*  TROUBLING ENCOUNTERS


 

* TROUBLING ENCOUNTERS

There will be lots more on this subject but briefly a few points. Just a short sample of what we will discuss and how fast you can get in trouble.

Just ask Captain Piccard, just when things were going well, he had a bit too much of that Romulan Wine and almost drove Federation Starship 1701 into an asteroid belt.

POINT:  The problem is with new guys is that they don't have a learning curve for disaster.

They are so hyped up with their newfound toys and minor successes they have nothing to fall back on.  When I learned to shoot weddings I went out with a pro for almost four months, actually four different guys to observe, grasp and observe something from each of them.  


THE SATIN DRESS SYNDROME —  ( INEXPERIENCE)

  • When I first started satin dresses were the hot item, the newer synthetics may be just as shiny but you will find out what moiré'  is.  There is a lot more to technique than your expensive automatic Nikon or Canon can do,  knowledge and technique is king. 

  • So, if you haven’t a clue as to what happens to bridal dresses with high Rayon or shiny Silk content or don’t know how to meter a Black Tuxedo, learn quickly. The Rayon will create a moiré' or specular pattern and a Black Tuxedo can throw the whole scene off if you let the pipper in the viewfinder land on it. 

  • Another difficulty is mixed marriages and skin tones, thats where a meter comes in handy.  White dress and Black Tuxedos fool cameras,  then skin tones add to it.   “ We call them when exposed wrong, Al Jolson shots”. A light meter is essential to determine the middle of the grey scale so both Bride and Groom get equal coverage if a mixed race wedding.

  • Know your gear, what’s that error message? Simply put you don’t have the time to drag out the book at a Wedding. No time outs in this game.  Is your gear suitable for the job at hand? That 50mm lens won’t work from the back of a 200 foot Catholic Church with dim lighting.  Neither will a 300 if it’s a F5.6, has no image stabilization, you forgot the tripod.  No FLASH allowed as is the case with most Catholic Churches.

  • Backups? Failures are not uncommon and there are things you can do to prevent double trouble. St. Murphy is the Patron Saint of all Photographers. He wrote many Laws. Like, if it can break, sooner or later IT WILL BREAK.

  • Too much confidence has ruined many a novice. Many, too many novices think they can make it on very limited equipment. A picture can be taken with almost any camera, lens and film. Wrong. Snapshots can be taken with any simple camera. 

  • Too often I hear or see in newsgroups “I’m shooting my first wedding in a week and what do I need”. I have a Blah-blah-blah! with a blah-blah blah and a four AA battery flash.  I love the guys in the newsgroups who encourage the newbie to self destruct and go for it, he’s already in doubt and some people love to see a guy crash.

  • Backups? Borrow or rent a spare camera if needed for redundancy. You’d hate to have to finish the Wedding with a disposable. All flashes are not equal. Few manufacturers units hit over a guide of 120 realistically. Many pros shoot with guides of 160-200-400 watt seconds. Rent a decent flash unit. Ever wonder why PRO’s spend as much on their lighting gear as they do on their cameras? 


THE BAD BOYS and HOW THE SHOOTER GOT EVEN — 

In merry old England, home of great Irish whiskey and warm beer, sometimes the dry sense of humor they are known for went really wet as in thunderstorm.  It seems when shooting the grooms gang shots they decided that because the photographer was a woman, the six groomsmen decided to do some really obscene pranks. 

The moon out that night was nothing compared to the full “Mooning” and full genital exposure in one shot. So good it made it to one of the forum websites on the web.   How did we ever live without the one of the bridal gals had an early cellphone or digital camera… and a semi-erection picture.

The gal photographer was mortified and embarrassed, she was not the poster, someone else, posted the occasion. In one of my more compassionate moments, after she wrote me as to what to do on my forum...I made her a suggestion.


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HOW TO HANDLE THE ERECTION SITUATION — 

  • Crop the shot to 8 x10.5 proportions for 1/2 inch border 
  • Open it up about 1/2 stop since Nikons expose slightly under about a 1/3 of a stop 
  • Make sure the hues and balance are correct. Enlarge the penile area to 200%
  • Create a new layer and using the lasso, take the bad boys member out of the shot 
  • Fill the same area with his pants color using the clone tool  — Blur 1% to meld 
  • Use the image size tool on the lasso’ed member and shrink it to 50%. — Lasso it
  • Place it in the appropriate position on the new layer and merge the layers
  • Adding a Tag Line in the border from “ Little John” to “ Little Dick”
  • Have a dozen 8.5x11’s made —  I understand it made all over town
  • Enclose a fake business card or copy of PhoneBook ad of a local Urologist 
  • Send the Bridal party, the whole Bridal Party the finished shots and send the groom a copy of this book available on AMAZON
  • Vengeance is sweet , so sayeth the Lord !
  • It really offset the prank and made the guy look like an idiot.  He’s the talk of the town now but not of anyone coming forth with “ Penile envy”.



TECH HINT:  IT’S THE QUALITY OF LIGHT THE EQUIPMENT PRODUCES  — 

 

 

LESS BRAINS MORE BRAVADO  —  THE BATTLE CRY OF THE SKATE BOARDER, THE EXTREME TRICK BIKE, MOTORCYCLE DAREDEVILS, THOSE WATER-BIKES, THE WAVE RUNNERS, and SKY DIVERS IS — 

  “I CAN” 

  • My wife before she passed worked for a policy writer personage  in a entertainment division of an insurance company that specialized in extreme events, carnivals, rides, parachute events, marine, motorcycle daredevils and other unorthodox occasions.  Disasters can be all too common.  All too many times we saw the results in pictures.  Kite flying behind a boat killed two in Tampa Bay a few years back, four or five in Florida. So far.

  • You see the newcomer hasn’t had a disaster yet to learn off of.  For some reason they will be persistent and think they can pull it off.  Cameras are notorious for shutters, failing, batteries coming apart; strobes failing or have runaway problems. Even the pro stuff. It’s happened to me several times and I am a nut about preparation.   Being an avid pilot and diver planning is my life.   I have been called Militarily a “ What if man”  called upon to scenario a different outcome.

  • The killer is usually a lack of experience and how to react when things go bad.   Stepping into an elaborate wedding is like a snow bunny tackling K2, the tricky professional level slope at Hunter Mountain.   Hey snow is snow,  and youth has no fear.   I know I got on the wrong lift and landed at the top and looked down.  Preservation evolved and I walked down a mile and a half to prevent my loss of life had I tried to ski it.  It was a difficult lift to retreat on.

  • For the new photographer learning about weddings read as much as you can, and it couldn’t be easier than going to the web.  Here are some sources for your browser. “  Wedding planning”, “ Wedding photographers”, “ Wedding groups”, Another source of Wedding consulting stems from the bloggers of mirth who habit the Newsgroups like alt.wedding on the news boards,  a must read is a collection of stories is at http://www.etiquettehell.com   Here are more clues to the minefield.


TRADITIONS, CUSTOMS, PAIN IN THE BUTT, A LITTLE SHEER LUNACY!

MANY TRADITIONS, CUSTOMS, AND OTHER ACTS —  appearing to be totally irrelevant (bordering stupidity)  to you are very important and critical for the impression the Bride wants to make on her day. This is a huge and emotional time with extensive preparation and tasking for anyone to bear. Bears are no problem; it’s the reptiles you have to look out for. More later — 

SO TO GET A FEEL FOR THIS APPARENT IDIOCY YOU —  will find humor at alt.wedding and similar ever changing locations. After reading it your Bride will seem normal. Those making daily appearance as experts at some of these sites are one step from the Looney Bin Hotel. Complete with tears and a few borderline major breakdowns. At times these groups are funnier than anything you will ever read. This one site is so hip you will need the secret decoder ring so you will know who they are talking about. 

MERVIN SAID WHEN INTERVIEWED  -  I see wedding photography as a service business? As I see it, there is very little market value for the photographs other than to the immediate family  as I am seeing more quality PS cameras at weddings which means many casual shots won't be sold.  

TRUTH OR FICTION — I agree in part, when you are a photojournalist you are shooting for the world,  and yes more attendees are there with digital cameras for themselves.  So what?   That could also mean the last guy didn't sell the relatives well, so they do things themselves. They wanted on the spot  shots they could take home immunizing the event.

THINK LIKE A WINNER - A-GAME - How to beat them!  A long lens,  put couple with the bride and groom in a 90 degree line. Move your strobes closer with optical flash triggers.  You shoot,  flip optical on,  and your strobes picking up the Paparazzi will blow their shots away.

B- GAME - Read the event shooters guide using an on the site Fuji printer and give the pro shots.    Markets change.  See it as an opportunity. There are more folks causing car accidents with their cell phones and more idiots forgetting to turn them off at the right times. A good professional photographer knows how to get this under control.  If you do not take control in the beginning, don't expect it to go your way after things are done. 

OH-OH, UNCLE FRED  —  Who is Uncle Fred?  He is an intimidation, a pain in the ass, and he gets in the way.   He’s the guy with the better grade of camera; the uncle of the Bride, or her nephew from the school paper.   In forty years I had one Uncle Fred and it was the worst day of my shooting life because it was a job I did for a family friend. In the end Fred made me money, for some reason his speed dial on his camera was set at 250 and Minoltas synch at 125. sec.    The story is later on. 

TRUTH OR FICTION  —  Fred’s not the culprit to your lagging business, you just think he is.  For years the Photographer was the leader at the Wedding, just read “Bridezilla”.  It explains the crucial change that takes place during the event.  Without a good coordinator the whole things falls apart and you take over.  A well explained well written contract gets Fred out of the picture.
The problem is inexperience. When you don’t know what’s coming, you’ll be as surprised as the rest of them. When you don’t recognize the impending signs, you’ll suffer.  When you book the Wedding and the Bride tells you her favorite TV show is “Bridezilla” and you don’t pass on the job, then you are an idiot.



HERE ARE LEGITIMATE MAJOR FACTORS THAT DID 

CONTRIBUTE OR HAVE CAUSED CHANGE IN THE INDUSTRY

  • DIGITAL - A revolution toward simplicity, perfect pictures from idiot boxes and well documented in the ads that promise they will make you Ansel Adams.
  • PHOTOJOURNALISM - A style so indifferent, anything to the untrained eye is called art and easily copied, passed off, and technically flawed. Owning Reeboks doth not make you a Kobe Bryant. Owning a D3 or Canon IDs whatever does not make you Monte Zucker.  (He passed on six years ago) 
  • POST PROCESSING - The ability to take the bad stuff and make good "Crayola" pictures for the Bride to revel over.
  • FILM'S DEATH - YOU can't erase film, now you have instant confirmation, no fear of failure, increased numbers, no limit shooting. Sort of a shotgun approach and you can win when the numbers , not the talent is on your side. We call it just shoot enough.  Rambo’s…
  • ACCESS - MORE people with non-cameras because there are more people with computers, tablets and cell phones.
  • COMPETITION - More and more are either looking for another source of income or have to find another source since they are zillions behind and up to their ears in debt. 
  • MIDDLE CLASS DIMINISHING - The entire structure of our western economy has changed and that affects the Wedding Industry. The middle class is diminishing.  The middle class is the bulk of the Wedding industry. If this keeps up there won’t be a middle class. Just the low cost Wedding at the local park and the extravaganzas by the rich.  
  • BRIDES AND FAMILY ARE GETTING FRUGAL, and wedding income is diminishing but they still have a few bucks left over for cameras and everybody has a cell phone. I think some Brides have taken a short view of the complexity of the business. "Oh it's just a camera!"  
  • LACK OF UNDERSTANDING - Again that believes the quality comes from the camera and not the shooter.  That drives wedding prices down. Simple, more people spending less on Weddings and spending more on essentials, and some just p!ss it away on toys and don't worry, their marriage won't last anyway.
  • If your COMPETITION is a newbie or an Uncle Harry, let's face it, the technology is incredible and it’s simple enough to get a decent image today. No formal training in the art and science of photography is needed, just point and shoot and attend a forum or two.
  • ON THE OTHER SIDE, STILL MANY NEW-BEE'S WILL GIVE UP AS SOON AS they find out how much work goes into a wedding besides pressing the shutter. All that post processing and making the album is a hell of a job which most 'amateurs' do not really like.  This is true and they get around it by making a batched or botched CD and charging less. But remember the software has gotten better too. It may be acceptable for some.
  • BUT IT'S WHEN THEY TRIP OVER YOU AT THE WEDDING or over-flash you, or get in the way of a sale that tends to get a few folks, including me, a little irate.  Or worse, you see we all have an innate fear of THEIR WORK...especially if their work makes yours look bad.  That’s the ultimate FEAR of failure, that fear is unfortunately inherent in all of us.  How I cringe when I see someone in a forum offer "Oh he pulled out a camera better than mine!   
  • WHAT CONFIDENCE IN ONES TALENT!  SOME one, anyone can have a lucky day. Few will ever admit to fear of the other guy since the ego-arrogant protection tends to flow rather easily here in forums and in front of our peers.  Fear mostly occurs when in front of the other shooter not the keyboard.
  • THE DIVORCE MARKET  —  "I noticed someone had mentioned divorces are good for the business. I listened to their plan for divorce parties. Sort of divorcees only, wear the last dress you used to seduce your husband with, and hire a good DJ. Yes Sir, lets get the party rolling!  Invite guys take pictures and celebrate."
  • THE REALITY IS MORE PEOPLE CAN GET RE-MARRIED  --   But, I don't see the divorces really helping the situation that a few think will, maybe the volume sustaining or holding it's own,  I see the angle for more weddings, but smaller, more intimate, and with the costs and the ECONOMY the way they are, perhaps less spent on pictures. The re-players are older, with kids and more responsibility and credit card rules are changing. 
  • SAME SEX MARRIAGES  —  An intense, soon to be very legal growing market possibility. The same sex marriages tend to be smaller and obviously more intimate unless you live in Hollywood.  Many may come out of the closet but many don't hang pictures in the company elevator either.   
  • THAT LIFESTYLE MAY JUST HAVE MORE DIGITAL ENTHUSIASTS THAN YOU MIGHT THINK --  So I wouldn't count on that revenue for your latest lens purchase,  on the other hand as it becomes more prevalent, look for a trend for more than just a civil affair. And Gay and Lesbians tend to have more friends than straights until a hairball causes a cat fight. 
  • SERVICE BUSINESS  —  Bottom Line; the old cliché  that 20% of those in sales make 80% of the money does really apply to this industry. You have the established big hitters and the rest scrambling in a business that affords you less than 52 opportunities per year for success.  So you have to commit to thinking of this as a business, park the negatives and look for opportunity at every corner.  
  • AS SAID BEFORE, IT'S ALL ABOUT LEVELS AND COMMITMENTS. We will have the top professional shooters with a studio and office, possibly doing portrait and commercial work. We will have a middle echelon of those who will be making it to maintain their comfort level. They also will be supplementing photo income or photo income might supplement their real job. And then we will have the random shooter, try it, seems easy, PRO is easy to spell and put on cards and my camera will do the work for me  for a while.
  • SIMPLY PUT, 52 FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS WEDDINGS IS 25,000 DOLLARS A YEAR GROSS  —  And “that’s if you are lucky or cheap enough to be booked 52 times a year”. That’s a big if. For many it’s 10 to 15. That’s how many friends and freebies they can do.  It's the lack of work and low revenues that drive many out of the business. A small yellow pages ad can cost $200 a month, multiple listings and so forth. Studio, Insurance, Rent, go add it up. Hobbies always appeal to us. I think it's everyone's dream to make their play their passion, their provider.


04/10/2022