Capture One

I bitched about an article on Petapixel about women’s photo grants, and PETA banned me from the comments. And I’m a woman 😀 I guess when I said I would never hire another female assistant ever they didn’t like that. In the photographic field, I found years ago you just need to put gender aside. Just be a person. And dont expect anything special just because you’re female. And to me, that includes women only contests and grants. Can you imagine the uproar there would be if there was a Men Only contest or grant?

Walmart Photo, zazzle, cafe press, others. If you want the physical merchandise to display at a fair, you’ll need to pay for the stuff upfront just as if you were buying for yourself. I believe all of the services have discounts for multiples. For things like calendars, small books from local print shops, large quantities can be discounted, but usually only when you are talking quantities like 2500 or 5000. Because once they get the press set up for a run, which means their initial labor cost is covered, it’s just materials after that. Legal issues? If the photo is your legally owned copyright, you sell what you want.

Choose your area of expertise then start with a portfolio of your very best work. Target your market and start networking. Make sure everyone you meet knows what you do and gets a business card.

I like Tamron lenses. I have a Nikon f mount 28-75 2.8 that I’ll never give up. It’s the only reason I have kept a couple of my old F mount bodies around. I also have an x mount (Fujifilm) 17-70 that I just love. Great color and contrast on that lens. I had an 18-250 Tamron for f mount but I was downsizing and passed it down to a friend. Such a great travel lens and very compact. I am going to investigate that 18-300.

Digging their own hole — Yep, you got it there.

Couple of questions — Do you always format cards In Camera? Also, do you Chimp? That is, deleting images In Camera on the fly.

Always format in camera, dont do deletions via computer. And don’t Chimp. Just about everyone I know that has had card complaints chimps like crazy. Just leave the trash on the card. They will be gone when you format. If you are shooting so much the card fills up, get more cards. Also don’t shoot to the brink, meaning don’t use cards till they’re nearly full. Give the data some breathing room.

I recently retired from product shooting, and memory had gotten so cheap for the smaller cards that we used a freshly tested card for each shoot. Part of our backup plan. We just charged the small archiving fee back to the client. Also, the comments here about dual slots should be considered for the future.

Yes on the rubber lens hood. Butt it right up against the glass, and because the lens hood is flexible, you can even angle the camera a very tiny bit if you need to. I use a flash on very low power handheld on a TTL cord. Wait for the fish to come to you, don’t chase. Autofocus may or may not work, all depends.

Wow I hope you didn’t pay a lot for the class. Still, a valuable learning experience. Learn about light, and learn to LOVE the light. Shoot what you love and eventually a style and a flavor will emerge. If you’re very lucky, you can monetize it. Photography is a journey. There is no instant success. As far as gear, the camera matters, and yet it doesn’t. Any DSLR or mirrorless made after about 2015 is going to do just fine. Sure the newest Nikon Z cams or Canon Rs are going to produce some stunning files especially with matched lenses, but your viewer is not going to know the difference between a flagship camera and an off the shelf APS C cam from the Best Buy. Choose lenses based on subject. Get advice from various sources. Lights, reflectors, et al — if you’re going to use them, have balls enough to justify each item used. Some haven’t a clue I’m afraid. Be curious, ask the right questions, and Good Luck 😀

Mini blinds are not an option? I have them on sliding doors here and they help with privacy in addition to your needed function. Otherwise, you need a course in lighting along with suitable strobes. Ambient is easily killed if you know what you’re doing.

Ditch it. It will happen again. Even if you have a shooting session where one file corrupts, DL what you can and bin the card.