The Panel... Gavin Seim – Scott & Adina Hayne – Dennis Zerwas – Barry Howell
This week the panel discusses the latest news, CS5, LR3, ways to deal with business, Facebook, marketing and more. It’s a nice long episode so some of you may want to break it up into two listens.
by Gavin Seim. Updated 05/2012:
I enjoy quick bursts of information and chat frequently as @gavinseim on twitter. I’ve made this list of my favorite tips that I plan to update it going forward. You can add your favorite and tips in the comments with your twitter name. I might even RT them myself.
I give credit to the speaker when I can, using names in parenthesis. Many of these are my own musings from Twitter and I’ve indicated myself with an (S). If there’s no name then I probably don’t know the source. These are not always exact quotes, but ideas I’ve re-formed to fit in under 140 characters on Twitter
Random Things:
Every image needs a subject. Just one. If it has less or more, than that it’s probably time to reboot. (S)
Presentation is as much part of a photo as the image itself. An image on a disk means little to the world. A well presented wall piece does. (S)
Don’t wait for the photo establishment to show you how to stand out. Because if you do, you won’t (S)
The line between a snapshot and a quality photograph are lost when everyone is a “photographer” but have not actually learned to be one! (S)
I’m not afraid to change my opinion, but I am afraid of not having one. (S)
Competition. A powerful tool that makes you stronger. Complaints about it are often cop outs from photographers not motivated enough to excel (S)
In photography rules mean conformity, and to conform is the opposite of creativity. (Whitmire)
OK I’m not a Sprint or Blackberry user, but all work and no play is no fun and this ad is perfect for us photographers. It actually got me thinking though. What crazy cool things could I pull off if I had a stunt groom. Here’s a few images that came to my mind…..
“No, I want the jacket actually in flames. It’s looks hot! Oh and this is HDR. Keep it still”
“That’s perfect. Now when the Chopper flies over, hold the roses in one hand and swing up with the other”
“OK look like the groom is feeling. Scared”
“No it’s actually four stories, but the trampoline is solid. Jump into her waiting arms.”
“Hey do we have a stunt bride around here…?” Gavin Seim
Get the essentials: Thinking outside the box works, Just remember to get the MUST have's. Walking down the isle, standing at the alter, the first dance and many more. What's important to each couple can vary, so communication is important.
Where to start, how to get there, how to stay there. Secrets for professional and aspiring wedding photographers from Gavin & others.
by Gavin Seim:How do I handle my first wedding? How do I become a pro? I get these type of questions fairly often. Weddings aren’t for everyone but most aspiring and pro photographers will photograph a wedding sometime in their career. There’s much to be learned from what’s demanded of us at a wedding. While this article is aimed at those getting started, seasoned pro’s will get ideas too.
Today I’ll give some I’ll talk the basics of how I see and think when I photograph a wedding. Tips 1-6 will focus on getting great images. Then we’ll talk a bit about a post production and business (which is every bit as important). As we go thru them I’ll post some favorite images and share some thoughts.
The first wedding is daunting. Let me say that I won’t be talking about extreme photography basics in this article. If you’re at that stage there’s no shame in it, but you should gain some experience before tacking a wedding on your own. It’s a one time event and if you get it wrong you will be, at best, a sore spot in the eyes of your client. That’s not good for getting new clients and both you and your client deserve better.
If you can, second shoot aside an experienced photographer it’s a great way to learn, gain better portfolio and get more confidence. In my case that never happened. Though got serious about photography at age 12, my first wedding was cold turkey. I photographed for fun at a wedding and the couple loved them. That pushed me forward and my first paid wedding came awhile after. The rest is… Well the rest is below.
Try new things: This shot is the result of the first time I used off camera wireless flash (with Radio Poppers) at a wedding. I was just learning them, but made the choice to push myself to get great light in this scene. It paid off and my final image has a neat cinematic feel that fits my style.
Before my first wedding I absorbed the information in at least three wedding photography books. That helped me get a feel for what should happen. Without that study I would have missed a lot of important things. Resources like this are great (I wish I had had them) but a book can help you get perspective and have a reference to review. I’ll list few good books to get you rolling at the bottom of this post.
My first paid gig was back in the film days. I was about eighteen. Armed with my Canon EOS3, a cheap flash, a cheap zoom lens and an old monolight strobe handed down from Doug Miller, a real local pro, I became a wedding photographer. Was I good? No, but I was enthusiastic.
Most of us know about print templates in Lightroom, but the cool secret is that you can make multi image page layouts too.
This article over on Seim Effects give the details, as well as a set of FREE layout presets to get you going. I’m pretty stoked about the new possibilities of making multi image layouts right from Lightroom. While it won’t replace In Design for my full scale albums, it’s so fast at making quick attractive layouts for things like Press Printed Books. Check it out.
