Albums #3

This is the third in a series. If you haven't watched the first two episodes, scroll down and watch them in sequence.

Creating Albums #2

This is the second in a series. If you haven't read the first one, it will make more sense if you move down the page to Creating Albums #1, and start there.

From Crackle: Albums2

Creating Albums #1

This is the first in a series of videos where I talk about albums - primarily wedding albums. I cover things like the first interview with a potential client and the 'value' of the album. Learn the difference between a photographer and a storyteller. See what album pre-design entails.

From Crackle: Albums1

Flash using Nikon

OK, as promised, here is the Gary Fong video, explaining how to get optimal results with a Nikon camera/flash. Go down to the next post for Gary's video on Canon.



Optimizing Flash Results for Nikon Cameras from GARY FONG on Vimeo.

Using the Canon Flash System

I know -- I always talk about Nikon, but this is important. Gary Fong posted this on his blog, and I 'stole' it :-)


Canon Flash System from GARY FONG on Vimeo.

Soon, we'll have one on Nikon flashes.

Competiting with Shoot & Burn Photographers

A couple of days ago, I received this email from Dan. My response follows Dan's message.

-----

Thank you for the time you put into the education of your fellow photographers. I have a question that I think is on the minds of a lot of professionals today. That is how to approach the subject of escalation of photographers giving in and giving away their images on a disc to the client. I have stood firm on this point with my clients, I don't give them a disk but post their images online and give them a set of proofs in a binder to view.

This year alone I have lost several sales to competiors who are giving a disk to their customers that they can print from. This practice is much more widespread than I thought, after speaking to my pro lab, they tell me that the only thing keeping their lab afloat was the fact that they started to design and make albums. When a client gets a disk they take it to Costco or Walmart and have pictures made there, cutting the photographer and the lab out of the loop. After listening to my client's reasons for not booking, and research that I have done in the market I am calling into question my stance on the issue. Do you have any suggestions for incentives can we offer our clients so they don't leave our studio in favor of another that will give the images so they can print their own pictures?

======

The issue that you raise is something that new, as well as,
established photographers are facing, every day. Often, the potential
customer views us as a commodity -- they think that anyone who calls
themself a 'photographer' and is technically competent to remember to
remove the lens cap is the same as any other photographer.

They key is to build your 'brand'. While you can't do it overnight,
it can be done. You have to separate yourself -- distinguish yourself
-- from the 'shoot & burn' guys who are not only failing to maximize
their business, but who have the potential to destroy yours.


"Do you have any suggestions for incentives can we offer our
clients..."

Dan, this is the heart of the predicament. Each of us
has to educate our clients. They think that they are hiring a
photographer -- someone to take pictures. Many of use think of
ourselves as someone who 'takes pictures'. Oh sure, sometimes we say,
capture images, preserve memories, but we still mean 'take pictures'.
So long as we think that way, and allow our customers to think that
way, we are doomed to shoot & burn.

As professional wedding photographers, we are STORYTELLERS. This is
really why people hire us (even if they don't realize it). Dan, who
can best tell the story of someone's wedding: The bride or the
photographer? Assuming the photographer understands the flow of a
wedding, along with the emotions, the beauty, the stress, the humor,
the expected and the unexpected, and is prepared to capture all of it,
then the photographer is more than someone who takes the pictures.
The photographer is the storyteller.

When a bride asks for a hi-resolution disc of the wedding images, she
thinks that she is going to save money. What she is really doing is
cheating herself of her memories, because she is ill equipped to tell
the story in a way that will depict the emotions, the beauty, etc.,
etc.

The first rule of building your brand is to be prepared to turn down a
job -- or risk even not being offered it, and being okay with that.

Early in my conversations with a potential client, I simply tell them
that I may or may not be the best choice for then. Then I explain
that statement. I tell them my philosophy: I tell them who I am
working for -- and it is NOT the bride and groom. Let me expand on
that.

I don't, initially, discuss the photography. Instead, I talk about
the album that I will produce. The conversation goes something like
this: "When you first receive your album, it will be exciting, but it
won't have much value. I mean, it was just a couple months ago, you
were there, and you probably remember some of it. Your album begins
to have value when a ten year old climbs on your lap and says, 'Mommy,
you we so pretty.' But, when that ten year old looks up at you and
says, 'Grandma, you were sooooooo beautiful -- well, that's when your
wedding album has real value. So, you see, I'm not shooting your
wedding for you -- I'm working for your grandchildren."

That's it -- that's my wedding photography philosophy. If that isn't
what they want -- in fact, if someone doesn't have a tear in their
eye, when I finish, then we aren't a good match. Better to end the
conversation at that point.

However, if they truly understand what I've just said (what you've
just said), then I know that I have a client who values what I do,
well beyond a shoot & burn guy who is just going to take pictures, but
has no real investment in the outcome -- they way the story is told.

Once you have a customer who values you for what you do, then you have
to give outstanding service -- make them go 'WOW". Make them rave
about you. That's how you begin to build your brand, and distinguish
yourself. Certainly, if you already have a reputation, you have a
head-start. If you are new, then you may have to accept 'market-rate'
jobs, to get started.

Dan, do you have a blog? What is the address?

Go back to my blog -- mentioned above. Look at the archives and about
April or May of last year, I posted the first of a four-part series on
getting your photography business online. Read those articles. Make
note of Gary's 2-DVD set, called "Getting Rich as a Photographer".
If you don't have it, get it.

Obviously, there is much more to say, but I hope this gets you started
- or, at least, believing that it is possible. The DVD set is
important.

It Must Be Spring -- Shooting Sports

It must be Spring – I’ve been getting a lot of questions about how to shoot sports – especially outdoors – like baseball, track & field, and soccer.

If you’ve spent anytime on this blog, you know that we talk, regularly, about using flash. In particular, we explore how to get studio lighting results, in relatively small spaces, using one or more hot shoe type flashes.

Today, we are leaving the flash behind and we are getting out of the studio (living room, garage, family room) and into the wide-open spaces of a baseball diamond, soccer field, and stadium.

Actually, we are going to do it in reverse order. We are going to the Surf City Invitational Track & Field Meet, in Huntington Beach, California. I’ll explain how I took a few representative photos. At the end, I’ll display a series of other images, from other sports, using the same techniques that I describe in the track & field samples -- and also illustrating that it is important to capture more than just 'action' when shooting sports.

Track meets are great places to practice your techniques because of the wide variety of events and challenges in capturing them. As in any image, the quality of the exposure is determined by the aperture size and shutter speed. In most sports photography, you will be concerned with stopping the action – capturing the image without the blur caused by the subject speeding past you.

We’ll talk about some of the techniques for capturing action, but first, let’s begin with shutter speed. The faster the shutter, the greater chance you’ll have of getting a sharp image. Normally, when I arrive at the location, I will take a meter reading. If you don’t have an external meter and/or gray card, simply position yourself in the same light as your subject, and take a reading off the palm of your hand. While this isn’t perfect, it will give you a fairly accurate starting point. Place your camera in Shutter Priority, set the shutter to 1/000 or faster, and take a reading. Depending on how much depth of field you think you’ll want, decide if the metered aperture is appropriate. You can then dial in those settings in Manual Mode, or leave the camera in Shutter Priority.

In the first image, I was shooting a discus thrower. I was able to shoot toward the subject, from the area to where he would be throwing the disc. His technique would be to stand in a designated circle, spin to gain momentum, and then let go of the discus as he was facing in my general direction. I wanted to have sufficient shutter speed to capture his motion, without a blur. I also wanted to have enough depth-of-field (DOF) to capture the disc as it left his hand. A rather ugly chain link fence in the background complicated this. I would have liked to reduce the depth-of-field, to blur that background, but then I would have sacrificed the opportunity to capture both the athlete and the disc.

I decided on a shutter speed of 1/2000 and found that I could get a good exposure and reasonable DOF at about f4.0 to 5.6. ISO was 400.

In the following five images, I was able to capture great facial expressions. Only in the middle one, did I get both the athlete and the disc. To me, the faces make up for not getting the disc.











For me, some of the most exciting and picturesque events at a track meet are the hurdles. Rather than having the runners speed by, perpendicular to the camera, try to position yourself at about 30-45 degrees, so that the runners are coming toward you. For this series, I focused on one of the hurdles, and keeping my left eye open, used my peripheral visions to see the hurdlers approaching. While your camera’s buffer will determine how many images you can capture, most cameras should be able to capture, at least, three images per second, in Continuous Mode. Pick the best image, don’t show anyone the other two, and you’ll look like a pro!

Exposure was 1/2000 and from f4.8 to 6.7. ISO was 400.







Notice that the second and third photos, above, are from the same sequence. Zooming in can significantly increase the drama of the image. With some practice, you will be able to do this in camera. Otherwise, use an image manipulation program, like Photoshop, to crop your images for maximum effect.

For most sports, select your camera’s Matrix Metering mode, instead of center weighted or spot metering.

In the above examples, we selected a shutter speed, and then allowed the camera to decide on the appropriate aperture. However, in the next example – the pole vault – we are faced with a small figure (the pole vaulter) on a large, light colored background (the sky). In this case, I took a spot meter reading on the uniform of the athlete, while he was on the ground. I placed the camera on Manual, and dialed in the settings. Then, I focused on the crossbar, and used the same left-eye-open technique that I use when shooting the hurdlers, to anticipate when to begin shooting.

Exposure was 1/000 at f8-9.5.







Now, for some random images - there is much more to photograph at a sporting event, than just the action.