rebecca_davison1

<p>Have had similar issues with both my D700s. Sent one to Nikon. Took them 5 weeks. It came back squeaky clean, and completely nonfunctional with flash at the very first event I used it at. All they did was 'reset' it and said it was fine. I have another thread regarding that, but here is the post is just put there.<br>

"Much happier camper now! Instead of sending my camera back to Nikon, I found an authorized service center and called them. He explained why he wanted my flash so well, I sent him both my SB900s. Then they called to verify that the hotshoe was indeed defective and my flashes were in perfect shape, fixed it and sent everything back to me with a 7 day turnaround!!! Could not give a higher recommendation to Isaac at Southern Photo in N Miami Beach, FL!! Actual personal service from the actual person who looked at my camera, and likely fixed it too. Invaluable:)<br />In the meantime, I tried a Demb flash bracket on the other camera. I forgot it was even there! I did not shoot with a cord, just used my on-camera flash to communicate with it. Worked beautifully. Camera feels well balanced and that bracket only weighs 7 oz or something. Didn't even notice it. HIGHLY recommended. I will be buying a second to keep on both cameras at all times. Got that recommendation from someone on here. THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!"<br>

At Southern Photo, they were completely upfront regarding the known issues with the D700 hotshoe. He said it is something about the metal(he was more specific, it just went over my head) not grounding properly and that Nikon is perfectly aware of it. Makes me mad. This should be a recall, not an emergency $250 fix, IMO. Nikon needs to step up. However, I am very glad to have found a flash bracket that solves the problem and dependable, fast service from an authorized dealer I can count on.</p>

<p>Thanks everyone. I did send it in and have received it back. Despite my asking them specifically to replace the hotshoe, I did skip the estimate thing, they sent it back without doing so:( Took 5 weeks. They 'reset' the camera and all functions tested as normal. Not too happy. I am terrified to put a flash on it. Sure enough, my other camera is now pulling the exact same shenanigans. I have tried two flash brackets. I hate them. I am small, and they add so much bulk and throw the whole balance of the cameras off, as I am used to carrying them. I am going to hire an assistant to do as much off-camera flash as I can, but I still like having it on there for mobility. I generally have it bounce lighting from the side with a Rogue Flashbender, which has the weight unevenly distributed on the shoe and is really asking for trouble. I guess I really need to go with one of the high end brackets and keep at it until I get used to it. Just get tired of buying equipment that I hate and don't use. Sigh.</p>

<p>One of my D700s needs the hotshoe replaced. I am a portrait and wedding photographer and cannot go for long with one of my 700s not having a functioning hotshoe. I use SB900s and this seems to be a pattern for them and the 700s. Anyway, I would like to join the NPS just to get my camera back as quickly as possible.<br>

Is it really that hard for them to consider you a 'real' professional? I have invested all this money on Nikon equipment and am earning my living as a photographer. Yet, I don't happen to know anyone to sponsor me, nor do I have 'tear sheets'. I am a wedding photographer. Do they really not consider me a professional if I am not shooting for a newspaper or magazine?? Or am I being too literal with the 'tear sheets' wording?<br>

Sorry, but I am quite insulted. I hope I am misunderstanding. Can anyone clear this up for me?<br>

Thanks!</p>

<p>Wow. I read this whole forum after narrowing my issue down to the hotshoe of one of my two D700s. It has all these symptoms, it strobes, it fails to fire, camera won't fire, but it completely misses the boat using TTL- underexposing horribly. I thought I was nuts all of a sudden. I can send it off for replacement right now, as long as they don't dally, but from all these responses, I am concerned that they will get it right. Very bothersome indeed.</p>

<p>Pete,<br>

Thank you for your insightful critique. Comments like this are SO helpful! And I appreciate that you see some positives:) I am using ACR. I have just learned how to save settings so I can quickly convert another similarly lighted image to an already corrected WB, although if you can batch with it, I haven't figured that out. I have a book on using LR3 with CS5 and a trial version of LR3. I have been so busy learning CS5, having recently got it instead of Elements, that I didn't see the benefit of LR. You may have just explained why it is so popular. I grabbed that book as soon as I read your response and will hit it hard. My workflow is very slow and tedious. My organization of files, well let's just say 'remedial'. Maybe LR will help. On top of learning to recognize the inconsistencies on correction you mention, of course. I still need to use auto WB when I shoot. Not there yet with my other skills.<br>

I feel like I am making progress though and have more clients lined up than I can currently handle with a full-time job. I won't really improve without critique though, so thanks again. I'll keep plugging along:)</p>

<p>Jen I am SO with you on avoiding the other photographer. Unfortunately, she has decided to talk to me instead of the family. Believe me, that avoidance will happen asap and thanks for the advice on getting permission in writing.</p>

 

<p>Gosh, thanks SO much for everyone's input! Part of me wants to walk away. It has been a mess from my perspective since the beginning. I am getting personally attached to the family, and their dilemma. Here are some answers to some of the obvious concerns.<br>

1)They are paying me. I have not given them a quote yet, as I was still hoping to get the originals. They have offered to pay in advance, a deposit, hourly, or however I choose to bill them.<br>

2) They have already committed to a high end album from me, paying whatever I want for my design advice and time.<br>

3) This is a wealthy and influential family that travels in circles I am aiming for.<br>

4) They have 2 more daughters.<br>

5) Yes, the originals were shot RAW.<br>

6) And yes, in the last 24 hours, I have pulled off the miraculous feat of having that photographer agree to handing me her RAW files to re-edit per the family's wishes.<br>

I am concerned that many comments were made regarding hurting my reputation. This bothers me tremendously, and not was I am hoping for. From my end, I am watching this girl crash and burn her reputation and wish to stay as far from that as I can. I hope to only be seen as the one that fixed her fiasco for this situation. I will not work with her again. I have messed with a few of her edits and improved them enough that the family is pretty excited with them. Its really hard work though. At this point, I feel committed to give it my best shot and will take several lessons away. It will teach me more about editing, more about getting into shoots with crazy people just to get the chance to shoot, and hopefully how to stop and think maybe 'no' is a better answer for me financially and mentally. Send me good luck vibes:)</p>

<p>Have gotten myself into a tough spot. Shot a wedding 3 mos ago as second camera with a young photographer that failed to arrange a second shooter for a large event despite having promised the bride two. I got brought in by a friend who is friends with both the bride and the other photographer. I knew about the lack of professionalism by photographer #1 and was fully aware that I was there to minimize the damage. ( I got involved 3 days before the rehearsal) I did my best and true to form, never got paid. Whatever. I refused to give my shots to photog #1. She wasn't getting credit for my shots for the piddly amount she offered me after refusing to discuss my fee in advance. I got some nice shots of a stunning bride and made myself known to a new crowd. I edited and delivered my photos within 4 wks, mentally kissed goodbye the flash remotes and flash drive I had loaned said photographer and was done with it. Until now. The family has been contacting me. Unbeknownst to me, they have been fighting with her the whole time. They are unhappy with alot of her shots and editing. They like my photos and my editing better and have been asking her to match my quality. The family accepts that she simply will not fix them all and is now begging for me to make 150 of them acceptable. I was going to post some for advice on how best to re-edit an edit, but I see that posting a photo you didn't personally take is forbidden. <br>

I am a new photographer. Been getting paid for under a year, no formal training. Although, I am an avid studier and have read and practiced a ton. Its all I do in my spare time. Heck, I still have a job. The good news is that job has provided me with lots of beginners goodies. I have 2 Macs, CS5, the full Topaz bundle and Mystical bundle. Well, this is stretching all my knowledge. It has taken me a bit to decide what all is wrong with these photos. I will describe it and ANYTHING anyone can offer to fix it is very much appreciated.<br>

There is a whole pack of them where it appears she set her camera manually and did a bad job. There is a good bit of noise that appears to be from high ISO despite using a flash. The shutter speed looks too long as the people are blurry(not in a good way), but the columns etc are sharp. And there is a horrific purple fringe on many skin edges, so bad it covers whole fingers. To this, she told me she added an unknown amount of spilt toning making eveyone jaundiced in already overly warm lighting inside the church, and all that was gray or tan is outright blue. Then, this brilliant person applied her favorite set of actions that make a photo look 'vintage' in her own words. To me and the bride, looks washed out from desatting too much(?) and out-of-focus. I am in need of a brain full of color correction knowledge, as once I improve one color, the dresses are horrific, etc. And little miss I-have-a four-year-degree in photography will not give us her original shots. I would stand a fighting chance at fixing some bad photos, but undoing her edits ??<br>

Does the family have any ground at all to stand on to force her to give up copies of the RAW files for editing? We know she owns the copyright. But, she is refusing to fix them herself. She was paid for the job. She also still owes them some prints and a 16X20 canvas. They refuse to pick any of these photos in their current condition for those. I did a search and can't seem to find a business license in her name, which would be par for the course. Think they could use that angle at all?<br>

For now, I am color correcting each photo extensively, section by section, with masks, denoising and using alot of unsharp mask. I use Portrait Pro to fix the skin tones when I can, which has been a blessing. It is taking around an hour per photo. These clients shouldn't have to pay me for this. <br>

Thanks for your comments and advice.</p>

<p>Thanks everyone for such a great conversation. I'm new to this and am barely keeping up with what you all mean, but I am getting there. Peter, thanks so much for asking this question. And thanks to all for such detailed responses. I have a shoot smack in the middle of the day this weekend(outside in Florida, of course). I hope to use some of this to improve my results.</p>