Business Day Thursday: Should You Keep The Deposit Money?

Good Afternoon Everybody,

Last night we tried something very different.  We held a special GoToMeeting session for the 6 photographers attending my Sedona Experience - Private Seminar a couple of weeks ago.  It was great.  We were all on-line having a great time, reminiscing, laughing, and reviewing the images we all made during that very special seminar.

The cool thing about our meeting, even though we were connected via the Internet, was still s intimate a get together as one could expect.  It was like we were all in the same room back in Sedona. Our get-together lasted about three hours and the time just flew by. 

Our plan for future private workshops is to schedule the follow up meeting just like we had last night.  It will give all those attending a chance to ask additional questions and/or provide clarification after returning back to each individual home and an opportunity to get back together with friends made during the workshop.  I think the idea brings added richness to the entire private workshop experience.

Our next private workshop is being planned right now for the fall.  The name - The "Napa Experience".  If interested, drop me a line or call Jennifer at 859.341.5900 and we will be sure to follow up with you when we set dates.

Business Day Thursday:  Should You Keep The Deposit Money?

I recently received an email from DWF - The Digital Wedding Forum.  The headline asked the same question I have in today's BDT post. I didn't get a chance to read their article, but it did bring up memories of how we've done things over the years at David A. Ziser Photography.

So, a client books you for their wedding date.  You collect a sizable deposit - we collect approximately 25% of the total booking amount.  The agreement is completed and both parties sign the document.  Each receives a copy of the contract.  That's how it's worked for wedding photographers for years.

So now the big question, if the wedding cancels do you keep the deposit?  Nearly all wedding vendors do.  They claim that they had reserved that date and if a client cancels the wedding, there's no way to easily rebook it.  Keeping the deposit is a consolation prize at best for the lost revenue.

How do you feel about that?  Some of you may suggest partial refund if the date is canceled far enough in advance, say 6 months before the original date of the event.  In that 6 months you may think you have a decent chance of rebooking the date.  That may be more true today than in years past since brides and grooms are booking later than ever before.  Then again, many of you may say, "No refund at all - Period!"

We’ve had our policy in place for years and have never had any complaints from clients who needed to cancel a wedding for whatever unexpected reason.  Our policy has always been to never return a deposit - except in very extenuating circumstances, BUT....

BUT.... I personally never want to take anyone's money without performing some kind of service in return.  So how do we handle the matter in that rare instance when it occurs?  The responsibility for making the call to the client wanting to cancel has always fallen on my shoulders. 

The first thing I want my client to know is the fact that they are very lucky to have booked with us in spite of the wedding cancellation.  They know very well that they lost all the deposits with just about all the other wedding vendors and are not expecting a different result from us.  But  a nice surprise awaits them as they definitely receive a different result from my studio. 

I simply let the client know that we won't be returning the deposit, but their deposit converts into a studio credit that they can use anyway they chose to use it.  For example; they could use it toward a family portrait session and/or wall portraits.  We could just keep the credit on file and if the wedding plans change, we could apply it towards those new plans.

DAZNOTE: Years ago I booked a wedding as a referral from a good client.  About six months later, I get a all that the wedding was cancelled.  I explained our policy and the bride was relieved to know she wasn't going to lose the deposit.  It was in safe keeping as adiposity at the studio.

A year later she calls again, tells me she's getting married to another guy and wants to know if we have the date available.  We did and we booked the second wedding date for her.  Six months later, you guessed it, the second wedding was called off too.  The bride called slightly embarrassed to tell me the news, but felt fine when I assured her that her deposit was still on the books to use in anyway she chose to use it down the road.

You would think that was the end of the story - it's not.  About 8-10 months later she calls again - yes, she had secured fiancé #3 - and inquired about date availability again.  We had the third date open and booked the third wedding date for the same bride.  Heck, it was no additional cost to her we just applied her studio credit as the deposit on the third wedding.

The good news is that I did shoot the wedding and as they left the Greater Cincinnati area and I unfortunately lost contact with them my desire is that everybody lived happily ever after - at least I hope so ;~)

The point is this.  We still got the business because of our relaxed policy on returned deposits.  I must tell you, our refund policy has worked like a charm for all these years.  It keeps the clients loyal to us.  Being told your not going to get your money back in a emotionally charged situation simply can't sit well with your prospective client.  If it was you, would you go back to the vendor who you may feel had "stiffed" you to some extent - I think not.

Our refund policy allows a softening of the blow about the lost monies because they simply are not lost.  They are just put on hold.  The bottom line is that we have ALWAYS continued our relationship with our clients who find themselves in this kind of a situation.  They always come back since we are always able offer additional services that they can use.

And heck, occasionally we were even able to re-book the original date.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that you don't need a hard and fast policy on refunds.  It's helpful to you and your client if you relax the refund policy a bit.  The bottom line is that now you refund policy is in everyone's best interest.

- Thought you would like to know.

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Hey gang, that's it for me today.  I’m finally starting to see the top of my desk again and things are getting back to normal around the studio which is a nice relief.

Have a great rest of the day and I'll see you tomorrow, David

"With This Ring"

"With This Ring"
© David A. Ziser

This image has always been one of my favorites.  It was part of a series I did for the bride and groom just a few hours prior to their wedding. The bride and groom were really into photographs. That' is always great inspiration for me as a wedding photographer. It allowed me to have plenty of time for images at the house, the park, church, around town, etc. We got a great set of images for her wedding coverage.

When doing the series for the couple, I love getting in close and just framing on portions of their faces, hands, rings, etc. To me, this truly captures the feelings between the two of them. I use a long lens so as not to invade “their space” and just let them be themselves.  The long lens and tight crop really makes for a nice wedding image.

Lighting was just the natural light at the park.  When capturing these photographs, I like to overexpose at least 1/2 stop for that slightly higher key, pastel effect.

Camera specs; Nikon D1x fitted with 80-200 F2.8 lens at 170mm, F3.5 @ 1/320 second, ISO 500. Enjoy! -David

Hot Times In The Summer; The Top Wedding Book In Poland; & Rambo’s Tips For Living Life

Good Afternoon Everybody,

Hey gang, sorry about the late post today.  We are buried once again with a few too many projects going on at the same time. Didn’t I just say on Monday this was a light week….what happened? I’m keeping it short and sweet. Here are a few of today’s highlights.

PhotoPro Summer School Coming Up July 10-12, 2011

Lately I have been all consumed with our PhotoPro Summer School and Print Review [link] coming up July 10-12, 2011.  As the President we’re tying up the loose ends to what is shaping up to be the Summer bargain photographic event of the year! I hope you’ll join us.  Click on the image below for all the info.

Attention All Polish Wedding Photographers!

Yesterday I received an email from one of our DPT readers who told me that my Captured By The Light Book was recently reviewed by one of the top photo publications in Poland and he sent me a copy of the review. OK, that came as quite a surprise to me – I didn’t even realize my book was published in Poland. 

I checked my Google Analytics and discovered I have 557 folks over in Poland reading DigitalProTalk – THANK YOU you very much.  Now you can pick up my very popular CBTL booking in your native language.

Pssst… I don’t know what it goes for in Poland, but you can pick up a signed copy over at our Digital Resource Center for only $29.95 plus shipping – alas, it will be in my native tongue ;~)

Sly's Top 10 Tips for Life

Late the other night I was doing a little channel surfing and stumbled across the last 30 minutes of Sly Stalone’s Rambo: First Blood Part II.  I’ve always been a Sly/Rocky fan and hadn’t seen this movie in quite a while so I decided to stick around.  Hey, it’s a “guy” thing ;~)

As you may or may not know, Sylvester Stallone has established worldwide recognition as an actor, writer and director since he played the title role in his own screenplay of Rocky, which won the Academy Award in 1976 for Best Picture. And, he has continued to build on that early success for these many years.

If you remember his movie First Blood I, it was a typical action flick with Sly in most of the action.  What struck me about the second movie was how pumped up Sly had become.  Hey, I’m no body builder, but this time Sly had definitely been working out a lot more.

I’m a big fan of having an iPad close by when watching movies just so you can check out a fact or two about the movie you’re watching.  I did a quick search on Sly’s new body shape and eventually stumbled upon his top 10 tips for living life.  Ya’ know, I think they apply to anyone who wishes to be successful. Give them a read below.

Sly's Top 10 Tips for Life
1. If it's not broken, break it. That's how new discoveries are made. That's why everything that changes life is called a breakthrough.
2. Only choose a goal that - if you had to - you'd gladly pursue for free. In order to achieve success, you've got to follow your passion.
3. Enthusiasm is like a wonderful disease - keep spreading it until everyone's infected.
4. Study people's success stories hard. Study their failures even harder.
5. Being naive in business and in understanding human nature is a recipe for disaster.
6. Don't be afraid of embarrassment while pursuing your goal. It's all part of being committed.
7. If other people can steal your idea, they most likely will.
8. Don't discuss your dreams. Pursue them!
9. Every day - every few hours - see your vision materializing.
10. Believe it! Truly, it can be done and it will.

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Hey gang, that’s it for me today.  Check back tomorrow for another Business Day Thursday episode: “They Cancelled the Wedding – Should I Keep Their Deposit?”  Uhmmm…. what would you do?

See ya’ tomorrow,  -David

"Million Dollar Baby"

"Million Dollar Baby"
© David A. Ziser

Here is an image I made during my recent Sedona Workshop.  We had the opportunity to work in this beautiful villa.  Rooms were fabulously appointed and the decor was gorgeous.

We used natural light a lot in this location with the occasional exception of adding a little illumination in some instances.  This is one of those instances. 

This image was made in the villa’s master bedroom.  I loved how the light came streaming into the room creating long, strong diagonal patterns on the carpet. The very wide angle lens added to the dramatically enhancing the long lines.  I’m thinking, “How can I use those diagonals in my composition?” 

I have the subject backlit so I somehow had to get light on her face.  I could have used my strobe but I thought I’d get too much flash splashing into the scene. 

I decided to go with my Z-Ray, my Brinkmann flashlight.  Since I would have to shift the color balance to Tungsten for the correct color balance on the subject, I knew the light outdoors would take on a bluish cast.  A tweak or two in onOne’s new Perfect Photo Suite [link] added to the slightly surreal look to this portrait.  Even with the blue color shift and the moderate distortion of the wide angle lens, I like the finished result.

For myself, working an image like this is more a creative photographic and visual exercise – it’s just fun to explore the lines, shapes, colors, and composition of the scene. Sort of mental gymnastics for you brain ;~)

Camera specs:  Canon 7D fitted with Sigma 8-16mm lens at 8mm, F5.6 @ 1/125 second, ISO 1600.  Enjoy!  -David

Technique Tuesday: Supercharge Your Portable Speedlites; & Perfect Layers Simply Awesome!

Good Morning Everybody,

Welcome to another Technique Tuesday.  Before we get into today’s post, I want to tell you about one hot new product to hit the software shelves last Thursday.  Last week, our good friends at onOne Software offered to give my staff and myself a private showing of all of their software products, including their newly introduced Perfect Layers.

Perfect Layers – One Cool New Product!

Perfect Layers can be configured to run as a stand alone program or as a plug-in for Lightroom, Photoshop, and Apple’s Aperture.  I have to tell you – it is one way cool product!!  Layers in Lightroom – what a concept! Why hadn’t Adobe taken care of this a long time ago?

Here’s a bit of the back story.  Lightroom and Photoshop guru, Scott Kelby, got talking to the good folks at onOne Software and Scott raised the possibility of developing a plug-in for Lightroom that would do Layers.  The rest is history and after many weeks of beta testing, the product is finally shipping.

To see Perfect Layers in action is amazing!  You know what that means for us, don’t you – one less trip into Photoshop in our post production.

Back to our private training session with OnOne Software – the time went flying by and before long we had chewed up almost an hour checking out all the new features of the onOne Software Suite.  The staff and I were so enthused that we are planning another session for later this week.  I’ll keep you posted.

Because of the tremendous power of Perfect Layers, I’ll plan an upcoming Technique Tuesday that target’s it use specifically for the wedding/portrait photographer.  Wait till you see it – Perfect Layers will blow you away.  Hey, I don’t want to keep you hanging.  Why not checkout Matt Kloskowski’s  Perfect Layers primer right here.  Enjoy!

Supercharge Your Portable Speedlites

Have you ever been shooting with your flashes outdoors and wished they could put out a bit more power?  Heck, I shoot with a 150 w.s. Quantum and still wish for more power out of the Quantum.

Here is the deal – I’m outdoors shooting with, not my Quantum flash, but instead with my shoe mount speedlites.  Because they are smaller and more portable, I sometimes prefer shooting with them instead of my assistant carrying the larger strobes around.

When I make that choice to use the less powerful speedlites, I do give up a lot of flash fire power for my outdoor shooting.  Is there any way to boost the power when using my smaller speedlites?  The answer is a resounding YES!  Want to see how I can easily double the output of my shoe mount speedlites – Hit the PLAY button below and enjoy the show!

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Hey gang, that’s it for me today.  Hope you enjoyed today’s Technique Tuesday. I’ll plan to be back same time, same station tomorrow for another scintillating post from DPT.

Hope to see you then,  David

"Curves Galore"

"Curves Galore"
© David A. Ziser

Since I'm back to work editing my images from my Kelby Training shoot a few weeks ago, I thought I’d share a few of them with you this week.  This is one of my favorite images from those REALLY hot summer sessions a month ago. 

We were working in the 95 degrees temperatures of the blazing Tampa sun.  Wait, it was worse.  We were also working in a downtown urban park covered in concrete - the hot rays of the sun were being reflected in all directions.  You guessed it, this snowy white skinned Midwestern boy, without any thought of applying sunscreen before the shoot, picked up a pretty good sunburn ;~)

Anyway, we all toughed out the hot sun and got some great photographs.  This image was made in a small amphitheater near the water.  It was bright, white, and hot, Hot, HOT, but it sure offered some very cool (pun intended) compositional lines for our photograph today.

It’s the curves of the composition that lead and surround our beautiful model, Holly.  All lines lead to the subject.  By isolating on those curves, the location becomes non-descript offering only compositional elements as a background to this image.  It's hard to tell where this image was taken but that fact adds to the clean compositional nature of this image.

Lighting was from my strobe - camera left at full power - 150 w.s. - and was pretty close to the subject.  Shooting the subject without any direction of light would have compromised the image so much.  It desperately needed the additional dimensional lighting to make the image pop off the page.

Camera specs: Canon 7D fitted with 18-200mm lens at 50mm, F 11 @1/250 second, ISO 200. Enjoy!  -David

Quick Hit Monday: Friendly Faces; Inspiration: Jedi Knights; & Photoshop Freebies Galore!

Good Morning Everybody,

Hope everyone had a great weekend and particularly that all you fathers out there reading today had a Happy Father's Day.  We spent yesterday afternoon relaxing at the annual Goetta Festival [link] held in the MainStrasse Village of Covington, KY. We were in a world of funnel cakes, roasted corn on the cob, beans and rice, but mostly Goetta [link]. I know what your thinking.  What in the world is a Goetta?  Let me put it to you this way – Seattle has salmon, New Orleans has oysters, Maryland has crab cakes, NYC has pizza, but here in Cincinnati, Ohio we have Goetta [link] – a wonderful concoction of pork, pin oats, and spices, that is a hearty mainstay to any breakfast. 

Why at the festival you could find Goetta served up in just about any way possible – from Goetta Hanky Pankies, Goetta Pizza, Goetta Balls, Goetta Gumbalya, Goetta Chedda Cheese, Goetta Chili, Goetta Fried Rice and Goetta Burgers  Yep, it was one yummy Sunday afternoon ;~)

We wrapped a busy week just catching up after our travels and have a little easier go of things this week.  The slower schedule should let me get caught up on my editing for my new upcoming Kelby Training videos with a few other projects thrown in as well.  That said, why don't we get right to Quick Hit Monday.  Here we go...

You Just Never Know Who You're Going To Meet On The Road

On a fun side note, you just never who you're going to run into while traveling.  While enjoying our last day in Sedona 10 days ago, we were strolling through uptown Sedona and I noticed a young lady with a red striped lens, that would be the expensive L-Series Canon glass, on their camera.  I  engaged the photographer and took a stab at the focal length.  I was right.  Well, one thing leads to another and before long we were enjoying a nice conversation about photography.

Sonya, her husband, and two very cute kids had decided to fly out from Florida to visit Sedona for a few days.  Check out her website right here – it overflows with wonderfully carefree images of children and families. I love running into fellow photographers while on the road and striking up impromptu conversations.  So, if you ever spot me roaming around in your area of the country, come on up and say "HI".  I'm always happy to visit.

Card Reader For iPad - One More Time!

Yes, the saga continues.  First, Apple neuters all flashcard readers by lowering the power to the connection slot from 100ma to 10ma with an early iOS upgrade last year.  Then it was reported a few places on the web, including here at DPT, that M.I.C Store [link] was selling a card reader that would work on both iPad 1&2.  A few of our readers gave it a try and reported success.

I just received this note below that changes things just a bit again.  Here is what Gary Haley has to say in this latest go around:

"After reading your post [link], I went ahead and ordered myself one of these card readers from MIC. It came in today and I immediately pulled out my newest card and nothing happened! I then put in a variety of different cards which all seem to work. The one that is not recognized is a 16GB 600x card. All of my other cards are considerably slower. So I am summoning at this point that the MIC card reader does not recognize the newest UDMA standards. Just wanted to pass along this as an update for David's blog. I plan on formulating an e-mail to MIC about this also."

Thanks Gary for the update.  Why does Apple have to be such a "pain" sometimes;~(

Creativity - We Could All Use A Boost

OK, I've just come off a fairly quiet, reflective Father's Day and that tends to put me into ethereal state of deep thought.  Hence, these thought provoking, creative enhancing links for your reading pleasure.  Alright, that was a little "tongue in cheek" intro, but all kidding aside, I enjoyed reading these posts and I think there's a lot of good thought and excellent advice contained in them.  Please enjoy...

1. The Jedi Knight's Guide to Photography [link] – great read!
2. Influence of passion and creativity on personal productivity [link]
3. 5 Creative Exercises for Photographers [link]
4. Three Creative Mantras That Will Spark Your Creativity [link]
5. 10 Minutes Walk from Your Door: Weekly Photography Challenge [link]

Photographic Inspiration When You Need It

In years past here at DPT, I used to run a series on Friday's called Inspiration Friday.  I got a kick out of finding the links that inspired me and always enjoyed sharing them with DPT readers.  I felt today might be a good day to visit a few photographically inspiration sites.  Here are a few of my favorites I've found over the past week.  Hope they tickle your creative fancies, too.

1. What the Dutch Masters Can Teach Us About Photography: The Center of Interest [link] – great read!
2. iPhoneography: Where Photography, Art and Technology Truly Meet [link]
3. 35 Excellent Example of HDR Photography [link]
4. 35 Cool Snowscapes for Inspiration [link] – Gorgeous images!

Lots Of Photoshop Freebies This Week!

I’ve often mentioned it here at DPT, but this is still one of my favorite sections to put together for our Quick Hit Monday posts.  I'm still in awe by all the free stuff/information available on-line.  Sure, you have to dig for the gems, but when you can find those gems they can really be a nice resource for your creative workflow.  I've got a load of links for you today, so roll up your sleeves and dig right in

1. The Ultimate Collection Of Photoshop Actions To Spice Up Your Photos [link]
2. 750+ Free Photoshop Brushes to Download [link]
3. The Power of Photoshop’s Refine Edge Tool [link] – a MUST READ!
4. 10 Special Effects Photoshop Tutorial [link] – Fun!
5. 20 Outstanding Swirly Brush Sets for Photoshop [link]
6. 18 New Photoshop Tutorials to Get Inspired [link]
7. High Resolution Unique Stone Texture Pack [link]

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Hey gang, that's about it for me today.  You've got another treasure trove of great links to enjoy.  You just may want to save a few of them for an upcoming rainy day ;~)

Tomorrow I'll be coming at you with a brand new Technique Tuesday.  The topic: "Supercharging Your Speedlights For Maximum Power Output". I'll be sharing a few tips and tricks with you that we used during my Sedona Experience a few weeks ago.  You will be amazed by your new found Speedlights power!  I promise!

See ya’ then,  David

"Happily Ever After"

"Happily Ever After"
© David A. Ziser

Here is one of the last image I captured at the beautiful wedding I photographed in Phoenix a few weeks ago. Actually my clients are coming by tomorrow to review their images.  I love this image and always love the opportunity to take it when ever we have sparklers on hand for the photograph.

The challenge, as always, is to be sure to have your ISO sufficiently high so that the sparklers will record properly.  I was shooting a pretty high ISO for this image.

Lighting–wise I had a few options.  The first was to light them with both off camera flash coming in from camera left or right.  I opted out of that idea because the people in the background would have gone too dark.

Instead, I decided to backlight them having my assistant, LaDawn hide behind the couple as I fired her flash remotely.  The goal was to have the couple perfectly rimmed out with the light. 

Well, like they say, the best laid plans sometimes take a wrong turn.  The couple was moving so fast, LaDawn could not hold her hidden position behind them.  That resulted in me photographing the flash she was holding.  She is still well disguised by the bright flash – what to do?  How about I just disguise my blast of flash as smoke wafting through the scene from the sparklers?  That’s exactly what I needed to do in Photoshop.  Hey, all's well that ends well, and this image was a perfect end to a wonderful wedding!

Camera specs:  Canon 7D fitted with 18-200mm IS lens at 18mm, F5.6 @ 1/50 second, ISO 1600.  Enjoy!  -David

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Hey gang, I’m keeping it short and sweet today and leaving you with this image for the weekend.  I’m looking forward to seeing Bev and Jon this weekend and presenting their images to them.  It was a great wedding a few weeks ago and it will be fun to hear about their honeymoon adventure and to relive their special wedding day celebration.

Have a great weekend and I’ll see you on Monday, David

"A Perfect Evening"

"A Perfect Evening"
© David A. Ziser

Here is an image I made during the rehearsal dinner I photographed a few weeks ago in Phoenix, AZ.  The setting was simply perfect for the party – the warm breezes and gorgeous location made it a great experience for the guests and the photographer – me;~) 

The goal of this image was to capture that wonderful feeling of the evening.  I waited till the sun had completely set before taking the photograph. Photographing in those post twilight moments lets me capture the vibrant blue colors you see in the sky.  For me, it was the strong blue tonalities against the warm tonalities of the decor and fire in the foreground that makes the image come alive.

It was also important for me to photograph the full height of the trees you see in this image.  A closer crop or tighter framing would have compromised the image significantly.  My super wide Sigma lens did the trick.  The super wide view also grabs a lot more of the sky showing its gradation into deep blue at the top of the frame. That’s another reason I like these super wide optics.

The last challenge was the exposure.  It was pretty late into the evening and there was not a lot of light left to make the exposure.  That meant setting the camera to a much higher ISO than I usually shoot.  I wasn’t too worried though.  I knew Lightroom would save the day for me and it did. The image is a perfect scene setter for this perfect Spring Rehearsal Dinner evening.

Camera specs: Canon 7D fitted with super wide Sigma 8-16mm lens at 8mm, F4.5 @ 1/13 second, ISO 3200.  Enjoy!  -David

Business Day Thursday: Quit Wishing and Hoping and Start Trying and Doing - If You Want Success

Good Morning Everybody,

It’s a busy day at the studio today. We got rained out on my engagement session yesterday.  The weather was one of those all day drizzles that never stops long enough to let the grass dry.  We’re rescheduling for this weekend.

We also have another portrait shoot early this evening of two very prominent individuals in our community.  Both are writing a book and need promo images.  The reason I mention this is because I’m going all portable on the session today – multiple shoe mount flashes only.  I’m looking forward to the shoot. I’ll share an image or two with you next week.

The big news for today is this. Later this afternoon my entire team is sitting in on some custom training presented by our good friends at onOne Software.  I have been watching their demos at trade shows for years and have always been blown away by what onOne’s Software can do.  A quick note, they have just released their Perfect Layers software which looks amazing and looks to be a tremendous addition to our Lightroom workflow. Yes, it’s Layers in Lightroom and Aperture!  I can’t wait to give you the full lowdown after our training session today.

Spring Cleaning Deals Go Away This Weekend!

I had planned to wrap our Spring Cleaning Fire Sale today but my team encouraged me to let it run through the weekend.  Many you have already taken advantage of the super deals at our Digital Resource Center, but those who haven’t, you still have a few more days to save up to 75% on many store items.  Check it out one last time right here. Come Monday we’re back up to regular prices.

Quit Wishing and Hoping and Start Trying and Doing - If You Want Success

One thing that struck me during my Sedona Workshop was the fact that anyone could have put together such an event. Wait, here's where I'm going with this.  Any six photographers could have gotten together, hired a few models from Craig's List, like we did, arrange a few locations and had the same great experience as we all did last week.

The girls were great, the locations were gorgeous, and our images were outstanding.  I know you're going to say that these six photographers had the added benefit of me watching over their shoulders to be sure the images looked good.  That part is true, but that still does not negate the fact that even without me being there, the group still could have enjoyed an enjoyable, creative, educational experience.

Self Assignments Are Important To Your Growth

Granted, I was the instructor, and as such, in the course of the teaching was able to take advantage of the opportunity to advance my own portfolio as well.  It made me make a promise to myself to spend one day a month to hire a model or two and just go out and practice.  What better way to stay motivated about what you enjoy doing and capture the opportunity to learn so much from the experience!

You Don’t Have To Go It Alone

And therein lies my point. I want to encourage each and everyone of you reading this post to do what we did this week - hook up with a few like minded photographers, hire a Craig's List model, scout some locations in advance and spend a Saturday just practicing, shooting and learning from one another.

Let's expand on that idea even a bit more.  Why not pick up a "how-to" book on photography and practice just a chapter or two of it.  Let's say you pick up my book "Captured By The Light", turn to Chapter 6 on Window Lighting and just practice "window lighting” for an entire Saturday afternoon.  I'm not saying my book should be your only choice, but it would certainly be a good place to start simply because it's written in a simple to understand, easy to follow step by step fashion.  It would be kind of like having the instructor there with you as you practiced away. 

Look For Inspiration In All The Right Places

How about one more idea that follows similarly to the suggestion above.  Why not visit your favorite blog, find some images that inspire you and try to duplicate them.  The list of ideas can go on and on. You could search Flicker for some images that you would like to try to duplicate with your shooting group and models.

The point I'm trying to make is this;  It's easy to plan a practice session for yourself and 2-3 other photographers.  It's easy to line up a couple of cute "models"  - like I said, we use Craig's List, but it could be your nephews and nieces, high school friends of your children or neighbors children, the cute waitress at your favorite restaurant……  It's easy to find some cool locations like a public park, beach, some museums (with previous permission) or just along some colorful, graffiti filled streets in your own downtown city.  It's easy to work with your shooting group - everyone offering suggestions and ideas to help improve and inspire the person doing the shooting.

Image Review To Enhance The Educational Experience

After your shooting session, spend another hour to review all the images. Get your group involved in a lively discussion about the best and not so best images.  What worked, what didn’t work. It's all about the practice and, by default, the learning that comes from that experience.

I Loved The New Shooting Experience But Still Need Practice

I've always said, "The best way to learn is to teach.”  The interaction with the students always opens a door or two to another idea or technique I can use down the road".  Nothing has been more exciting for me personally these last few weeks than shooting for my Kelby Training videos and my Sedona Workshop.  It was such a kick to point my camera at someone different than a bride and groom that I normally would be photographing.

I've discovered that I could use a little practice in the “posing and prop department” in my non-wedding shoots.  I mentioned to LaDawn that we should have added scarves and hats to our shooting session just to add a bit more interest to the photographs.  Don't get me wrong, I think we got some great images as you've seen posted these last few days at DPT, but in looking back over this past week's body of work, I think I could do better the next time.

What I saying is that I had a great time both teaching and practicing and I'm encouraging you to do the same. 

The BIG Difference You Can Make

But here is the BIG difference between the aspiring pro and the hobbyist.  The aspiring pro, and that includes anyone who wants to improve their photography is the kind of person who will make such an effort to expand and improve their photographs. 

Good photographers work towards being good and practice at being good.  Others don't and sometimes make too many excuses why they can't do this or that or even find time to practice.  It's up to each and everyone of us to make the effort if we want to make a difference and be a star in our photography.  It all comes down to the question, "Are you just wishing and hoping for success?"  It may be time to Start Trying, Practicing, and Doing It If You Want Success.

The lesson I learned these past few weeks is how much fun it is to practice.  Secondly I've decided to make a personal commitment to practice at least once a month to improve upon my weaknesses and expand my talents and creativity.  I hope you'll join me by making that same commitment to yourself.

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Hey gang, that's it for me today.  I’ve got to get a few more loose ends tidied up and need to get back to my real job.  Have a great rest of the day and I’ll plan to see you tomorrow.

Happy shooting,  David

"Hallway Of Smiles"

"Hallway Of Smiles"
© David A. Ziser

Here is another image from my Sedona shoot last week.  Be sure to read the post following this one.  I cover the entire session in much greater detail. 

Here we had a great location, beautiful model, and wonderful, soft directional light. The first thing I want you to notice is how all the lines lead to our subject.  Draw a line through the tops of the columns on the right and you can see how they lead to our young lady.  Also notice the and how the arches also concentrically lead to the subject.

The lighting here is about as good as it gets – soft, directional light coming in from camera right.  Always be sure to turn the subject’s body away from the light.  Then turn her head past the camera’s axis back to the light being sure to get both of her cheeks illuminated. This should just about guarantee you a very nice portrait.  In this image, I needed to turn the subject’s head a bit more to the light to open up the shadow on her right cheek.  I still like the portrait though.

Camera specs:  Canon 7D fitted with 70-200mm IS lens at 200mm, F3.2 @ 1/250 second.  Enjoy!  -David

Camera A Little Lower, Zoom A Bit More, Make The Light Just Right - Getting To The Perfect Portrait

God Morning Everyone,

Things are beginning to settle down much to the relief of LaDawn and myself.  We're actually home for the Summer, but I know that won't last long.  I think we were both born under wondering stars. 

This evening I have a engagement session with a young couple and I’m looking forward to the shoot. I photographed the young lady's Bat Mitzvah a number of years ago so it will be good to be working with the family again.  I've more frequently receiving those calls - what an honor. 

For the new and aspiring photographers reading this blog, it speaks to not just the high level of photography we deliver but also to our great customer service and bending over backwards for our clients all the time.  You know, the clients remember - and they call back even years later.  It's the only way to run your business.

Camera A Little Higher, Zoom A Bit More, Make The Light Just Right - Getting To The Perfect Portrait

Last week was such a wonderful experience in Sedona working with my six fellow photographers to capture the best images of our beautiful models.  I just really enjoyed the entire experience.  In today's post I wanted to run through what I was thinking as I built to my final image.  I think this post will give you sort of a roadmap to how I create, light, and compose to get to that best image.

Here is my 4 step plan to get to the perfect portrait image:

1- Survey the location.  What does it offer in terms of compositional possibilities?  How is the lighting?  Can I get a nice loop light on my subject's face?  Are there any distracting elements in the background I need to deal with?

Let's look at the first image.  This corridor at Tlaquepaque looks perfect for creating some very nice portraits.

The long look down the corridor gives me an easy vanishing point in my composition.  We've got good directional lighting coming in to give us that dimensional feel I want in my portraits. The background could prove a bit problematic but by paying attention to the subject's position in the frame, I should be able to solve that issue.

2- Determine how you want to photograph the subject then find the light and place the subject in the best position to accommodate the lighting.

I'm thinking I want just a simple full length portrait, modified 2/3's view of the face, with a "C" or "S" curve in the composition of the subject's body.  Take a look at the next image

I'm looking to create a simple yet elegant portrait of our model. I turned her body away from the light, but then turned her head towards the light.  This first pass looks pretty darn good.

I've still got to deal with some extraneous background elements but that will be no problem as I'll describe in the next step.

3- The subject is where she needs to be for soft, beautiful lighting on her.  OK, now you need to check to see how the background looks.  Is there anything in the background that would distract from the image.

Take a look at the above image again.  What do you see?  It's that lighting fixture hanging from the ceiling which needs to hidden in some manner.  I'm thinking a little lower camera angle will do the trick - I'll just hide it behind our subject.  In this next image you can see that hiding the lamp worked like a charm.

4- Decide if there is anyway you may want to enhance the image even more. I'm thinking, "What happens if.... I backlight the subject?"

Check out the last image below.  After a few tries I got just what I was looking for.

The backlighting adds a nice dramatic feel to the image.  Don't get me wrong here, the backlighting was not necessary to my finished image.  I very much enjoy the second last image posted above.

LaDawn and others like to say that I work forward to getting my final image by making slight tweaks along the way till I get it perfect.  I think that is true.  I shot a much greater number of images than you see here.  The tweaks may have been a further refinement of camera position, lighting, expression, etc.  but all the smaller tweaks resulted in some very nice images.

I hoped you enjoy the walk-through today.  Like I mentioned yesterday, it's the little things that count.  We need to be constantly aware of those small things that we can adjust to get to our final result.  It's that difference that makes the difference in what kind of photographer you aspire to be.

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Hey gang, that's it for me today.  The weather has changed and it's begun to rain.  I sure hope we don't get rained out this evening ;~). Anyway, be sure to check back tomorrow for another episode of Business Day Thursday.  It will be a good one.

See ya' then,  David

"Jumping For Joy!"

"Jumping For Joy!"
© David A. Ziser

Here is another image from  the wedding I photographed a few weeks ago in Phoenix.  The bride and groom were looking for something a bit more spontaneous for their group photo.  Years ago, during the popularity of the Toyota commercial where everyone did the “Toyota jump”, I always made the jump part of the coverage – the clients loved it!

I decided to suggest the same thing for this group photograph.  The girls were a bit down on the idea of the jump because of their high heel shoes so we went to plan B and asked them to lunge forward with their flowers as the guys did all the jumping.  It was the bride and groom’s job just to give each other a big hug.

Now here was the challenge – because I planned to shoot the image at 8 frames a second, flash was not going to be an option.  At least off-camera flash was not going to work because of the instant recycle times I needed.  I chose to go straight available light.

I gave the three count and the guys headed for the sky. After about 4 tries I had the shot I wanted and the clients loved it. You know, it’s always a fun addition to the album – maybe I need to start doing it again at my weddings ;~)

Camera specs:  Canon 7D fitted with 24-105mm IS lens, F5.6 @ 1/400 second, ISO 200.  Enjoy!  -David

Technique Tuesday: Dramatic Before and After Wedding Images

Good Afternoon Everybody,

Yes, afternoon – I told you I was going to get back on schedule – I’m practically there ;~)  All joking aside, we are back at it with TONS to do after being on the road so often.  My first session was at 8:00 a.m. this morning photographing the national president of the American Bar Association.  It was quite an honor. 

We did the photography on location and after we finished, we headed back to the studio, uploaded the images into Lightroom, and he and his wife selected their favorites.  All went very well, but there was a lesson to be learned.  What was that lesson – always pay attention to detail!

Upon image review Bill selected his favorite image, but then pointed out that his right cuff wasn’t showing from the sleeve of his jacket. “Darn,” I’m thinking, “I should have caught that!”  The fact of the matter was that I was paying too  much attention to lighting and background and missed a very small point that I always pick up in the studio.

You know, the fact of the matter is that Bill’s profession is based on that kind of attention to detail.  As a photographer, I should have been paying closer attention myself.  Sure, I can easily remedy the situation in Photoshop, but that’s not the point.  I should have caught it in the camera.

So, ask yourself the question, “How much attention do you spend on watching for the details?”  I think the answer helps define what level as a professional you stand.  Attention to detail something we must constantly be aware of and strive for. Food for thought.

Technique Tuesday: Dramatic Before and After Wedding Images

You know, sometimes it’s just fun to play.  That’s what I’ve done in the week’s episode of Technique Tuesday.  I think the most important question you can ask yourself is, “What happens if…” The answer to that question can sometimes lead to some very creative results.

In this video, I asked myself the question “What happens if… I gel my flash with a tungsten flavored filter, set the camera to tungsten, and photograph my subject outdoors?  Well, you should be able to easily guess the answer – the tungsten illuminated area, in most cases the subject, should be the proper color balance, but the area of the scene NOT illuminated by the flash should be all blue tonalities. Hummm… maybe kind of a cool image.

I did run this video a few years ago but have updated it with a few more of my thoughts on the subject.

Also, in this video I’m testing my new Flip video camera recently discontinued.  I wanted to check the video and sound quality.  In the future I plan to have the Flip camera record the scene as I’m shooting the image. 

I know what you’re thinking, “Why doesn’t he just use the Canon 7D for the video?” Here’s my quick answer.  If I use the Canon 7D, I must pull the camera away from my face to see what I’m filming.  That’s very inconvenient for me since I wear glasses. 

Anyway, I’m looking forward to giving the idea a try. 

How about we get right on with this week’s Technique Tuesday.  Hit the PLAY button below and enjoy the show.

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Hey gang, that’s it for me today.  Tomorrows post should go up even earlier than today’s – I’m so excited to be getting back on schedule.  See everybody tomorrow, same time, same station.

Adios, David

"Moments Of Fantasy "

"Moments Of Fantasy "
© David A. Ziser

This is one of my favorite images from the wedding I photographed in Phoenix a few weekends ago.  The bride and groom absolutely loved the Royal Palms Resort and asked I'd I could get a few photographs of them in front of the main entrance.  I was glad to oblige.  After the wedding, just moments before the reception was scheduled to begin, we broke away from the guests to capture the requested images.

The entrance was quite busy with guests arriving for the weekend.  We worked around the arriving traffic situation, even a limo driver obliged our needs by pulling his 30 foot limo around the parking circle far enough for us to get a clear photo of the main entrance.

I always take a series of images when this kind of photo opportunity is requested.  The first few images are always of the couple looking back into the camera in the very traditional wedding pose - call it the photograph for posterity.  Next it's time to shift gears and work to get some dramatic backlit images of the couple.

I asked LaDawn to position herself behind the couple about 12 feet, power the Quantum flash to full power because of the very bright ambient light, and point at their shoulder blades (which keeps the flash from "burning" up the area behind the couple.  I began with a tight shot of the couple, but continued to make several more images as I pulled back on the scene to include more of the front entrance and eventually Camelback Mountain in the distance.

After downloading the images from the wedding, I couldn't wait to see what I had gotten from this part of the wedding day shoot.  There it was, I had it - a great image of both Bev and Jon in front of the entrance.  I preferred the image in which I pulled back to include Camelback Mountain.  Now take a closer look.  My timing was perfect as I captured a large bird flying over the Royal Palms entrance.  This really completed the composition and resulted in a great image for the bride and groom.  Hey, sometimes you get lucky and the birds drop by just at the right time ;~)

Camera specs:  Canon 7D fitted with 24-105mm IS lens at 28mm, F5.6 @ 1/320 second, ISO 800.  Enjoy!  -David

(p.s. Quick Hit Monday will be up this afternoon. Thx, David)

Quick Hit Monday: Sedona Recap; Fire From The Air; Weddings Ideas; Photoshop Freebies & More

Good Morning Everybody,

Just a quick note – I planned to get this post up much earlier but an emergency kept me from getting it completely linked, illustrated, and ready to go.  Needless to say it’s going up almost a day late.  I still hope you enjoy the read.  Everything should get back to normal this week.  Now on with Quick Hit Monday.

Sedona Recap and Observations

I'm writing this post while traveling back home to the Northern Kentucky side of Cincinnati, OH.  It's been quite the trip this time around.  We arrived in Phoenix 10 days ago and went right to work photographing a three day wedding for one of my favorite clients.  It was a beautiful wedding celebration, a great experience and lots of fun.  And, we captured some tremendous images, which we are editing this very minute on the plane trip back home. I plan on posting a few more images from the wedding beginning this week.

From Phoenix we headed to Sedona, AZ for my Sedona Experience  private workshop.  It's the first time I've conducted a class this dedicated to so few students and I have to say it was quite a kick. 

I'll tell you, working with such a small group of photographers really gives everyone a chance get to know each other on a more personal level.  It also gives me much more time to work with each person more closely and really ramp up the learning curve. 

I like what Mark, one of our attendees commented on Friday.  He said, "Hey David, I got some great shots, had a great time with you in Sedona. I learned more in your 3 day workshop than I would if I had taken a 3 month class. Thanks again, Mark O." Thanks Mark, much appreciated.  Also, thanks for all the kind words received via email and text messages from everyone else that joined me in Sedona – very much appreciated!

Flying Home – Some Unusual Sights!

Usually a flight home is a fairly uneventful event - and that's how the flight from Phoenix started out.  I always have camera in hand and always grab a few shots during and after the takeoff.  As we headed East, it was amazing to see how quickly the landscape changed. First  it was the sprawling city of Phoenix and it's surrounding suburbs which quickly gave way to the Arizona dessert.

What struck me too as we were flying over Phoenix was the view of Camelback Mountain from the air. At 15,000 feet, not quite cruising level, it seems to be one lonely small mountain parked right in the middle of the desert but still surrounded by the very expansive city of Phoenix - kind of unimpressive. But from the ground level, it served as a majestic background for a few of my wedding images and was omnipresent wherever you traveled around Phoenix. What a difference a few 1000 feet can make ;~)

For the entire time of our visit to Arizona we've been hearing about the severe wildfires plaguing the state.  My heart really goes out to the folks who are literally in the line of (the) fire.  I couldn't believe my eyes when I peered out my window and saw what looked liked smoke in the distance.  As we got closer, I could see it was the tremendous Wallow wildfires that have been all over the national news.  It was an amazing scene from the air seeing just how big it was and how far it had burned.  As we flew directly over the smoke trail, you could see that the scene stretched on for miles.

I checked the window a few more times during the flight, but the rest of the trip was fairly uneventful.  Which now, by the way brings us to Quick Hit Monday.  We should be pretty much back on schedule this week.  Things are settling down and it will be good to catch our breath these next several weeks at the studio and the home front.

Hey gang, I’ve got a lot of cool things for you on this week’s Quick Hit Monday.  Give them a read, I think you’ll enjoy them.

4 Wedding Centric Links Worth A Peek:

1. The Top 10 Wedding Photographers of 2011 [link]

OK, I have to admit, I didn’t make the list again – I must have come in #11 ;~)  On a more serious note, please check out the links with this article.  I sure would like to get your impressions on the quality of photography offered by this year’s “best” wedding photogs.  I’ll reserve my judgment till I hear from a few of our readers.

2. Top 7 Engagement Shots for Creative Couples [link]

Give this post a read at Bride and Joy.  You may find a few of the ideas not to your tastes, but overall, I liked the creativity of the approach to engagement photographs – worth the read.

3. How To Get The Best Wedding Photos On Your Wedding Day! [link]

PokaDot Wisdom has some very good practical advice to Brides on how to get the best wedding images on their wedding day.  I think it’s good advice for photographers, too.  Worth the read.

4. Intel Tech Makes Wedding Photography More Interesting Than You’d Think [link]

This is a fascinating video showcasing how a photographer and his partner interact with their clients to get the images the client wants.  It’s a bit over the top for me but I watched the entire video and was amazed by what turns today’s client on.  It’s an Intel commercial, but you don’t get that till the end.  It still and interesting look at how some photographers do business.

9 Photoshop/Lightroom Centric Posts

OK gang, get ready for another round of Photoshop Freebies and inspiring tutorials.  This week I’ve got Photoshop and Lightroom covered.  Get ready to dig in – lots of good stuff here.

1. 10 Brilliant Photoshop CS5 Tutorials You Should Not Miss [link]
2. Aligning and Blending Images Together [link]
3. How To Create a Cool Abstract Radial Pattern Design [link]
4. Totally Free Textures 73 [link]
5. Premium Quality Free Grunge Packs for Photoshop [link]
6. Photoshop Brushes: Free Space, Stars and Planet Brushes [link]
7. Creative Wallpaper Tutorials – Very Cool! [link]
8. 3 Hours Lightroom 3 Tutorials [link]
9. 5 Top Tips for Lightroom Develop Presets [link]

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Hey gang, that’s it for me today.  Things are really busy since we returned Sunday evening, hence the very late post. Technique Tuesday should still hit later on Tuesday and then with a little luck we should be back on track by Wednesday.  Thanks for your patience.

See ya’ tomorrow,  David

"Garden Goddess"

"Garden Goddess"
© David A. Ziser

I can’t resist, here’s another image from my Sedona Experience workshop earlier this week.  Yesenia brought along the perfect dress for our session at Tlaquepaque in Sedona, AZ this past Wednesday.  This is the most simple of compositions.  I simply positioned her between the two shrubs, found the light, and shot away.

It is such an easy portrait, but so beautiful with the color harmonies, the pose, the expressions, and great light.  Notice too the gentle curve of the arch above her head dropping right into her C- line pose which continues the S-composition flowing throw this part of the scene.

CAmera specs: Canon 7D fitted with 70-200mm IS lens at F3.2 @ 1/640 second, ISO 800.  Enjoy!  -David