Jon Uhler wrote:
Nice work Colin. Weddings are both exciting and nerve racking....
Welcome Robert....
Anyone coming out for the 50mm thing this sat?
Jon
Thanks Jon.
I won't make the 50mm thing. I'll be editing more pictures from last weekend and attending a BBQ with my girlfriend and her friends. I'll try and take some pics of the puppy for ya'll to see.
First rule of wedding photography post production - get the images to the client within 3 days... all of them - even the ones you don't like or aren't technically perfect... that is if you want to drive up sales and make money at wedding photography.
I know this is a special case where you want to please your family - but as a business - as Gary Fong says - "strike while the iron is in front of the cart" (translated - strike while the iron is hot) The bride needs to see the images while on her honeymoon. Her and her mom. If your package included say 250 images for x - then give them 500 and let them pick the 250 they want... they will almost always buy 450! - you just doubled your money! $1500.00 wedding just went to $3000 and you were there shooting anyway - it sells itself if you do it right.
Thats my unsolicited 2 cents worth... - actually thats from Gary Fongs' advice list - i'm just repeating... since he says it would take $10,000 an hour with a 10 hour minimum to get him out of retirement to shoot another wedding.. i think he must know something about it that we don't. (retiring before you're 40 a multi-millionaire from wedding photography - gives him a few street creds)
He buys multiple multi-million dollar vacation homes with the tupperware sales - but he had to start somewhere. Either way - he's making more than you and me put together - so i'll take his advice when i can get it.
jbear2000 wrote:
First rule of wedding photography post production - get the images to the client within 3 days... all of them - even the ones you don't like or aren't technically perfect... that is if you want to drive up sales and make money at wedding photography.
I know this is a special case where you want to please your family - but as a business - as Gary Fong says - "strike while the iron is in front of the cart" (translated - strike while the iron is hot) The bride needs to see the images while on her honeymoon. Her and her mom. If your package included say 250 images for x - then give them 500 and let them pick the 250 they want... they will almost always buy 450! - you just doubled your money! $1500.00 wedding just went to $3000 and you were there shooting anyway - it sells itself if you do it right.
Thats my unsolicited 2 cents worth... - actually thats from Gary Fongs' advice list - i'm just repeating... since he says it would take $10,000 an hour with a 10 hour minimum to get him out of retirement to shoot another wedding.. i think he must know something about it that we don't. (retiring before you're 40 a multi-millionaire from wedding photography - gives him a few street creds)
oh yeah - nice work! blog pics are great too....Show more →
I continue to learn so much every time I do this. Post processing turn-around time. What moments I missed. What I could have done for better still lifes.
Thanks for the input - I really need to know what I can do to better myself. Thanks! Looks like I may need to clear up tonight to edit and get it all done.
Colin, I like the blog... we have to talk about that someday so that I can learn a bit more about the implementation. Nice pics, really like the kissing shot.
Colin...I think the pics on the blog look amazing! I have played with a few of mine, too...I'll post a few in a couple of minutes. It is amazing to me that we were both at the same place and saw things so differently I think yours are definitely blowing mine away!
Since I know you're serious about this stuff, Colin - I'm posting the few tidbits i can remember. Just went to a marketing seminar over in Decatur last Friday and wrote down almost 10 pages of tips. This guy was from Australia and has made and lost and made back millions doing portrait work mostly. His sales approach is very similar to Fong's - so I guess its a standard way of doing business.
When I first heard this approach - i thought it was playing on emotions too much and to a degree unethical - certainly not objective enough to be artistic. I forgot that art, ethics and business rarely come up in the same conversation. Anyway - this guy has some good ideas on marketing photography that would make a lot of money if properly implemented.
Just got a call yesterday to do a grip and grin for a local charity next weekend - a little too late to really use what I learned last Friday - due to the need for special packaging and printing - but i'm looking for ways to use what I learned. Plus the need for a studio is a must. I wonder if three or four of us could rent a... never mind - it would never work.
Jon,
I've been carrying the arsenal around for about a week - so it will all be in the bag. I want to see how the 50 is going to work - but i need to shoot a lot with the three i got back from Canon. I told the VP i was going to shoot with all these over the next few weeks and give him my evaluation of the Mark III and my lenses as corrected by CPS. They went through all of them and did all the work they needed - so everything is up to spec. Not bad as the 100-400 and 24-70 were getting long in the tooth.
Michael's suggestion to shoot 50mm with the crop factor figured in is an interesting approach. Here is what I come up with...
Focal Length 1.3 1.6
..............14 18.2 22.4
..............24 31.2 38.4
..............35 45.5 56.0
..............50 65.0 80.0
..............65 84.5 104.0
..............85 110.5 136.0
..............100 130.0 160.0
..............135 175.5 216.0
..............200 260.0 320.0
..............300 390.0 480.0
..............400 520.0 640.0
..............500 650.0 800.0
..............600 780.0 960.0
..............800 1040.0 1280.0
..............1200 1560.0 1920.0
Mark Alexander wrote:
Colin, I like the blog... we have to talk about that someday so that I can learn a bit more about the implementation. Nice pics, really like the kissing shot.
First, let me just say that Colin is the man! I was really impressed with how he handled the entire day. He always seemed to be in the right place at the right time and really took charge during the formals. Now that I have seen some of the pics, his wedding photography ability has really been sealed for me. I would not hesitate to recommend him to do any wedding. The lighting conditions were tough-actually near impossible and he just ran with it.
I struggled quite a bit. I was trying to use a focal length that did not really suit my style, and I couldn't find the referee anywhere! I did manage to salvage a few (I think). Since Colin had a handle on the formals and could elicit better expressions from his family, I decided to try to focus on some of the details. Now, the best part is that I didn't have to process any for Colin since he is going to handle that, so I just played with a few on my own. I have not been through very many yet, but posted a few here to share. I would love some honest feedback, as I am shooting another wedding with another friend this weekend...
Geez Tracey, great shots. I'm glad you got all the little detail shots because I didn't get enough of them - it's great to have another eye shooting with me. For someone who was using a focal length that wasn't your style, you did great and have some great shots - I love the B&W conversions too. Just out of curiosity, what's your focal length of choice?
Everyone needs to ignore what Tracey has to say about me. Anyone who's met me knows she's just making stuff up.
T, I think you got some nice shots. I'm not sure about #8 though. I'm sure it is just an optical illusion but his hands kind of disappear and he has a interesting look on his face...
Hey Tracey - I think those are artfully done - opening up the page just says "now there is someone who knows which end of a camera to hold!" (difficult as that may be with a dark horse like a nikon)
Very tastefully done i might add.
I do have one question - and its just my curiosity. I read all the time that portraits and weddings shouldn't be shot on the sharpest setting - on either platform - so i wonder how you set up your camera for these. Like sports? Like family shots? or with softening of some kind? I really want to know. I would tend to go to the sharp end - and I'm pretty sure thats not what most women would want. (which is one reason why i prefer not to shoot weddings)
Well I learned a few thins about aperture usage last Saturday - inside the theatre it was so dark we had to open up all the way up to even get a decent shot. Outside the theatre I wish I had opened up a bit more to leave some DoF but also have a decently sized plane of focus.
Part of the issue with my shots is that the plane of focus is almost TOO shallow in many of the shots. Gotta work on that!
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