I Need Your Help

I stress out horribly over picking out a photograph for a contest or to hang in a gallery.  The other night I took to Twitter for help in picking out our two prints for the art walk.  They did such a great job, or at least I think they did, that I thought I'd come to you for help this time.  I have a little more time, not such a last minute thing.  The zoo is holding a photography contest and the photos are due next week.  I think I've narrowed them down to the following, but I can only enter two.  Black and White is a separate category so that's why there is a choice in color and in black and white.  There may be another post when the other half of Shields Photography narrows his down.  You can comment, tweet, or let me know on Facebook which two are your favorites.

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Why We Charge What We Do

I know it's been awhile since I've written anything here. I've been focusing my attention to the Facebook Page. I need to get better at balancing the three factions of our social media. Now on to the real reason I'm writing. One of the people I follow on Twitter and Facebook posted a great article about photography pricing. I wanted to share a snippet from the article with you.

Why Does Custom Photography Cost More?
The digital revolution has brought amazing flexibility and ability to control various factors during the image taking and making process. Photographers, the hobbyist, the professional, the amateur all benefit from this ability to manipulate pixels. However, with flexibility comes a price. Digital camera equipment is still considerably more expensive when you factor in its’ lifespan, the need for additional resources for processing those images, the time it takes to get a usable image and the effort that goes into creating a work of photographic art. We all know that you can go to the local Walgreen’s and pay a $1.99 for a print – as a client you may wonder why you may pay upwards of $50, $70, $90 for a custom photography print. Photographers hear this statement every once in awhile:

“How in the world can you charge $60 for an 8×10 if it costs me less than $2 to print at x store?”

The truth of the matter is the answer to this question is multifaceted. Much of the cost of a photographic print produced by a professional photographer has a lot to do with the time, equipment costs, artistic vision and reputation of the photographer not to mention expertise and the usual costs of running a legitimate business. The cost of TIME Approaching it from a time standpoint, let’s imagine that you have hired a photographer who has work that you love. This photographer is traveling an hour to your destination to photograph your session. Here is an example of a time break down:
booking time: 30 minutes to one hour (client contact time + paperwork)
pre-session prep time (30 mins – 1 hour, includes equipment and back up equipment checks + vehicle checks)
one hour travel time TO session
15-30 minutes prep time at client’s home
90 minutes-2 hours with client photographing subject
one hour travel time FROM session
30-45 minutes uploading time from digital cards from camera to computer
30-45 minutes time spent backing up the original images
2-5 hours editing time to present you with a diverse gallery of edited images
1 hour prep time getting ready for ordering
2-3 hours time with client for ordering images
1 hour sorting through and checking order
30 minutes-1 hour prep time for delivery
30 minutes-1 hour getting order shipped
any additional phone time or time needed for add on ordering, shipment issues, quality issues
In this example, the time spent per client can range from just under 13 hours to 19 hours – dependent on the photographer’s level of service. This is time dedicated only to ONE session. When the photographer charges $150-$300 for the photo shoot (aka SESSION FEE) you are not just paying for the two hours of session time, you are paying the photographer for 12-19 hours complete time for your session.

I'm so happy that Mark shared this with me so I could in turn share it with all of you. It's hard to explain to someone why our prices are what they are. I think this is just perfect. If you'd like to read the whole article click here.

Top 20 Photos

I thought I'd share our top 20 photos from our flickr streams.  The top ten from this stream http://www.flickr.com/photos/meekshields/ and the top ten from this stream http://www.flickr.com/photos/lightweaver1/  You are more than welcome to go check out our streams at anytime.  There is always new photographs being added that doesn't always make it over here.


                 

Can't Live Without.....

No this isn't the start to a 90's rock song (Can't Live Without Your Love and Affection ..... Nelson..... Oh come on I know I wasn't the only one listening to it).  It's what I have in my camera bag that I love to pieces.  This isn't lenses or the camera body but the other stuff that makes taking photographs easier, better, etc.

First up Reynolds Oven Bag, Turkey size.  Please don't stop reading!  We like to take weather photography and this is the greatest thing for it.  You cut a hole just large enough for you lens to see out of it.  You can stick your head and camera in the big part and keep the rain away.

Next up is pony tail holders.  Not only is it great for keeping my hair out of my face when I'm shooting but, you can also use them to attach your turkey bag to the camera lens.  This will insure that the bag stays in place.

18% Gray Card.  This is a must if you are shooting indoors, in my opinion.  Taking those few extra minutes to set your white balance with one of these saves hours later adjusting your white balance.

Microfiber Cloths - They do a good job at keeping things clean and they are cheap enough that if you lose one it's not a big deal.

Photo Workflow

I get asked a lot about my workflow.  My workflow is completely different from the other half's workflow, neither is right and neither is wrong.  It's just what works best for each of us.

First off I take my card and battery out of my camera.  The card goes into my computer and the battery goes into the charger.  Key thing to remember here is put both back into your camera when you finish.  I learned the hard way. lol

I use Adobe Lightroom to import my photos.  This does three things at once for me, it copies the photos from the card and puts them in my RAW folder, it organizes the files by date, and it puts them into Lightroom for me. I use Lightroom for my basic developing.  It works better for me than Photoshop.  I would have had a cool screen shot for you but I forgot to make one. :(

Now when I started with Lightroom, I was totally lost.  I didn't have a clue what I was doing.  So what did I do?  I took an online class with Nathan Holritz from Photographer's Edit.  It's called "HOW TO PROCESS A PORTRAIT SESSION IN AN HOUR OR LESS! "  It's worth the hour in front of the computer.  Then go find the podcasts for Killer Lightroom Tips from Scott Kelby.  Now it's time to get to work!


Today we are going to be working on a photo of a hot air balloon.  So what does it look like?

Not great is it?  Kind of flat, nothing special at all.  But this is what a RAW file looks like.  Now it's time to develop it.  That's even what this section of Lightroom is called.  So we are going to adjust the settings and get it looking fairly well.

So now the balloon is looking pretty good, the grass is nice and green, but the sky is totally without color.  Now I have a choice to make, do I dodge and burn in Lightroom or in Photoshop.  For this photo I'm going to move over to Photoshop.  I don't always do this but for this one I've got some other things I want to do.  Follow Scott Kelby's tips on how to do this, he, in my opinion, is the expert.

So here we are, one thing to double check before getting started is that you are in 8 bits not 16 bits mode.  Now I'm going to burn the sky.  

The sky looks better but this might be as good as it gets due to where the sun was when I took the photo.  At least there is some color in it now. I think I'll add a little blur to the sky.  I'm going to use the quick select tool, select the sky, do a layer mask, then add just a little gaussian blur.  Then I'll click save and it will send it back to Lightroom.  From there I'll export it to the folder that I want it to be in, and then I'll upload it here for you to see. 

Not a bad ending if I do say so myself.

Raw vs. Jpg - Photo Monday

I had this great post in the works for this topic.  While I was writing it though this came through my twitter stream  Raw Files in Photography .  It was exactly what I was going to say only better.  Dang it that's always things go.  I think that I have this great point of view and someone else has snatched it up.  The other half of Shields Photography suggested a flow chart was what was really needed.  While I agree it's well over my head to set one up.

What do you shoot in?  If you can shoot in RAW have you ever tried it?  What software do you use?

Finding Your Style - Finding Your Photographer

I was reading over at HoneyBear Lane about her goal to "Say No To The Mom Uniform".  She wants to find her style.  We all need to do this, if we don't know what our style is.  What does this have to do with photography?  Glad you asked.

Every photographer has a style.  Your style and your photographer's style need to match up.  Neither one of you will be happy otherwise.  If you are a traditional style and your photographer is casual style you aren't going to mesh.  One of you is going to be out of your comfort zone and it will show in your pictures.  Nothing should be forced.  If you want perfectly posed, traditional photographs then your photographer needs to be a posed photographer.  A casual-style photographer may do a few poses but they won't be comfortable with an entire session of poses.  The same goes if you want casual photos and you choose a traditional photographer.

What if I don't know my style?


That's ok.  We can figure it out, or better yet you can all by yourself.  How is your house decorated?  Is it traditional or do you lean more to the modern?  When you see pictures that your friends have had done what do you like?  Do you like the ones where everyone is posed?  Do you like the ones where it looks like someone captured a moment in their life?  Do you like indoor, studio photos?  Do you like outdoor, nature, natural photos?

Are you getting an idea of what you like?  Good!!  By now you should be forming an idea of what you want your photographs to look like and what kind of photographer you want to take them.  This is a key step in choosing your photographer.  You should now be ready to start an educated search for your photographer.

How do I find a photographer?


Google.  Ok it won't be that easy but it's a good starting spot.  You can search for photographers in your area.  Most will have some sort of website with a few pictures that they have done at least.  You'll get an idea for their style.  They should also have sort of contact information on the site that you can/could call, email, Facebook, or Twitter with them.

You could also look on bulletin boards in area businesses for brochures and business cards of photographers in your area.  You might just find a gem there.

You could ask for recommendations on Twitter.  We actually got a client that way.  I have a saved search for people talking about photographers in my area.  That way if someone is looking for one I can always toss myself in the mix.

Search Facebook everyone is on Facebook it seems and you might just be able to find the photographer of your dreams there.

Alright, I have a list of photographers I like now what do I do?


First things first do they fit in your budget?  If their starting price is $500 and you only have $200 things aren't going to work.  You either need to save more money up or move on to another photographer.  If you aren't working with a time table you can save up the money or you can see if they do mini sessions cheaper.  You'll be able to get a few images that way.

Speaking of money high price tags doesn't mean the best of the best.  Look at their photographs, online and in person, you want your money's worth but you there is no need to pay more than what it's worth.  I'm willing to bet that there is a photographer out there that matches your style and your budget.

Do they do the type of session you want done?  If you want a family session and they only do weddings then it's time to move on again.

Now that you've got your list of photographers that match your style, your budget, and what you want done it's time to get in contact with them.  YOU HAVE TO TALK TO THEM!!!  It's the only way to be sure that you really do mesh.  This is also the time to schedule a time to look at their portfolio.  They've got one trust me.  Find out the nitty-gritty of a session with them.  Do you have to purchase a certain amount of prints from them?  What are your options for products?  Do the products they offer match up with what you want?

Hopefully now you have found the perfect photographer for you and your family!