Had a very mundane wedding on black Friday. No meals, short wedding, older couple who weren't interested in many photos, but I was able to sneak them off for 15 minutes to capture this : https://www.instagram.com/p/-rQabCBSLG/
You could try using Recuva. It's free (the Pro version won't do anything extra for you in this case).
Importantly, do not create, edit or delete any more files if possible. The chances are that the 'deleted' files are still on your hard drive - a TL;DR of file deletion is that when you hit 'delete', it doesn't actually delete them. It simply marks the space on the hard drive that it once occupied as 'blank', meaning any future files can be written to that same space on the hard drive. So, the sooner you act, the greater chance you have.
Also, system restore does delete files as well. Next time you do a Windows update, back up your most recent files somewhere just in case you need to perform a system restore. I won't go any further into your backup schedule, as (as you've said to another commenter), the here and now is far more important. Afterwards, look at the 321 backup rule, it's generally considered good practice, especially in an industry such as this where data is vital.
I swear up and down by these. I can stand next to the DJ's speakers and I will be completely fine. They even have a string to connect the two so you don't lose them.
Great post. I wish I had been wearing earplugs at weddings for the past decade. Is it my 30s or is the music getting louder? Or am I just a sensitive and special snowflake suddenly?
I bought these this year. They're fine. Would love to see if there's a better option out there so will keep an eye on this thread.
No experience with either of these programs, but an application to do this on mac and windows
Definitely check the new wedding, and if you find corruption, follow evanR's advice and look to isolate the issue. I've seen similar problems due to an unreliable transfer method (straight from camera via USB is most common). Also, do not cut and paste, always copy and paste, then format your card in camera. You shouldn't really cut and paste any files, since corruption or an error (or power outage) can occur during transfer, and there's no way to re-attempt the move since the only version of that file(s) that it failed on is now corrupt.
"You may not use the Service to store, transfer or distribute content of or on behalf of third parties, to operate your own file storage application or service, to operate a photography business or other commercial service."
But this is still nice for personal photos. I thought this was free with Amazon Prime anyway? I like the competition in this space. I love Dropbox's implementation, but wish they had something in between the free plan and the pro plan.
EDIT: This exact service is free for Prime members. I am signing up now!
If you want to do it on a budget, I’ve had 5 - 24x36 canvases done by this place on Amazon for around $40 each with free shipping. They do a very good job. It’s no WHCC, but at 1/8th of the price it’s pretty damned good.
My office has 140sf of windows and the prints get blasted with sunlight for most of the day. So far they are holding up great.
u/e-lishaphoto your work is always so stunning. I love how consistent your feed is. Life goals.
https://www.instagram.com/foxandfen/ 99% nothing to do with wedding photography, have not yet got around to making an account for that.
It's the 'ol "razor and blades" business model updated for the electronics age that we learned about in business school.
> Good deal
On the printer, sure. But you have to price it out on a usage (per print) basis over time.
From everyone I have heard from it doesn't actually work out to be cheaper, just "faster" and/or more convenient. So, how much do you value those attributes?
Not a photographer, but as a customer I've always held photographers in high regard who had their packages laid out and presentable. I'm more likely to book them, instead of someone that's just "winging it".
The photographer we booked for our wedding hired a PR person to help her build her branding and packages. But if your starting out small, just make a few simple straight forward packages and go from there as you gain more experience/learn more.
Check out creative market. You could put together some simple branding to use for emails/pdfs etc.
I can recommend Caesium , a utility (Windows, MAC version in Alpha test) to remove all EXIF, metadata etc which will reduce your JPG in size quite a lot without using higher JPG-compression (lower quality)
It's free. Try it. You'll be surprised what an amount of "junk" your JPG's contain :)
My fiancee and I shoot together and we had a very similar setup to your existing external drive system.
We moved to a NAS (a Freenas machine, to be specific), but not in the way you'd probably first expect. Lightroom does not support catalog files loaded from a network share. It will absolutely refuse to load it and you can't override it. It doesn't, however, have any issue with RAW or JPEGs on a network share.
If you're a bit savvy with technology you can do what we did, and that's set up Syncthing (or BitTorrent Sync). These applications work like a local version of Dropbox, so you put your catalogs (one for each wedding/event) in one directory and then they are synced across your wife's computer and your NAS. Syncing to the NAS is important because it's always on and you don't need the other computer active to receive updates.
We create a new catalog in our local (but Syncthing synced) directory and point the catalog to all the RAWs stored on a NAS share. Absolutely every other file associated with the wedding is in that share, rather than the sync directory, in order to keep it as neat and tidy as possible. It bothers me that the catalog is in a different place but there's no way around that.
I hope that makes sense. You may also want to invest in a gigabit switch and at least cat 5e cables, as anything slower than gigabit ethernet will make Lightroom feel very sluggish. The good news is that the catalog being local will mean that a lot of actions are actually faster than they would be keeping them on an external drive.
Let me know if you have any questions. It's a bit of a weird setup, but it works well for us.
This is quite a good article on choosing... For me it comes down to how likely it is you are going to want to advertise or promote posts. If you think you may want to promote a photo into the timelines of non-followers, then business all the way.
I recently found out about Later, it doesn't post for you, but it does let you schedule posts (and their captions).
You can schedule posts from a computer, but you have to download the app to your phone as well. When it's time for a scheduled post a notification will take you to the Later app to confirm you're logged into the right Instagram account (I have multiple ones, it may not ask this if you only have one), then open up Instagram with the picture you selected. At that point you can paste the caption (which was automatically copied to your clipboard when Later was opened) and hit post.
It's a bit of a (short) process and it's not the kind of full automation I was hoping for, but it's not so bad. I don't mind having to spend a few seconds pressing some buttons if I already have a photo and a caption picked out. Plus it's free, at last for one account and basic perks, I think it may have monthly plans for those who want more features.
I have been using these for the past 3 years now. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01GSJ1V0O/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I will use them for any sort of high noise levels. They work great, easy to clean, and will stay on a key chain so never need to worry about not bringing them.
Texan photographer here and it’s hot as hell. I won’t book all outdoor weddings in the summer because of the heat. But we all know sometimes there’s no shade, or the reception is outside and it’s still 95 degrees at 9pm. Besides hydration and taking breaks, neck towels have been a godsend. I am a total pansy and these towels help keep me from overheating.
Sorry you went through this - I would have done the same thing and powered through. The summers are getting worse 😭
I've not got the full version, but a friend who has access to the full version (I don't think they'd be paying for it but I've got no idea).
Honestly, it's not worth what they are asking for. It costs as much as Netflix or Spotifiy. It's nothing you can't do yourself if you spend a little time making the posing charts.
But really I'd recommend watching some videos on posing or reading a book on the topic. One book I've read recent is Picture Perfect Practice by Roberto Valenzuela but this is just one example. There are also a tone of books in the 500 Poses group.
These would all be far cheaper than the app and if you prefer you'll have a physical book.
Don't get me wrong the app is kinda cool, but it's not worth the asking price. If they halved the price then it'd approach offering good value. Otherwise if you fully buy into there ecosystem then maybe the lifetime thing could offer some value. But I think they really need to offer different level of services where you pay like $5 a month and just get the poses or something.
What exactly is your cheap gear? There are a lot of reasons more expensive gear is needed for wedding photography, and renting is relatively cheap until you get the cash to buy something else.
The best way to find some assisting work is to put your portfolio online somewhere, and reach out to as many professionals as you can with a well written email explaining your enthusiasm.
Starting a legal business depends on where you live. I'm sure your state has a .gov site with all the info you need. Also it might be worth taking a small business class of some kind before you get started because wedding photography is much more about running a healthy small business than it is taking a good photo.
Here's a nice resource explaining insurance for the self employed.
Your website is your most important marketing tool, so don't pinch pennies while finding a good option. A good website will set you apart from your competition, a bad website will scare potential brides away. Some of the recommended ways of going about it are through flothemes or prophoto, but you can get away with format, squarespace, or other sites like them.
There is a thread every week to post your photos for critiques. It is broad by design. You post your site, your blog, or one photo, or a small album, or an entire album. It doesn't matter. You have some nice shots, but I might suggest getting a few books for posing and composition, like this - It will really help, especially with the hands poses where they are a bit strange. Also the bride looks a little chunkier than she actually is the umbrella picture, and it looks like she has an umbrella sprouting out of her back. Good stuff, but I'd recommend watching some videos, (maybe Tony Northrup - though he's not my favorite), reading some books, and keep practicing. But nice job starting out. Better than others I have seen after their first!
First time working with pro video guys and they were courteous and helpful. We got stuff done as a team and everyone is better for it. They did their footage with b&g first when we did the creative shoot and then left me to it.
It was the best feeling shoot I've done so far, I had ideas in mind and for the most part I think I pulled them off in nice light. There are a few photos from Saturday here: https://www.instagram.com/grantkimages/
I own this exact backpack from Swiss and it fits D3/D800 chargers in the front pocket with rocket air, business cards, and misc accessories/SD cards. I also keep my D3 body in the front pocket. My SB910 flash goes in the top pocket with a few sets of batteries. The 70-200/24-70/14-24 go in the main area with my D800 on top of them, and I keep more SD/CF cards and camera batteries in the netting area. The rear pocket fits a laptop/Ipad and my Black Rapid straps. The 50 1.4 goes in the side pocket (which can fit a second prime) and you can stick a bottle of water on the other side. Pretty much any standard size durable backpack can fit two bodies, flash, a few lenses, and accessories if you pack it right. I use this set-up to second shoot weddings with no issues. I got the swiss for $40 from Walmart.
You can optimize images online, for free, you don't have to download anything https://shortpixel.com/online-image-compression. And to me it seems to have better optimization ratios (you may do a test by yourself and compare the results). And another thing, as I mentioned above, it allows you to deal with big pictures even 10mb/picture. Other tools only accept 5mb/image.
VSCO presets are probably the most popular and there is a whole mess of options in there depending on what set you get. I don't use them much, but I have them and they can provide some nice looks. I do admit that I did get some inspiration from them when developing my own presets.
You can try out two of them in their free VSCO 00 film set here https://vsco.co/film/00/lightroom
From a technical stand point try these tips If that is too technical for you don't worry about it, your website is light years ahead of the othe websites in this thread (from a techincal stand point). I also greatly appreciate the ssl(green lock).
From what I've heard Google doesn't care about meta tags anymore, though I don't really keep an eye on anything SEO related.
Really, here's what matters to the alighty Goog:
Do websites link to your website? Great. Are they relevant? Even better!
How new is the website?
Is it fast? I need to work on this myself, not easy when you want to show off images. https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights/
Recently: Is it mobile friendly? They only care about this when someone is Googling on a mobile device, but that's pretty often nowadays. https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly/
And of course, you do absolutely need some keywords on your website. Preferably in headers (<h1>, etc) or the URLs themselves. If you blog, be sure to mention the town name the wedding took place in, for instance. There's another photographer in my area that doesn't list where she works - anywhere on the damn site! I actually had to do some searching myself to confirm she was actually in the area. Not only is that bad for actual viewers, good luck placing without it even being mentioned.
Anyways, until you have all of that sorted, don't worry about any technicalities. If you're in a small market, chances are that will boost you to the top. If you're in a large market, chances are the big guys have so many backlinks and the like you're not going to make a dent without the basics covered.
I need to make a real website, but here is some of my stuff: https://www.behance.net/gallery/5481711/Commercial-Photography
Any critiques are welcome. Also, if anyone knows of good resources to make websites (hosting, templates, etc.) that would be helpful too.
I ran a test on your site using https://gtmetrix.com/reports/www.modernframesphotography.com/HhMInw1g and it scores fairly well. 5.1 second load time. That may sound high but when I pull up your site it's drawing immediately (I'm on a very fast connection... 200mb) so everything feels nearly instant. When clicking links there's no delay so the server is responding very quickly. It's just one quick test at one time of the day but if it normally loads like it does right now, your hosting is great.
Get these and this sucker will be soooo clean :)
It depends how developed your brand is. If your looking at re-doing a logo for the sake of marketing your business its not that important. A logo is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the overall branding your business needs. Most businesses tend to get their logo right after 5-10 years. And some don't ever get it right. That's why I think re-branding is so much better than branding. Because the company has time to mature and really understand themselves and the direction they're going in vs those just starting out and getting a logo done quickly for the sake of staying on trend. I don't think it would be wise to invest money time and time again into doing a logo if your overall brand is disconnected from it. So if you feel that pressure like there is a lot of other things within my brand that need to get done first then that is probably more important. In the meantime have something clean and simple that won't pigeon hold you or tie you to any one particular look that may differ in the future. It's more important now that your brand is clear and memorable in peoples minds. This way your images can end up being more of your style and the logo won't detract from it. When the time is right then go in for it and dont be cheap about it. Find an artist or agency that you really love and trust them with your brand to create something perfect for you. It's just like wedding photography right - We want clients to love our work and trust us to capture their story as it unfolds. We don't always want the client who shows us someone else's work from Pinterest and asks us to recreate it for them. Here are some good reads on the topic of creating a great brand: Start With Why by Simon Sinek, Double Double by Cameron Herold, Good to Great by Jim Collins, Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath, Purple Cow by Seth Godin.
For what it's worth, the video clip in that Reel seems to be credited to a separate videographer per the caption.
This mount for your phone is also kind of a neat creator gadget that will help you film moments while you're still shooting them. Downside is you get a bit of camera shake from shooting (especially if you're rotating from horizontal to vertical) unless you're real conscious of holding the entire rig still.
As a stocking stuffer: I like that little thingy that mounts my cellphone on top of my camera so I can capture video of things while I'm shooting.
Even if you're not into video, I've found it's pretty invaluable for displaying the family formal list without having to dig into your pocket every time a combination is done.
These are what I use. They dampen the sound so it sounds like it's a lower volume. But you still hear all the details in the music and when people are talking. I absolutely love them and they're quite discrete too! Super cheap and affordable too. I've been using mine for about a year now.
I've used and loved my Gary Fong Lightsphere for years.
This is similar version: https://a.co/d/fEzwKci
Add "providing emotional labor" and I approach weddings the exact same as you, OP.
I cope in these ways: * I don't schedule anything the day before nor the day after a wedding. I almost never do double weekends in which I'm shooting two days in a row. Physically and emotionally it's too hard. But, like you, I pour so much into each wedding and I wouldn't have the same attention to detail if my weekend was split between two weddings instead of one. * I tell my partner I need space the day before and after and she knows not to ask anything of me those days. * I take ibuprofen before the wedding and periodically throughout the day. Drink Liquid IV (better than water) to stay hydrated. I try to stretch the morning of to loosen up. And I use icy hot on my sore back and shoulders when I come home. Coupled with a nice beer or glass of something to unwind as the images are uploading. * This fucking thing has brought me sooooo much foot pain relief. Wish I discovered it years ago. * I don't say yes to every gig that comes my way. In fact, I'm a bit picky. I'd rather really enjoy the couples and clients that I work with and make less money.
Main takeaway? I don't make as much money as people who are hustling, but, it really saves me some sanity and it has kept me from burning out for over a decade.
Not sure if this qualifies as fine art photography. I think it does. I found the two Wedding storyteller books by Roberto Valenzuela very helpful:
Here is a good book from a fellow photographer that takes you through the process step by step. A little dated but very useful.
You can pick up an intervalometer for under $20 that will work just fine. You'll need to swap out batteries a lot if you want it to shoot for a week and someone will have to stay on top of setting exposure manually for star shots. Intervalometer
It says it's leather but it's definitely not. It has an even woven pattern on the underside.
Camera Strap Accessories for Two-Cameras – Dual Shoulder Leather Harness – Multi Camera Gear for DSLR/SLR strap by C Coiro https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07B4SS9NC/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_i_QYKEKSXWRBQ9226W7XXS
I also found this bundle on Amazon. Do you think it’s a good deal?
And for photography especially, it really dosent matter all that much which monitor you get. I wanted something big, hence 32 inches and 4k. This particular monitor also comes pre calibrated and has a dedicated srgb mode, that said, i would still calibrate whichever monitor you get every month or so.
Chinos and a button down, all dark stuff. I discovered "shirt stays" last year and they're amazing. Basically upside down suspenders that keep your shirt tucked in. I shoot over my head constantly and used to tuck my shirt in 50 times a day. Shirt Stays
I just searched 2024 calendar and this popped up: 3-Year Calendar Planner, 2022-2024 Monthly Schedule Organizer Flip Calendar Diary with Tabs, Spiral Bound Top, Black, 8.5 x 11 Inches https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07ZDNR72V/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_i_JCJFE5CMJKJH3Q79A40M?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
It helps A LOT! And I agree on the hurt/help thing. I want to mention it, but I also want to be like "but I wasn't like those other pesky annoying paparazzi."
I loved this "As a bride, you're the star of your wedding. I want to take photos that show everyone how big a star you are" and will add a similar version to it on the bio.
There are two landing pages on my main page (one in English, la otra en Español). My main page is a mess (like myself), but I sort of like it that way. I will consider making more pages in the future (or have someone do it).
I've been talking to Mexican photographer friends and a lot of them don't have webpages. Most people in Mexico don't leave the Facebook or Instagram world... so having a website is not necessary.
Here is my paparazzi book if curious. A photo of LiLo in Hawaii was on the cover of Lifestyle Magazine :P But yes. My photos were in all them stupid magazines.
Thank you again. This comment made my day.
I have not used this personally but this combo may do the trick for ya.
You will also need the Apple Lighting AV adapter. This projector can run on battery for about 3 hours and is light enough to just throw into your bag. In a typical dimmer lights of a reception it should be bright enough, and you can project it from pretty small to a pretty large screen size. Look up the reviews on it.
Even if you decide to go for a bigger projector or a flat screen, consider using the iPod, it's a lot more convenient than hauling and hooking up a laptop.
I use the Manfrotto Nano as well. But I did just notice yesterday that Impact makes a cheaper version of you want to spend less: Impact LS-RL7 6.2' Reverse Legs Light Stand https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EHSLO9M/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_i_TN1THZNCAT59TCNYGADG?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
When I need a lightstand that isn't taking up much space, I pack this one - https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07KRZCN2W/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Pro's: super lightweight (a little over 1 lb), small packed size (~20"), can handle 6 lbs Con's: lightweight as in guests can more easily knock it over
Your manfroto has a larger footprint, so would be more stable.
A lot of my friends have been getting married this year, so i've had a chance to get some shots. I want to work weddings full time but i'm in need of advice to get the ball rolling. Here are a couple shots I captured as a guest. https://www.tumblr.com/blog/rpmweddings
Edit: imgur is being stubborn
I use this one from lowpro 24/7 and love it, cannot recommend it enough. Sized to be carried on to planes, very rugged, padded, comes with accessories and ways to change the layout however you want. Same price, but I would buy it again even if it were more! I love this bag a lot.
Haha. Objectively, that shot does look a bit weird. I didn't pick up on that before! No photoshopping going on, I don't really use ps unless I am doing a head swap. It's the way she's sitting, and it's hard to see under all that dress but her knees are pointed to the left of the frame because shes sitting ladylike. I could have arranged the dress better though. Thanks, we use our own presets that mimic the bones of film presets like vsco/mastin/TA - but I think what really helped was the overcast light most of the day (thanks rain).
OP - Did you have something to say about this image you are posting....you didn't say anything to promote discourse. Or are you claiming it as your own and would like a critique? That only works if you happen to be Avonne Stalling.
Cause......this is Avonne Stalling's image:
https://www.pexels.com/@avonnephoto
(To everyone else.....I think this person/bot is just farming karma)
Recent album page should be organized by type of photography. I would also remove the pintrest button. I bet no one clicks that.
There are a bunch of errors https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tzbphotos.com%2F&tab=mobile
I would also show multiple photos from one wedding instead of random images from a lot of weddings.
I agree, don't post about the downtime. Always focus on the positive, and mention the launch as if it was the first time you were posting about it.
Also, I second WordPress. WordPress.com (website hosted by them) is an easier learning curve than WordPress.org (website hosted by you), but if you don't mind spending a few hours learning the backend, a server-side install of Wordpress will give you tons of functionality.
Best of luck on your wife's launch!
joystick mapper osx app, i set the triggers to flag and unflag, face buttons to 1/2/3/4 stars and joystick to navigate forward and back, all with one hand. likewise, can use a number of controller/utilities to do the same, I like the joycon because it is one handed and i can lounge any which way.
Basically, the idea is to map keyboard shortcuts to bluetooth input
I will suggest you a better alternative to Zendesk and Freshdesk, it is Kayako. Thanks to it, it will become easy and fast to respond to your leads. Your business will be super-charged with Kayako, and I will explain you why exactly.
With Kayako you get all the solutions your business needs:
Everything comes equipped with its cutting-edge multi-channel technology, so you can reply to inquiries from any channel from the same dashboard, making things much simpler at your end. It does not matter if your customers goes from email to live chat and then to Twitter, thanks to Kayako you will manage it like a pro.
Anyways, you can try it for free during 14 days, so you can see if it is what you need. Just click this link: https://www.kayako.com/free-trial
I'm sure that you will love it, because many businesses like yours are already using it with great results!
As others have mentioned, you won't be able to get the desktop version of Lightroom/Photoshop working on a Chromebook in any reasonable fashion. However, the Google Play Store is on some Chromebooks and is coming to others soon-ish. There are some decent photo editing apps there that you might like, including Lightroom mobile. This article might be useful.
https://www.chromium.org/chromium-os/chrome-os-systems-supporting-android-apps
Experience has shown that bad formatting of cards causes at least as much data loss as contact failures of SD monoliths (used with a converter). There is a lot of misinformation circulating about formatting cards on the net: I always do full formatting on a computer first (i.e. NO QUICK FORMATING: with the device's default settings, except for a file system that is FAT32 / exFAT according to the body, block size may remain what it offers by default), then put the card into the camera to set it's own formatting and the directory structure for itself. By default, the camera only performs quick formatting, in other words, it only deletes the directory structure of the card, but the data remains intact on it in the same way. In addition to several other negative properties, e.g. the card is also slower, but more importantly, the lists of bad / unstable sectors are not updated, so your controller may write to a bad sector / block that you should have excluded for a long time, resulting in incorrectly written data. By definition, the larger a file (the more sectors / blocks it occupies), the more likely it is to have an error. To increase the card's longevity, it is not necessary to format with full formating after each photo shoot (although that is the cleanest solution), but it is highly recommended by 2-3 times. For formatting, I recommend the official program of the SD Association: https://www.sdcard.org/downloads/formatter/eula_windows/SDCardFormatterv5_WinEN.zip To check h2testw: https: //www.heise.de/download/product/h2testw-50539
Can you tell me exactly what was part of the footage they gave you? It's common practice for a photographer to shoot with two cameras at once (one camera has a tighter lens while the other one has a wider lens). There is a good chance that they lost the footage that was on that camera.
If there were any guests at the wedding that were shooting photos and videos, it's very likely that they have the photographer in their shot. From there you can check to see if the photographer had two cameras the camera setup would likely look like this. It will give us a better idea of what possibly happened.
I just find it very, very bizarre that important moments like this can be lost due to 'human error'. If the photographer was there, she was shooting these moments. SD cards can get corrupter, but they can also be recovered by software from the manufacturer; I've had this happen to me twice and both times they were retrieved. Sounds like negligence on their part.
I use Fiji II from Flothemes.
Love the look, but hate the maintenance. It seems every time I update the theme or a plugin, something somewhere breaks. Then support says, "Everything looks fine on our end - sorry, can't help," despite me sharing multiple screenshots across multiple devices from desktop to mobile to different versions of iPhone and Android.
But if I just don't breathe near it and avoid updates, it's lovely.
It's literally right on their front page.
My bad, you're right about RAW storage. But it is infinite as to how much you can upload. It's just a matter of how much you're willing to pay.
With the Mamiya 645AF, I found the auto focus to be good and fairly quick for me.
Wit what you saying about film making you slow down and it also feeling awesome, you are very limited with the shots. I usually snap up to 300 photos an hour in a portrait session as I go for the best pose and snap consecutive photos.
But anyway the reason you want the Mamiya is for auto focus... the thing is with medium format even now is that they only have one focus point which can be tricky when shooting wide open, so it's usually just better to manual focus. I only owned my Mamiya 645AF for a month and it was awesome fun, if you have the funds and want to have some fun then yes purchase it!
I've been using Smash ( https://fromsmash.com/ )
I like it because I can upload the content and I receive an email when it's been sent and downloaded. This allows people to view on mobile & computer. The free version I use causes the link to expire tho. They do have payment options as well. I've really loved the simple layout of it and how easy and quick things get uploaded to it.
I tried to but never succeeded. Wordpress is not a simple tool anyway. I would like to recommend you to take a look at the service from https://weblium.com instead. The professionals from there will build a perfect website for you and you will be able to use their nice drag-and-drop editor then. I think it is a good solution for websites. What are your thoughts?
Does the quality of the website influence the number of leads? I mean, I can create a website on my own though I am not good at it and ask the professionals from some services like https://weblium.com for help. What are your thoughts on it? Maybe you can help me with something
Do you guys have some portfolio websites? How do you make those? I am going to get one for me soon and I am thinking about some static website. There is a service on https://weblium.com which can help me with it. What do you think? Maybe you can give me some tips on it too...
A good website is a really important thing in it, I guess. I would like to recommend you to get a simple landing page first. For example, you can get one from the guys on https://weblium.com It is cool that you will be able to easily edit it yourself after your launch your business which is very important in your case I guess. Take a look there, maybe you will find it helpful
I tried to build a website on Wordpress for me too but I did not succeed in it... I then tried the service from https://weblium.com You will get a cool drag-and-drop editor for your website from there which will work nicely for your needs. Maybe you will find it interesting to you too. Good luck with your projects ;)
As for me, I prefer something more simple and custom. For example, I can recommend you to try the service from https://weblium.com It is a really great web design service which will build a website for you fast and it will meet all your requirements. You will be also able to edit it on your own using their simple editor. I guess you might like it too ;)
I personally like using some web development services for it. For example, take a look at the one from https://weblium.com They are really good and creating nice websites for different startups and small businesses. I think you will find it useful to you as well ;)
Focusing on a niche within wedding photography (e.g. elopement / documentary / traditional etc) can make it easier to market yourself, cheaper to advertise, and you'll eventually be able to charge more because you'll have less competition.
I've seen businesses running an Instagram contest and getting lots of tractions - i.e. engagement shoot giveaway, where potential clients have to like, follow and refer 3 friends in comments etc. Of course, only do it if it fits your brand. I've personally never done it, but again, I'm only at 3k followers after 4 years so don't do what I did lol.
This might be an outdated case study, but the core concept is still valid: https://later.com/blog/get-more-followers-on-instagram/
I have cheap knockoffs from Amazon. Camera Speedlite Mount Stand Flash Stand Bracket Umbrella Mount Holder Shoe Mount Compatible with Nikon Pentax Olympus Nissin Metz and Other Speedlite Flashes E Type-2 Pack https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074MNCRVJ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_NWMQR41FC4H46DJXXF4F
Whatever is cheapest at the time. My latest set have lasted around 18 months so far
Recently I worked with a photographer who used “haze in a can” for some pretty sweet night shots with some colored led panels.
Something like this: Atmosphere Aerosol - 6 Pack - Haze for Photographers & Filmmakers https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01B1V9ELM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_SG80NW9K93K9HW14JA98
I use these
also for speed I might just use a umbrella if the celling is a wonky color.
Prograde does a good one
That's amazon Australia but I'm sure UU amazon has one as well
Definitely a good resource: https://www.amazon.com/Legal-Handbook-Photographers-Liabilities-Selling/dp/1682032868
I recommend getting a Misty Mate from Amazon or Target. Get one of those cooling rags at Lows or Home Depot and take a cooler with you and pack ice inside the cooler. When you are hot take two ice cubes rap them in the black rag and tie it around your neck.
Here is a Misty Mate they work great the only downside the dam hoses break once a year. But you spray your self down and you can pack them with ice also. One time I saved a bride from passing out I sprayed her down.
MistyMate 20007 16 Classic Personal Mister
A lot of people are throwing out specific models, but it may be easier to just give you some useful specs and then let you pick one out!
You'll want an i5 or i7 processor. The important thing when picking which one is the letter designation that comes after it. If you care more about speed than battery life, get one with "HQ" after the name. ie. i7-6600HQ. Those are much more powerful than the alternative you will commonly see, which is "U". The "HQ" processors are less power efficient but significantly more powerful, and the "U" processors are power efficient but less powerful than their desktop counterparts.
From there, make sure you have 8GB to 16GB of RAM. Oftentimes it is cheaper to buy a laptop with 8GB of RAM and upgrade it to 16GB by throwing in an extra RAM stick. Check and see if your laptop is upgradeable when you research it!
Along those same lines many laptops now come with the ability to upgrade storage. Finding one with a SSD as well as a HDD will make your computer much faster. Finding one with the ability to add a SSD is just as useful - typically a 128GB SSD will run around $60 and is very easy to put in and configure.
Finally, look for one with a discreet graphics card. This is definitely optional, as Lightroom really isn't designed to fully utilize a dedicated card. Many of the operations it runs are CPU based, however the dGPU will assist in some areas. You will want to prioirtize processor speed and number of cores though.
I think generally you will find the premium you pay for a Surface isn't worth it unless you are dead set on the quasi-tablet form factor or pen. The specs just aren't as good as alternatives.
Hope this helps! For what it's worth, after I looked around I bought this laptop on Prime Day last week and love it: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B015PZ0EHS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Amazon Warehouse is a great place to find some refurbished/open box deals, as is Woot!
For a wedding I had last Fall, I got a waterproof sleeve off Amazon - and a super fashionable headband-umbrella. I looked ridiculous but the guests got a kick out of it and the photos looked great all things considered!
Link to the sleeve I got: OP/TECH USA 9001132 Rainsleeve -... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000PTFDYO?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
Yah, when I was a kid I used to have hemiplegic migraines that had stroke-like symptoms and were sometimes triggered by bright lights. But not epilepsy.
This looks like the Gary fong
A speed light would be handy, and probably something you’ll use for almost every wedding. The yongnuo flash is a good alternative to the canon, found in amazon too!
Yep, I don't do photography professionally, but I always hated that post processing took so long, and how my arm/wrist would start to cramp up after a while. I can game all day and nothing, but after an hour of editing, and my arm and wrist start to hurt from the tension of moving them sliders and stuff.
You can go the easy way of a Loupedeck, it's more expensive, but already all setup. I didn't get a Loupedeck, because from the research that I did about it, a few too many people complained about it's build quality (warped board where not every corner is sitting on the desk, the buttons and knobs feeling cheap, both material and function).
So I ended up picking up the next best choice (again this is from personal research) a few months back, and it was the BEHRINGER USB <strong>Controller</strong> XTOUCHMINI off of Amazon for 60$.
There were other options, usually more expensive, with more knobs and more buttons, and some sliders, but this one was the most often chosen one by people.
If you go this way, you'd have to do a bit of work setting it up (either download someone's profile presets, or very easily make your own preset for every knob and button), and then make your own labels for everything, but it works great after.
I bought this one on the 'zon for $35. (It shows as $41 now)
LimoStudio 10' x 20' Photo Video Studio Seamless Solid Black Muslin
I've used it - it's fine. It's black, and I'm not hitting it with a bunch of light, so any light that does hit just falls off to black.
For $41, if you don't like it, send it back.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07F71FXYT/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_PbpgFbE31ND3P
This is basically the glue that holds the belts together. I followed some online tutorial for DIY holsters. I have safety chains that hook higher up in case a rivet fails. I just looked and there are lot of DIY holster tutorials out there now. You can easily make yours cost the price of a moneymaker or more.
I chose the cheapest hardware. Carabiners and metal rings from Home Depot and 3 belts on sale from target for $20 each.
I now have a $180 black rapid holster that I don’t use for weddings. I like my leather holster more. I don’t find the support to be any different. The leather holster is for wedding and event work where I want to look presentable.
But I love mine; it’s great and I’m not worried about it failing. I’m really enjoying the ~300 I saved.
I’ll try and get a pic of it in a bit
I don't know where CRC is to be honest.
For a Canon T6, I wouldn't push your ISO much past 1600 if you can help it (regardless of what lenses/flashes you have on the camera). Unless noise doesn't bother you.
I saw somewhere that you wrote about a $150 budget. Do you have any leeway to bump up $25-50? Do you have Amazon in your location?
- Flash ($56)
Thank you!! I just went down a rabbit hole and found this thing that seems to be a similar concept. Leaving this post up for a bit just in case someone else is interested :)
So, in the triad of exposure, you have shutter speed, aperture, and ISO. You have a physical limitation of aperture - it is only as wide as it physically is. You have a movement-induced limitation of shutter speed - any slower than about 1/30 indoors, will be blurry (I say 1/30 because they are usually standing still - you may have to be 1/60 or faster for things with movement inside the ceremony/church). So, those two of the three elements are mostly fixed. So how can you get more light? ISO. Your Panasonic GH5S, even at only 10 mpx, will be your go-to here, because it is the /better/ performer in low light. Crank your ISO up so that your shutter is as slow as you can tolerate (fast enough to get the exposure needed, slow enough to not be motion-blurred).
If your noise level with high ISO is too much, you can try noise reduction (there's some plugins), and if easier or acceptable, you can sort of cheat and keep the noise by converting to b/w - and it looks "artistic".
Where are you that you don't think ordering a flash will arrive? Most of the time stuff can be there in no more than 2-3 days, even without Amazon Prime.
Here is a diffuser I like - a lot - https://www.amazon.com/Fotodiox-Flash-Diffuser-Dome-Speedlight/dp/B00DBB7W74 - Read the reviews, and it fits on most speedlight style flashes (It looks like it would fit on the TT600 just fine). It gives a really nice look, and although I wouldn't use it at the church, I would confidently use it at a reception, all evening long.
Moneymaker with a 24mm and 50mm most of the day. This camera bag on my waist or back. Inside of the bag is a 35mm, 85mm, 135mm and sometimes a 35mm tilt shift.
I am either bouncing it or sometimes I use this
Thanks for your great input. So I actually purchased this portable godox. Does this still require the Bowen's mount ring? https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0132I34K4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
If you want to get some cheap, reliable triggers for your Canon system, I recommend these: YONGNUO RF-603C-II-C3 Wireless Remote Flash Trigger Kit for Canon 1D 5D 7D 10D 20D 30D 40D 50D https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JVEXRE2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_OkuhCb8Y1ZBRP
A two pack is only $29.99 on Amazon and they just work. Now, if you want to change how powerful your flashes are you'll have to do it by hand since these things only work to trigger the flashes, but there's nothing better for the price. Plus they're prime so you can get them in two days.
I travel with a 24 + 35 + 85, and actually the usually all I shoot with locally as well these days. FWIW I do always carry a macro ring for that one ring photo shot.
> clamps
btw i was on mobile before, but these are the clamps that I use for speedlights or LED panels instead of stands.
I have a couple of the even cheaper versions and they work quite well. It’s small, but my camera will be out of the bag for 90% of the day anyways, so it’s really just holding lenses and accessories.
> https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00761MABI/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_C5MXAbF7E9A5H
If I remember correctly the Flashpoint/Godox flashes do not have a pc sync cord which is what you would use that wire for.
I use this. Tried some other ones before and never had a good fit for me, and particularly had issues not being able to hold all my gear. This one works well, is comfortable to wear for long periods of time, and can also be carried on an airplane without issue.
I do believe that your uneducated guesses/assumptions are spot on, mainly because of personal experience.
In the photography store I work for, they have a RAID system that they use the Red NAS WD HDDS inside. They are actually supposed to be built to actually be in a RAID system (NAS stands for Network Attached Storage), and I'd expect that they would be able to withstand those huge read/writes, but I've seen quite a few bite the dust (granted, after 2 years of continuous usage, but still, I was quite shocked at first)
That's probably why my external HDD snuffed it too...
That is a great suggestion, thank you! I'm definitely keeping it as a side job for now so it was nice to hear about the difference between the two bodies. I spent the morning watching videos about flashes! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00O9RTDE4/ref=psdc_3109929011_ Is one doable as well? If not, I'll definitely get the Flashpoint. I was just a little concerned only 9 people had rated it!
My suggestion for a second body and lens is an easy one. If you're planning to go pro as a wedding photographer in the next year, grab a D750 and a Tamron 24-70 f2.8 lens. If you DON'T plan to make your living at it in the next year, spend WAY less money and grab a D7100 or D7200 and the Sigma 17-50 2.8 with OS. The first package would run you $2500ish buying used in good condition? The second package would be less than a grand, and would honestly blow your MIND at how much it expands your ability to get workable images in low light and portraits with beautiful bokeh in good light. If you do eventually go pro, a D7200 and a 17-50 2.8 lens will be a perfectly livable backup rig for at least the next 5 years, if not longer. I know it's the same focal range as your kit lens... but it's a world of difference. The Sigma 30mm 1.4 is a GREAT lens for a crop sensor body, too. My 30 is now riding around with my Micro 4/3 video camera and I love it, even being stuck with manual focus.
I would NOT get the Altura Flash... The Flashpoint is a GREAT choice. They're a rebrand of the Godox stuff, but I think the Flashpoint label comes with additional warranty? Or at least used to. But they work with Godox's wireless system, so you can mix and match. The one I was thinking about, if you're on a SUPER low budget is this one - https://www.amazon.com/Neewer-Speedlite-Diffuser-35-piece-Channels/dp/B00UOC3KSI/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1519033970&sr=1-1&keywords=neewer+nw565ex+nikon
I've got one... for the sole reason that it works with the Nikon CLS stuff... so if my pocket wizards are ever eaten by a dog or something... that one flash will just magically work off camera, even using TTL with no gear other than the body. But given that the body you're shooting doesn't have CLS built in anyway... I'd go with the Flashpoint probably.
Those are great suggestions, thank you so much!! I will absolutely be looking into those youtube channels! I'm located in the DC/Northern Virginia area!
Would this be the flash you'd recommend I start off with?