aura_jane

<p>I used to have a 28-135 and found that not nearly wide enough for a crop sensor. I now have a 17-55 and LOVE it. I find this a perfect lense for most situtations. I also have an 85 1.8. I use that when I need to go even wider or when I need a little extra reach. I rented the 70-200 once to decide if I really needed it. I found that I really didn't need it enough at this point to justify the cost. I would recommend the 17-55 and the 85 1.8. That should run about $1300-$1400. Rent the telephoto before you buy. You may find that you don't really need it.</p>

Histogram has saved me a couple times. Something was callibrated incorrectly on my camera's dislpay. Everything looked

fine on the back of the camera, but when I got home, they were underexposed. Learned my lesson.

Borrowlenses.com is great. A little pricey shipping, but good. Rentglass.com is cheaper, but you can't reserve a lens in

advance. It's first come first serve. I recommend renting and getting a good flash and a couple lenses. That will also help

you to decide what you want to buy later. I also shot my first wedding for a friend, for free and it was a small informal

wedding. There were not big expectations, but it was very stressful, and very hard. I had no clue what I was supposed

to do and when. It turned out ok, but I wish I would have followed a pro around a couple weddings first, and I wish I would

have known how to better use my flash.

Be confident. If you act nervous, your clients will lose confidence in your ability. Never show a moment of uncertainty.

Thanks Neil! I think that helps to get me started on a different thought pattern with my images. Never explored that area.

David. I would love to know the steps you took for that. I think it's fabulous!

If you are doing a shot of them walking down the isle, practice panning beforehand and try that out as well. At 1/30 you

won't be able to capture tthem while they are moving anyway, so you can at least try something else during that time. Also

Check with the coordinator to see if flash is allowed during procession/recession. Sometimes it's allowed even when flash

during the ceremony is not.

I would download a trial version of lightroom. I find that so easy to use myself. I can edit 300 pics and have converted to

jpeg in about 30 min on there. Just import all the files, get the color and exposure the way you want. You can then select

all the pics you want exposed that way and hit sync. then select all the photos and export

you can then choose where and what name you want saved under and what quality and it's done. It's so easy and it's a

free 30 day trial.

When I went to Disney I took a body and a couple lenses the first day and found it was more trouble than it was worth

because I really wanted to snap pics here and there of my kids. The other 5 days the gear stayed locked in the hotel safe

and was another bag to lug around the airport. Unless you are there specifically to take dynamic, artful, award winning

shots, take the point and shoot or your smallest body and lens and leave the big stuff at home. I find if I am viewing my

family moments behind my lens I am not fully experiencing those moments.

That being said, if you are set on the idea of taking a lot of gear, I would suggest a 17-55 2.8 for wide angle stuff. You will get

great shots of the castle with a wider lens, and this is my fav for cropped sensor. And alternative is maybe a 28-135 if

your budget is low. It's a decent lens. And maybe a 70-200 2.8 for those firework shots if your budget is high. I did get a

really cool shot of the castle to hang in my daughter's room with the 28-135 3.5-5.6. I would suggest a monopod with those legs

you can add for short term holding and not a heavy tripod.

I am taking it now. They have updated the materials and the process. I think the materials are great. Very useful and

current. They will actually email a recorded critique to you now and you can download, so it doesn't take too long to get

your grades and feedback. The feedback is detailed and personal and they address every aspect of your submission. I

would recommend it.

Quick note. Make sure to change the quality to 100 when you export. The trial version, and perhaps the full default at 60 b

When I started using an expodisc or gray card, whatever is handy at the time, it changed my life. There is, in my opinion,

no substitute for custom white balance and getting it right, or as close to right as you can in camera. I also shoot raw and

adjust if needed in lightroom.

<p>Borrowlenses.com Rentglass.com adorama and some others offer rentals as well. Better safe than sorry. Borrow lenses is more expensive, but they always have a good selection available.</p>

I know everyone has seen them. The done a thousand times a day train track portrait sessions. Is it just because I am

constantly viewing every photographer's work I can find that I am burnt out on this portrait setting, or

is the rest of the world finally over it too? What is your opinion, still in style or WAY overused?

The only lenses I might suggest are the 17-55 2.8 or the 24-70 2.8 or a 85 1.8. You have a good collection of lenses, but

keep in mind most aren't very fast so in a dark church with no flash you are only going to have that 50 1.8 and your

camera gets pretty noisy at 1600 iso. I have learned recently that good wedding photogs want second shooters with

backup cameras (and good ones) flash units and pocket wizards and monopods and lots of lenses. Once you get a good

amount of pictures, create a portfolio. I did mine as a press printed harcover book. It looks more professional and works

well for wedding photography. It is more professional to show up with one of theses to an interview than a box of

photographs. That should get you started as a second shooter. Your own business is another animal.

<p>I LOVE my 17-55. If, like you said, you have ruled out a full frame in the near future, I would go for this lens. The biggest advantage, IMO, is the wider angle. For a crop sensor, it will be more useful. I had a 28-135 before purchasing this lens and was always limited by the focal length. It doesn't seem like much difference in theory, but when you are in a situation requring a wide angle, you will be soooo glad you purchased the 17-55,</p>

<p>I have several from a fabric store. Cheap and very cool. There was also an article on the strobist recently discussing painiting canvas drop cloths from home depot or lowes and using as backdrops. I am totally setting that project some weekend in the near future. I think bamboo would be really cool. I may have to do that sometime in the near future.</p>

I used some velium from hobby lobby once and it worked pretty well. Very cheap n

Chas. Thanks. That makes sense. I wasn't aware the other canons would not allow flash in manual mode. I hadn't thought

about the fact I had never used it to trigger when in manual without the alien bees. Another reason to uprade to a 7d huh?

Make sure younare saving it after resizing pretty large, and when you select the brush, make sure and choose the largest

possible setting after selecting the brush.

Black river imaging. You can add a plain black or white page in te front or back of the album. Thy have software for the

layout, they are press print and thy also offer high end. Free shipping and you usually get a promo code for your first few

orders. I have loved everything I have gotten from them.

Millers does this. As far as adding the logo, I create the signature in Photoshop and use "define brush". This will make it

basically a stamp in your brush tool.

Thanks so much Steve. I'll try that. I need something inexpensive as this is all volunteer work, and the dogs will destroy

nearly all backgrouds at some point.

I thought the slave is triggered by the light of the flash, not the camera capability itself. I have an xti, a 20d and a

promaster flash with built in slave. It can be triggered by my on camera flash or even my alien bees setup. Why would the

40d And the 580 not also be capable of this function? I'm a beginner, so please tell me what I'm missing here.

<p>I have not been in photography as long as most, and still have much to learn. I wanted to get some more experience and do some good at the same time, so I volunteered my services to a local animal rescue group to take shots of their adoptable pets for their website.<br>

Day 1 was great. I enjoyed it and got some killer shots. I had cute sweet animals the whole day. I liked the backgrounds and props I brought and they worked well, but I wanted to try new backgrounds to mix it up a bit so all the animals did not look alike and we could continue generating interest in these animals. So the next week I brought more backgrounds. The only other portable ones I had were a pink one only big enough for cats, and a huge white one that is very wrinkly. The white one works out well in a large room with all my lights set up, but I am working in a 4ft*8ft work area with pit bulls and such, so I can only bring one of my cameras a hot shoe flash and my lenses. I ended up getting 5 huge pitbulls from a rescue center that day. The white background looked awful. My black would be all wrong for almost all the animals, and I can't use my brown for the dogs, because the cats will never relax while using that background again, because of the dog smell. Most of the time the handlers are wearing these bright pink shirts that cast a pink glow on the animals when I'm bouncing my flash around the room. (Think worst possible conditions imaginable. I am hanging my backdrops over a door and using clips to attach it to cabinets and sinks.) My question is, how can I either use the equip I have to get better results next time, or what type of background should I buy for this situation?<br>

You can view some examples on my profile.</p>