Plan Ahead....Part 3

Continuing from the 'Plan Ahead...Part 2 ' post on Thursday, May 17:

6) Now that you slackers have the right juice to run your 'Photo Creation Optical Illusion Facilitators', ( Cameras for the humor impaired ! ) you can move onto the nitty gritty of on the job workflow etiquette. I think it's time to ditch the fancy nylon CF/SD card wallets with the nifty see thru mesh and start separating unused formatted cards from the very important card that contains the job that you are currently shooting! You know what I mean. Stop the flip the card -one-way-or-the-other game! Shot.......not shot...........uhhhh......shot? You know you're just gonna load it in the camera to check anyway! Better to place the full cards in a completely separate area of your camera bag. That way you don't have to guess or confuse the hell out of your assistant as he races to get you a clean card for that 'once in a lifetime' photo of the 'Executive at his desk'. As we discussed before, those cards will remain untouched until after the job is completed and you have backed them up on no less than two hard-drives. This one bit of advice will 'Save Your Bacon Plenty!'

To Be Continued...

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Digital Photo Seminar...

I just finished teaching a Digital Photography Seminar for BASF Chemical Corporation in Research Triangle Park, here in the Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill Region. One day isn't a lot of time to teach 30+ people the basics of Photography and Digital Capture. Every individual had a different goal for using photography in their research, both in the field and lab. Covering the basics ( Photo 101) of beginners photography allowed me to transition them from Film to Digital and have it make sense in a short period of time. I really had a successful day and I am looking forward to returning in July or August for another portion of the seminar. Maybe by then I will have a new laptop and I won't have to wrench my back loading my desktop and 20 inch monitor into the car!

More about this later...

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Canon Rumors....

I check the Web and Blogosphere at least once a day for any news from Canon Camera about their Latest and Greatest DSLR, hoping that the next big thing is right around the corner for release. Most info out there is old and pure fanciful speculation. Some of the best gossip, fabrication and half truths come from obscure Chinese Language websites that pop up from time to time, usually just a page or two, poorly translated and half finished. I think the engineers at Canon put them up on the Web to entertain themselves during coffee breaks, just to mess with our minds! I'm thinking about adding a link to my site of the best Bull Sh_t Camera Fakes that are currently circulating on the internet. Maybe people could send me links to their own BS, cut and paste Frankenstein Super Cameras. I could send the best one sailing through cyber' space forever!

More to come...

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Lock and Load...

Shooting the occasional personal project can really get you energized as an image maker. I know that I don't make the time to shoot new portfolio images as often as I should. Somewhere in all the work and bills to be paid, my urge to shoot personal images gets its butt kicked. I find that writing an idea down on paper ( scribbles, drawings etc...) in front of my computer really helps to make it happen. Without that constant reminder, the self- originated, creative and satisfying work just gets forgotten in my daily grind to get ahead. You have to convince yourself of the importance of shooting new work. New images can bring you new clients. Pick a day on the calendar and schedule your time just as you would for a real paying job!

PS. Speaking of a Digital Dilemma! ..... I have 11 or 12 episodes of ABC's ' Lost ' digitally recorded on my cable box. I don't know whether the SOB's are still lost?..... on the island?......
off the island? Are they all robots, or maybe just a figment of some autistic kids imagination staring at a "welcome to the islands" picture postcard! My family has to whisper about plot lines because I have gotten so far behind. They are irritated with me! Eventually, someone is going to spill the beans and tell me something that will ruin it for me............Now that's a Digital Dilemma!

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Plan Ahead....Part 2

Continuing from the 'Plan Ahead' post on Tuesday, May 15 :

5) Batteries! Batteries! Batteries! ...... Yes, I know it's a little condescending to be reminding other Professional Photographers to carry enough batteries to get the job done. But it's not just about your Ziploc Bag filled with Double A's and Triple A's. It's more about being prepared with fresh ( New ) batteries before you show up for the job and also about having the right type of Battery!

Yes, I can hear it now ' This jerk is gonna tell me what batteries I should be using! Next he'll be telling me what kind of equipment to bring! '


What is the right battery for your Digital Camera? Well, that depends on whether or not you want to have your camera die right in the middle of an important job or shoot like a madman all day without having to crack open the battery cover. There's nothing lamer than having to fumble through a dark camera bag to find enough dollar store double A's to get you through the hour. That's a sure way to "NOT" impress the CEO whose portrait your shooting. So....what is the answer? I believe the modern Lithium Ion batteries that come with your Canon, Nikon etc... are without a doubt the most efficient, long' lasting energy sources you can load in your camera.They are designed for the correct output for proper camera functioning and are easily recharged (hopefully after the job is over) and have a lasting power far beyond any Double A's you might use. Most camera manufacturers give you 2 slots for batteries in your factory grip and I would recommend using both batteries at the same time. They are designed to last longer used in pairs than the same batteries used individually. Some of the newer cameras won't even function properly with name brand Alkaline batteries and Rechargeable Ni cads are no match for the Lithium Ion's that came with your camera! Buy extras when you purchase a new camera, even the off brands that they sell at B and H Photo, Adorama etc...for your particular camera are fantastic. Personally, I haven't seen the halfway mark on my camera's battery display once in nearly two years!

To be continued...

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You Have To Have A Plan!.....

If you've been shooting Still Film professionally for any length of time, you have certainly already come up with a workflow that suits your personal style and needs. Everyone has they're system for culling through slides, negatives and prints that works for them . But photographers new to digital can spend several years and waste lots of money trying to figure out the best way to manage the voluminous amounts of data created by our modern high res digital cameras. I personally have benefited from working at a studio where major investments of time and money have been put into the switch from film to digital. It has not been easy and the learning curve is painful (to both your wallet and behind). It requires many long hours in front of your computer and a healthy vocabulary of good cuss words...and Coffee, lots and lots of coffee! I still wouldn't trade my digital for all the fujichrome Velvia and Ektachrome 100 in the world! If your still fighting the switch from film to digital........ go ahead and retire, I will gladly take the jobs you could have had.

1) I know exactly what is going to happen to each image before I press the shutter button, how it will be edited, processed and delivered to the client. Without that foreknowledge you are already at a disadvantage.

2) Don't try to edit your images on the job site. Keep everything you shoot (Don't be foolish and delete in camera) and back up that CF/SD card as soon as is possible without slowing down the job at hand. I don't ever format a card until the job is backed up on two hard drives . I sometimes don't format the card until the client has the final high res files. CF cards are Cheap, your reputation is priceless! Buy enough cards to shoot your job and have a few extras available just in case alien spaceships land on the highway on the way home! Be prepared..

3) You should never go out the door with cards still full of images from your last job! Stop being so lazy and clean (Format ) those cards before you go to your location or start your studio session. Nothing is more frightening than having to format a card when you are unsure that backups have been made of the Raw Files. Once again buy enough cards, don't be a weenie.

4) If you're not a Wedding or Sports Photographer, shoot in Raw Format. Jpeg's are for sissies. Sure, those jpeg's come pre- sharpened and overly saturated straight out of the camera and they look great, but miss your exposure and you're screwed. Raw files contain all the data captured (More than you can see) and can save your bacon with an underexposed or slightly overexposed image. Every highlight or shadow that your camera is capable of producing exists in the lossless compression of the modern Raw format. For all intent's and purposes it is a perfect negative. Ansel Adams would be shooting in Raw format if he were still with us.

To be continued...

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