The key to ANY photographic image is lighting. There are two possible indoor lighting solutions, studio strobe or continuous lighting.
For anyone on a budget and needing some decent studio strobe equipment, I'd suggest going with monolights, which are separate flash units that are slaved to "pop" when any other flash unit is fired. Look for a unit that can take different reflectors and that are easy to attach modifiers such as light boxes.
A good brand would be Alien Bees.
Followed by a higher level with Calumet's Genesis lights.
After that, a good old pack and head system like the Speedotron Brown Line is great!
Back in 1998 I had a brain fart and replaced all my Brown line stuff with some Novatron stuff. Although Novetron is good, it's not as flexible as a system that can take different reflectors and uses a bare tube head in softboxes.
For beginning photographers I do not recommend continuous lighting. These are typically tungsten or flourescent lighting units, they can get rather hot and really draw the power.
It's easier to get nice portrait lighting with mono-light strobes.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Photography Rates 101 - what I need from you for a Job Quote
Sometimes I encounter some confusion when I give a rate for a job request. I hope the following will help avoid confusion in the future.
But first, a joke to illustrate what a Professional Photographer is:
When you are hiring a professional photographer, you are paying for years of experience, knowledge of optics and lighting, and if the job involves models, the ability and expertise in directing models into poses that are required for the job.
What type of lighting is needed? What resolution is best for the final usage?
What type of make-up will the model need? Wardrobe (if any)?
Need a glass bottle photographed which shows off the glass texture and evenly lit without losing details? Will it need to look like a refreshing drink or is it OK for it turn out bland and non-appetizing? (Probably not, but you'd be amazed at how many photographers can't shoot a damned bottle to look cold and refreshing...)
You need a professional photographer!!
And yes, many are fairly expensive. Especially photographers who have a huge studio!!
A brother-in-law or friend with a new “Olympus” DSLR and kit lens is NOT a professional photographer.
Neither probably is the guy with a new camera who’s charging $50.00 for a headshot.
Professional photographers do not have to be licensed in Texas (or other states) like Plumbers or electricians, but it’d sure help if we did have to go through a licensing process. I think 30+ years as a photographer pretty much licenses me to be a pro.
Now, about my rates….
I have several rate “tiers”. The primary two top tiers are “Commercial” and “Personal”.
The Commercial photography I do is anything in the following:
I further divide my rates into two distinct areas: “Editorial” and “Advertising”. I consider magazine layouts, website layouts and website only shoots to be “Editorial”, the rest is “Advertising”.
I typically charge less if I am hired for several days, or for a editorial layout which will act as promotional material for myself, versus a slick Ad shot where no one, not even the client, will know who shot the piece.
All my rates are quoted ONLY on request, and all quotes will try to include the following:
Even portrait photographers have this protection. On school portrait packages you now see an added fee for “copyright release”.
Often, I get people only telling me what they want photographed, and they usually do not tell me what the image will be used for in any way. I need this info to create a proper bid on the job, and to know how to shoot the object or person so it’ll look great in its final form.
If one is targeting off-set printing of a photograph, it’ll need a different profile and tweeking to look the same as it would on a PC screen, or on a traditional photographic print.
All the other fees are needed in making any project work out. You can’t expect a model to work for free and sign a release giving you the rights to publish his/her photo without being paid. No one works for free if anyone else is being paid.
With Personal Photography, I can comfortably quote rates online, giving a price for a shoot, because 99% of all headshots or portraits will be done in the same manner and are usually only for someone’s wall or social networking website.
I typically spend a lot less time preparing for such a shoot versus a editorial magazine shoot where I need 4 models, make-up and props. I typically spend 2 to 3 days in preproduction for a shoot for every day I bill the client.
In all cases, for all types of clients, I require a 50% deposit up front before I can lock the booking into my calendar. This is because in the past I have had far too many clients fail to arrive after I’ve set-up, traveled or hired assistants for a shoot.
Before asking for a quote, you will also need to tell me the budget for the project. Without this information, I can’t determine if the job is even worth me providing a quote. There are too many variables in this to provide a "Ball Park" figure if you don't even have a "Ball Park" budget. Hell, by telling me the projected photography budget, I can tell right away if I can do the job for that or not.
I'm easy to get along with, and I can negotiate for most any budget, but I do need to charge for any shoot. The more info you give me, the better on target my quote can be.
Thanks!
But first, a joke to illustrate what a Professional Photographer is:
There was an engineer who had an exceptional gift for fixing all things mechanical. After serving his company loyally for over 30 years, he happily retired. Several years later the company contacted him regarding a seemingly impossible problem they were having with one of their multi-million dollar machines. They had tried everything and everyone else to get the machine to work but to no avail.
In desperation, they called on the retired engineer who had solved so many of their problems in the past. The engineer reluctantly took the challenge. He spent a day studying the huge machine. Finally, at the end of the day, he marked a small "x" in chalk on a particular component of the machine and said, "This is where your problem is." The part was replaced and the machine worked perfectly again. The company received a bill for $50,000 from the engineer for his service. They demanded an itemized accounting of his charges.
The engineer responded briefly: One chalk mark $1; Knowing where to put it $49,999.
It was paid in full and the engineer retired again in peace.
When you are hiring a professional photographer, you are paying for years of experience, knowledge of optics and lighting, and if the job involves models, the ability and expertise in directing models into poses that are required for the job.
What type of lighting is needed? What resolution is best for the final usage?
What type of make-up will the model need? Wardrobe (if any)?
Need a glass bottle photographed which shows off the glass texture and evenly lit without losing details? Will it need to look like a refreshing drink or is it OK for it turn out bland and non-appetizing? (Probably not, but you'd be amazed at how many photographers can't shoot a damned bottle to look cold and refreshing...)
You need a professional photographer!!
And yes, many are fairly expensive. Especially photographers who have a huge studio!!
A brother-in-law or friend with a new “Olympus” DSLR and kit lens is NOT a professional photographer.
Neither probably is the guy with a new camera who’s charging $50.00 for a headshot.
Professional photographers do not have to be licensed in Texas (or other states) like Plumbers or electricians, but it’d sure help if we did have to go through a licensing process. I think 30+ years as a photographer pretty much licenses me to be a pro.
Now, about my rates….
I have several rate “tiers”. The primary two top tiers are “Commercial” and “Personal”.
The Commercial photography I do is anything in the following:
- Product Photography
- Executive Portrait Photography, staff and board of directors
- Company newsletter and prospectus photography
- Advertising, Editorial and Marketing Photography
- Conferences /Trade Shows and Event Photography
- Glamour magazine layouts, calendars, posters.
I further divide my rates into two distinct areas: “Editorial” and “Advertising”. I consider magazine layouts, website layouts and website only shoots to be “Editorial”, the rest is “Advertising”.
I typically charge less if I am hired for several days, or for a editorial layout which will act as promotional material for myself, versus a slick Ad shot where no one, not even the client, will know who shot the piece.
All my rates are quoted ONLY on request, and all quotes will try to include the following:
- Usage rights
- Modeling fees
- Assistant Fee
- Hair/Make-up fees
- Film/Processing or Digital Capture fees
- Other expenses.
Even portrait photographers have this protection. On school portrait packages you now see an added fee for “copyright release”.
Often, I get people only telling me what they want photographed, and they usually do not tell me what the image will be used for in any way. I need this info to create a proper bid on the job, and to know how to shoot the object or person so it’ll look great in its final form.
If one is targeting off-set printing of a photograph, it’ll need a different profile and tweeking to look the same as it would on a PC screen, or on a traditional photographic print.
All the other fees are needed in making any project work out. You can’t expect a model to work for free and sign a release giving you the rights to publish his/her photo without being paid. No one works for free if anyone else is being paid.
With Personal Photography, I can comfortably quote rates online, giving a price for a shoot, because 99% of all headshots or portraits will be done in the same manner and are usually only for someone’s wall or social networking website.
I typically spend a lot less time preparing for such a shoot versus a editorial magazine shoot where I need 4 models, make-up and props. I typically spend 2 to 3 days in preproduction for a shoot for every day I bill the client.
In all cases, for all types of clients, I require a 50% deposit up front before I can lock the booking into my calendar. This is because in the past I have had far too many clients fail to arrive after I’ve set-up, traveled or hired assistants for a shoot.
Before asking for a quote, you will also need to tell me the budget for the project. Without this information, I can’t determine if the job is even worth me providing a quote. There are too many variables in this to provide a "Ball Park" figure if you don't even have a "Ball Park" budget. Hell, by telling me the projected photography budget, I can tell right away if I can do the job for that or not.
I'm easy to get along with, and I can negotiate for most any budget, but I do need to charge for any shoot. The more info you give me, the better on target my quote can be.
Thanks!
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
New Features...
After considerable research and comparing sites, I have decided to use two sites to launch a sideline of offering my art images as prints for you to purchase.
My prints page here...
And I have reopened a site to offer hand-made prints of my nude photography - found here...
The hand made prints are priced up there - I value my work and thus I expect collectors to appreciate my hard work and pay accordingly. Some nudes are available at the Giclée printing sites I"m on, but not the really erotic stuff. Only at Eros Texas.
Check it out!
My prints page here...
And I have reopened a site to offer hand-made prints of my nude photography - found here...
The hand made prints are priced up there - I value my work and thus I expect collectors to appreciate my hard work and pay accordingly. Some nudes are available at the Giclée printing sites I"m on, but not the really erotic stuff. Only at Eros Texas.
Check it out!
Monday, August 31, 2009
50 today.
Today is my 50th birthday.
On a day like this, one tends to reflect upon the past. What has happened to me in the past 50 years? A lot. 10 years ago I was one of the stars of online photography.
Now people ask “Who is that guy?”
Well, that’s gonna change!
But what else after living 50 years?
We’ve went from barely getting a man into orbit to landing a man on the moon, then suddenly barely able to get a man into orbit again. Thus I’ve learned that no matter how big of an achievement a country can pull off, it can always be reversed by politicians who can’t see past the next election or news cycle.
We went from having a B&W TV set and only one or two TV channels with nothing to watch, to ultra sharp wide-screen TVs with 5 to 1 Dolby sound and over 1500 high definition TV channels… and still nothing to watch. But it’s in HD!!
Went from listening to music by placing a 12” black vinyl record on a record set, the mechanical clunking it’d make then the scratchy music would come out of small plastic speakers.… to CDs and not-quite-as-good-as-vinyl sound but no scratches and pops… to small devices which can carry thousands of CDs, download music from anywhere… all the way back to 12” black vinyl records because they simply sound better.
Computers took up whole FLOORS in buildings. Apollo had the computing power of a digital calculator. Now everyone has one, often two, computers which more processing power than all of the Pentagon in 1959. In 2009 almost every computer int he world is connected. We went from 300 baud modems and dial-up bulletin boards to uncountable websites. We also went from acquaintances and friends being people you actually knew and saw in person to people you think of as best friends being folks you've never actually met in person.
We've come from landline telephones with rotary dials to completely wireless devices. You got to hate people with lots of 9s or 0s in the phone number, it’d take forever to dial the number. The telephones were wired into place and everyone could overhear you talking. Now I don’t have a wired in phone at all, can take the thing anywhere. But after 50 years I’ve learned the damned phone will still “ring” when you’re busy. But the phone also has no right to be answered anyway.
Twinkies haven’t’ changed one bit.
Models haven’t changed one bit – they’re all still young, beautiful and damned flaky. But now if I don’t hear from a model before meeting her, I know she’ll probably not be at the meeting, and the further I have to drive to the meeting, the greater the chances the model won’t show up. Radio silence means the model is a flake.
After 50 years, my opinion that family & friends takes priority over any job or career still stands. Jobs come and go, family and friends can’t be replaced.
On a day like this, one tends to reflect upon the past. What has happened to me in the past 50 years? A lot. 10 years ago I was one of the stars of online photography.
Now people ask “Who is that guy?”
Well, that’s gonna change!
But what else after living 50 years?
We’ve went from barely getting a man into orbit to landing a man on the moon, then suddenly barely able to get a man into orbit again. Thus I’ve learned that no matter how big of an achievement a country can pull off, it can always be reversed by politicians who can’t see past the next election or news cycle.
We went from having a B&W TV set and only one or two TV channels with nothing to watch, to ultra sharp wide-screen TVs with 5 to 1 Dolby sound and over 1500 high definition TV channels… and still nothing to watch. But it’s in HD!!
Went from listening to music by placing a 12” black vinyl record on a record set, the mechanical clunking it’d make then the scratchy music would come out of small plastic speakers.… to CDs and not-quite-as-good-as-vinyl sound but no scratches and pops… to small devices which can carry thousands of CDs, download music from anywhere… all the way back to 12” black vinyl records because they simply sound better.
Computers took up whole FLOORS in buildings. Apollo had the computing power of a digital calculator. Now everyone has one, often two, computers which more processing power than all of the Pentagon in 1959. In 2009 almost every computer int he world is connected. We went from 300 baud modems and dial-up bulletin boards to uncountable websites. We also went from acquaintances and friends being people you actually knew and saw in person to people you think of as best friends being folks you've never actually met in person.
We've come from landline telephones with rotary dials to completely wireless devices. You got to hate people with lots of 9s or 0s in the phone number, it’d take forever to dial the number. The telephones were wired into place and everyone could overhear you talking. Now I don’t have a wired in phone at all, can take the thing anywhere. But after 50 years I’ve learned the damned phone will still “ring” when you’re busy. But the phone also has no right to be answered anyway.
Twinkies haven’t’ changed one bit.
Models haven’t changed one bit – they’re all still young, beautiful and damned flaky. But now if I don’t hear from a model before meeting her, I know she’ll probably not be at the meeting, and the further I have to drive to the meeting, the greater the chances the model won’t show up. Radio silence means the model is a flake.
After 50 years, my opinion that family & friends takes priority over any job or career still stands. Jobs come and go, family and friends can’t be replaced.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Things picking up.....
About time... I am jumping into photography again with both feet, into untested waters and without a life jacket, and there is no life guard on duty.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
The olden days
I installed a new hard disk yesterday. 1.5 terabytes. Which got me to recalling my first hard disk install. Around 1985, it was a 20 meg MFM drive.
Folks have it easy today, but back then, you started the system. Booted from a floppy, then ran “debug”. The command was “g=c800:5” followed by “E” for execute. This placed the debug program to a point in the hard drive controller’s BIOS to run the initialization routine.
After that – it was fdisk, to make a partition, followed by making that partition active and system. Then it was format – all this took HOURS.
We’ve come along ass way.
Folks have it easy today, but back then, you started the system. Booted from a floppy, then ran “debug”. The command was “g=c800:5” followed by “E” for execute. This placed the debug program to a point in the hard drive controller’s BIOS to run the initialization routine.
After that – it was fdisk, to make a partition, followed by making that partition active and system. Then it was format – all this took HOURS.
We’ve come along ass way.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
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