ianivey

<p>Robert's post isn't insulting; it's reasonable advice. (And Steve, even if it <em>is, </em>if it's the <em>most </em>insulting thing you've read on photo.net, then I'll bet my salary this is the only thread you've ever read on photo.net.) If you can't afford a lens you want, do you a) whine about it, or b) set a goal and devise means of achieving that goal? I don't see the insult, here.</p>

<p>Gregory, the issue of weather-sealing is an interesting question the relevance of which only you can determine. How have you done with your D40x? Any problems with water or dirt getting places it shouldn't? If so, then the extra ruggedness of the D300s could be valuable to you.</p>

<p>By contrast, if you've never had a problem and don't anticipate going swimming with your camera, then a D90 has substantially similar image quality and features, and leaves several hundred dollars available for glass. And glass is just never, ever a bad investment.</p>

<p>I agree that, as the photographer, I would want to ask the groom specifically what he means by "all imperfections." It's great to provide a photo in which you've made changes the client told you he wants. It's not so great when a client notices you've changed something about his appearance that he did <em>not </em>see as an imperfection: it makes you appear judgmental about his appearance.</p>

<p>I'm pretty sure (partially to lighten the mood) that I'd show him the Brad Pitt example and say, "Fix all imperfections? Yep, I can do that for you. Here's what it'll look like -- tell me what you think?"</p>

<p>Then, assuming time and opportunity, I'd load a shot of him into Lightroom, and ask him to point out specifically what he wanted "fixed." Often, a groom will have one specific thing in mind (the tooth? the hairline? a mole/cyst?). I can then edit in Photoshop to show him how I would "fix" that problem or problems.</p>

<p>After fixing what he wanted, I'd alt-click on the original layer to show before/after, to emphasize the magnitude of the change. Most people seeing themselves edited will minimize their expectations once they see how unlike themselves they look after major alterations. This is especially true when they know how much it would cost to alter every photo in a 400-photo wedding set in a like fashion. Then, assuming he asked for several "fixes," I can turn off layers that have the most drastic changes and do before/after again until we agree that the result is within reasonable limits.</p>

<p>Finally, I'd save and move back to Lightroom. I would do this entire process to demonstrate subtly the time it takes to make changes like the one(s) he's requesting, which helps him understand the price of anything more than very basic changes to a few close-up shots.</p>

<p>Especially if the subject is not a professional model, consider recommending that she bring a good friend along with her. Even though a friend of the subject would be likely to side with her in the event of a false claim, the friend's mere presence dramatically reduces the likelihood of such a claim unless it is premeditated (and planned out between the two of them, which really doesn't happen often).</p>

<p>I don't do lots of portraits, but when I do, I want a friend of the subject along to make jokes, laugh with the subject, poke fun, and otherwise lighten the mood. This usually produces much better photos -- it relaxes the subject. Explaining this is usually enough to persuade a subject to bring a good friend along.</p>

<p>I also offer to shoot a few shots of the two of them just for fun, and every so often these end up being the shots the customer likes best.</p>

<p>Rob, does this technique work also for a library of photos I keep on my portable external (USB) hard drive and which I want to edit in Lightroom on both my Laptop and my Desktop? I'm not sure how Lightroom works, exactly, but I don't think the edits I did in Lightroom on my desktop were preserved when I imported the photos into my laptop Lightroom library.</p>

<p>Instead of importing into the library, should I export a catalog every time I edit on one machine and access the catalog when I move to the other machine?</p>

<p>Thanks for any help on this point.</p>

<p>Thanks, Larry, I'll take a look at it. Hope everyone had a merry Christmas, and I'd very much like any other suggestions you all can offer. In particular, I can find some of these resources just by searching for them, but I'd like to hear from folks who have used them about specifically how well they've worked and what their weaknesses are so I can avoid starting down three or four roads to discover the tool doesn't work well or isn't what I'm looking for.</p>

<p>Appreciate further thoughts!</p>

<p>... or you could use a pseudonym, introduce yourself as Tom Meyer of Georgia, and hand out a business card with Tom's name on it. :D</p>

<p>What? Not helpful?</p>

<p>I've just served for the third time as a back-up wedding photographer (not second-shooting for the photographer, but in each case I've just had access and photo privileges with the consent of the paid photographer, and am providing the shots free of charge for the bride and groom), and am scheduled for a fourth wedding as a back-up in the spring. After that, I think I'll have enough work and experience to present a basic portfolio, build a simple web site, and shoot as a primary. </p>

<p>In the meantime, I think I'd like to start a blog. I could then post some of my shots from each of the three weddings (and a portrait session or two) I've shot along with some commentary about the couples, so the subjects could link to my site rather than just posting or distributing my shots themselves. I gave the first couple printing and distribution privileges, but have hesitated for a few weeks to deliver the edited shots to the second couple because I'd like to have a place of my own to post the shots, in order to build an identity, rather than just give a disc of shots to the couple and let them post them on their own. </p>

<p>I've looked over some of the other posts in this category, but I don't see a thread in which many people offer suggestions about different blogging software and services (including hosting). I've never blogged before, so I'm not familiar with blogging software generally, though I understand that WordPress seems to be pretty widely used.</p>

<p>A number of vendors provide templates and blogging software designed specifically for photographers, and a few seem targeted at wedding photographers. <strong>Would you all mind telling me what software you use for blogging, who hosts your blog, and how simple or complicated your software makes the process?</strong> I'd like lots of creative control, but I assume more control usually will mean a steeper learning curve.</p>

<p>I'm eager to learn as much as I can before I try something out on my own, because I don't want to publish a blog, then hop around to this or that other format or service -- I'd prefer to start out as polished as possible with software and hosting that I am likely to stick with for a while (i.e., not basic stuff that screams "beginner!", but tools that give me room to grow into them without being so complicated that I can't figure them out).</p>

<p>Even if you're satisfied with the software and hosting service you use, I'd be grateful to hear about any drawbacks you've noticed.</p>

<p>Good improvements, Ryan -- the slideshow does seem peppier. I notice, now, that under "Weddings," when I click on "Moments of Love," the first photo is a close-up of a guy's vest. Seems an odd choice for "Moments of Love," as do some of the other shots in that category, and I wonder whether the system is accessing the right set of shots for that category?</p>

<p>Merry Christmas to you!</p>

<p>Ryan,</p>

<p>I agree with Darin about the too-slow fades, including the first image's fade-in and the menu bar's eventual appearance.</p>

<p>In addition, I'd say the menus and buttons are too slow to respond and not as easy to use as they could be. The menu items at the top have fly-in sub-menus that are slow to fly in, and that stutter when they're moving.</p>

<p>When you mouse over the sub-menu-items it's not easy to see that the menu is responding to your mouse-over: only a small bullet-point appears to the item's left. Perhaps have the background shift to 25% grey or something to emphasize that the user has selected the right menu item? These links are also a bit slow to respond to mouse-over -- sometimes, the first one I hover over will get the bullet point, and then if I move to another link, there's a delay before the bullet moves along with me. I'm pretty sure the link I click on would still work, but the sluggish response tends to frustrate this viewer.</p>

<p>Finally, on the introductory page, you offer four choices (web page, blog, FB, twitter). Why make me click <em>again </em>to get to your web page? If I typed your URL into my browser or followed a link, I'm probably coming to see the web page.</p>

<p>On your web page you offer "Blog" as one of the menu items. Why not also offer "Facebook" and "Twitter" on that menu (maybe make all three sub-items of a new menu header), and make the main "<a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.rjbimagery.com/" target="_blank">http://www.rjbimagery.com</a>" URL go directly to your web page? That way, people who come to your site will still have these options, and will also avoid the confusing "click here to go to the site you thought you were already going to" moment.</p>

<p>Enjoyed the photos -- spent most of my time looking at the weddings section.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>The fredmiranda.com shots on the beach show grey skies because they were shot under overcast skies. From the photographer's comment: "The lighting varied from overcast to mostly cloudy, thankfully we had very little rain during our stay. There was no strobe used in these images. Just one big Oregon softbox."</p>