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Digital SLR / DSLR Camera Question / DSLR Thread 2

cycle61 said:
The business of wedding photography is intensely competitive, and to be honest, I'm not doing very well at it. I have a pretty good idea of what I should be doing, but I definitely haven't focused my efforts (pun intended) as I would need to be successful.

What I would suggest is shooting a couple of weddings as an assistant/second shooter. There are often gigs available on craigslist, although they may be tough to get without any wedding-related portfolio. I'd be happy to have you assist next time I have a client who wants a second shooter.

I have no doubt that you can handle the photography aspect of a wedding, but there are a whole lot of things you have to learn on the fly. You have to be ready to operate in an environment that's fast-paced, hectic, and unpredictable, and non-repeatable. You're playing the role of a photojournalist, portrait artist, product shooter, fashion photographer, graphic designer (you are getting details and background shots for the wedding album, right?;)) and event manager all at the same time. It's intense, exhilarating and exhausting, the hours are long, and you have to get it right the first time. Every time. Because there's no retakes. I freggin love every minute of it, and wish I could make it a full time job.

Still interested? Let me know.
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Yeah, that's pretty much why I don't do weddings. I like to say that wedding photography is basically battle photography without the guns. All my buddies that shoot weddings carry insurance because brides will sue if you don't get it right.
 
BrassPremier said:
finally starting to figure out the white seamless look. tough getting the lighting right on everything... still think it could use some work (sorta rushed cleaning up the reflection) but starting to get it down. any suggestions would be appreciated :)

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What are your light settings on the background and subject lights? Your colors are fairly muted, which to me is an indicator that you're getting a lot of spill. In other words, your background lighting is wrapping around your subject and muting the colors. You may need to either turn down your background lights, or turn up your subject lights and adjust the exposure accordingly.
 
wannabe said:
Yeah, that's pretty much why I don't do weddings. I like to say that wedding photography is basically battle photography without the guns. All my buddies that shoot weddings carry insurance because brides will sue if you don't get it right.
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A well worded contract generally shuts that one down right quick.
 
TylerW said:
A well worded contract generally shuts that one down right quick.
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Yes, the contract helps you in court, but it doesn't stop the bride from bringing you to court in the first place.

It's rare that it happens, but not rare enough for me to want to do it. I'll stick to fashion,dance, and portrait photography.

By the way, can someone explain what the heck 'Lifestyle' photography is?
 
Steve - what Aris said, I think, but...

...what's odd tho, is that I can't see much of a catchlight from the background lights - it looks more like you're getting bleed from the backdrop lights onto the subject, or it's just overexposed.

What does it look like when you have *just* the background lights, and *just* the foreground lights?

I found it easier to figure things out by starting with just the backdrop lights, make damn sure I'm not getting bleeding from them onto the subject before doing anything else. Even with home-made screens to block the bleeding, I have the subject stand about 10ft from the paper, and the lights for the backdrop are only about 5ft away from the paper.
 
wannabe said:
By the way, can someone explain what the heck 'Lifestyle' photography is?
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(Some mildly NWS)
http://www.blindmike.com/index.php?x=browse&category=4&pagenum=1

Look through a couple of pages. It's a mix of fashion and lifestyle shoots. This guy's a buddy of mine. He's a contract photographer for one of the big model agencies now, the guy to whom the agency sends all their prospective models for shoots.

As for the legal thing, my contract is very clear about liability, etc. In fancy lawyer words it states "Shit happens, and you don't get to sue me."

Worst case scenario I think is I would have to give all the client's money back.
 
I do have screens on the backdrop lights, subject standing a few feet farther from the backdrop than the backdrop lights, which are 5 or 6 feet away. The only editing I did on that photo was getting the seamless look, didn't do anything with the subject.
 
What are you lighting the subject with?

Probably still worth doing the with/without backdrop/subject lights to see what's going on.
 
cycle61 said:
I'd be happy to have you assist next time I have a client who wants a second shooter.
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it's up to you (main shooter) to have an assistant or not...the client still pays you the asking rate that you and the client agreed upon...
 
I offer it to all my clients, but not usually for free. I feel that expecting an assistant/second shooter to work without pay devalues the skill and experience necessary to even step into the field. That said, I do make exceptions when someone qualified wants to do a freebie for portfolio building.

Also, attached is a .txt file of the contract I'm currently using. I got it off a website somewhere and modified it to meet my needs. Feel free to download, copy, criticize, etc as you wish. :thumbup
 

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  • WEDDING CONTRACT.txt
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yelow748 said:
No womenz in the picture they all ran when i showed up .

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Use a smaller aperture...the pathway and the trees are horribly just fuzzy...
if you had a model on the sharp part of the photo it coulda worked...but without
anything but the landscape, shoot at a smaller aperture...
 
cycle61 said:
I offer it to all my clients, but not usually for free. I feel that expecting an assistant/second shooter to work without pay devalues the skill and experience necessary to even step into the field. That said, I do make exceptions when someone qualified wants to do a freebie for portfolio building.

Also, attached is a .txt file of the contract I'm currently using. I got it off a website somewhere and modified it to meet my needs. Feel free to download, copy, criticize, etc as you wish. :thumbup
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that's why do your thing as the event goes and just let him shoot and practice on his own...that way he can build his skill and you can keep on progressing...yes, most of us don't do this kind of events for free, but the shooter needs to start somewhere in order for him to be able to do these kind of events...i've shot a couple of weddings and events by myself...yes i miss some shots and wish that i have an assistant around with me to help out but that doesnt really happen because i dont wanna depend on them to take shots and come out the way you wanted it...(good job on pointing that out)...also in weddings, the shooter needs to be in control with the situation when it comes to taking portraits...time is money weddings...the less time you spend on shooting portraits, you can now walk around and shoot "moments to capture"...
 
It's a balance between wanting somebody else around to fill in the inevitable missed shots, and needing to stay as transparent as possible. Some clients want for there not to be a second shooter, some don't care, some want one but can't pay, and some pay the extra. Although I could probably push one through, I tend to try and meet their needs and wants first. Also, having a 2nd onboard means I'm responsible for anything they do or that happens because of them.

I lost a repeat 2nd shooter gig last year when I accidentally knocked down a lightstand across a full table, crystal and served up dinner plates and centerpiece and all. I was mortified, and apologized to everybody involved, but the main photographer really took the brunt of the fallout.

And he never paid me. Cheap bastid. :p
 
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Found my picture of Mike Wong (blindmike). From a strobist meet about 2 years ago.

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Edit: Oh hell yes. I just figured out the password to my flickr account. :banana Haven't been able to log onto that for a long time.
 
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zypher said:
Use a smaller aperture...the pathway and the trees are horribly just fuzzy...
if you had a model on the sharp part of the photo it coulda worked...but without
anything but the landscape, shoot at a smaller aperture...
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that's not the intent of the photo to sharp and , it objective is to draw the purpose of depth from one vantage point and stretch it , the focus point is the edge of the grass and the path . If I wanted sharp that's easy , any one could do that .
 
Caution Shameless Photo Whoring in this post. :twofinger

I really haven't been shooting enough. Looking through my flicker from a year or two ago, I did all kinds of random stuff and had so much fun at it. Need to get back out there more. :)

D80 and 18-135, ~5minute exposure along Calaveras Road
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D70 and 12-24, Crabtree Falls near the Blue Ridge Parkway in NC
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F4s and Zeiss 25mm, Velvia 50
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Little buddy. :) D700 and 24-70.
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Marshmallows are serious business.
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Yes, I'm a geek. :nerd
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Playing with white foamcore for a tabletop studio.
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Stage photography
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Trying out a portrait look that really doesn't work with little kids.
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One of my pictures, used in an ad by the now-defunct PhotoShelter.
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Lol. Kids are fun.
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Whew. Thanks. Good to go through and share some of those again. :)
 
i like the golden gate bridge shot. i wish i had some income coming in again so i could convince myself to pick up some more film
 
ok, similar shot but this time did it in B&W. played around a lil more in photoshop this time, i think he looks more 'separated' from the background now

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