The photography thread

[TESLAMotors]

Beginners learning strobe lights that is, often when you buy a beginner's light kit, you always get umbrellas to start of with. Umbrellas are also cheap for the fact they don't produce the best light. Softboxes and octoboxes are the best and give more pleasing light than umbrellas. Umbrellas the light just spills all over the place, not giving you control or creative freedom at least for the look I want. I like shooting with window light, more challenging and more creative. Umbrellas just don't give that pleasing light. The back side of of Chloee Rose and this one below shot with nothing but window light.

Yes and so they also make cheap sets with softboxes, www.alienbees.com many pros buy from them, Profoto, Chimera boxes, etc, may be expensive but that doesn't mean necessarily that alienbees is absolute garbage either.
In fact, many well known photographers don't even use elaborate setups -> JoeyL look him up. He has a pretty good grasp of lighting, but his photoshop skills are phenomenal.
This is the day and age of take a picture, put it on the computer and edit the fuck out of it, hurr hurr, I'm a "photographer". It's one of the reasons why a friend who was in the business with his father and brother for years, eventually downsized their business to the point he took a new career path because the market was so insanely saturated with "photographers" buying digital cameras and lowballing the shit out of him, his brother and father.

Most seem to do it to try and get close to the girls. Then call themselves "pros" lol Here's a thread. http://www.modelmayhem.com/forums/post/344092

Anyone can do be a photographer now, as long as they have a camera and a computer.


Nice to see you agree with me on available light (window) light. You have to know how to use the tools effectively, if you can't handle an umbrella, you can't handle the other stuff.

Right GWCs?

 

[|2 /-\ | /|/]

....

Anyone can do be a photographer now, as long as they have a camera and a computer.

I don't think so, even though many make money doing it.

There are many different categories of people into photography now days...its not fair to lump everyone together.

A lot of people just like taking photos and looking at photos without bragging about it. Time will tell. I have been doing since 2008 and still into it and my interest just grows.

I learned everything I know from YouTube and internet. I think with the passage if time, I continue to grow and appreciate photography....I consider my type a hobbyist and am not interested in doing work for anyone anymore, but I enjoy taking photos that make me happy.

I don't consider myself a photographer...

 

[TESLAMotors]

|2\, I'll clarify. Many call themselves " (pro) photographers" when really, they're just Guys With Cameras GWCs wanting to get close to women.
You can do it as well, but clearly you have other interests in subject matter and appreciate the art form. So you're not in that group of GWCS. lol

Others just have a hidden agenda with their dicks. lol

 

[|2 /-\ | /|/]

|2\, I'll clarify. Many call themselves " (pro) photographers" when really, they're just Guys With Cameras GWCs wanting to get close to women.
You can do it as well, but clearly you have other interests in subject matter and appreciate the art form. So you're not in that group of GWCS. lol

Others just have a hidden agenda with their dicks. lol

True this...hope the ladies are smart enough to figure them out and play them for suckas they are...

 

[glamphotographer]

So you guys know a bit about me, I am not a pro-photographer, I was a semi-pro at best, when I was heavily active shooting I made a few bucks here and there and got some published work. I could have turned pro but my current job pays me more and is more secure. For many pro photographers it has been a struggle to make a living with so many photographers out there willing to work for less. Also much of the work is by word of mouth and references. The money is in wedding photography even then wedding photographers don't make as much as they use to. I did 3 gigs as an assistant wedding photographer that would pay me $500 for the day. Unfortunately I can't post those photos as the copyrights belong to my boss, the wedding photographer who hired me.

 

[SexyFriendsTO]

So guy know about me, I am not a pro-photographer, I could have turned pro but my current job probably pays me more. For many pro photographers it has been a struggle to make a living with so many photographers out there willing to work for less. Also much of the work is by word of mouth and references. The money is in wedding photography even then wedding photographers don't make as much as they use to.

Digital photography killed many pro photographers. Blame the technology

 

[glamphotographer]

Here is another shot of Addison using only window light.

 

[glamphotographer]

Digital photography killed many pro photographers. Blame the technology

Was bound to happen. Digital photography killed Kodak.

 

[Master Baiter]

My sigma is the old 30mm f1.4, although definitely not as sharp. What do you use for your ultra wide. I use the tokina 11-16 f2.8 for this.
What do you guys reccomend the best vale for 70-200 f2.8. I just can't justify the price of the Canon L.

For ultra wide, I've got a Canon 15mm fisheye. I don't use it a whole lot. For wide, I also have a Canon 16-35-f2.8L (not the newer one), the older 24-70-f2.8L. Gotta have my f2.8 or faster.

If you want a sharp 70-200mm range lens, look for an older used Canon 80-200mm f2.8L lens. It's not a USM lens but it's plenty sharp for around $500. The Sigma 70-200mm f2.8 EX DG ain't a bad option either.

Was bound to happen. Digital photography killed Kodak.

I think Kodak killed Kodak. I don't think Kodak believed that film would lose out to digital and they never bothered to keep up with the trend. BUT Kodak's CEO thinks that the new Star Wars flick which was shot on Kodak film will revive them in the film industry at least.

So you guys know a bit about me, I am not a pro-photographer, I was a semi-pro at best, when I was heavily active shooting I made a few bucks here and there and got some published work. I could have turned pro but my current job pays me more and is more secure. For many pro photographers it has been a struggle to make a living with so many photographers out there willing to work for less. Also much of the work is by word of mouth and references. The money is in wedding photography even then wedding photographers don't make as much as they use to. I did 3 gigs as an assistant wedding photographer that would pay me $500 for the day. Unfortunately I can't post those photos as the copyrights belong to my boss, the wedding photographer who hired me.

Ha! Tell me about it! The last year I did weddings, I had a few couples to go through my shooting partner and my portfolios etc. When it came down to price, they all wanted to low-ball, "Oh, I have a friend who is a semi-pro who says he will only charge us $700. Can you match that?" or "XYZ photographer is $300 cheaper than you. Can you do better?" Uhmmm, no... Bye. It started becoming a regular occurrence and my buddy and I just said fuck it.

I'll tell ya, I had a love/hate relationship with paid weddings and event gigs. We made some nice $$ and allowed us to keep upgrading or buying new camera gear but the hours working post production sucked ass esp. when working a full-time day job.

 

[TESLAMotors]

Here is another shot of Addison using only window light.

Meh.
Throw a half naked chick by a window, shoot a million pics, chimp through them, keep shooting until you get one you like. Go home, throw on a computer, edit, filters, clone stamp, soften, levels, curves... done.
Instagram modeling and photography. lol


To me, real glam photographers with talent are these two out of a plethora of photographers.
ONYX from Florida has amazing talent for lighting, and more so editing and his knack for framing the subject perfectly.
http://www.modelmayhem.com/portfolio/58112/viewall

This guy is a real amazing glam photographer Jarmo from Miami. I don't know him personally, but my photographer friend still does, I'm assuming so, we haven't talked in years.
http://www.modelmayhem.com/portfolio/286536/viewall


Then you have people equipped with nothing more than cell phones and no modifiers or lighting gear...............
https://www.flickr.com/photos/flickr/galleries/72157644100931123/

 

[TESLAMotors]

For ultra wide, I've got a Canon 15mm fisheye. I don't use it a whole lot. For wide, I also have a Canon 16-35-f2.8L (not the newer one), the older 24-70-f2.8L. Gotta have my f2.8 or faster.

If you want a sharp 70-200mm range lens, look for an older used Canon 80-200mm f2.8L lens. It's not a USM lens but it's plenty sharp for around $500. The Sigma 70-200mm f2.8 EX DG ain't a bad option either.



I think Kodak killed Kodak. I don't think Kodak believed that film would lose out to digital and they never bothered to keep up with the trend. BUT Kodak's CEO thinks that the new Star Wars flick which was shot on Kodak film will revive them in the film industry at least.

I agree 100%. I suspect that Kodak thought they had the market, boy were they wrong.
But there's something to be said about shooting movies on film. There's definitely something about film, it's so saturated, you can't beat it with anything digital and no amount of photoshopping and post processing and we're almost 20 years into digital.
I'm grateful to have experienced and learned lighting shooting with slide film. (Velvia for me, Kodakchrome was a close second)

Shooting slides "positives" as opposed to negatives, just blow away anything digital as long as the exposure is nailed dead on since there wasn't a lot of room for exposure error, half to full stop.

But Jeff Clarke might be right and I remember JJ Abrams saying the same about film, that's when I really respected him a lot more. He hits it right on the head with the word "organic" in regards to film quality.

https://www.cinema5d.com/jj-abrams-shoots-star-wars-episode-vii-35mm-film/

“I’m actually a huge fan of digital as well. I appreciate how that technology opens the doors for filmmakers who never had access to that level of quality before. However, I do think film itself sets the standard for quality. You can talk about range, light, sensitive, resolution — there’s something about film that is undeniably beautiful, undeniably organic and natural and real.

I would argue film sets the standard and once it’s no longer available, the ability to shoot the benchmark goes away. Suddenly you’re left with what is, in many cases, perfectly good but not necessarily the best, the warmest, the most rich and detailed images.” -JJ Abrams talking to the WSJ.

 

[Master Baiter]

I loved shooting slides. There's something about having 36 shots in your roll and trying to make each one count! Then you race home after having your slides come back from processing and lay 'em all out on the light table and let the magic unfold. Those were the good old days. I used to carry a bag full of different filters to get certain effects with the film I was working with. Today it's done in PS. Though I still carry a few essential filter in the bag.

I loved shooting Velvia and Provia. Velvia just made everything POP right out of the slides when you flicked on the light table and the grain was amazing. I was a Fuji film boy back in the day. I once shot a couple rolls of Fuji 100/1000 pushed to ISO 1000 during a dive trip, shooting manta rays in Tobago. When I got back to Canada and sent them in for processing, I told the idiots to manually expose these at 1000. The idiot monkey just let the processing machine pick up the DX codes at 100 and ruined my rolls. I was not a happy camper!

Heck, I still have some new rolls sitting in a tupperware container in my freezer for the last 20yrs! I should dig out my old Canon EOS 1V and defrost some Velvia and see if they're still good.

Thanks for the walk down memory lane, Tesla! lol

 

[TESLAMotors]

I loved shooting slides. There's something about having 36 shots in your roll and trying to make each one count! Then you race home after having your slides come back from processing and lay 'em all out on the light table and let the magic unfold. Those were the good old days. I used to carry a bag full of different filters to get certain effects with the film I was working with. Today it's done in PS. Though I still carry a few essential filter in the bag.

I loved shooting Velvia and Provia. Velvia just made everything POP right out of the slides when you flicked on the light table and the grain was amazing. I was a Fuji film boy back in the day. I once shot a couple rolls of Fuji 100/1000 pushed to ISO 1000 during a dive trip, shooting manta rays in Tobago. When I got back to Canada and sent them in for processing, I told the idiots to manually expose these at 1000. The idiot monkey just let the processing machine pick up the DX codes at 100 and ruined my rolls. I was not a happy camper!

Heck, I still have some new rolls sitting in a tupperware container in my freezer for the last 20yrs! I should dig out my old Canon EOS 1V and defrost some Velvia and see if they're still good.

Thanks for the walk down memory lane, Tesla! lol

Each one count is right. lol I didn't have a light table, lucky SOB. I still have my loupe somewhere. I got it when I just got into photography back in '98 after HS. Gotta find it, some no name cheapy.
Provia was great too, I can't believe I forgot that one. Now I'm in the process of looking for a way to scan all my slides at the highest resolution possible, but, most consumer grade scanners scan at DPI lower than I'd like. Any suggestions/ideas?

So when they messed up your slides, how exactly did you handle yourself in the store? I would have honestly blown up. One place on Queen St. (near Bathurst) messed up my negs and they have what, FIVE STOP exposure error? The fuck? I lost my cool and the manager tried to reimburse with a ton of film, I think $300 worth in credit. I was pissed regardless because I lost the shots.

lol I have a finished rolled of Kodak negs and I have no clue what's in them, still in the fridge. But the freezer thing may work, just be very careful with thawing them (duhh, I know). Do it and let me know how it turned out.

 

[ZenSouljah]

What body are you using?

Paired to a Canon 6D currently.

 

[ZenSouljah]

Thanks to our old deputy mayor and most valuable tweeter, Norm Kelly, this shot of the ex I did blew up on twitter! Shot from the new hotel going in on the grounds, provided a new angle to take in the Ex!

 

[ZenSouljah]

I don't do a ton of this stuff, but must admit it's fun to shoot All natural light

 

[Master Baiter]

Thanks to our old deputy mayor and most valuable tweeter, Norm Kelly, this shot of the ex I did blew up on twitter! Shot from the new hotel going in on the grounds, provided a new angle to take in the Ex!

That's a pretty cool shot! Nicely done.

 

[Master Baiter]

Each one count is right. lol I didn't have a light table, lucky SOB. I still have my loupe somewhere. I got it when I just got into photography back in '98 after HS. Gotta find it, some no name cheapy.
Provia was great too, I can't believe I forgot that one. Now I'm in the process of looking for a way to scan all my slides at the highest resolution possible, but, most consumer grade scanners scan at DPI lower than I'd like. Any suggestions/ideas?

So when they messed up your slides, how exactly did you handle yourself in the store? I would have honestly blown up. One place on Queen St. (near Bathurst) messed up my negs and they have what, FIVE STOP exposure error? The fuck? I lost my cool and the manager tried to reimburse with a ton of film, I think $300 worth in credit. I was pissed regardless because I lost the shots.

lol I have a finished rolled of Kodak negs and I have no clue what's in them, still in the fridge. But the freezer thing may work, just be very careful with thawing them (duhh, I know). Do it and let me know how it turned out.

Oh man, I started to lose my shit and the clerk had to get the manager. The pics were for my friend's dad's resort brochures/posters and also for the Tourism Board. I've taken film to be processed by them in the past and they've always done a good job. I bitched that I'd lost a week's worth of work, airfare money, hotel accommodations and time for once in a lifetime pics and had absolutely nothing to show for it and to make any money from my clients. All I ended up getting was a $500. in-store credit. WTF! I've never gone back into that store ever since... a couple years later, they closed down.

You're a Kodak guy, ever used E100VS slide film? Loved that one too when I needed an extra stop over Velvia. Then Fuji release Velvia 100 so i went back to Velvia. lol

Yeah, I'll have to defrost 'em slowly with a fresh desiccant pack in the Tupperware.

I used to drop my slides by ALT Camera back in the day to drum scan to CDs. Then I ended up buying a Nikon Coolscan 2000. Meh, it was good enough for me at the time. I could do a 30"x20" posters and it would come out pretty good. You can get a used Nikon Coolscan 5000 (4Kx4K DPI) for around $700. or an Coolscan 8000 for around $1500.-2000. if you shoot 120.

 

[Mr. Lucky]

 

[glamphotographer]

Meh.
Throw a half naked chick by a window, shoot a million pics, chimp through them, keep shooting until you get one you like. Go home, throw on a computer, edit, filters, clone stamp, soften, levels, curves... done.
Instagram modeling and photography. lol


To me, real glam photographers with talent are these two out of a plethora of photographers.
ONYX from Florida has amazing talent for lighting, and more so editing and his knack for framing the subject perfectly.
http://www.modelmayhem.com/portfolio/58112/viewall

This guy is a real amazing glam photographer Jarmo from Miami. I don't know him personally, but my photographer friend still does, I'm assuming so, we haven't talked in years.
http://www.modelmayhem.com/portfolio/286536/viewall


Then you have people equipped with nothing more than cell phones and no modifiers or lighting gear...............
https://www.flickr.com/photos/flickr/galleries/72157644100931123/

I don't spray and pray. I don't snap, snap and snap 1,000 shots. In fact I don't use anything larger than 4gb memory card. I take my time to pose the model, compose and make the shot. Onyx lighting is good and not hard to achieve. I consider him not the same level as Jarmo though. Jarmo has shoot Playboy centerfolds and is legend in the glamour photography world.