andrew_ito

Thanks for the replies! My questions were answered well. If anyone else wants to post

how they use their ST-E2's and multiple lighting set-ups I'm all ears!

When I was shooting weddings with my Hasselblad and Fuji GA645zi I found that I took

longer to compose, meter with a handheld meter (except with the zi) and shoot. I also

shot less because of the extreme cost of film and proofing. With digital, I work much

quicker and shoot many more exposures and love the handling of the Canon DSLR's. My

photos have gotten much more creative as a result and look less "traditional". Personally

my film gear didn't handle nearly as fluidly as my DSLR gear an thus changed my way of

working. Now if I had the latest and greatest AF 645 gear I might not have had the same

issues. I'm very happy with the way digital has changed my working methods and

indirectly, my style.

Anyone using a multiple flash setup with Canon's ST-E2 during your formals? I thought it

would be nice to side light the B&G at around 30 degrees with a fill on camera. Question

though.... I tried it once and the flash didn't fire consistently using a 550ex as the trigger.

Does the body of the receiving flash need to point towards the trigger to read the infrared

correctly? Also is there a sensor on the flash that needs to point directly at the subject to

give correct exposure?

On another note, can you use a diffuser like the Omnibounce or Lightsphere on the off

camera flash or does the flash head need to be pointed at the subject for proper exposure.

The studio I used to shoot for gave out free wallets of the engagement portrait at

weddings. They were mounted on little cards with slots at the corners to put the wallet

print in. The card had all the studio information. Great way to advertise at a reasonable

cost.

The 85mm is still a bit long for a 1.6x crop but it's a great lens. I use it and my 50mm 1.4

for portraits and couldn't be happier. Personally, I think you have it covered on the wide

side with the 17-40L.

A good way to learn the ropes is to assist a local wedding photographer in your area. It

may not pay much, but you learn a lot. That's how I learned. You can also shoot a bit at

events like your friend's wedding. Just don't get in the way of the hired photographer or

steal his shots. That won't help you get any assisting gigs. Good luck!

Depends on the camera. On a 20D the 16-35L is nice but I'd opt for the 10-22 for WAY

less money. If we're talking about a 1.3x or full frame camera then I'd go with the 70-200

IS, but not the 70-200L (non-IS).

If you shoot a lot of really wide angles then go with the 10-22, but know that you won't be

able to use it with your film camera or any other full frame sensor. I have a 17-40L and

it's great on my 20D but I'm really wanting the 10-22 right about now. The 17-40L

worked great with my friend's 1DmkII though. If you don't want to cart around a ton of

stuff then the 17-85 IS seems like a good travel/vacation lens. For the same money as the

17-40L or the 10-22 you can get the 17-85 and a nice prime for portraits and speed like

the 50mm 1.4 or an 85mm 1.8 and the 50mm 1.8.

Here's some links. Hope you find them helpful.

http://www.cypressalbums.com/main.html

(For handmade albums with fine papers)

http://www.forbeyon.com/

(Very modern with great sleek look)

http://www.bonmatch.com/

(Another modern album maker)

I work on Photoshop nearly every day at work as a graphic designer. It's not a foreign

thing to me. My time is precious to me though with a new baby and I can't spend a whole

day figuring out an album layout, so I'm looking for an easier way to design the pages in a

drag and drop format that works quickly and easily but is somewhat customizable. Maybe

a solution for me would be to pre-design my own templates and actions. Just thought I'd

try getting some input here. Oh, well, I guess I'll continue looking...

Hi all! I did a quick search of photo.net and didn't find anything that really helped me so

I'll post this here. I've been researching different album design software that can be used

on the Mac and have come across Yervant's Page Gallery and also LabPrint's Flush Album

Designer. Yervant's software looks ok but it's expensive at $490. LabPrint's software

looks like it can do the job adequately and is priced right at $150. but requires you to use

the affiliated labs for the printing. I'm not familiar with any of the labs and would like to

have the option of using my own lab. Anyone have any experiences with either software

and whether or not they're worth it? Also, are there other options that I haven't stumbled

across yet? What do you guys use and why? Thanks!

If you're on a budget then you might want to consider the Canon 50mm f1.4 and the

85mm f1.8. They are great, sharp lenses at a reasonable cost and are faster, lighter and

more inconspicuous than their large, white brothers. If you're shooting digital with a 1.6x

crop factor they are especially nice since the 50 is like an 80. For film, the 70-200 is a

great portrait focal length.

Not everyone here is a networking engineer and knows how to set up complex networks

and firewalls. Most of us are photographers looking for information to help us with our

PHOTOGRAPHY. This is the "Wedding and social event photography forum" after all. Since

the poster seems to be a photographer who is simply looking for a new computer that

works best for his needs maybe we should address his situation.

I work as a graphic designer and received a BFA in photography in college. I shoot

weddings on the side after working for another photographer's studio for 7 years. In my

home there is a PC and a Mac. Both have Photoshop loaded, but I use the Mac more often

for many of the reasons stated in previous posts. It's fairly stable, user friendly and I'm

used to the operating system. In the past the Mac was THE computer to use for graphic

applications mainly because good design software wasn't available on the PC. Nowadays,

you can get Adobe apps for both platforms. In the past Corel was the only option and

Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop were far superior programs. Macs are more expensive

but I wouldn't buy a PC again personally. Just my ?.02...

Thanks for the responses. I had failed to consider the shadows falling on the faces of the

other people when lighting at an angle. With a bracket or on camera mounted flash unit

that was never a big concern. Please continue with your responses!

What do you guys use for formals? Up to now I've always shot with an on camera flash,

sometimes with another slaved flash next to my bracket mounted flash. Lately I've been

considering using my White Lightning UltraZap 1600 to light my formals.

Questions:

1) If I use a softbox or umbrella, would I lose too much light vs. shooting direct with just

a standard reflector?

2) If the light is off to my left about 30 degrees from the subject (large family group), will

it not sufficiently light the far side of the group? I'm planning on using an on camera flash

for fill.

3) How do you position your lights? On camera, above camera but directly behind, or

from an angle?

Thanks for your answers! :)

Derek,

I don't think the $200,000 post said anything like "you should expect to make $200K your

first year." or anything like that.

Here's the quote:

i.e if you want to earn around $200,000 from a maximum of 25 weddings, then you need

to turn over around $8000 per wedding

It's just basically using that # as an example of how much you need to charge per wedding

to earn that figure. It doesn't really sound like people are saying that you need to make

$200k or you're a loser.

I'm also not fresh out of college and I don't consider myself a "newbie". I graduated 10

years ago and have worked full-time since then. I've worked alongside another

photographer for 7 years and have shot my own weddings. It's just that now, I want to

market myself with a website and want to settle on a solid pricing structure and print/

album package rather than try to drum one up for every wedding. There's no need to get

worked up over this thread.

One of the last posts said that they made close to $200k but it sounded more like, "set

your sights high and you'll be more likely to earn what you want." rather than "charge less

in the beginning and your prices will never get to where they should be". At least that's

how I understood it.

Cheers,

Andy

There have already been a few threads on Gary Fong's Lightsphere II here. A quick search

will probably give you the info you're looking for.

I do have one of these and love it's soft, diffused light. Personally, I much prefer it to my

Omnibounce.

Thanks for all the great responses! I think I'll do some research on other photographers in

the area and check PPA. I've been meaning to become a member anyways. Please

continue to post if you have anything to add!

Wondering what people include in their wedding packages and what they charge. I'm

trying to determine how much to charge and what to include in my wedding packages.

Some factors to help determine what I should charge:

I live and work near Los Angeles. Worked for a well respected wedding photographer for 7

years. Have shot about a dozen weddings solo. Have a BFA in fine art photography.

Shoot digital on 20D and 10D. I know this won't tell you or anyone else what my

photography services are worth. I'm just trying to ballpark a price range and build

packages and was wondering what people charge for their services. Thanks!

Personally, I find that the flash exposure with my 20D is WAY more accurate than flash

exposures with my 10D which was consistently blowing highlights. The same 550EX

doesn't blow highlights nearly as much on the 20D. It may be slightly darker but at least it

doesn't blow highlights which you can't get back.

I agree with the other posters who say to keep the RAW files. Throwing them away is

definitely a mistake. CD's or DVD's are cheap storage solutions.

Gerry, I thought that the Canon digital cameras were around 5.5 stops or so similar to that

of slide film. 8 stops? That would kinda be an improvement I would think.

Anyways, Archie, don't worry about your purchase. It isn't all that bad. Just remember not

to blow your highlights. You can always expose for the highlights and bring the shadow

areas up in Photoshop or combine 2 exposures. Think "Just like shooting slide film".

Now to bring this back onto topic... Anyone else have thoughts on the evaluative metering

of the 20D vs the 10D?

Recently, I upgraded and bought a Canon 20D. When I shot with the 10D I found that

partial metering gave me better results than the evaluative metering. I was wondering if

Canon did any improvements with the 20D and if anyone has noticed better exposures

using evaluative metering with the 20D. My flash shots are considerably better with my

20D and the 550EX over the 10D. That's probably more due to E-TTL2 more than

anything though. Also does evaluative metering take into account which focus point is

being used?