs think is good:</p>

<p>I LOVED the color & saturation I got from my Fuji S-3's! The jpgs looked great right out of the cameras (all 4 of them)! The lab tweeked one of my jobs into something that went washed-out & BLAHHH and it hit a nerve with me. I told the guy at the lab to put my disk into the computer and look at the images' color that he saw. He told me that they needed correction. I told him NOT to, and to just density correct if needed (I'm not perfect). What I got back the second time was perfect, and the client loved it too! Turns-out that the lab's monitor was out of adjustment......</p>

<p>Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Brides are women. Women CHANGE their minds, sometimes more than once in a day. Some of them are Bi-Polar to boot. Unfortuneately, we have to just deal with them.......</p>

<p>Good luck, and DO NOT CAVE-IN! Maybe all she wants is some "Free Sh**" and you're chops are getting busted until you make an offer to give it up. Weddings are expensive, and sometimes the really like too many of your images and want a lot more than they originally paid for......</p>

<p>Jeff,</p>

<p>I'm with you on this, and have first-hand knowledge of it. I can't believe all of the responses of folks here calling "SCAM" and other BS. If I got handed a Speed Graphic, I could use it. If you handed me a Leica, I could use it. Ditto with a digital system. Problem is today's "Photographers" don't have experience with multiple formats. If she was handed a Hassy SWC/M would she remember to take the lens cap off or know how to pull the dark slide?</p>

<p>This Business Forum ought to be for business, not for so-called experts who possibly never shot a roll of film, or for Trolls. The idea that a thread like this even exists is disgusting to me. You mean to say that a pro Photog has to supply their own equipment! What's next? Her own pens & paper & phone? OMG!</p>

<p>I have 40 years experience with syncro-sun & syncro-shade exposures. I'll conduct a personal telephone troubleshooting class if you're interested. Let me know if you're interested with a response here or PM me.</p>

<p>All the best,</p>

<p>Dave</p>

<p>Another "Babe in the Woods"?</p>

<p>Yes you have to use your camera gear, and why the hell wouldn't you want to? If an employer handed you a Nikon system and you owned Canon, would you make the switch effortlessly knowing what every button or switch was on the Nikons? Or would you want to use what you're comfortable & creative with, so you wouldn't screw the pooch and get fired?</p>

<p>If I'm the employer and I hand you medium or large format, would you know where the film goes?</p>

<p>And if you get the Canadian equiv. of a W-2 for a full-time job, instead of a "1099" or what ever Canada has, you're a staff photog, not a contractor.</p>

<p>For the poster who wanted to know where to get a drum scan:</p>

<p>Taylor Photo in Princeton, NJ</p>

<p>How big do you need to go?? Ron at Taylor can handle it!</p>

<p>Canon has nothing to worry about as far as market share goes, so they might as well make their newest & best full-frame sensor available to Leica. Different animal in comparison to manual focus rangefinder. No one who is willing to spend $8K on a M-9P is even considering the full-frame DSLR, so Canon would be wise to let Leica use it's best sensor. Otherwise they're missing out on a nice sale.</p>

<p>I haven't borrowed a M-9 yet to play with. I would love the chance, and it will happen sooner rather than later. I love the Leica glass with my results from my M-6TTL's. Color, sharpness, shadow detail, etc. I can drum scan a neg and make murals. So the sensor and it's firmware/processing are key.</p>

<p>This and every other pose starts with proper feet position. Dipping needs to "look real" and so the bride isn't in pain. If she's in pain, she'll be a typical woman (can't help it) and remember the pain instead of enjoying the image for what it is! It's just human--they can't help it! And she won't order the image either! No matter how great it looks!</p>

<p>So unless the couple has had dance instruction, you need to show them what to do so they enjoy the experience without causing the bride back pain! Flow posing them looking at each other, kissing, and the groom kissing the bide's neck during the formals (and sometimes while being "dipped") always results in a fun experience that's easier to sell an entire series of images of, since FUN was had during the session. Keep it fun and make more money!</p>

<p>Didier,</p>

<p>I completely burnt-out on digital. Now I'm rediscovering my (4) M6TTL's with 21, 28Cron, 35Lux, 50 Noct., 90 Apo and 135 Apo. I'm starting to have fun again! I LIKE having to wait to see the results, and telling my friends, NO, you can't see it right now--it's FILM!</p>

<p>Nice shot!</p>

<p>Hasselblad used to make a 16 exposure back for use with a 35mm projector. They were called "Superslides" and you needed to use the A-16-S (discontinued) interchangable back to get the 1 5/8 x 1 5/8 Superslides. In a Pako plastic mount, they were great and filled-up the entire 40x40 screen using only the "sweet spot" of the Hassy glass no less!</p>

<p>Standard 120 film.....just drop a mask over the focusing screen to crop the image so you see only what the slide mount will give you.</p>

<p>Go with the RZ for the flash sync for portraits.</p>

<p>I've used RB's since 1971, when I was trained on my Cousin's. The 180mm for portraits is sweet and the 250 does nice headshots. On a tripod with mirror locked-up and trip the camera with a bulb air release.</p>

<p>The Pentax is a Spotmatic on steroids! I once owned at least 3 bodies, and almost every lens from 45mm to 500mm, TTL finders, pentaprisms, even a waist-level for low-angle shots or copy stand work with the macro. Great system, but all I had was a wide normal 90mm leaf-shutter lens for flash outside. When I switched from commercial & news to weddings, I went with Hasselblads for the syncro-sun & syncro-shade capability as well as changing film mid-roll between color & B&W.</p>

<p>Paul,</p>

<p>What about the NY Motor that comes with it?</p>

<p>I still feel that since this was a unit the operated together and no base plate is readily avaialble, it might be a M-2-M and therefore worth some considerable bucks.</p>

<p>What harm would there be to send it to a world-renown Leicaphile for a no-obligation expert opinion??</p>

<p>What's with the photog using his camera phone?? Doesn't his regular camera take pix?</p>

<p>I could have covered this with a Speed Graphic and done a better job! Take the whiz-bang auto focus and set the entire thing to manual. Set the non-existant footage scale to 20 feet. Hold camera at waist level and discreetly shoot the thing. Image captured! End of incident. A twin-less reflex could have done it too!</p>

<p>Having press credentials to a paper that has been known to print things that could be considered treasonous doesn't do this photog any great shakes. Perhaps if the paper didn't have such a slant against the cops, he would be treated better. You get what you give in this business....</p>

<p>Jennifer,</p>

<p>This whole situation is brought about by the use of digital. Digital creates yet another problem illustrated for all to see, namely you're using images from somebody else's job on your web site. NOT a good idea to begin with! If you worked for me you'd be using my CF cards, and you would turn them over TO ME at the end of the job, just like a roll of film. Unfortunately who ever hired you didn't bother providing you with the cards that day, for if they had, this whole thread wouldn't even exist.</p>

<p>It sounds like the studio that hired you to be a second shooter hasn't been around a long time (I'm just guessing here). Because that studio had an open arrangement for you to be able to use some of the images doen't make it morally correct for you to work with this vendor (especially using the images that the main studio hired you to take).</p>

<p>Only you know what the right way to feel about this is. Having an image to show prospective clients in something other than electronic media that goes world-wide is one thing. Going behind the studio's back and working your own deal with the vendor is quite another. I'm with Marc---the fact that you even posted this here means to me that you have plenty of doubt and are looking for guidance.</p>

<p>Niko,</p>

<p>Makes me want to move to your Country! Here in the States, we have beaten-up pro photgs to a point where it's almost not worth being in business. All of the brides want "PJ" and then cry when the mediocre shots come back from their photographers. Some of the brides even post their pissing rants here on this forum!</p>

<p>Back in the days of Hasselblads I made real money. Now, thanks to a willingness to forgo well-posed formals done by trained pros, all any wannabe needs to shoot weddings is $10.00 worth of business cards, a $1K cheappy kit beginner DSLR with slow as molases zoom lens, one shoe mount flash (no flip bracket), NO back-up, and a big smile to lull the nieve bride into a sense of fantasy!</p>

<p>Vail,</p>

<p>This is a perfectly acceptable image given the circumstance (video light). You're being too hard on yourself (sorry), so please just get over it! I routinely shoot this at 1/30 sec. in a dark hall so I get more than just floating white eyes & teeth. Nobody ever complained! I shoot at 800 ISO at F6.3 with my SB900 with bounce card fully extended. From the looks of this image, I don't see any light in the background, just ambient incandescent, so your background light looks like it failed to sync or fire. </p>

<p>Now IF you want to set-up studio strobes on stands in the hall rigged on slaves to give you a constant F5.6 around the entire dance floor, with 1-sec. recycling, then you can pump-up your on-camera flash to F8.0 @ 400 ISO and crank the shutter at 125th/sec. no problem. Monte & Clay used to do this back in the days of being on the dance floor with the Hassy 30mm Fisheye! Clay's image was used in a Hassy promotion and made the famous Loan Collection of PPA and WPPI. Using shoe-mounted flash on stands with high voltage packs will burn-out the circutry after a few jobs. Don't ask me how I know this..... </p>

<p>Today's economy doesn't allow those type of budgets for "Roadys'" salary to start lighting the hall while I do the formals outside or at the park. Perfection is obtainable, at a price. Most brides don't have that kind of budget. Just because I know HOW to light the whole room doesn't mean I want to try to do it for free by rushing the formals that make the most money. The first thing that gets cut picture-wise is the reception. Some couples hardly put any reception pages in their albums, even though we get ALL of those great crying/reaction shots, etc. And believe me, we give them plenty of choices.</p>

<p>So you did a nice job with this image. The ghosting isn't on the face, so don't worry about it!</p>

<p>Either will work just fine! Eventually you'll wind up with all three viewfinder magnifications on three bodies, so the question will be moot at that point. I prefer the .85 for my Noctilux and the .58 for the 28mm. If I'm using the 35 lux, I like to use my Voightlander optical viewfinder in the accessory shoe, especially on the .85 body. Same for the 28mm lens, as I have the newer black plastic (now discontinued) optical viewfinder. </p>

<p>If I was only going to use 28-35-50 and only on one body, it would be a .58 and I'd buy the 1.25 magnifyer eyepiece to screw-into the viewfinder when using the 50mm. I'd do it this way because I wear eyeglasses.</p>

<p>The chimney finder is great for portraits, oblique angles and for use on a copy stand, if you can find one!</p>

<p>I learned how to use one of those beasts over 40 years ago!</p>

<p>Stockings have been used as a softening filter since the days of doing headshots on a 5x7 camera! Betty Grabel looked like Betty Grabel from the hosiery filter (and a host of other Celebs). Barbara Walters likes the look so much she still uses it today on her close-ups! The tell-tale sign is the reduction in contrast between the lens in use and the other cameras on the set doing the 3/4 or stage-wide shots.</p>

<p>Along with the stockings we used to use a vignetter to "burn-in the corners" on our portraits. Through trial & error, we tested each additional layer of softening (material) and took notes on how far we opened the diaphram or boosted the strobe to compensate for the light being blocked.</p>

<p>Hell, in the old days of film, we even had to compensate for close focusing our 180 & 250 Hassy or RB lenses, as the light pathway was elongated during close-ups and the marked maximum aperature of the objective was only correct when the lens was focused near infinity......so sometimes we opened-up 1/2 a stop for the close-up AND a full stop for the Barbara Walters filter, lol!</p>

<p>Of course this was back when Men were Men and photographs were made by photographers instead of kids using a computer. Easier to make a living back then too!</p>

<p>I'd rent or buy a third camera body and give that to the main shooter so you can swap rigs instead of lenses. We bring no less than four, just in case something happens to one of them (dropped due to guest pushing us or guest falls drunk onto camera sitting on the floor in what we thought was a safe location). And before you ask, yes it did happen to me! Wide angle zoom or the bazooka (70-210) goes on the second rig depending upon where ceremony is being held. Third rig gets something else as well as a short list of must haves. A flip bracket is also a good idea. So is a lens cloth for fingerprints or rain. A third strobe in case one Konks-out.</p>

<p>As mentioned before, figure out in advance who is doing what. And who will be where, and responsible for which angles at what zoom settings. Don't both get the exact same thing with horse blinders on and have neither of you remember to get bride & groom full length at the altar during the vows for instance.</p>

<p>Basically I treat a wedding like the DOD treats a thermo-nuclear war scenario: have some back-up and maybe some back-up for that too! Some of the extra stuff can sit in a bag locked in the car trunk. After you have an incident (and everybody has if you do this long enough), you'll know what you really need and what to do. In the meantime, plan away and try to have a little enjoyment from all of this hard work, otherwise you'll be a big flame and burn-out real fast!</p>

<p>Mukul,</p>

<p>Your original post was titled "Fear of Loading". That title would therefore inspire others to convince you, through a description of what they do, to ease your fear, or so I thought?</p>

<p>Although you may consider it complex, it takes less time to do it than to read it...</p>