professional photographers Archives - Page 10 of 13

Five Things Your Studio Needs You Won’t Find In a Photography Store

Over the years I picked up a few hacks for shooting in a studio you can’t find in a photography store. These are things that are especially handy to have if you’re going to be shooting all day.

Knee Pads

My last studio had a concrete floor and I actually discovered how nice these were as a volunteer firefighter. We would train by crawling around in the station after filling it with theatrical fog. Only took one training session before I started wearing knee pads under my turnouts.

The next day I tried them on a portrait shoot and loved them. I didn’t realize how much time I spent on one knee or the other as a photographer until I got these. Because they’re under you, you don’t have to worry about a green cast on anything you’re working on.

Power Squid

Photography doesn’t draw as much power these days, but everything has a power connector. Not all the connectors will fit right on a regular power strip and you’ll lose outlets to odd size plugs. Not with a power squid, these are made to accommodate odd size connectors.

Some have heavy duty fuses.

Aircraft Cable

I got this tip from a guy who used to design the stage sets for the rock band KISS.

Aircraft cable has boxes and boxes of different types of ends and connectors, available at any big box hardware store. Perfect for hanging backgrounds, especially when you’re working with a higher vertical than a background holder can handle. Some aircraft cable and a box of clamps and you can cover or hang almost anything.

Bungie Cords

Indispensable in a photography studio. You can bungie light stands so they don’t get knocked over, or wrap a couple around the base and anchor them to 1 gallon jug of water for light stand or tripod ballast. I also use bungie cords to bundle light stand bags for easier transport.

Gaffer Tape

Okay, you might find this indispensable tape in photography stores. Invaluable because it holds tight, but doesn’t tear or leave glue residue when it’s time to peel it off. Great for so many uses it’s almost impossible to list them. I used to have a big bungie cord loop of gaffer tape on my step ladder.

On movie sets it’s not unusual to see people with loops of gaffer tape on their belt. I even saw an AD using gaffer tape to hem a pair of slacks one time.

The ABR800 Ringflash

abr800_front_0710 — The ABR800 Ringflash is a solid performer - by PC

I’m probably going to date myself a little, but I still like big ring lights. The ring flash look hasn’t really been big in fashion photography since the 70s, but a good ring flash is still one of my favorite keys because of the versatility. Ring lights gained fame for lighting that eliminated shadows on the subject and the distinctive catch light in the eyes.

My weapon of choice for a ring flash is the Alien Bees ABR800, made by Paul C. Buff up in Nashville. There have been some criticisms that the light is a little off in some of the Alien Bees line. If that’s true, it’s not in the ABR800. It’s got plenty of power, travels well and is incredibly versatile.

Most often you’ll be using a ring flash with the lens poking through the center of the ring. The lighting surrounding the axis of view creates an edgy, high contrast look that almost completely eliminates shadows on the subject, but can create a shadow halo around a subject near the background.

I like being able to move in close and change the perspective without moving the lights around for every shot.

Even if a ring flash isn’t right for a particular shot, nothing stops you from putting inside one of the 30 or 56-inch moon units and using it as a key or fill, or just bounce it into an umbrella. I really like the moon units, but agree that those can be tricky to set up.

I’m not the only one who likes the ABR800.

How Safe Are Your Photos?

Data center — How good are your backups? - By Altrensa

Everyone thinks they have good backups, few actually do. More than a few people, including many professionals, are relying on systems that are putting their photos at great risk.

In the data world, like the real world, disasters are rarely a single point of failure. Rather they are a series of events, each in themselves insufficient to cause a disaster, but when they happen in a certain sequence, a catastrophe results and data is lost forever.

Here are a few questions to ask yourself about your image work flow and data backup scheme:

Are all your photos stored on the same device?

Are all your photos and backups in the same building?

If someone stole your backup data device, would they be able to access the information on the device?

The good news about data backup solutions is there is no one right answer. What’s right for you will depend on your work flow, the amount of data you’re storing and the time and money you have to put into it. The security of your photos will ultimately depend on how willing you are to guard against low probability events.

If all your photos are on the same device, usually a PC or laptop, then one day soon you will be one of those panicked looking people rushing into a PC repair shop, desperately hoping their data can be recovered. You need to take action today. External hard drives are cheap, sophisticated encryption software like Truecrypt is free.

If you use Gmail, you can now upload any kind of file to your account through GoogleDocs. There’s absolutely no reason to have all your eggs in one basket. Get going right now.

If all your photos are in the same building, you need to take action soon. Offsite storage at places like iDrive is inexpensive, the first 5 GB is free. The advantage to iDrive is the files are encrypted and you keep the keys to unlock your own files. I prefer to create my own encrypted containers and store them offsite, but with a site like iDrive it’s all menu driven.

If you have multiple backups of your photos, including at least one copy offsite, and you’re using some type of basic encryption on those devices, you’re probably in good shape for all but the most low-probability events. If the earth was devastated by an asteroid collision tomorrow, how big of deal is it if you lost some pictures? At a certain point you have to draw the line.

A Word About Cloud Storage

A word for those of you depending on outsource providers like Picasa, Kodak Gallery, Flickr, and Imgur for offsite backup should consider their situation carefully. Images stored with a third party are subject to the Terms of Service for that provider, most of which are heavily skewed in their favor.

What most people don’t realize is that if the parent company goes bankrupt, the data and customer information on their servers are part of the company assets. Companies purchasing that data in bankruptcy court may not be bound by the ToS you signed or limited in how they use it.

While in most cases copyright law should protect you, all bets are off in bankruptcy court where the court determines who owns the company assets and dictates the terms of sale. Whether a bankruptcy sale trumps copyright law is up to legal scholars to decide. What you want to avoid is footing the bill for an expensive legal fight to find out.

If your data is encrypted, it’s less of a risk. Few companies are going to go through the effort to brute force an encrypted container to get a look at your pictures.

Nikon D800 Rumors Swirl

Specs for the rumored Nikon D800 surfaced on the Japanese website Digital Camera Info, backed up by Nikon Rumors. If these specs have any credibility, the D800 is aiming squarely at the pro studio market.

According to what’s out there now the D800 will pack 36-megapixels on a full frame FX sensor. Nikon has apparently aimed this camera at studio work, sacrificing a little low light performance, which would be a no-go for location assignments.

The rumored price tag of $4,000 is definitely going to raise some eyebrows. I don’t think many Canon shooters are going to be tempted to part with their 5Ds for almost twice the money, even considering the added resolution. Though it’s too early to know what the actual final price tag is going to be this far from production.

The D800 will allegedly shoot full 1080 HD video at 30p, though other frame rates are expected to be added. I can’t imagine Nikon would not add support for 24p.

Other rumored components include 2 CF slots plus and SD slot, so you’ll be able to shoot a long time on this bad boy.

My initial impression is this doesn’t seem as much like an upgrade to the D700 as another variation on the D3 line.

If that’s the case, then it begs the question of what will happen to the D700? Maybe a D700s upgrade?

The official announcement is expected by the end of the month, until then you Nikon gear junkies will just have to hold on.

Go For a Photo Walk

photo walk pictures — Photographers gather and check gear for a photo walk.

One of the biggest mistakes people new to photography make is not being involved in their profession. That includes memberships in professional organizations, like PPA, and being involved with local photography groups, meet-ups, and events.

Some of you may chaff at that idea, thinking it’s nothing but a bunch of old ladies with point-and-shoot cameras and you’d be wrong. The WorldWide Photowalk was this weekend and at one of the local walks, which drew about 20 people, a quarter were working professionals from around the area and half made some part of their living from photography.

There was equipment of every manufacturer. Cameras by Nikon, Canon and one Sony Alpha, flash units by Sunpak, Canon and Quantum, lenses that ranged from kits lenses to Zeiss primes. We had a great time and I got to mingle with some really good shooters.

Another option to consider is going on paid photography tours, especially if you’re visiting a strange city for the first time. Hiring a local photographer to serve as a guide can insure that you’re not missing lesser known photogenic parts of the city. Besides, most of the locals will know your walk organizer and you can borrow some of that credibility. Even experienced hunters hire a guide when hunting in a new area, so don’t discount the idea of paying a guide.

Walks, meet-ups and group TFP (Time For Prints) shoots are all ways to meeting other photographers, pick up shooting tips and get your name out there. I came back with a stack of business cards after a two hour photo walk, including ideas for new paying projects. It turned out to be a wise investment of my time.

Helping to organize photo walks and TFP shoots is always appreciated, and organizing one of your own is great advertising.

So grab your gear and get going!