Mounting Studio Lights to a T-Bar Ceiling

Alien Bees B800 on Ceiling Scissor Clamp

When we moved into our studio we knew we were dealing with a space that had lower ceilings than we would have wished for.  The ceiling was one of those suspended t-bar kind of things.  We could have removed that ceiling and gained an extra 14 inches of space, but the original ceiling was a real mess and we didn't want to spend the money, at least for now.  So we found some Scissor Clamps online and ordered them.  Originally we thought we would just use them for speedlights, worried about the weight on the ceiling but eventually we worked up the nerve to hang our alien bees studio lights on them.  Large light modifiers won't fit that close to the ceiling, but reflectors and umbrellas do.  As a bonus the light is off the floor, no lightstand so no tripping hazard.  We keep a small step ladder around to adjust it.  

Wire to strengthen your ceiling supports

To combat our concern for the safety of hanging lights above peoples heads and not wanting to break our lights we went to our local home improvement store and bought some t-bar support wire.  Then we went into the ceiling and added wire where needed and bolted it into the original ceiling to make sure the areas where we were going to hang lights were safe and secure.  

This isn't a perfect solution as you can't use those big softboxes up that close to the ceiling, but it does work well and has been a lifesaver for us in a small studio space.  Not having three or four lightstands is a big plus for a clumsy photographer too!  The exact clamps we ordered can be found at Midwest Photo Exchange here.  We put some tape on the clamp to ensure it stayed shut.  Not sure if it was necessary as we haven't had any problems with them opening but we did it anyway.

Fuji X100

So the guys at the Camera Store in Calgary did a video preview of the super sexy X100 Fuji camera.  I hope Olympus and Panasonic are watching because this is what their next small micro four thirds camera should look like.  It was a nice video review, I didn't know the Camera Store did those so it is worth a watch if you are interested in this camera as much as I am.  I didn't know about the super high sync speed.  That is something I feel may force me to buy that camera.

I'm still very busy lately getting the most out of my time with that 14-35 f2.0 Zuiko lens with at least one shoot a day from until Wednesday so I really haven't had time to blog as much as I'd like, but once I get some time to breath, look for a flurry of posts!  Thanks for dropping by.

On our way home.

On our way home.
Originally uploaded by Simon S Remark

I love this photo, posted in our Flickr Group. I have no idea what camera was used or what the exif data was but I suspect a cell phone camera. I love the dark silhouettes of the people, the grain, the square crop the vignette and the dark mood of the snowy night. The photo was taken by Simon S. Remark and his photo stream on Flickr can be found here.

Amazon.com is Now Shipping To Canada

I've learned that Amazon.com is now shipping to Canada.  They often have great deals on camera gear which is great so now we have an alternative to B&H which forces us Canadians to use UPS (I really don't like UPS) and can price shop there for the best deals.  I'm not sure why Amazon just doesn't stock their camera equipment through Amazon.ca, but I guess it doesn't matter.  You can find out more here.

Are You a Better Photographer Than Your Camera?

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, it has been a very busy time for me.  I'll be trying to get out my review of the Olympus 14-35 f2.0 lens shortly and also a closer look at the Panasonic GF1 and 20mm f1.7 pancake lens.  It's snowing hard here today resulting in my afternoon shoot being canceled so I thought I'd blog a little about a little online quarrel I had with a photographer recently.

I had this interesting debate with another pro photographer on a forum last week.  The subject was about Sony cameras and whether a professional photographer could use Sony for their work.  There seems to be no debate that certain pro's could (commercial, portrait) but as far as weddings go or other jobs where high ISO ability  is desirable the debate was somewhat heated.  The pro I was debating with felt that his work was made better by the ability to shoot at ISO 12500 and produce excellent results.  He felt that a choice of Sony as a primary camera for a wedding photographer was a negligent or poor choice. I believe he was a Nikon guy.  I rallied back with the opinion that while having the ability to shoot at high ISO's is great, it has made for some really lazy photographers today.  When I'm using my 5DmkII there are times when I've used ISO 6400, but rarely.  I try my best to keep it at ISO 3200 or lower to get the best possible files for my client.  I have no problems with using whatever light is available to me to get the shot, whether that is a flash, natural light or a studio strobe or video light.  The other pro rallied back that using artificial lights was distracting and intrusive and didn't allow for natural moments.

There is a good point there, and the use of natural light, or understanding of it can be a powerful tool.  I'm just reading between the lines here with statements that suggest that photographers must always keep purchasing the newest, most whiz bang equipment to do a suitable job.

Can you shoot a wedding with a Sony A900?  Yes (many do).  Can you do a professional job and deliver your clients a great product without being negligent by having (what he thinks is) substandard gear?  Yes.

Frankly, I am getting kind of tired of the endless pursuit of the best and brightest equipment as a crutch for the excuse that "I'm not as good of a photographer as (insert famous name) because he/she has a Nikon/Canon so and so camera and lens." Higher ISO's, more megapixels, whatever, they might  make our jobs easier but they don't make us better photographers or artists.  The work done by photography icons years ago were shot with film, and crappy dslr's and far surpass the quality of the work done by most professionals nowadays.  Any venture over to Flickr will show that there are some young talented photographers getting amazing results from point and shoots.

I'm as much of a gear nut as the next guy.  If you've  read this blog before you know that I can obsess about lenses and cameras beyond what is reasonable, but I draw the line at letting my equipment define me as a photographer.  I get offended by the people that are so brand loyal  or hung up on owning the newest camera that they look down their long noses at photographers using 'old,' 'outdated,' or 'inferior' equipment.  Give Marco Grob a point and shoot and most of the rest of us a D3x and he'll kick most of our artistic butts all day every day (in no way has Marco endorsed my opinion or have I even met him, I'm just using him as an example of someone that could probably kick by arse with a point and shoot).  So while I've been shunned and looked at as loony by some of the folks in my professional photographer forum, I stand by my right to be dumbstruck by those that proclaim that anything short of the newest, best equipment is a offense to professionalism.  You are a better photographer than your camera, or at least you'd better be unless you have very deep pockets.  The only people that should disagree are camera manufacturers.

Roller Derby & Thom Speaks Olympus Doom

Olympus E3 with 14-35 f2.0 lens ISO 100 f9, 1/100 of a second

Well I used the E3 again yesterday for a series of studio shots of a roller derby team.  Yes I'm still loving the lens and the shoot itself was tons of fun.  You can't beat 15 roller skaters and a referee all in crazy getups and skates piling into your studio.  Plus I learned something....don't ever call them rollerbladers.  They don't like that!  I got a pass because I had the camera and they needed me alive.

One of the skaters brought her daughter along that is in high school.  She wants to be a photographer as a career and asked my advice.  I simply told her to buy any camera with manual controls, no matter how cheap and take photos every day.  I also loaned her a good beginners photography book and offered for her to tag along with an upcoming shoot.  The hair stylist we often have in the studio was one of the skaters so I thought she could tag along the next time she comes in.  It's very cool to see someone with an eye on the photography profession so young.  Her enthusiasm was awesome and it had me jazzed.  I even gave her the E3 to take the group shot above after we were outside and all done.  I couldn't resist the attention of all the fun skater ladies!

Ever wonder what I do with myself when I'm alone in the studio?  I get bored and distracted sometimes and fall victim to my low attention span.  I was about to do that video in the previous post about the Lumopro LP160 and thought I should refresh my memory about how well it worked, or didn't work.  So I took some photos of myself using the timer on the E3.  Yes, it is true, I am a nerd and one day I will burn out my retina.

Thom Hogan is creating a stir again on the 4/3 rumour forum where he is predicting Olympus will either have to:

• fix their financial woes (maybe sell more cameras and stop dropping formats like I suck back coffee in the morning)
• Sell the imaging division of Olympus and stick with Medical equipment which is profitable (maybe sell to Panasonic)
• Close the imaging division all together.

I doubt Olympus will close, but I can't really disagree with Thom on his statements.  They are just one of those loveable little photo companies (hey I like them) that has always struggled with a direction.  Pentax was like that for a while, but with the Kx, Kr and K5 seem to have found their way.  Sony is overtaking Nikon is sales and Canon gets more and more boring every day at the top of the pile.  Possibly Olympus' new CEO will bring direction and vision to the brand.  We can only hope.

LumoPro LP160 Video Review

Click on the Picture to start the Video

I wanted to play with the Panasonic GF1 video.  Yes I could have reviewed the flash in text but I thought it would be a nice video review of the quality of the GF1 Black and White Dynamic video.  Put together quickly in iMovie and using only the on board microphone of the camera.

The Zuiko does the RCMP Appreciation Ball

f7.1 ISO 100 1/200 of a second with the Zuiko 14-35 f2.0 lens and Olympus E3

So we were hired last night to photograph the annual charity RCMP appreciation night for the local Crisis Society.  They gave us a tiny 10 by 10 foot photo booth surrounded by draperies.  We didn't want to photograph on the black drapes as a backdrop as it was a formal event and there would be a lot of black suits so I put up a grey cloth backdrop (wouldn't clash with anything anyone was wearing). I wanted to keep the lighting simple with one studio strobe through a large umbrella.  I like using the large umbrella for this kind of thing because it is a brutally non-directional light, yet soft.  It simply throws light everywhere which lets me be sloppy about it when I'm photographing groups in a hurry.  The strategy with people that wear glasses is to put them on the side where the light is (the light was on the left) so that we don't get reflections and I don't have to chimp to make sure.  We put a piece of hockey tape on the floor so people know where to stand and the whole thing runs well and fast.

I used the Olympus E3 and Zuiko 14-35 f2.0 lens last night.  Shot in jpg the whole time with a flash white balance.  I find the Alien Bees strobes are normally about a 5050 Kelvin rating for white balance, but if you are in a hurry you can just set your camera to flash WB which is 5500 and everyone looks pleasant with slightly warmer skin tones than absolutely correct.  Those red jackets of the officers really popped and the Olympus did a great job of nailing almost every shot.  I did between 5 and 15 shots of each grouping of people depending on how big the lineup was.  We then took the CF card out of the camera and gave it to Adam who was sitting at the laptop burning them to CD to give to the people.  It worked well except for the one time I forgot to put a card back in the E3 and it wrote to the XD card that I forgot was even in there (I rarely use it).  If there isn't a CF card in the camera, it automatically switches to the XD card if there is one so I didn't get a 'no card' error.  We hadn't brought an XD card reader so I now have to deliver a CD of images to the RCMP station this morning to make up for my mistake.  Oh well, there has to be one goof a night right?  I left the XD card out of the camera the rest of the night.

E3 with 14-35 f2.0 lens. ISO 100, f7.1 1/200 of a second

The E3 with the four thirds sensor is perfect for this photo booth type of thing.  The jpg files are nice and small (just under 5mb) and the colours are nice.  Plus for those people you photograph that wish to print later to the most common enlargements (5x7, 8x10, 11x14) the sensor area is really close to that already so not much print cropping will occur.  When I use a 2:3 sensor crop like in my 5D I always have to be aware to keep room on the sides of an image for cropping later.   This is one of those instances as well when the large depth of field of the crop sensor is actually a good thing.  When I'm using the full frame 5D in a studio situation I'm often cranking up the lights to get to about f11 or at least f9 so I can make sure to get everyone in focus in a group photo.  With the crop sensor Olympus I can somewhat relax at f5.6 and at f7.1 I'm golden.  I can just focus on the person dead centre and not sweat that everyone's pretty face will be tack sharp.  That means I can run my strobe at a lower power, it recycles faster and doesn't blind everyone with every pop making it a somewhat less traumatic experience for my subject.  The shallow depth of field of a full frame sensor is a wonderful tool and advantage most of the time, but everything is a trade off in photography and in this instance the crop, especially with the right lens, is the perfect studio tool.  Having said all that, you do need room to stand back in your studio as the magnification of the crop sensor means you can't stand as close to your subject, so a tight studio space is a place where you will need a full frame unless you want to photograph everyone with a wide angle lens.

I did bring my 5D mk II last night though as well as Adam's 7D.  That 5D is a miracle camera in some ways the Olympus just will never be.  I walked out to the main area and took photos of the pipe band and tables at ISO 3200 and 4000 with no flash and nailed some really usable images.  Plus it focuses accurately in the dark, though not nearly as fast as the 7D.  I grabbed Adam's 7D for some shots as well, and I have to say that thing can grab focus so fast you wonder if it even worked.  It really is amazing.

I'm off to photograph a roller derby team today which should be a nice change of pace.  I have never photographed anyone in roller skates before.  Has to be a first time for everything.  I'll be using the E3 and 14-35 lens again, still trying to get a lot of use out of it.  If I think of it I'll set the GF1 up on a tripod and video some of the shoot.

I'm Feeling the Love for the 14-35 f2.0 Zuiko

Olympus E3 with 14-35 f2.0 lens.  23mm, f4.5, 1/250 second at ISO 100.  Lit with Alien Bees Monolight pretty much on axis to the lens with a beauty dish.  Processed in Lightroom 3, CS5 and with plugins from Nik (Colour Effex) and On One (Phototools)

I need to find a way to keep this lens.  Tonight I'll be using it for the more menial task of shooting photo booth portraits at the annual RCMP charity ball that we've been hired to cover.  I'll be shooting jpg and burning CD's on site for the guests.  I've pretty much put my Canon 5D away for a while so I can get as much enjoyment out of this lens as I can before it has to go back to Lens Lenders.  Plus I'm still playing with that new Panasonic GF1 so my attention is necessarily divided.  Now if I could just find a way to own the Olympus Zuiko 14-35 f2.0 lens I wouldn't be feeling all this pressure!

The little Panasonic has been proving to be a lot of fun as well though, yes I still miss the viewfinder.  There is something about a great lens that is the ultimate equalizer for a camera.  That 20mm f1.7 pancake is a dream.  Lovely lovely lens.  Look for some samples to come from it a lot over the next while.  I actually own that one so I'm not in such a huge rush.  I do plan on doing some video reviews of gear though using the GF1 and that lens over the next week or so.

I woke up this morning early just itching to go process some images I've been taking lately.  I love that feeling when you wake up eager and driven to work on your 'job.'  It is a sign of love that I haven't had in most of my earlier professions in life.  That literal feeling of wanting to jump out of bed and go to work just as fast as you can.

Processed in the wonderful Nik Software Silver Effex Plugin

Thanks for dropping by, and if you like the blog please share it on Facebook or one of those other social media sites using the links at the bottom of each post.  The series in this post was shot in our studio.  It was a wonderful session with two people that were totally willing to engage with me in the process to make images for them.  For the most part I used one light the whole time and the Olympus E3 with that one beautiful lens.  I'll be sure to post up some samples from the RCMP ball, plus tomorrow we'll be photographing a Roller Derby team which is going to be pretty unique I think.  Have a wonderful weekend.

Our Newest Dedicated Advertisor

So DigitalRev approached me about advertising on this blog.  I was pretty excited about it because they actually sell camera stuff.  You know, like um.... cameras.  :)

If you like this blog and are in the market for something, consider clicking on the banner ad on the top of the blog and then ordering your equipment.  Of course I fully expect you to price check for the best price.  If you do order from them I get a small percentage and my promise to you is that I will spend every dime irresponsibly on camera equipment that I can then talk about here on this blog.

By the way, if you live in Canada and are looking for the best prices for camera equipment, check out this link for Photo Price.  We are all in this expensive hobby/profession together so we might as well save a few dollars when we can.

Still Testing

This is the bookshelf in my office at the studio.  I love photography books nearly as much as I love cameras.  20mm, f1.7 ISO 160 1/30 of a second

So I'm continuing to play with the Panasonic GF1 and 20mm f1.7 lens.  I sat in my studio today taking random photos.  They are jpg directly from the camera, no edits at all.  A quick word about handling the camera.  I'm really not digging losing a viewfinder.  I think that if you are used to a viewfinder this would be a difficult transition for you.  Younger people that have grown up with LCD displays wouldn't mind so much, but for me I can quickly see that the camera needs the external electronic viewfinder.  The camera is a bit square for my taste but has little grips built into the front and on the back where your thumb goes so it feels OK.  The weight is nice (very light) and the lens is super light and small making it very desirable in my mind.  There is no balance issue with the camera, in fact taking the lens off or putting it on is barely noticeable in terms of weight or feel.  The focusing of the camera is surprisingly snappy in good light.  I'm not crazy about the buttons on the back which are small and have a clicky feel to them.  The little thumb wheel is kind poor feeling as well, but it works very well.  There is a flash, which I could care less about, but it is there if that is your thing.  The LCD screen is big and bright and lovely.

ISO 160, f1.7, 1/125 of a second 20mm

f1.7, 20mm 1/200 second at ISO 160.  The camera had troubles with the backlighting of the window which is pretty normal.  It is on multi-segment metering, but a least there is detail everywhere for the important bits.  Had I shot RAW I wouldn't have been concerned at all.

Panasonic GF1

Click on this Photo to be taken to the Video Sample of the GF1

As I mentioned in my last post, I bought the Panasonic GF1 on clearance today with the 20mm f1.7 lens.  It's weird not having a viewfinder, but I like the camera for having a good solid point and shoot feel to it (like a Canon G11) and I really like the lens.  Thought I'd post a couple of images I took at ISO 1600.  Brought into Lightroom and exported out.  More to follow as I get used to the camera.  Also have some video I took with the camera today.  I was surprised how good the on-board microphone was.  Much better than on my 5D mk II.  The video is downgraded somewhat as I didn't feel like waiting for an HD video to upload....sorry!

I broke our fridge door on Christmas Eve 2009.  It was wiggly and I tried to fix it, but ended up breaking it.  I'm not mechanically inclined.  So in the end I had to just take a big ugly screw and reattach it.  My wife wasn't particularly amused.

Maybe I'm not picky about noise, but this grain doesn't bother me in the least bit.  

Spider Shoot

Click on this photo to be taken the the Time Lapse Video of the Photo session

So as promised I wanted to share a shoot I did a couple of weeks ago with a model that wanted several different looks including one with a big giant spider on her shoulder.  It was her pet spider.  And yes, I'm afraid of big giant spiders.  I've already shown some of the images in previous posts but you can look at the time lapse video above for a glimpse at the whole shoot.

On the shoot I used a 5D mk II with the 50mm f1.4 and 85mm f1.8 lens both of which have become my favourite lenses, even more so than the wonderful 24-70 f2.8 which I'm using less and less.  You can see the lighting I used in the video.   I started with a simple beauty dish in front and two lights on the back for the high key look.  I then moved to a soft box and strip light for the guitar photos with the aim of throwing the light sideways over the model to create texture and shadows and a more interesting image.  I ended the session with an unlit white backdrop which turned it grey and a large Octabank out front.

I also used my Olympus OM-4T film camera with the 50mm f1.8 Zuiko lens during the spider shoot.  It was a lot of fun and for once every image off the roll was a keeper.  I used consumer grade Kodak ISO 400 colour film.  It had nice grain, but I wasn't blown away by the colour so I'm in the hunt for a colour film that I like.  I scanned the negatives myself with my Epson flatbed film scanner.

Olympus OM-4T with Kodak ISO 400 Colour film and Zuiko 50mm f1.8 lens

I purchased the Panasonic GF-1 today with the really small and light 20mm f1.7 pancake lens.  It was on clearance for $650 which was just too tempting to resist.  I know the GF-2 is out but I like discounted cameras and it was only a matter of time before I jumped on one of these micro-four thirds cameras.  I've also been using the Olympus 14-35 f2.0 a lot recently on my E3.  It is a really fantastic lens and one I wish I owned.  I'm working on some images now that I shot last weekend with the lens so look for them soon.

Thanks for dropping by the blog.

Olympus 14-35 f2.0

Well Lens Lenders sent me the Olympus 14-35mm f2.0 lens again.  I rented it for a full month this time and today I'll be putting it through its paces on an all day shoot.  I've used this lens once before and was really happy with it, but only had it for a week.  I wanted to play with it again and see if it was just a really good week or if it was all my imagination.  I've only taken two shots with it so far, both really boring ones, but both at high ISO with the Olympus E3.  No noise reduction and processed in iPhoto of all things.  Essentially imported and exported.

Taken with Olympus E3 and 14-35 f2.0 lens.  1/50 second f2.0 ISO 1250 at 35mm

So look for some shots from this lens over the next month as I give it a good thorough test.

Olympus E3 with 14-35mm f2.0 lens.  f2.0 at 35mm 1/25 second ISO 1250.  Imported and exported through iPhoto

I found a blog recently written by a model that I think photographers will learn a lot from and get some perspective from the other end of the camera.  You can find Rowen Bellamy's blog here.

(obscured 1)

(obscured 1)
Originally uploaded by vQm()

Well I had a really hard time choosing an image this week to blog about. There were three recent ones in the pool that I very much loved. I ended up choosing 'obscured 1' though because it intrigued me.

I have no idea what that hand is coming out of. At first glance I thought it was the back of a chair, but the spacing is too close. The light, unconcerned grip it has on whatever it is though suggests it is placed there lazily, without any sort of real purpose or need. There is one other shot in the series so far as I can tell, though I prefer the one in this post. The darkness of the image with the stark contrast of the hand is just perfect and the placement of the hand at the top of the frame makes it feel like it is holding the image down.

The image was taken with an Olympus E3 at f3.5, 1/30 of a second, ISO 100 and 54mm. Not sure of the lens. Processed in Lightroom 3.3 and Photoshop CS5. The photographer "About vQm()" is from Melenara (Telde) and his photostream on Flickr can be found here.

If you have an image you want featured on the blog add it to our Flickr group and it just might appear here next!

E5 Reviewed in Dpreview

So the E5 was reviewed on Dpreview and it was interesting.  The whole review read like a swan song to four thirds.  The E5 being the last gasp of a good, interesting but ultimately uncompetitive line of cameras.  The Reactions from four thirds forums on the internet have been less than warm and friendly.  I haven't handled an E5 yet but I do have opinions none-the-less of course.  The camera isn't going to be a 7D, D300 or K5 killer.  It was, clearly to me a last horrah for us four thirds users, and a pretty nice one.  I'm sure I'll buy one if the price drops, though I have to admit to being tempted by the K5 maybe mostly because it seems awesome and I've always wanted to try some of their limited prime lenses.  Frankly I've seen some great images from the original E1, I've made some images I love very much with my E3 and I know the E5 is the best of the bunch.  Getting past gear reviews and just being artists and photographers is something we all have to work a bit harder on don't we?

 Taken with 5D mk II and 85mm f1.8 lens, yes that's a real spider, yes  it freaked me out.

In the meantime I have the Olympus 14-35 f2.0 lens to play with for a month.  The friendly postal fellow dropped it off today.  It was slightly embarrassing when he said "what you getting now?"  He delivers a lot of prints, canvases, and photography gear to my house and seems to have figured out what I do for a living.  We got to talking and he was saying he missed Polaroid cameras that gave an instant print.  I made his day when I told him that Polaroid is releasing a digital version of that camera any time now.  I figure if he leaves happy I'm more likely to get my stuff.

Shot with Olympus OM-4t and 50mm f1.8 lens on Kodak colour ISO 400 film

 

A quick little update on the 'free shoot' we did with the dress shop.  Turns out they wanted a more smiley look and might not use the photos.  We had a high key shot featuring a more serious expression from the model like you might find in a fashion magazine.  My response, we'd be happy to shoot your way....for a fee.  But we do want to have a great relationship with you and help your business.  This also relates well to another of my posts.  The dress shop had an employee attend the shoot, but didn't give any prior expectations or direction.  I'll update the saga and whether the promotion works as it develops.  

Dress Shop Photos

So here is an example of shooting for free or for trade that might work out for the working photographer.  We did some Bridal photos for a really great woman that works at a local dress shop last year.  She loved us and we loved her so in the interest of working together again we came up with the idea what we would do some promo shots for her dress shop (see the time lapse of the shoot in the video at the top of this post, done with my W90 Pentax point and shoot and thrown together in iMovie) in exchange for some advertising.  We will be printing rack cards out with our logo and their logo on them with a promotion for photography.  The dress shop will give out the cards to each customer as well as distribute them to High School Grads that they hope to sell grad dresses too.  They get some free photography they might not have been able to budget for and we get some advertising access to a market we have been wanting to break into.

All of the images in this post were taken with the Canon 5D mk II and either the 50mm f1.4 lens (the full lengths) or the 85mm f1.8 lens (three quarter and head shots)

Our makeup was done by a local makeup artist for a kit fee, rather than her full fee (basically covers the cost of her materials).  We give the makeup artist images for her portfolio.  We opted out of bringing in a hair stylist this time, but the model was paid with free images.  She is a local high school senior we have shot with before and is a wonderful ambassador for our work.

I think photographers and other creative professionals have to sometimes make decisions about opportunities that are presented to them about 'trading work for rewards.'  For us, we are still growing our business and getting our community aware of our brand.  Our hope is that our name becomes the default brand for weddings, events and portraits in our community.  We want to be a desirable brand, a fun brand and known as a creative brand  that is unlike the other options in our community.  

So today a well known local resort contacted us about doing some promotional photos for them for weddings.  We were thrilled about it and have a great relationship with the co-ordinator there.  You'd be amazed how many photographers promise to share photos with resorts and venues but never deliver on those promises.  Being friendly with other vendors is very high on my priority list.  I help them whenever I can at the cost of my time, and they pay it back in the same manner as an ambassador for our work.  One of the biggest things you can do for your business is simply to play nice in the big sandbox with other businesses out there in your community and deliver on the promises you make.

So the resort is going to have us out for a half day shooting food and the rooms they use.  We may bring models and of course we bring ourselves and give them our time.  They don't seem to have a budget for us but in trade they will give us a preferred vendor listings, good faith and other goodies that help cement that relationship.  Can we do this for every resort out there?  Nope, there would be no time, but for a few of them, you bet we can.  I believe photographers need to be stringent about charging for their time, their talent and place a value on themselves.  You'll get a lot of offers for something in trade for your efforts.  When you are new those offers that just say "it will help your portfolio" might seem tempting, but weigh out what you are really getting in return.  Free work should further your business, build relationships with people that will help you (of course you have to help them too) and help you grow stronger.

Anyway, I hope everyone is having a fantastic week.  My partner recently bought the new Canon 70-200 f2.8 OS lens.  Once he gets over the new car smell of it I hope to get it away from him so I can test it myself.  In the meantime I've rented the Olympus 14-35 f2.0 lens again from Lens Lenders for a whole month so I'll have plenty of time to play with it.  Look for some photos from that lens coming soon as we have lots of shoots on the schedule over the next month.  I'm excited to have the chance to have that lens once again, just wish I could pair it with the Olympus E5 which I still don't own as I try and get through my post Christmas spending bills like most other people!