"New Orleans Welcome"

"New Orleans Welcome"
©David A. Ziser

I captured this image after we departed the plane and walked through New Orleans airport on the way to baggage claim this past Thursday. As you know, I'm a big fan of symmetrical compositions and the ceiling of the New Orleans airport fit the bill for me.  The monochromatic tones were offset by the blue sky just peeking in the small ceiling openings at the top structure. The parallel lines of the ceiling made to converge with my wide angle lens contrasted well with the semicircular features of the ceiling too.  All combined into a simple geometric composition accented by small touches of color for a pretty cool image.  Camera specs; Canon 7D fitted with 18-200mm IS lens at 18mm, F 5.0 @ 1/60 second, ISO 200.  Enjoy!  -David

Read More...

Super Bowl Monday: In The Middle Of The Action

Good Morning Everybody,

I had planned to do a regular Quick Hit Monday post today, but that all changed last evening when the New Orleans Saints won the Super Bowl! 

Hey, the most exciting news happening in the country today is the  Saints win. Add to that that the entire city of New Orleans is in the middle of it's 2 week Carnival celebration, too.  Most of us are very familiar with Mardi Gras and Fat Tuesday and all the wild celebrations going on. But what you may not know is that there are more that 50 parades that take place in the Big Easy beginning about 2 weeks before Fat Tuesday.

That adds up to one heck of a lot of partying going on in the city.  Add to that the Saints wining the Super Bowl and you have a "perfect storm" a really positive "perfect storm" for all the residents of the city devastated by Hurricane Katrina 4 1/2 years ago.

The city's energy and life is back and the whole world can see it for themselves this weekend. It is a thrill, perhaps a once in a life-time thrill, to be part of it all. We hear over and over, "They might be playing the Super Bowl in Miami, but the party is in New Orleans!"  That has definitely true!

So having said that, I'm putting a new twist on today's post.  So far I've taken over 1200 photographs so I thought I would choose a few and give you a look into the back story of what goes on in a photographers mind when he's covering the action in a different sort of way.  I hope you enjoy the post.

King and Queen of the Ball

This image was`made as the King and Queen of the Ball presented themselves to all the attendees.  The goal is to keep the couple in focus while still getting their best expressions in the rapidly changing light of a very bright spotlight. 

I set the camera to "automatic pilot" in these kinds of situations.  First, I set the ISO on "auto" ISO - I wanted the camera to make the best choice for the rapidly changing lighting conditions.

In order to guarantee a good exposure in the contrasting lighting conditions, I chose to use "spot metering" metering off the couple to be sure I didn't miss the exposure. I was also set to AWB since the spotlight was closer to daylight than tungsten.

I sat in the floor near the action and captured some great images.

Children Of The Court

The kids were so cute.  I wanted to capture the fleeting expressions, but also wanted to still show all the pomp and circumstance swirling around them.  Camera settings shifted wildly from the settings above.  This shot was taken at F5.6 @ 1/160 second, 110mm 918-200mm IS lens), ISO 3200. With my camera on "auto pilot"  I got this nice shot the these 3 very cute kids in all their regalia.

I love the second shot from behind too. Look how much the settings changed for this shot - F4.0 @ 1/50 second, 28mm, ISO 200.

Power Grid

This image was made as we were driving across town to visit the Krewe of Carrollton "den of floats".  I tried my best to just isolate the power lines against the sky.  The cissoid line of the hanging cables and against their towers made a nice urban composition.  Not bad for shooting out a car window at 50 mph - LaDawn and I call these kinds of shots "drive by shooting" ;~)

Parade Mania

This is a quick shot from the float.  It is mayhem for 3 solid hours.  Each float tosses about $10,000 worth of beads, stuffed animals, and doubloons into the crowds.  Do the quick math - we had 21 floats in our parade.  Amazing!!!!

Taking The Ride

This image was made by LaDawn from street level.  That's my buddy Ralph on the left, his son Ryan in the middle and you guessed it, that's me on the right.  We had great weather for the parade, great crowds, and as they say say here in New Orleans - A Great Ride!!!

Super Celebration

After our parade it was a quick change of clothing. We then enjoyed a fun Super Bowl Party with friends - old and new. Yes, we were crazy enough to head on down to the quarter after the game.  It was crazy - shoulder to shoulder fans "screaming, yelling, high-fiving, and yes - drinking an adult beverage or two or three or four…. The crowd was packed so tight, it took 30 minutes to go just a block or two.  In spite of the crowd everyone was in great spirits - obviously. Hey, if you were there, you had to hit the "Quarter."

Light was not very bright.  I shot everything at ISO 3200.  I was still shooting at very slow shutter speeds - 1/13 second for this shot.  Image stabilization is my friend. Remember, takes lots of shots to capture one or two sharp ones. We're going back tonight and tomorrow and I'm going to goose the ISO to ISO 6400.  I'll keep you posted.

Hey gang, that's it for today's post.  You know, even when I'm not hired for the job, when I've get that camera in my hands, I am ready to go.  Call it the adrenaline, the excitement, the joy of the shoot, a career as an event (wedding/bar & bat mitzvahs) photographer - I love it!!

See ya' tomorrow.  I've got a Technique Tuesday planned to post.  But, who knows what going to happen today in New Orleans, the center of the universe for this weekend   ;~) 

Have a great one,  -David

Read More...

"The Whisper Of Your Smile"

"The Whisper Of Your Smile"
©David A. Ziser

This beautiful young lady was the subject of my post on Monday.  Here is another image from that shoot. The image was made by available light only.  The couple were seated under a veranda that opened out onto the family's back yard.  The light was soft and gentle on the both of them. I simply asked them to just get close to each other and whisper their feelings to each other.  It worked.  I rotated around them getting a great series of images for their album.  Sometimes the easiest way to shoot is the best. Camera specs; Nikon D1x fitted with 80-200mm non-VR lens at 155mm, F 3.5 @ 1/500 second, ISO 800. Enjoy!  -David

Read More...

Food For Thought Friday: Start Running Your Business Before It Runs You

Good Morning Everybody,

We arrived safe and sound yesterday afternoon in spite of super heavy fog that seemed to be everywhere.  The flight was the most grey flight we have ever flown. We never made it above the clouds and never saw the sun, just all grey.  Heck, we didn’t even see the ground till we were practically landed.  Anyway, we are in the BIG EASY and the sun is coming up as I write this post– looks like a good day in New Orleans.

We caught up with my buddy, Ralph Romaguera, local native and great photographer, and his lovely wife, Cindy. After a brief visit to his studio we headed to Mandina’s Restaurant, one of the best Creole restaurants in town. About 5 years ago, the water was as high as our eyeballs.

This is our first visit to the city since Katrina hit 10 days after our last visit. I have to say, the city is on it’s way back and the excitement is at fever pitch for this Super Bowl weekend.

Couple this Super Bowl weekend with the fact that this is also the first week of Mardi Grass celebrations and we have one busy city happening all around us.  Tonight we begin the Mardi Gras festivities with a grand ball at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside.  Tomorrow we visit the “Den” where all the floats are housed – that should be a kick.

Ralph’s schedule has us starting again Sunday morning at 6:30 a.m. with breakfast, Bloody Marys and Mimosas at the The House of Blues.  After the parade starting at 11 a.m. and wrapping at 3 p.m. we are heading to a Super Bowl Party and then down to the French Quarter after the game, VICTORY as every here is predicting, making it an 18+ hour day!

Let’s see what time I get the post up next week;~)

Hey, let’s get right to today’s post.  It’s an important way to get a good start on this new year for your business.  Here we go.

Start Running Your Business Before It Runs You

You know, I don't care if you are a BIG fish or a little minnow in the great sea of photography. When you are running your business, big or small, all the same rules apply. You've got a job to do, you've got to process that job, and you have to get it out the door in a timely manner, and at a production cost that makes the entire process a profitable endeavor.

Sounds pretty simple, doesn't it?  The fact of the matter is that those studios with less to do, the smaller fish in the sea, probably have the most expensive production costs in the world.  Here's why - it's human nature mostly. Work expands to fill the amount of time available for the job.

I can remember back in my college days.  I worked as a part time truck driver delivering furniture for a local furniture company.  Whether I had 8 or 18 pieces to deliver, my partner and I always got back to the shop by quitting time.

Were we sloughing off our responsibilities to the company when the job day was lighter? At the time it sure didn't feel that way. OK, maybe sometimes when we had even less to deliver.  If we had a full load, super busy day,we just worked harder and perhaps more efficiently to get it delivered by the end of the day.

Don't a lot of us do that same thing in our own businesses today?  If we've got one job to do today, we can easily make it a leisurely day and stretch it to fill the entire day.  Now think back to your Christmas rush. You got a lot more accomplished in a day, didn't you?

Folks, my point is this.  If we want to be profitable in our businesses, then we've got to act profitable all year long and make the proper "time-management" decisions to make that happen.

Hit the "Read More ..." link below to see my My 7 Step Plan To Production Success.

Here is My 7 Step Plan To Production Success:

1. Set up a production listing of all your active and inactive jobs in house. Be sure that your listing includes internal projects too like seasonal marketing projects, special studio promotions, updating web site, blogging, enhancing social networking skills, any project that COST you people hours (payroll) to accomplish.

2. Prioritize those jobs in order of importance in which they need to be completed. Don't forget to assign a "Finish" date to each active job - very important.  I call this, "Putting a fuse on the project."

3. NOW THE MOST IMPORTANT STEP - Assign each job a production number.  That number is the amount of time and the payroll $ it should take to complete the job in process.  As I said, this is the most important part of this process. If you pay an employee $15/hr, then your production number for a 10 hour album design job would be 10 x$15 or $150.  Seeing the real dollar amount is an immediate "wake up call" to the cost involved in your processes.

This production number you assign is your "production currency" - what you want to PAY to get the job done.  It is literally the amount of money in PAYROLL HOURS, especially if you are paying someone else to do the job, or that you willing to budget to complete the job.

Assign too big a number and the job will fill the space you've allotted to it - making it a very costly production proposition for your company.  Make it too small, and it won't get completed in it's allotted time and you will need to re-evaluate the cost of the production process.

Based on your past experience, you should at least have a feel for how long a project, wedding, portrait, or senior order should take to run through your studio.  The nice thing about implementing these production procedures, is that even if you don't have much history as to costs now, you will continue to build real history as you stick to my plan.

By organizing and prioritizing your jobs is this fashion, you actually take control of your business.  You no longer jump from "fire" to "fire" putting each one out before you move on to the next job.

No longer do small jobs get "lost" in the process.  How many times have you said to yourself, "Oh my gosh," I forgot all about that order?

The beauty of this process is this.  Once you budget the numbers to each project, you now have a clear picture of what needs to be accomplished, an even clearer picture of how long it will take, and what it is going to cost you.  

4. Review weekly with yourself and your staff where each job stands in the process.  Are some jobs taking too much time to complete? Some too little? Why? You need to know those answers so you have better data for the future, for the next time around.

5. When the project is complete, evaluate if you came in under budget or went wildly over budget.  Would it have been less expensive to just send the job to a professional lab in the first place instead of trying to do everything in house.  Now you have object hard numbers to help answer that question.

6. Evaluate your payroll and see how closely payroll hours sync up with production hours.  They should be darn close.  If they don’t then why don’t the numbers align? If they begin to diverge substantially from the production hours assigned, there is "trouble in River City" and you better get a handle on it before the "costs run amok."

7.  Be sure everyone can see the numbers and see WHAT IS EXPECTED. For 2010, we are using Google Docs to post our production schedules and job allocation costs.  With all the travelling I do, I can easily get a quick snap shot of what is happening with my business - no "ifs, ands, or buts." No more wondering endlessly where, when, what or why. I have solid information to forecast for the future and bring credibility to my current expenses.  

Too few businesses, especially small business, have little clue about what their costs really are and how to spend their resources on those jobs.  That may be why there is such a "churn" in the wedding photography field - full time and part time alike. It may look like your making some money but in actuality, when all considerations and expenses are taken into account, you simply aren’t.

Folks, its a changing world out there and its time to "GET A GRIP" on your business.  If you don't, it's a losing proposition.  Aim for the stars instead - the view is so much more exciting!

Want to become part of this conversation? Please add your thoughts to the "Comments" section below.  Let your comments include your horror stories and your success stories for your businesses. I'd love to hear from you.

________________________________________________

Hey gang that's it for me today.  Can't wait to get a start on all the festivities this weekend.  Mardi Gras AND the Saints in the Super Bowl this weekend. It should be quite the party in New Orleans ;~)

Just remember, don't get any pixels in your Jambalaya.

See ya' Monday….. if we survive the weekend ;~)

-David

Read More...

"A Sacred Calling"

 

"A Sacred Calling"
©David A. Ziser

Here is one of the images I made yesterday at my portrait session.  As I mentioned the location - Plum Street Temple is just a spectacular location for weddings, Bar/Bat Mitzvahs, and now portraits.  Rabbi was gracious enough to let me select any location for his portrait. Although there were some great locations throughout the temple in which to photograph, and we made good use of all of them, it was the balcony that provided the most exciting location for the portrait.  From this higher vantage point the magnificence of this sanctuary, the oldest in Cincinnati, Ohio and one of the oldest in the USA, pours it's beauty forth offering a wonde5rful background for Rabbi's portrait.  It was quite an honor to be asked to make this official portrait.  Camera spec; Canon 5D Mark II fitted with 24-105mm IS lens at 40mm, F5.0 @ 1/15 second (handheld), ISO 800. Illumination coming from camera left - Quantum at 1/8 power shooting through my Zumbrella at 7-8 feet away. Enjoy!  -David

Read More...

Business Day Thursday: 10 Profit Building Uses For Banners In Your Business

Good Morning Everybody,

Today is the day we head to New Orleans.  I'm not sure what quite to expect, but I was on the phone with my friend Ralph Romaguera last night and he said something about planning to need Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday to recover. Sounds like quite the weekend to me. Anyway, we are really looking forward to it.

Since we've got a plane to catch in just a few hours, let's get right on with today's post.

10 Profit Building Uses For Banners In Your Business

  On Tuesday, I showed you the banners we created for my Bar Mitzvah client a few weeks ago. Hey, I know what you're thinking, "I don't have clients with that have that kind of money for me to have banners at one of their events." Well, I didn't either till I pitched the idea over six years ago.  Needless to say, they were a BIG hit.

Let's just set all the "It won't work for me" objections aside for a minute and look at the banner possibilities. 

Hit the “Read More..” link below for my Top 10 Business Building Ideas for Banners.

Here is my list of the Top 10 business building ideas you could do with banners for your studio.

1. Banners for events like I've been describing recently, bar and bat mitzvahs, wedding receptions, anniversary celebrations, high school class reunions, commercial clients annual sales meetings….  Makes for some great party decor - if your client can afford to really go-all-out for their event.

2.  Tone it down a bit and just offer a smaller version for a rehearsal dinner or even a wedding.  I'm thinking a 24x72 inch banner in one of Lexjet's inexpensive banner stands [link]. This could be set-up near the entrance, or near the guest sign-in book. Of course, your name would be prominently displayed on the banner as well.

3. Use this same smaller banner version, make one up on "spec" and offer to your vendor buddies in your community featuring their work.  It’s an eye catching piece for their bakery, florist shop, catering sales office, bridal salon, tuxedo rental store..... with your branding included on it, too.

4. Bridal Fairs - hey, a couple of these banners are really good attention grabbers and much less expensive that framed prints. They could easily augment your display. Several banners can look very professional, placed at the back of your booth. Left blank on part of the banner, I've used them as a projection screen for my videos/tutorials or a looped slide show within my booth.

5. Have you worked your way into any charity event, yet?  When you do, a few banners featuring the charity's good works at the ballroom entrance just might be a nice place to position your branding.  Oh, and yes, you volunteer to design the banners as well.  That gives you the perfect reason to include your branding on the banners.

6. Shooting family portraits?  A small banner might be just the thing for your client's family room.  It's fun and eye-catching at the same time.

7. Hey, what works for families above is perfect for high school seniors.  Think about it - a collage, say 24x36 inches, of the high school senior is several changes of clothes, sports attire, etc.  The small banner could be a great "essence catcher" of the grad and a BIG hit at their graduation party.

8. Have you ever thought of approaching a mall about supplying for them, at no charge of course, display materials for their occasionally vacant retail spaces.  Of course the display materials are your banners.  What a concept - you provide them a solution to their vacant store front with your photography.  It's a Win-Win, the space looks "occupied" while you get the benefit.  My buddy, Kent Smith, is currently providing that same thing with a mall in Columbus, Ohio.

9. These banners are easy window display pieces for your studio. Easy to light. Easy to exchange from event to event announcing your current marketing campaign and displaying your seasonal "specials".

10. Shooting a prom? Shooting the Little League teams? The banners provide an easy way to showcase your package selections. Why not create some excitement with a large display explaining the package selections available? 

There you have it some great ways to get some good promotional mileage out of banners.  Don't have an ink-jet printer you say? Frankly, I think that's why it's a good idea to own one.  The promotional possibilities are endless.

The biggest one you would need would be a 24 inch wide printer.  Epson and Canon run promotions all the time.  I just picked up my new printer and got a $1000 rebate - sweet.

OK, the printer is still out of your budget, then just surf the net till you find somebody that will do it for you. My buddies at Simply Color, a brand new service, is offering completely digitally printed "anything" - check them out right here.

A simple Google search for banners pops up lots of companies.  The average cost is about $1 per square foot depending on media and size of output.  I checked out BannersOnTime [link].

After mousing around their site I found a 24x72 inch paper banner for $62.40 - 5 bucks a square foot - a bit high. So just look around the net for some better deals.

So folks, there's no excuse.  Whether it's for studio promotion or product sales, you've got some doors opening for some new things to think about at your studio.  Have fun.

________________________________________________________

Hey everybody, that's it for me today.  I hear the jet engines revving up and we need to be on that plane. I plan on seeing you tomorrow from the great state of Louisiana!

See ya' in the morning,  -David

Read More...

"Innocent Eyes"

"Innocent Eyes"
©David A. Ziser

I made this image a few years ago at a wedding and still love it. I always like to capture an image that just simply focuses on the flower girl. The flower girls and ring bearers come in all ages and the younger ones can be a bit over whelmed by the activities of the day and become a bit more shy.  How do you still obtain the photograph of such a shy little girl?  My solution was/is always have the little girl get close to the bride and get a photograph of both of them.  Once I know I have that shot of the two of them together, I simply, and slowly , drop to my knees, speak softly to get the child’s attention, zoom into, in this case, the little girl's expression, and shoot away.  The brides, gentle, reassuring touch on the young girl's shoulder offer her the security she needs as I capture my images.  It works every time.  Lighting is provided camera right from a medium size window. Camera specs; Nikon D1x fitted with 50mm F1.4 lens, F2.8 @ 1/160 second, ISO 800. Enjoy!  -David

Read More...

PhotoFAVS Wednesday: It Sure Was Noisy Last Wednesday

Good Morning Everybody,

I’m doing a quick "in and out" this morning since we are getting things ready for our trip to New Orleans tomorrow and I have a portrait shoot in just a few hours. I have the honor of photographing one of the leading religious leaders in Cincinnati, Ohio today, in one of the most beautiful sanctuaries in the city, Isaac M. Wise Temple.

I've worked with him many times over the years at both weddings and Bar/Bat Mitzvah's.  I’ve even photographed his daughter's wedding in 2007.  In fact, that's the one, uber blogger and all around nice guy, Scott Kelby, came up and helped out with the shoot [link].

Anyway, I'm really looking forward to today’s assignment.  With a great client and stunning location we should get some outstanding photographs.

PhotoFAVS Wednesday: It was A Little Noisy Last Wednesday

Boy, last week's post was another real "comment" magnet.  I think part of it was, dare I say it, a bit of JPEG reflux disease ;~)  Mention that you shot JPEGs and the flood gates open. Like I said, it’s one of those religious digital arguments.

Anyway, let's revisit the topic once again.  Here is the link to last week's post right here. To review, I mentioned that I really liked how my cameras, Canon 7D and 5D Mk II really do a good job with the built in noise reduction algorithms. Since I've been a JPEG shooter for most of my digital shooting career, up until 2 years ago, I was pretty experienced on the topic.

I liked what I saw in the noise department when it came to in-camera noise reduction. Add a touch of Noise Ninja or NIK Dfine 2.0 and you were looking at a darn good, high ISO print.

Just check out this image I made with the Canon 5D Mark II right after it came out in November, 2008.  By the way, you can read the entire article right here.

A few readers suggested that I was "double-dipping" by running the noise reduction in the camera and then again with noise reduction software.  I guess I'm thinking no big deal. The end result was always a great very low noise image when I followed this procedure.  In fact I’m looking at a 24x36 print right now on display in my studio that I shot in 2006 with a Canon 20D, ISO800, JPEG mode. The image was then run through Noise Ninja, printed in-house on my Epson printer that looks absolutely great.  In fact NAPP used it in their national print ad last year.

Another reader suggested that I could still shoot RAW and use Canon's CPP software to process out the noise reduction, too.  That's true, but that meant lots of added workflow overhead.  Lightroom just didn't process the EXIF data quite the same way, if at all, to give me the same result as CPP.

That meant that I was back in the same old boat of processing my RAW image in Lightroom or Photoshop and still not getting the result I was looking to obtain.  Simply, I liked the "double dipped" noise reduced look of my images.

You may suggest running the RAW file twice through the NR software, but I just wasn't as pleased with that result as  was when shooting JPEG and then hitting the image with NR.

I called my Canon rep, Mary Mannix, to ask her recommendation.  Although she corroborated my position, she added that the issue of noise reduction's "look and feel" was really a personal experience for each photographer.  Bottom line - everybody sees noise differently.

So, I guess, enough said on the subject.  For me, especially in a wedding situation where we are blazing through 3500 images per job, it's sure OK with me that some of the low light images are shot in JPEG mode. Looks to me like it saves lots of time in the long run. So, in closing, let me say one more time, in-camera noise deduction is still clearly one of my PhotoFAVS.

The new cameras have additional noise settings that I want to try too.  I'll keep you posted on that in the future.

_____________________________________________________

Hey gang, that's it for me today.  I've got to get packing and get on my way to my shoot.  I hope to post an image or two tomorrow for you.  Hope to see you then.

And don't forget to check back tomorrow for another episode of Business Day Thursday: 10 Profit Building Uses For Banners.

See ya' then, -David

Read More...

"Going For The Gold"

"Going For The Gold"
©David A. Ziser

Here is one of the banners discussed in today's Technique Tuesday below. I have to say, I love putting these montages together.  To photograph our young man, we set up a back-light - my Quantum T5d. I then pointed it at a white wall behind my subject to force a very bright illumination. This procedure made it easy to extract our subject from the background in Photoshop.  Next I illuminated our subject from the right by setting up a second Quantum on a light stand shooting through my Zumbrella.  Max was on a milk crate cover with a white cloth and I was laying on the floor to get the perspective I wanted. In putting the two images together for the montage, I was careful to have the direction of light be consistent in both the stock image and my image of the subject. Camera specs: Canon 5D Mark II fitted with 12-24mm lens at 19mm, F8.0 @ 1/60 second, ISO 800. Enjoy!  -David

Read More...

Technique Tuesday: Cool Banners Made Easy – Part 1

Good Morning Everybody,

Wow! Yesterday's post sure stirred up the comments.  First of all thanks to all who made recommendations for backup software alternatives - I'm checking a few of them out as we speak.

Also, let me say that my remarks about iStockPhoto were based on my experience.  I've been an iStockPhoto user for over six years and like any service - I, you, we pay for - none of us like to see a price increase.  Remember gasoline at $4.00/gallon.

I can appreciate that the contributing photogs are getting paid higher commissions for their work - at least I hope that's the case with these higher prices on the images.  The bottom line for me was the fact that I try to keep DPT honest and not use copyrighted work that I don't have the right to use. Which is why I've been using iStockPhoto all these years.

I have no clue what their commission schedule is.  To me, they were offering a service at a price that worked into my "blogging budget" - about $20/month. Heck gang, it's a FREE blog you know.  Anyway, when costs doubled, the new costs were higher than my budget allowed. 

You know, we should all be willing to except reasonable yearly price increases.  I just thought these increases were too much to bear for my application.  I know we could discuss the issue all day, but for me, I'm just shopping for the occasional image for my blog - no big deal.  I think iStockPhoto offers a good solution for, say a larger corporate client, but they simply are priced a bit too high for me these days. 

I still have some credits left over at iStockPhoto and have set up an account over at Fotolia and Dreamtime. I'll keep you posted as to which I prefer.  You know, change is good - no harm, no foul.

Technique Tuesday: Cool Banners Made Easy - Part 1

Well, I was really looking forward to putting this tutorial together today, but boy, has it turned into an "ugly time sucking monster" to get out the door.  I had no clue how much time this was going to take to put together and then get posted.

This happens every time I shoot more that 2-3 video clips for our Technique Tuesdays.  I thought I had finished the videos - and I had lots of them - but when reviewing the footage I discovered that I had audio problems on the last two.  All lights were green so all looked good to go.  I guess that wasn't the case so I had to do re-shoots.

Anyway, it finally came together. LaDawn and my staff are ready to "kill" me because of all the time involved so I hope you like it.

The purpose of this video is to show you how to create some really cool banners for your clients.  Sure, not all you clients are going to want banners for their events but some might - at least if you offer the option to them.

We've been doing "banner projects" for over six years and our clients love what they bring to their event.  This tutorial will walk you through Part 1 of the process.  That includes the photography and the "Photoshop" steps of the project and will show you exactly how we produce the final images for printing.

I hope you like the video, but more importantly, I hope it sparks some creative ideas for you as to how you can use banners more effectively in your own business.  Anyway, hit the PLAY button below and enjoy the show.

_______________________________________________________

Hey gang, that's it for me today.  We've got a few things to wrap up around here before we board the big silver bird to New Orleans on Thursday.

Oh, Jazziphoto said in yesterday's comments that it was Mardi Gras tradition that I was supposed to tell my friends which float I'm riding.  Hey, I don't know if Jazziphoto is "pulling my leg" or not on this, but I'll tell you anyway.  It's the Krewe of Carrollton. Let me hear a "Throw me something mister." and I'll send some beads your way ;~)

See ya' tomorrow everybody.  -David

Read More...

"Elegant Surrounds"

"Elegant Surrounds"
©David A. Ziser

I thought I'd get back to a few wedding images this week.  Here is one of my favorites from a few years ago.  I didn't shoot the original wedding but got the call to shoot a bridal portrait session of the couple after the wedding.  The bride and her mother just wanted something a bit more elegant than the wedding day coverage provided.  I was happy to oblige.  This image was made in the groom's mother's home - and a beautiful home it was. My assistant was positioned camera left holding my Quantum at 1/4 power and shooting through a translucent umbrella to give me the beautiful, dimensional loop lighting pattern on the bride's face.  I adjusted the shutter speed to accommodate a bit of the ambient light in the room while not "blowing out the windows in the background. The image is  simple, easy, and classic. The client loved it. Camera specs: Nikon D1x fitted with 18-35mm Nikkor lens, F 5.6 @ 1/50 second, ISO 400. Enjoy!  -David

Read More...

Quick Hit Monday: Will Disaster Strike; Double Your Prices; Two Favorite Blogs To Visit

Good Morning Everybody,

Hope you had a great weekend and I hope your week is shaping up to be a great one.  I know for LaDawn and I, this has been a week we have been looking forward too for months.  Why, because on Thursday, we head to New Orleans and are spending the weekend with my buddy, Ralph Romaguera and Cindi celebrating Mardi Gras. 

That's right, I'm going to be one of the "Men in tights" throwing the beads off one of the floats - eh, crewes - this coming weekend! Ralph has asked us to come down the last four years to be part of the celebration and a convention, wedding, or some other circumstance has kept us from making the trip.  Not this year - New Orleans, here we come!  With the Saints in the Super Bowl  on Sunday the whole town should be RRALLY excited. I'll keep you posted.

Hey gang, I've got a few things for you this Quick Hit Monday, including a few things I want to get off my back.  Let's get right to it.

Why Not Double Your Prices for 2010 - iStockPhoto Did

OK, this is Gripe #1 from me on this Monday morning. You know as I write this blog, I occasionally head over to iStockPhoto for a quick picture to illustrate an article or two.  As you might already know,  a blog has to look "pretty" too.

My first experience with iStockPhoto [link] years ago before they were acquired by Getty Images was the fact that they "expired" your funds if you didn't use them within the year.  They still have that same policy.  That's right, you buy CREDITS and if you don't use them all up within the given time period, those credits evaporate - your money goes "Poof".

To me, it's kind of like buying a "Gift Certificate" from a store, restaurant, etc. that puts an expiration date on it. My dollars don't expire. Why should those same dollars expire if I change it the "currency" to a gift certificate?  Hey, I guess it's just life.

Anyway, back to IStockPhoto.  I always liked visiting iStockPhoto, doing the quick search, and finding a fun pic for the DPT blog. But, over these last 6-7 years, I've watched their prices continue to increase at more that an exponential rate.  6 years ago I could purchase a high res image for $3.00 .  Now those images cost upwards of $40.00!!!

Case in point - in 2006 this image cost me $1 in the low res version.  Now that same lo res image is $20 - a 2000% price increase!!! Unbelievable!!!

For 2010 everything took a GIANT price jump over at iStockPhoto. So, in a word to iStockPhoto from me, Adios! I'm heading to Fotolia [link] and checking them out.

DAZNOTE: I Spent a little time at Fotolia [link] this weekend and liked what I saw.   Reasonable prices, about $1.20 for a low res image and only $12 for the super hi-res variety.  Great selection, easy to navigate, and fun to use – Ahhhh..  I'm happy again. 

Don't Let Disaster Strike - Is Your Backup Software's Guilty Of Bad Behavior?

Several months ago, I did a piece on backing up your data [link].  I mentioned a "nice" little backup program called Argentum Backup.  I loved the program because it backed up my files in "native" file by file mode. It was recommended by PC Magazine and PC World.  If disaster struck, all I had to do was swap out the crashed drive with the backup and I was back up and running in no time.

Well, here is the "super scary" thing about Argentum Backup that I just discovered last week. If your source hard drive fails (the drive you want backed up), Argentum DELETES ALL THE DATA from the destination (backup) drive!!! I am not joking.

Argentum's logic is this.  If I can't see data on the source drive then it has to duplicate that same situation on the destination drive and deletes the backed up data.  The first time this happened to me, it was no BIGGIE.  I had a drive not come back on-line during a reboot and to my surprise Argentum wiped the data to the backup.  I thought it was weird so once the drive was back on line, I just re-backed upped the data.

Last week, we had a old trusty drive fail.  I checked my back up folder.   The folder was still there, but the DAT WAS COMPLETELY GONE! That means that my data is only backed up as long as the source drive is in good working order. If the source drive dies, so does all the backup data.

SHOCKING!  I wrote Argentum's tech support about the issue to see if I was missing some valuable link or information.  Here are excerpts from my inquiry and their response:

Me To Tech Support: 

“...Here is the shocking reality. I had a drive "die" or go offline. When Argentum saw the drive was no longer available, it DELETED ALL THE BACKED UP DATA!!!”

Argentum’s Response: 

"This is the way it is supposed to work. If the files were originally deleted in the source they have to be deleted in the destination as well.  Argentum Backup keeps destination fully synchronized with the source. That's why some files may be deleted in the destination if there are no corresponding files found in the source."

OK gang, two things.  Check your backup software’s behavior.  Unplug your source drive and tell your B-U software to do it’s job. Does it backup the information or delete it? If you find it deletes the data – CHANG SOFTWARE NOW!!!

If you are using Argentum Backup based on my recommendation - stop using it NOW and look for a solution that protects your backed up data not deletes it when your source drive fails.

And Speaking Of Blogs I Like

Hey gang, on a more positive note, let me point you towards two blogs I really like to visit when I get the time.

The first is Fashionable Tales of a Cincinnati Wedding Planner. It's run by by good friend and great event planner Elisa Mackenzie of Elegant Events.  What I like about Elisa's site is the insight she brings to the field of weddings.  If you are - or want to be - a wedding photographer, it would be fun for you to check out her site right here.

The upside is this.  When you read through Elisa's site, YOU will become a BETTER INFORMED, more well rounded wedding photographer when conversing with your perspective client.  I just like the different (not photographic) perspective that Elisa brings to the mix.  Check out her favorite links too - more great ideas for ya'

OK, somebody is going to accuse me of "shameless self promotion"  because Elisa featured my new book, “Captured By The Light" on her blog two weeks ago. Why, because a lot of the weddings featured in the book are events we BOTH worked together on.  So, THANKS Elisa for the nice mention.

The second blog I want to mention is written by my good buddy, Larry Becker [link], the executive director of NAPP - National Association Of Photoshop Professionals.  Larry launched his blog,"Phaim (fāme) — Larry Becker’s Blog" last May.  It is really picking up steam and seems to be definitely heading on the fast track.

Larry is posting everyday with on a nice variety of topics. In his own words he includes, "Street-smart marketing, photography… oh yeah, and smart-phones." I love his post of the "pop up toaster" hard drive backup solution [link].

I'll tell ya' - it's a nice leisurely visit for me.  I can't wait to see what he’s got up his sleeve for this week.

________________________________________________________

Hey everybody, that's it for me today.  I'm spending a bit of today putting together a really cool tutorial for tomorrow's Technique Tuesday's post. Think of it as a fun "Do it yourself" gorilla product and marketing strategy for 2010.  I promise, it will be a fun one to watch.

See ya' then,  -David

Read More...

"The Pipeline"

"The Pipeline"
©M. LaDawn Ziser

Hey gang, I taking a departure on my image of the day today. Today I’m posting one of LaDawn’s images she made while on our trip to Cabo, Mexico last November.  I remember seeing the shot after importing it into Lightroom and loving what I saw.  For me, it was the perfect image for a beautiful “wall decor” piece in someone’s home. The simplicity of the “coming right at you” wave just starting it’s break to the beach with its sea spray above was an exciting moment captured in time.  I love the utter simplicity of the color palette of this shot too.  Anyway, it’s one of my favorites from LaDawn’s shoot and our trip. Camera specs; Canon 50D fitted with 18-200mm IS lens at 110mm, F9.0 @ 1/400 second, ISO 200. Enjoy!  -David

Read More...

"Are There Too Many Wedding Photographers Shooting Weddings These Days?" – Part 3

Good Afternoon Everybody,

I’m still reeling from seeing my book arriving yesterday. I get the feeling they are on the trucks and heading out to a book store near you.  We had a few more arrive this morning!

I was on the phone with Peachpit for over 30 minutes yesterday.  They had some great ideas on how to get the word out.  I liked their idea of an online Twitter Interview – sounds strange but fun.  Anyway, I’ll keep you posted as things begin to unfold and processes begin.

For the last two Fridays, I’ve posed the question, “Are there Too Many Wedding Photographers Shooting Wedding Photographs.”  Lots of you responded in the “Comments” section of the two posts – my thanks to all whom made the effort. 

The  insights and ideas presented by our DPT readers consisted of nearly 14,000 words and made the “Comments” section itself a solid resource for readers wanting to review the debate.

All that being said, where do I stand on the topic? 

Hit the “Read More…” link below for the rest of the story.

The current situation - Here is what I believe:

I Believe… that the low priced sub $1000 DSLR killed the “Golden Wedding Goose” for long standing studios in our profession.  I hear it everyday.  They’re just are not that many “Main Street” studios surviving these days.

Back in the day (of film), if you wanted to shoot weddings, the “Cost of Membership” was at least $5000 for a medium format camera, lenses, and flash gear. That was a deterrent to the someone wanting to shoot wedding part time and kept the number of new shooters at bay.

I Believe… that there is much less of a monetary commitment a photographer needs to make to the process of shooting a wedding for his/her client these days.  That fact alone has mushroomed the numbers of wedding photographers shooting today. And, resulted in driving the cost of weddings WAY down.

Back in the day, if you wanted to shoot a wedding, that meant that you were going to need to buy film and processing.  Most photogs in my area were spending , on average, about $350 of actual costs per wedding. I personally spent $1000 a week on film and processing to shoot a wedding.  Today that cost is FREE, FREE, FREE!!!

I believe… that there is much less of a monetary commitment needed by the buying public when it comes to buying wedding photography.  Because of the proliferation of cheap all the way to inexpensive pricing in the field, the client sees that as the norm these day.

I was just reading in Business Week this morning that some of the luxury products use a pricing procedure called “anchoring” to offer one product at a very high price so that the second tier product, still pricy, becomes the big seller.  Here is the link to the article right here.

What’s happened to the wedding profession is that the “PRICE” has been anchored to the bottom of the heap – i.e. the flea market wedding shoppers looking for rock bottom pricing for “professional photographic services” on Craig’s list.

I Believe… that the “Digital Age” itself has done much to reshape the wedding photography business.  All the new aspiring photographers can find free or very reasonably priced training anywhere on the internet.  My site DigitalProTalk, the Strobist, the Online Photographer, the Digital Photography School, et. al. have really revved up the enthusiasm for the profession.

Believe me, I think all that “easy to reach”information is a good thing.  I’m a web surfing junkie myself and love to bring the tid-bits I find to you, our DPT readers. Hey, it’s fun.

That enthusiasm has also encouraged many new photographers to “give it a go” in the profession.

So do I believe that there are too many photographers shooting wedding these days?  My answer – YES.  Now for the rest of the story. Are many of them making any money? – NO!

But you say, “I love shooting weddings.  What can I do?”  Lots of suggestions were given in the “Comments” section of the last two posts. 

Let me cover several more right here.

I Believe… we have to become adept at marketing with the new social media tools. 300 million Facebook members are surely connected out there.  You’ve got to get them to connect to you too.

I Believe… we need to constantly strive to build relationships with our favorite vendors in our communities.  It’s that cross-pollination that works to everyone's benefit in building business.

I Believe… you’ve got to constantly be looking for ways to add value to your wedding photography, value that the clients can readily see and make them want to choose you as their photographer.

I Believe… we can never “rest on our laurels” or become too complacent.  Even if you are an “established studio”, the fight to get the potential customer’s attention is more fierce than ever.  And that DEMANDS you take a more PRO-ACTIVE posture in your community.  You’ve got to be like a shark – keep moving, never stop promoting yourself!

I Believe… a lot of photographers are lousy sales/business people and settle for sales far less than they should.  That would include the “shoot and burners” out there and also those who simply post their images on-line and “spin the wheel of misfortune” hoping for a big sale. Hey, no sales effort in, no sales out!

I Believe… that you’ve got to be CONTANTLY striving to differentiate yourself from the competition.  You’ve also got to continue to “educate your clients as to what your differences are.  The bottom line is that these differences are clear discernable differences from the competition.

I Believe… It’s easy to be the the best wedding photographer in your area.  You’ve just got to work harder at it than the next person - your competition. You might ask, “If it’s so easy, why do I need to work harder?”  The answer is simple.  There are many, many lazy photographers who will settle for second best.  It doesn’t have to be you.

And finally-

I Believe… that when you shoot a wedding, you’ve got to bring your own sense of passion to the shoot.  You’ve got to give it 120% of your effort. You’ve got to leave a bit of your heart in every job.  That’s what can make your photography special, lasting, and in demand.

You know, Confucius had it right.  He said, “Those who think they can and those who think they can't are both right.”

Watch this short video interview with Will Smith.  He’s a guy with “Attitude” – the right kind of “Attitude.”

 

Have a great weekend everybody,  -David

 

Related Posts:

Post 1 - January 15: [link]

Post 2 - January 22: [link]

Read More...

"Subtle And Bold"

"Subtle And Bold"
©David A. Ziser

I decided to make the trip back to Cabo San Lucas in my Lightroom Library for today's post.  That part of the world is just so vibrant with rich, saturated colors.  I can never resist taking a shot of the richness of the city.  This image is from a photo-walk LaDawn and I took one morning just around the neighborhood where we were staying. The deep blue sky against the subtle and contrasting tonalities and textures of the bright yellow building created a dramatic visual experience. Camera specs; Canon 7D fitted with 18-200mm IS lens at 200mm, F11 @ 1/1000 second, ISO 200. 

Enjoy!  David

Read More...

Business Day Thursday: It's All In The Name, The Name Of Your Studio, That Is

Good Afternoon Everybody,

I can’t believe it, but there it is – my first “real live” copy of my book.  It showed up just as I was about to publish today’s post. Here is the latest.  "Captured By The Light, The Essential Guide To Extraordinary Wedding Photography" will be shipping from Peachpit/New Riders, the publishers of my book on February 2.  That means they should be on the shelves of Amazon [link] and Barnes and Noble [link] by mid-month. Wow! Amazon already has my Sales Rank at 18,533!  Look out Scott Kelby, here I come ;~)

Remember, I'm personally signing all pre-ordered copies from the Tour and any additional copies ordered by February 28, 2010 through our Digital Resource Center [link]. I know folks have been emailing me about those book orders placed at my Digital WakeUp Call tour too.  Yep, I plan to sign each and every copy before it ships.

And speaking of the Digital WakeUp Call Tour, the DVD version is coming right along.  I'm in the process of forwarding TWO MORE HOURS of content over to the video production company to be added to the original presentation.

Those of you who attended the program know I was talking pretty fast because I had a lot to cover.  I wanted to cover even more but time would not allow it - heck, I ran over every night by 15 minutes.  That's why I'm adding the additional two hours of information to the 3 DVD set. 

We are also adding the Bonus DVD we gave all attendees to each DVD set.  That means you will be receiving 4 DVDs with over EIGHT HOURS of solid, fast paced info on off-camera and on-camera lighting, Lightroom, Photoshop, Marketing, and lots more. Here is the link to all the info right here.

Time to get on with today's post. Here we go...

It's All In The Name, The Name Of Your Studio, That Is

Here is something I want you to think about today.  What is the name of your photography studio?  Could it be something like "Precious Moments Photography", "Moments In Time Photography", "Contemporary Wedding Photography", or even "Focus Photography"?

I'm not trying to step on any toes.  I just made these names up as I was typing, but I suspect that there are several studios out there with those names. 

DAZNOTE: I just did a quick Google search on each of these studio names mentioned above. Each name search ran at least 5 pages deep.You get the idea.

I'm not suggesting that these names are bad names for a photography studio, but I do want to question if these kinds of names are the MOST EFFECTIVE choices for your brand recognition.

The last studio name mentioned above, "Focus Photography", was the original name of my studio way back when I opened my studio doors for business in 19?? Whoops, almost gave my age away;~) Thankfully, I decided to change it to David A. Ziser Photography early on in my career.

Why am I making such a big deal about studio names being personal?  Well, because it should be personal, especially in a business that depends on ongoing personal relationship building.

"Focus Photography" was a "thing" but I decided early on that I wanted my current and future clients to remember a "person".  I believe the best way to build "Brand Recognition" in this business is to use your own name on the shingle that you hang on your studio.

Now you get to introduce yourself as who you are, the owner of the studio.  I think that sounds much better than David Ziser from Focus Photography.

Business building is ALWAYS about how your community, peers, and clients recognize you.  And, there is no better way to be recognized than by using your own name and leveraging that name recognition for your business growth and success.

So, if your studio name is a generic name like I mentioned in the previous examples, give a little thought to changing it to your own name.  If your a good shooter with a passion for what you do, I promise you, the name change will be worth it in the long run.

Food For Thought-

__________________________________________________

Hey gang, that's it for me today.  We are starting to unpack the new Canon iPF 8100 ink-jet printer that arrived last week. We have only one minor issue.  It's about 1 inch too long for the space my current Epson 9880 printer is sitting. So where's my saw? ;~)

Anyway, don't forget to check back tomorrow for a more uplifting post on the topic, "Are There Too Many Photographers Shooting Weddings These Days?"  If you've missed any of the conversation these last two Fridays on this HOT topic, here are the links to the past articles:

Post 1 - January 15: [link]

Post 1 - January 22: [link] 

Hope to see you tomorrow,  -David

Read More...

"The Final Reading"

"The Final Reading"
©David A. Ziser

Here is yet another image from my "temple shoot" last Thursday.  This shot is always one of my favorites.  The wide angle lens really adds a sense of the "dramatic" to the image.  In reality, the Torah is never unrolled this far. Rabbi, let's me set up the photograph this way for the added impact with the wider, unrolled Torah.  I adjust the exposure to pick up some of the natural light then adding my off-camera flash coming in from camera right to obtain my final result. Camera specs; Canon 7D fitted with 10-22mm wide angle lens at 10mm, F6.3 @ 1/60 second, ISO 1000. Enjoy!  -David

Read More...

PhotoFAVS Wednesday: In Camera Noise Reduction

Good Afternoon Everybody,

Well, my day really lightened up.  I was scheduled to photograph the official portrait of one of the leading religious leaders in Cincinnati this morning, but because of a schedule change on his part we need to reschedule the shoot.

Hey, no complaints from me.  How many times do we get a FREE day to take care of some of those loose ends that seem to never get taken care of? Not very often. Heck, I might even take LaDawn out for lunch - what a concept.

Anyway, back to today's post:

"In Camera Noise Reduction"

Many of you know I've been a BIG JPEG shooter for most of my digital life switching to RAW in the mid 2008’s.  After shooting for almost two years, I have to say that I have not fully drank the RAW kool-aid yet.

Sure, I like RAW and  how I can really tweak the image in Lightroom. Heck, it was the Adjustment Brush - localized control over image density - that made me switch from shooting JPEG to RAW. But now two years later, and reflecting on my shooting routine over these last two years, I believe JPEGS should still have a place in any event photographer's shooting routine.

Why? That's the subject of this week's PhotoFAVS Wednesday. To many photogs, mostly RAW shooters who really have "drank the kool-aid", they see no place whatsoever for shooting JPEGS on a job. But today, let me give you a reason to reconsider shooting JPEGS for at least part of your event coverage. 

Hit the “Read More…” link below for the rest of the story.

It has to do with the camera's own built in electronic noise reduction algorithms that come into play when you set your camera to JPEG mode.  There's just something about how the camera reduces the image noise that gives us a much cleaner result in our finished image.

I know a lot of you think I'm crazy  - and my "kool-aid" comment will probably garner a nasty comment or two, but folks, it still comes down to the finished image and how we choose to use our digital hardware to obtain that result.

Before writing your "RAW IS KING" comment to this post, please hear me out.

This past weekend, I shot a lot of the Bar Mitzvah in both RAW and JPEG. Yes, same shot, both modes.  I've been having this "inkling" that the in camera noise reduction could be doing a better job in the "noise reduction" department than simply relying on the noise reduction software available on the market.

Could I obtain a better low noise image by shooting in JPEG Mode with the camera's "noise reduction" feature turned on and then run it through a favorite "noise reduction" software?  Folks, I present you with my results.

Let me set up the shooting scenario.  At Saturday's party, the slide show had just begun and parents and kids alike were enjoying the show.  I love to roam the audience and capture the tear in mom's eye or the happy, smiling faces of any of the kids watching the slide show.

The ambient light is usually at a pretty low level which necessitates high ISO shooting.  The lighting decor also had the dance floor flooded with very yellow/orange light which created the heavy color cast to the scene.  For my "experiment" I decided to NOT do any color correction. I only wanted to compare the "noise" levels in each image and additional image manipulation may have skewed the results.

I settled into ISO 3200 and began photographing the crowd.  Check out this first image, below.  I shot it RAW and then cropped it much closer so you could more readily make the noise comparison in each image.  This RAW image shows the most noise.

RAW Image

Now look at the next image shot in JPEG mode with "noise reduction" turned on. - I had the camera set to "Standard" on my Canon 7D.  It is clearly superior - showing less noise - than the RAW capture.

JPEG ImageNow look at the third image.  It is the RAW image imported into Photoshop from Lightroom. I did no "noise reduction" in Lightroom, by the way.  Next I ran the image through Noise Ninja by Picture Code [link].  I like NIK's Dfine 2.0 [link], but since Noise Ninja reports a "noise index", and I thought that would be a good way to quantify my results. 

RAW With NR Noise Ninja reported a "noise index" of 51 for the RAW image.  That's pretty high based on my Noise Ninja experience.  Anyway, take a look at this third image.  It is clearly an improvement over the original RAW and JPEG files.

But now look at the fourth image.  It's the result of running the JPEG through Noise Ninja. 

JPEG With NR In this case, the "noise index" topped out at only 35 - not bad.  And, as you can see, the result is really, really good.  Skin tones are smooth and just about all the noise has been substantially disguised.

So would this kind of low light shooting situation be best shot in JPEG mode?  I say a resounding "YES!!!" for three reasons:

1. These types of candid images are not going to be "headlining" images in the final album. It's these kinds of images that capture the "flavor" of the event and are what I call "third tier" images.  In these instances JPEGS are just fine.

2. I'm dealing with very slow shutter speeds, too.  That means that I'm going to be taking several images to be assured that I have one really sharp image. That's even assuming my lens image stabilization is doing a good job for me.  There simply is no reason to chew up a lot of "hard drive real estate" to store these numerous images. 

3. And most importantly, I obtain the best "low noise" result when I combine the camera's built in noise reduction with that of NIK DFine 2.0 or Noise Ninja.

So there you have it.  For me, RAW vs. JPEG is not a "religious" argument in which I need to take sides. Actually, taking sides in the RAW vs. JPEG debate will only lead you down the path of compromised imagery.  For me, it's always about using the right tool for the job, whether that "tool" be a camera, lens, or even a camera setting.

______________________________________________________

Hey gang, that's it for me today. And,please note that I not trying to pick any RAW vs. JPEG "fights" today.  I just don't want you to close your eyes on other options that can many times simplify your shooting routine and lead to a better result.

That said, I'm out of here.  I'll see everyone tomorrow for another episode of Business Day Thursday.  See ya' tomorrow,  -David

Read More...

"High Flying Party"

"High Flying Party"
©David A. Ziser

I made this image at this past weekend's Bar Mitzvah party. I have to say, "The party was jumpin'".  For every event I photograph, the challenge is to capture a few shots that no other photographer in the area takes.  It comes back to my mantra, "The Difference Makes The Difference."  I've been shooting for quite a while now and it's still fun to come up with that new shot.  Hanging the camera over the heads of the crowd of party revelers and getting the DJ to get everyone to look up makes for a great and different kind of candid party image. Check out today's Technique Tuesday for how I put it all together. Camera specs; Canon 7D fitted with Sigma 8mm fisheye, F 6.3 @ 1/50 second, ISO 800.  Enjoy!  -David

Read More...

Technique Tuesday: High Flying Party Photography

Good Afternoon Everybody,

Well, the “Bear” almost got me today.  We had a not so minor computer “hic-cup”  here this morning.  Nothing big, just that the computer didn’t want to re-boot – even after 5 tries.  I WAS a little worried and then set forth pulling out all the USB drives and reconnecting them one at a time till I found the problem.  The problem was eventually solved but at the expense of this very late post.

Anyway, yesterday finally wrapped our KPPA Convention.  That means we can get things back to normal at my studio. That is besides the unexpected computer crashes. UGH!  Conventions are great fun and it's good to catch up with friends you only see a few times a year. Now it’s time to get settled back into the real world of David Ziser Photography.

OK, time to get on with the show.

What A Steal Of A Deal!

One quick note about yesterday's post.  I mentioned that Michael operates one of the premier photography studios in the country.  Seeing him give his program yesterday reminded me of why he is so successful.  As Michael said yesterday, "I'm a business man who happens to be a photographer." 

Michael has several educational resources [link] that could benefit any studio business building strategies. You have to navigate through a few links, but his resources are worth a look.  I just called Michael and he has agreed to offer all readers of DigitalProTalk a 50% discount on any of his Collections and a 25% discount on any single title. Now that's a great deal!  You don’t want to miss this new year bargain. Just be sure to mention my name or that you read it at DPT.

Update On My Canon 50D That's For Sale

Last Wednesday I mentioned that I was putting my hardly used, about 5 weddings worth, up for sale [link].  The top bid to date is $875.  I'll keep the bids open till Friday and announce the lucky winner next Monday.

Hey Gang, What Time Is It? It's Technique Tuesday Time!!!  Here we go...

High Flying Party Photography

I'm always looking to create images that neither clients nor, photographers for that matter, see very often.  I want my images to grab the viewer's attention immediately.

One way to grab the viewer's attention is with a dramatic change of "camera position". A shot taken from overhead fills the bill. We've all seen those overhead shots from the Goodyear blimp taken during a professional football game.  But, to see them taken at a wedding or Bar Mitzvah is quite the treat.

So how can we capture those kinds of images at a party.  Let me show you my very easy "Pole-Cam" technique that produces images that are both fun to take and excitingly different to view. 

As a bonus with today’s lesson, I’m throwing in a bit of multi-lighting reception coverage too. Enjoy!

I think you'll get a kick out of this week's "High Flying Party Photography" tutorial.

Hit the PLAY button below and enjoy the show.

________________________________________________________

Hey gang, that's it for me today.  It's back to real work for me these next several days.  Have a great one and I'll see you tomorrow for another episode of PhotoFAVS Wednesday: "In Camera Noise Reduction."

See ya' then,  David

p.s. Because of the late post today, look for tomorrow’s post to hit tomorrow afternoon about 3:00 P.M. EST.  -David

Read More...