A review of the Olympus E-P2, pack film Polaroid tutorial, Tokina 12-24 f/4 review, a review of Adoramapix’s photobooks, blog posts from two photo road trips planned for mid-July and early August, and lastly I am adding a new section to the site … a print store. The Print store is where you will be able to purchase my limited edition prints directly from me, all hand signed and numbered. In addition, I’ll be running a contest or two, the gallery will be updated, AND I’ll finally get the Wedding gallery up and running.

So, bear with me and I promise I’ll make it worth the wait.

W.

1. Grow a 3rd leg: A must have for a wedding shoot is a Monopod. While it might be cumbersome, especially in indoor weddings, they will afford you that extra amount of stability to get those extra sharp images. Also, something most people don’t think about is that the use of a monopod helps to take some of the stress off your shoulders. Stress that will build during a full day of having a several pound camera setup stuck to your face.

2. A shot in the dark … reception hall: While many photographers will scout the location as I discussed in the previous installment, few will grab a “loaner couple” to check the lighting in the room. I highly recommend you do this and usually there are plenty of couples not involved in the wedding willing to help you out. However it turns out, the old rules still stand. Diffuse the light as much as possible.

3. Spin it round, like a DVD: In today’s tech centered society it is important to be well versed on creating the very basic of photography delivery systems. In this case it is the DVD. DVDs can be very quick to put out, especially on the Mac side of things. Typically, when I do a DVD for someone I create a basic slide show disc with the “snap shot” style event images, and then I create a heavily styled disc with the posed/formal shots. The former have well designed menus and aren’t heavily nested. If you’re looking for a way to separate yourself from the crowd getting into the DVD creation side of things is definitely a way to get it down.

4. Make a List, then throw it away: Formal shot lists are a pretty common thing, so much in fact that couples who are getting married these days abhor them. I’ve spoken to several couple in the recent past who said all they wanted from their photographer was something creative. What they usually got was a series of pictures starting with the bride alone, then adding people till everyone had a picture taken. To make the most of a bride’s special day, make your list, go over it with the bride, then allow her to rip it up make a new one. If she like yours then great, if not then what you have just done is shown the bride that you actually care about what she thinks. This will go very far with her, especially later when she mentions your name and hands over your card to her friends who are getting married.

5. Go off list: While formal shots before the wedding are normal be sure to ask the bride/groom if there are any candids that they would like with special people. Perhaps the bride wants a picture of her hugging her great great grandmother after the wedding is over. Or the groom bumping chests with his frat brothers at the reception. Yes, wedding photography is a job, and it can be a boring one at that. But never forget you are being hired to capture split second moments in what is hopefully two people’s special day. Making an effort to capture the moments they hold most dear can make the job rewarding financially, artistically, and most important … emotionally.

6. A little appetizer before the buffet: Try to have 10 images processed and up on a proofing site within 48 hours of the wedding. This whets the appetite of the bride and groom for the whole shebang, and gives them something to show the loved ones who couldn’t make it to the wedding.

7. The party train just doesn’t stop: If you can’t get the artistic shots you want to get, offer to do shoots at a later date in exchange for the rights to use the images in your portfolio or even in a commercial stock capacity.

8. Betcha shouldn’t give just one: For all DVD or Disc based image delivery take the extra 10-20 minutes to burn 2-3 extra copies.

9. She might Flickr you a new one: Flickr is a great sharing method, as is Deviant Art. However, make sure you have the happy couple’s blessing prior to uploading. I know you hold the rights to the images, but asking is just good manners.

10. Proving Yourself … Safely: A big tip is to use a Flash based proofing site. This way it is less likely that your clients can take images off the website for their own use. This is especially useful if you employ a “half down, half later” business policy.

11. Dress Down!: While this might without saying you should go the extra mile to ensure that the bride’s dress isn’t damaged in any way. In the wedding this past friday I used lit candles for one photo. The bride was willing to alllow this just as long as I was very careful to not to get wax on it. The picture turned out wonderful.

12. Uniqueness … does this REALLY need explanation? Set yourself apart from the crowd, period.

So, one of my best friends decided to tie the knot. I have to admit he picked a great girl and I wish them all the best in life. However, as a sort of wedding gift I agreed to shoot the wedding gratis. I know how some of you must be gasping right now, but wait before you gape. Doing something free is never, EVER, really free. What you don’t make up for in new experiences you can make up in expanding your portfolio. Yes, I know a big portfolio doesn’t pay the bills, but it CAN bring in new work. Remember, it only takes a single image to get a client to sign with your studio, the more options they have to look at initially the greater the chances of that signing. This is especially true of the Wedding Photographer.

Almost all photographer have, at one point or another, shot a wedding. It is almost like a rite of passage, but unlike tribal rites the Wedding Shoot Ritual need not be painful. Below are a few tips I realized during my 1st shoot.

1. Business Cards: ALWAYS have business cards with you. Even if you’re a weekend warrior with a camera and shooting an ugliest fish show in a town of 60 people. Sometimes work comes not from the final image, but from how you carry yourself or even how creative you seem to be in real life. Get a friend who designs, or is at least good with art, to create an eye catching design that fit your budget and splurge on 500 or 1000 cards. Then work to exhaust those cards within a reasonable time frame for you.

2. Photography is a Spectator Sport: In the past, when I was IN the Wedding and not shooting it, I seen some photographers who insisted on only having the people that were in front of the lens present. He actually sent everyone out of the church’s sanctuary. Personally, I found working with spectators to be a lot of fun, not only did it help lighten the mood they also can have good suggestions. Remember, a ball tossed freely your way isn’t stealing and may even lead to something better when it comes into contact with your creative juices. This is especially true when the spectator is the bride/groom’s parents. Working with them not only looks good, but you can increase print sales by making sure to at least try to work with the parents.

3. Scouting is not only for kids: You should always try to scout the locations around the places the various phases of the wedding shin-dig is being put on. Sounds logical right? Well, I mean ALL the locations. Even look at the light situation in the bathrooms, you should be prepared for anything that might occur during a wedding. A wedding is, usually, a one time thing … so everything is game for the camera.

4. Be Artistic: Every bride wants to feel special on her big day, this is part of the reason that we spend so much time getting plenty of shots of the bride in her dress. Go the extra mile and try to create a shot that only she is going to have. This means going out on a limb and, of course, having a bride willing to let you experiment. If this turns out to be the case, run with it and make sure that the bride will feel special for years to come when she shows off her one of a kind fine art portrait of her on her wedding day.

5. Second Shooters, Third Party: On occasion, it is possible that someone else, either a friend of the family or a relative, is a shutterbug. If this is the case, you may find yourself in a situation where there is an unplanned second shooter at the wedding. My advice is to take it in stride. This person obviously matters to the family, therefore he/she belong right where he/she is. Perhaps set a few ground rules to ensure your shoot goes well and everything else is fair game for him. Remember, you are being paid, chances are good they are not. For this reason alone it is important that you keep your cool and work around him/her. If not, you simply look petty or jealous. If they become an issue, my tip is to mention it to the bride. Hell hath no fury as a bride not being photographed to the best of the ability of the paid photog.

6. Tick Tock Means Zilch in Bride World: Always expect a late start and when everything occurs on time it will be a happy, albeit rare, surprise. Many photographers take advantage of this fact by setting a time limit and charging extra for going over it. If you happen to be one of those photographers, I’m not really condoning the practice, but I am also not condemning it. Your time is valuable, I get that, but depending on “Why?” the wedding is running late should factor into your decision as to whether or not to charge for the extra time. Second, don’t be afraid to stay late and work on more pictures of the wedding party. Going the extra mile for someone is always a positive thing.

7. Time doesn’t stop at I Do: Be sure that you factor in post-processing time when determining how much to charge for a wedding shoot.

8. Its a camera, not a computer with AI: Your camera can’t read minds, therefore it can’t determine if you’re doing something stupid or not. It also can’t tell what is a good picture and what is not. With this in mind, ISO/aperture/shutter speed should be reset to defaults before each phase of the wedding to ensure that you’re getting the optimal shot by readjusting the camera for each location.

9. Telephoto or go home: If you don’t have a tele lens long enough to shoot the wedding from behind the crowd then go buy one. Nothing is annoying more than getting into someone’s face while they are watching the ceremony to take a picture. In my opinion, the only time you should approach the ceremony is at the exchanging of the rings and the kiss.

10. See Food: This is more of a personal rule than one generally accepted. I find it extremely distasteful to take pictures of people while they are trying to eat. Whether it’s at a rehearsal dinner or the reception, getting pictures of people with their mouths/plates full is just tacky. Not to mention horribly unflattering. When people are up walking around feel free to ask them to pose for a shot, but if they have a fork in their hands don’t take the chance of offending someone.

11. Keep the Dogs at Bay: Not the four legged pets, the two dogs at the end of your legs, the feet. Uncomfortable shoes can ruin a shoot, make sure you wear something that is a mix between stylish and function/comfortable. You’ll thank me for this when you’ve been on your feet for 8-10 hours…

12. Be a Stalker: Try to get candids of the bride and groom. This means sneaking with the best of them. Bushes, Trees, or camo nets its great for your photography for the subject to be unaware.

Thats all for now, I hope to bring another installment of this after I finish my post processing of the wedding shots. So far they look amazing and perhaps Ill show a few to you. If you have any tips of your own feel free to add them in comments section or email them to me! Thanks for reading and have a great day.

40 Grunge Photoshop Tutorials
Dramatic Gritty Effect for Photos
Distressed Effects in Photoshop
Getting that Dave Hill Effect
Chase Jarvis’ Weblog
Strobist.com … THE place to learn lighting

For the beginner doing things for free is a no brainer. I have been known to take my mobile lighting setup to family gatherings in another state. Set it up in a garage and file the family in for a few minutes each. Two weekends ago I did this, the main shindig was at one house, and I set the studio up in a garage at another family member’s nearby house. Throughout the day, as people headed home, I would have them swing by for a few minutes for pictures. When I got home I retouched the images in post and then sent them to my family with a print release.

Some of you might be gaping at a prospect such as this, but wait for the rest of the story. This little arrangement, as well as taking good portraits, has netted me offers to come back for longer, PAID, shoots by the family members and even their friends. YES, asking me to travel 3+ hours to another state to take their pictures. Sure they could run to a local retail store and get crappy portraits made for 20.00 and no sitting fee, but many people don’t want this and are willing to pay good money for a boutique photographer to take the time to ensure they get the best images with maximum creativity. Not to mention one who is willing to come to them to shoot the images in a familiar environment. Granted, you might not be willing to do this type of thing, but if you are there are plenty of people out there willing to pay for it. Beginners in the Pro world might think this is crazy, but if someone asked you to travel to Peru for jungle shots for a major magazine you would be at the airport before the advance check cleared the bank. How is going to someone for portraits any different?

Another thing to keep in mind, is that if you need models, Free prints is the best way to get them to come to you IN DROVES. Especially aspiring models. This is definitely something to keep in mind.

As I mentioned in a previous post I am scheduled to have surgery tomorrow, so the next few posts will be short and to the point. I apologize for this, but I don’t think I will really feel like working much. I appreciate your patience.

Have a Great Day!

I had planned for this to be a photo free weekend, so I left the tripod at home. It might seem strange, but I find I don’t take photography as seriously if I don’t have my tripod along. My framing and “capturing the light” skills still hold, but without a tripod I feel like my photography takes on a much more “playful” tone, and play is always good for the soul. But, my photo-free weekend didn’t happen since I did have my camera with me. Just a few of the best things though. So this leads into my rules of Photography that Illl be expounding on each day for the next several days. So stay tuned for them all.

Rule 1# If you have your camera with you, you have your tripod … period. This might seem like a no-brainer but the tripod is key to sharp pictures. I know, “but but my pictures seem pretty sharp and I dont use a tripod.” You CAN get sharp pics w/o a tripod, but never as sharp as they COULD be with a tripod. I have even gotten acceptable shots at 1/8sec hand held, but the trick is to brace yourself, hold your breath, and then shoot several shots. Hopefully one of them will come out sharp. However, the real trick is to not find yourself having to do this. USE a tripod or a monopod if space doesn’t allow its three legged brethern.

I won’t wax long on the types of tripod you should get, I will say buy the best one you can afford that you will use regularly. Buying a 1000.00 tripod is a waste if you aren’t going to use it as much as humanly possible. For those who ARE looking for tips, I suggest the following.

Manfrotto tripod with a ball head. You can get these in a kit for about 200.00US. Trust me, for someone who shoots alot on uneven ground, a ball head will save your sanity. If you don’t shoot on uneven ground, a pan/tilt head is acceptable but overall I still prefer the ball head for its ease of use and application in the field. While the Manfrotto tripod/heads are the best cost to quality ratio in my opinion, there are other choices such as Gitzo and Slik. Both also make excellent tripods, in fact the Gitzo mountaineer carbon fiber models are considered, by many, to be the creme-de-la-creme of tripods. But again, the best tripod for you is one you’ll actually use, but again, try not to be too frugal in getting one, it’ll pay off in the long run.

For those REALLY new people, I suggest buying gear from B&H Photo or Adorama. All of my gear has been purchased from these two locations, and they come highly recommended by me.

Thanks for reading and I’ll see you tomorrow.

Technorati Profile

So with this in mind let me give you a brief introduction of myself. During my youth I was very much art oriented, but somehow along the way I became completely about science. In college I eventually collected two degrees in Psychology and Sociology. Before I began my Doctoral track in Psychology, I decided to take a year off from school. During that year I found a job at a small up and coming toy company. I began as an assistant in Production Management, but quickly I found that I had other latent talents that I could put to use. Long story short, within 2.5 years I had become the Head Art Director for the company. I loved my job, I actually had DREAMS about going to work … yes, dreams, not nightmares. But, alas nothing golden can last and with the current economic crisis my job, my perfect job, became Unemployment. I decided that while I would willingly enter another position elsewhere I wanted to make a living with art. I devour design books, breath typography, and I notice kerning errors in business cards long before I see any of the words written there. However, Photography is my 1st love. The idea of being able to capture something that lasts less than a second in a media that can last hundreds of years. My first realization of the magic of photography came after the death of my Aunt in early 2008. Shortly thereafter I was retouching some photos and found a simple snapshot of my Aunt that I had taken with a mundane Point and Shoot. She was holding my barely 6 month old niece, feeding her. The lighting was HORRIBLE, a lamp on the table behind her was completely blown out. No one in the picture was looking at me, they were completely unaware that I was taking the shot. It was the last picture I took of my aunt. I had captured her very essence there inside a simple digital camera that anyone with opposable thumbs could use. No lighting, no staging, no posing, no nothing. I was there, I shot, and here was a record of something that had substance. The very thought of it all was mind boggling. I knew then that I would try to use my camera to capture this every-time I clicked the shutter. To attempt to capture the very essence of people, places, and things so that those who viewed the image in the future might have a chance of understanding. It might seem like a lofty goal, but going back to my professor, he also said that those scientists had something else that only neophytes have, something he called primal drive. It wasn’t the drive to become better, it was simply the drive to become, and it was hundreds of times more potent than the former. I hope I have that primal drive of which he waxed long about, and I hope that through this site I am able to pass a little of it on to you.