ashley_soet

<p>Ha, got it. Thanks Dan.<br>

Either way, I am in Florida, she is from Michigan. The wedding will be in Florida. I already think I knew the answer, but I was looking for someone to verify what I already thought to be sure, just in case. Thanks for the help.</p>

<p>Pardon me, I didn't realize I didn't mention the state I was in. All you had to do was ask. I didn't need the extras.<br /> And I thought the reason this forum was here was to help other photographers, whether it was a question you believe is worthy or not. Not berate them if they forget to mention something, or give'em a piece of your mind because you don't like the question asked.</p>

<p>Yes, I also was under the impression that the tax was paid where the services are rendered as well. That is why all my sales tax info from the state came with a per county discretionary sales tax rates, so I knew what to charge depending on where I was. <br>

That is, unless I go out of state and shoot something, then I don't charge sales tax, it is up to them to figure it out and pay it to the state...or so I have read.</p>

<p>Do I charge state sales tax for a Bride who is from out of state, but is getting married in the state where I work? I thought I did, but she is telling me otherwise.</p>

<p>Wow, THANK you. Yes, that all helped so much. I was looking at the Alienbees as well, but my main issue was with getting enough light to take the shot in the first place and then also people seeing where they were going. Sometimes, receptions can get pretty dark. I like the fact that the monolight has a modeling light to help compose and focus, along with all the extra power. I use SB-800's, so I get a good amount of light from them, but knowing how much more the Alienbee could provide is excellent to know. I knew they were more powerful, but I didn't know by how much. <br>

I guess my only question would be if I decide to go with the Alienbee, would an umbrella or a softbox be better?</p>

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<p>I am a wedding photographer who is use to using two hotshoe flashs for most of my work. I recently added an option to my brides and grooms for a 'guest photo-op area' during their reception with optional backdrops...which is turning out to be a big hit. </p>

<p>I am having issues with the darkness of the reception area when it comes to shooting for these guest photo-ops. My flashes are fine, but the darkness of the room usually doesn't help focusing the lens or help with guests seeing clearly where they are going. At some receptions I have been able to set up in areas with better lighting, but this is not always the case. </p>

<p>I am looking into getting a continuous fluorescent lighting system to help with this. I have NO idea about that sort of thing though and I am trying to do my homework now, but I would love for others more experienced with this knowhow to give any opinions that could be helpful. </p>

<p>The system I am looking at uses two 24" x 32" inch softboxes (which I have never used but am super excited about starting to!) with 7 foot stands and a total light output of 3600 watts (divided between the two). In each set up there are nine 45watt fluorescent bulbs. So, to the newbie when it comes to me this looks pretty powerful and helpful for what I am looking for....</p>

<p>but my questions are..<br>

1) does that seem like a good amount of watt output to help light up a small-medium-ish backdrop setup in a darkened room? I can still use the hotshoe flashes for more light of course, but it might be nice to just use one or the other if possible, and the point of all of this is to continuously light up the area so guests see where they are going and I can always focus my lens.</p>

<p>2) Is that amount of wattage safe to plug into an outlet? I have heard how too much can be dangerous for a home, but these places are always large reception sites, so I would hope that would be something doable. It would be running for either 1 hour or 2 hours, depending on which package addition a bride chooses.</p>

<p>3) Any other suggestions or things anyone should think would be good for me to know before I venture into the use of softboxes and/or continuous lighting.<br>

Thanks so much!</p>

 

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<p>Ouch.<br>

Well, I guess I have to thank the people who have gone out of their way to give me some direction. I am new to photography, and while completely possible that I am not capable of shooting this wedding, the reason these friends asked me to is because they have seen other wedding images I have shot. Maybe completley by accident I have created shots that actual looked good in the past and have people, to my surprize as well, saying "wow, I wish she would have done my wedding". I have NO technical training with photography, only things I have read and tried on my own, and I am obviously CONSTANTLY learning. These people know this about me, I have let them know that I am NO PROFESSIONAL, and I don't know my way around a camera the way a professional they could hire would. Yet, even with knowing this, they still want me to do it.</p>

<p>I basically know what to do with this wedding, I have done them before, I spend hours preparing over the weeks coming up, but I turned to this forum because I do not have the formal training with a camera, and I thought "hey, its the beginners forum, maybe I will just ask this basic question to see if I am doing something wrong. Or maybe if there is a better way." Apparently, I got my answer.</p>

<p>I am an amatuer photographer (im sure most of you would say, "not even that!"), but I have enough people knowing this about me and still liking my images enough that they ask me to do this, and they ask me to post my photos somewhere. </p>

<p> My full name is Ashley Alice Elizabeth Soet. aliceelizabethphotography.com - I have a website sortof, you can look at some of the photos I have taken, maybe it will make me seem like less of an idiot for shooting this wedding...since I felt like one after reading all of these posts. My stuff is far from perfect or professional...perhaps even far from amature in your opinion. I am sure everyone who commented here could critique the sh*t out of my photos and make me feel even worse, and point out a million things that are wrong with them...but the people who have "hired" me have been happy. And I am constantly striving to get better.</p>

<p>And at the same time, I welcome everything here. Even the things that made me feel stupid for doing this...I am grateful to pretty much everything (maybe not EVERYTHING...) here because I came to this forum to get help. I have no technical training, I have been doing this for 6 months, and for some reason people still want me to photograph their weddings. Sure I could tell them no, I am not experienced enough, but there response is "here is your chance." And I say, "are you sure about this?" ...and they say yes. Somehow I have stumbled through and had "success" with the little knowledge I am working off of. I have been successful when it comes to my friends opinions I mean, so at this point, I am getting more serious about it, and I want to REALLY KNOW technically what I am doing, not just doing something intuitively with the camera. I know what I need to learn now.<br>

Thanks for any help.</p>

 

<p>I am shooting a wedding for a friend this weekend. I have visited the church, it is low lighting, of course. I am semi-new to photography, and wedding photography to boot, and I want to know what F stop I should be shooting at.</p>

<p>The church is very low light, no flash allowed, no tripod.</p>

<p>I have a wide angle 12-24mm f4, 50mm f1.8, and a 50-150mm f2.8. I shoot with a Nikon D90.</p>

<p>When I went to the church I used the 50-150mm at around 80mm at f2.8 to get some practice shots, since the 50mm did not get me close enough to get detailed photos from where I am allowed to stand during the ceremony. I was able to get good enough lighting with ISO around 1600. Better at 2500 of course, but I don't want to go that high. I am considering +1 exposure with lower ISO and then reduce exposure in photoshop to help with shadow noise. But after looking at the practice shots, I am starting to wonder about depth of field.</p>

<p>I was shooting at f2.8 simply because it would allow me the most light on my 50-150mm, but at the same time, I am afraid that the shots will not be sharp enough. Does that make sense? Bare with me, this is sort of new. I always read that portrait shots, and shots where you want to get a good amount of detail in peoples faces should be anywhere from f5.6-f11. I don't think its possible for me to shoot at that though, since it would kill my light. Do you think it is possible to get good sharp photos of Bride walking down the isle, vows, Bride/Groom walking back down isle at f2.8 at around 80mm from about 15-20feet away?? I honestly don't understand how to figure out Fstop in regards to how far you are from the subject.</p>

<p> I also am unsure about what shutter speed I should be shooting at. In the church my practice shots where at 250 to make sure I got all the details in focus when my stand-in walked down the isle, etc. Is that too high?<br>

Thank you to anyone and everyone who can help me figure this out.</p>