one body or two

[Exposures]

^^Thank you so much for taking the time to go through the images and give me tips for improvement. It really helps a lot.

I do, what seems to me, like a lot of post work. Sometimes I feel too much. Are there any good tutorials that will help with knowing what to do? I always adjust the contrast and usually the saturation some. My last set of children's portraits I played around with a little more and thought it turned out better than the others. But I have such an 'untrained eye' I don't know good from bad. What I think is good, may be totally wrong. I have started trying the high pass filter to give skin that glow and I think it looks nice. But then again, I don't KNOW, I only THINK. haha

[lemonjenny]

You're welcome! I'm sure there are plenty of tutorials online, but some will be crap. the rule of thumb for me is if it LOOKS obviously photoshopped, it's too much. Skin smoothing should be done right, so it is undetectable. Contrast should be subtle, so you don't lose lowlights and blow out highlights. High pass is a good trick for sharpening. The thing is, no one trick works for every photo. It's going to take lots of time and experimenting, and you'll get the hang of it. I like adjusting the colors and exposure in Lightroom, then moving to photoshop for finish work. Start playing with gradient maps... they can produce some cool effects.

Practice makes perfect.

[DSLR35]

Dear Exposures,

I’ve only done three weddings in my life, so my recommendations may be somewhat limited. However, in spite of all the discouraging comments you’ve received, I think you are determined to go ahead with this project so here’s what I’d recommend:

1) You absolutely will want two camera bodies. Ideally, I’d suggest the same brand and model of camera (for example the Nikon D300s due to the high ISO capability) for both bodies. The reason I suggest that is the fact that you will be working in situations of low light and you’ll have to quickly switch between bodies with different lenses and will need to – almost automatically by feel or through the viewfinder – make or change settings on the bodies without the benefit of being able to view all of the controls. If you’re using different models of cameras – where the controls aren’t necessarily identical – it can drive you absolutely nuts while you’re already under a great deal of stress.

2) Take at least four, fully-charged, camera batteries (one in each camera body and two spares). Auto-focus lenses with vibration reduction (VR) features can consume more power than standard zoom lenses and you may find yourself shooting many more images than you planned.

3) Take plenty of memory cards. Since you shoot in RAW you probably will want the capacity to shoot up to 1,000 (or more) images. Ultimately, you may only use 500 of those images, but be prepared to shoot many more. Also, NEVER delete images at the camera. Transfer everything to your computer and back everything up before you even think about deleting anything.

4) Try to use the fastest lenses you can afford – perhaps a 24-70 mm F2.8 and a 70-200 mm F2.8. Even though you’ll need an external flash, you will still be working in highly variable lighting circumstances and the faster the lens the better.

5) You will want an external flash – either the SB800 or SB600 speedlight. Also, I recommend a diffuser such as the Gary Fong Light Sphere. It will do a very effective job of softening your shots and minimizing shadows by directing the light toward the walls and ceiling. Avoid pointing the flash head directly at your subjects.

6) Visit the wedding site ahead of time – preferably at the same time of day or night when the wedding will occur and under the same lighting conditions. Try to make some test shots so you will have some idea of the constraints under which you’ll be working.

7) Now – let me provide some brief personal insight about the business side of your situation. On this occasion I believe your primary objective should be to produce the highest quality pictures you can for the wedding party. That being said, your second objective should be to financially BREAK EVEN. In other words, do your best and try not to lose money. Don’t plan to make any profit on this engagement. Consider it a learning experience – it’s the best you can hope for.

8) Once the assignment is complete try to locate an older very experienced wedding photographer in your geographic area who might be willing to mentor you. You might consider offering to be his assistant at no charge in order to gain the experience. This type of photography is highly specialized and requires a good deal of onsite experience. The reason I suggest an older photographer is the simple fact that he/she may be less likely to consider you a future competitor who will cause business to be lost.

9) Finally, as I mentioned above, I’ve done only three wedding assignments – I plan to never do any in the future. If you are determined to work in this specialty area, then I wish you well in developing your skills and becoming a successful practitioner. There are primarily three reasons that I no longer have any interest in weddings: a) I could never determine who my clients actually were. In each case, I began by dealing with the bride and groom (or only the bride) and assumed they/she was my client. However, as time went on additional parties became involved to the extent that I was never certain. Parents, relatives (in one instance a busy-body aunt) and other parties were passing judgment on my work both while I was trying to perform it or during the post-processing phase. b) The amount of time consumed by post processing and recycling of images in post processing was highly disproportionate to other types of work that I did and, thus, resulted in much lower profit. And c) weddings were extremely time consuming – they took a good deal of advance work, substantial onsite time (frequently at night and on weekends – 12-15 hour days) and much more time in front of a computer than I expend on other work I do. Not to belabor the point, but I determined that weddings weren’t “my thing.”

I hope everything works out well for you. Please let us know how it goes.

[econnell]

I would have to agree. Why criticize this photographer for wanting to learn. Let's be helpful instead of discouraging. Aren't we all beginners at some point and learned from someone. I believe that we all need to be built up instead of discouraged. I think the reason that most photographers are so mean and rude is because they are threatened by new comers. There are lots of brides. Let's all relax and help each other. That being said here is the first good advice I received from those photogs. who were there to help and not make me feel bad.

**I always buy camera bodies only. The reason is because the lenses that usually come with the cameras are not good. They are called “kit” lenses and they just are not worth owning. Another thing to remember is that it is better to splurge on lenses 2.8f or lower rather than camera bodies because they can make all the difference in the world.**

Cameras: I like Canon, better than Nikon so I really cannot say much about the Nikon, maybe another nice person will help you out there.

The following cameras are ranked in quality lowest to highest:

1. Canon Digital Rebel XTi (amateur)
2. Canon Digital Rebel XSi (amateur)
3. Canon EOS 30D amateur - professional)
4. Canon EOS 40D (amateur - professional)
5. Canon EOS 50D (amateur - professional)
6. Canon EOS 5D Mark 2 (professional)


Flashes:

You will be totally fine with a 430ex to start with.

1. Canon Speedlite 430ex
2. Canon Speedlite 580ex

Memory Cards & Batteries:

If you can avoid it, don’t buy off brand versions of memory cards or batteries. They just are not reliable in my opinion. you will have to decide on a camera before you know which size battery and memory card to buy. I will tell you to buy Canon brand batteries and Sandisk memory cards.

It is always good to have a few extra batteries and memory cards on hand…especially for weddings…so you might consider buying a few extra. You will get 1 battery and a charger with your camera and you will probably get a memory card, but it will probably be a very small one that won’t hold many pictures. I recommend getting memory cards that can hold 2GB and higher. I have 8 GB cards.

Lenses:

My first bit of advice on buying lenses is to always buy the fastest lens you can. I will never buy a lens that is slower than f2.8…so always look for lenses that are f2.8 or lower (f2.0, 1.8, 1.4, 1.2). The reason is because these lenses will allow the maximum amount of light in without having to use a flash and give you the most versatility. Lenses that are f.3.0 and higher are usually only good for outdoor photography.

Some people prefer using prime versus zoom lenses. You can probably google an explanation between prime and zoom lenses. I also recommend buying the canon brand lenses rather than an off brand because they are higher in quality and have better resale value if ever wanted to sell them.

If you absolutely cannot afford any canon lenses, then sigma lenses would be my next choice. You just have to make sure (if you buy an off brand) that you are buying a lens with a canon mount because they also make the same lens for Nikons and other camera brands.

For starting off, I would recommend buying 3 prime lenses – 1 wide angle, 1 mid-range, and 1 telephoto. However, if you can only afford 1 lens, then I recommend buying a zoom lens that has many different focal lengths built in.

Wide Angle:
1. Canon 24mm f2.8
2. Canon 28mm f1.8

Mid-Range:
One of the following 50mm’s (I have the 50mm 1.4)
1. Canon 50mm f1.8
2. Canon 50mm f1.4

Telephoto:
1. Canon 85mm f1.8 (I have this and love it)
2. Canon 100mm f2.8 macro

If you don’t like the idea of prime lenses, and would rather buy a zoom lens that has many different focal lengths all wrapped up in one lens, here are a few recommendations:

• Canon 24-70mm f2.8
• Canon 70-200mm f2.8

OTHERS
1. Sigma 24-60mm f2.8
2. Sigma 24-70.. f2.8 macro

I wish you the best of luck and if you have any more questions you can email me at zejuphoto@gmail.com My sites are Cincinnati Wedding Photography – Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati Wedding Photography - Cincinnati, Ohio and Zeju Design Zeju Design
I am a trained graphic designer and photographer. I think my work is great and I would say that I started the same as you. I have never been a second shooter and I like being in charge. I find being a second shooter for pompous pros is no way to learn because they are threatened by new talent. Find a good mentor who builds you up and who can give criticism tastefully. They are out there somewhere. Please don't let negative ppl slow you down and the more you shoot the better you get. Learn the technical part and I think the creative part is born in us!

Weddings can be difficult at times, but I am assuming that you are a go-getter to take this on anyway and ppl like that usually know when they are in over their head. Just use your good judgment and you will be great!

[becksjd]

econnell,

I have been following these threads and have been kind of frustrated by the coldness of some on here. We are all entitled to our opinions, but it is definitely their choice to put them out so harshly and to so intentionally discourage a beginner. I will admit, I felt the discouragement as a beginner myself and I didn't post the original thread! I just felt like it all came off as don't bother trying because you aren't good enough. How else do we start? At least the people have CHOSEN her based on her pictures, they liked the pictures, you may not but they did. That is what is important here. They are not being tricked, they like her work, they chose her.

Good for her and what a learning experience this will be for her! I am sure she will do great and they will be happy with their photos. Anyway, I found your post helpful in getting beginners started, as did the last few posts in here. So thank you to everyone, all the suggestions have also helped me!

Becky