denis_kucharski

<p>Daniel,<br>

Your website takes too long to load. The music is not bad, and the overall flow of the website is okay once you finally can access it.<br>

The images themselves were pretty good. The quality is there. You just need to market yourself in person. This means going to wedding shows, fairs, etc. Also, facebook is a good way to connect with people and network by word of mouth.<br>

The thumbnail for the wedding section isn't terrible, it just doesn't have the pizzaz you need to capture someone. Just put one of your more energized wedding images in its place, that's all.<br>

You obviously are a good photographer. Now you just need to learn to run a business. That will come in time. Network, put your feet to the pavement, and hang in there.</p>

<p>Both are good. Also don't rule out Pentax. They make some great cameras with excellent build quality and lens performance. They also work well with high ISOs for cropped frame sensor cameras.</p>

<p>I shoot in RAW, then "develop" and save as a high quality JPEG. I use artscow.com. They print on Fuji Crystal Archive Paper. They have an option where you disable the print optimization so your edits will only take effect. Of all the services I have tried, both online and anywhere else, these prints look stunning. I have no complaints and they are dirt cheap. The only problem is they are printed in Hong Kong so they take awhile to arrive. They are worlds better than the garbage you get from printing at a kiosk at Walmart.</p>

<p>You have more than enough gear now. I have a 5 megapixel Olympus E-20 and I have printed 12x18 landscapes with it looked at from two feet away that look plenty sharp. Portraits at 11x14 are perfect. You have some great lenses and two great camera bodies to enjoy. For low light shots, just use your flash or a tripod. Or use a fast prime lens, like a 50 f/1.4. Don't let NAS (Nikon Acquisition Syndrome) get the best of your pocketbook. Be strong, young Nikonian. Let the force be with you.</p>

<p>50mm is perfect for taking portraits on DX. The 35mm f/1.8 is what you need for a "normal" perspective on DX, and serves well as your walking around lens and for indoor shots. 50mm indoors tends to be too cramped for anything other than faces. The 35mm f/1.8 for quick moving subjects indoors is just right. I would go for both. These are even better than a f/2.8 zoom which is still too slow for indoor fast moving low light subjects.</p>

<p>If the DSLR was able to perfectly replicate the organic film look, resolve the same resolution, depict color and mimic the dynamic range of film, I would stop using film. However, this new DSLR would also have to be the same price as current low to mid range DSLR's and not the price of a Nikon D3x.</p>

<p>I am not sure why but some of the regular posters on this site can be very snarky. If you don't like someone's question, then don't answer it, but acting in a condescending and arrogant manner is not becoming. Answering a poster's question in a dignified manner is what makes photo.net a place where everyone wants to participate.</p>

<p>I would certainly do this for you. I am an amazing photographer and my vision regarding composition and lighting is unique. If you feel comfortable processing the RAW images yourself, then that is fine. I would happily undertake this project because I could have fun shooting the wedding and reception and let you deal with the post processing, which is the most laborious part of the shoot anyway.<br>

Any photographer that is obsessed with controlling the situation and not helping you out is just doing you a disservice. If I asked someone and they refused, then that is not someone I would want to shoot my wedding anyway. I don't have a vision of myself as some sort of "artiste" that must micromanage every situation.</p>

<p>I think it is patronizing to assume that you wouldn't do a good job processing the images and somehow this would reflect poorly on my work (and thus affect sales). I am sure you would do just fine.<br>

Good luck,<br>

Denis</p>

<p>It's interesting how people perceive value based on price. If someone charges more for something, then clearly that "must" be a better product, right? I once had a dean of a law school tell me that he was thinking about having the school raise tuition because there were students who thought the school must not have been very good because it was modestly priced. This sounded crazy to me. Law students should be skeptical thinkers--to assume something is better based on price is a logical fallacy (at least a decent part of the time). Drinking water is free compared to Cognac, but drinking more of the former and less of the latter will keep your liver much happier. <br>

As an interesting experiment, a new shooter might consider charging an insanely high price for his work and market it only to the rich. He could be the equivalent of a Louis Vuitton of photography, even though his work might actually be mediocre. People will just assume he's an artistic genius based on the price.<br>

I think the lesson for experienced photographers is that they actually lose by trying to compete with Uncle Bob and Johnny High School with a DSLR. Jack up your prices, work less, make more, and focus on selling the fact that you are an artiste!</p>

<p>Use Burnaware Free. It is a disk burning utility that works great and doesn't freeze up like Roxio. </p>

<p>The turning of the lens is something you will get used to being changed rather quickly. Your brain will adapt to a new camera and its ergonomics in short order. Get yourself a Nikon D90. I would recommend starting with the 35mm f/1.8 along with the Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 VC. In time you could add the Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8. These will cover 99% of your needs while giving you room to grow as well. The D90 does a fantastic job in low light, it is fast, it uses older non AF-S Nikon lenses, and has all of the pro-level controls and bells and whistles you need to learn. It doesn't make sense not to learn how to use a DSLR early on. The sensor size of a DSLR compared to a point and shoot is what will get you the darkly lit shots and help you avoid grain and noise. It also gives you more options in terms of depth of field. </p>

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<p>A flash isn't going to cut the mustard here because it would be too much light. You need to use a wide angle lens and shoot it wide open. If you can rent a wide angle f/2.8 lens that would help you a great. Also, try to use a lens with vibration compensation or use a tripod. Fast lenses are going to do the trick here.</p>

<p>For white balance, just shoot in RAW and correct in post. You will need the exposure latitude to make corrections for the darkness anyway.</p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

<p>1. Nice work. The composition is fine<br>

2. Your blemish touchups on her crow's feet and the groom's moles were great.<br>

3. The bokeh is fine. It isn't too sharp, but isn't too soft, either. Just right.<br>

4. I like the glow you gave her, but perhaps it could be toned down just a bit.<br>

Just IMHO. I wish I could make shots as good as this one on a regular basis. :)</p>