"Desert Reflections"

"Desert Reflections"
©David A. Ziser

We landed in Las Vegas yesterday mid-day and finally got settled into our hotel. The weather is beautiful out here right now – low 60’s and sunny – just perfect. Our room is on the 11th floor which means we’ve got a pretty good view. 

The opposite building is almost entirely glass covered, as are most of the buildings in Las Vegas.  But for me, that offers some great opportunities to create some cool abstract images from the reflections. 

Today’s image is the view out our window to the opposite building.  I love how the apparently smooth surfaces of the windows really aren’t smooth. The reflections look more like reflections from a watery pond than from “flat” plate glass.

The result is always interesting.  I nudged the colors a bit in Lightroom 3 and corrected the perspective in Photoshop CS5.  My 180200mm lens has a little barrel distortion that is evident in these kinds of images showing lots of parallel lines.  A slight nudge of the “distortion” slider fixed it easily.  I think, all in all, it’s an interesting Las Vegas abstract. Now can you guess from where it was taken? ;~)

Camera specs:  Canon 7D fitted with 18-200mm IS lens at 120mm, F10 @ 1/500 second, ISO 500.  Enjoy!  -David

Weekend Update & Taking The Day Off

Good Morning Everybody,

Like I mentioned yesterday, I promised LaDawn I would take a day off the blogging duties today.  Why? Because I have to take her shopping – that’s right shopping.  Now shopping means two different things to she and I. 

Shopping to me means just that – shopping – looking around, walking, talking, just relaxing at a nice mall.  Shopping to LaDawn means something completely different – for her it means BUYING.  I mean, why doesn’t she just call it what it is – “Honey, I’m going out buying today.”  That cuts to the chase and gets to the real intent – right?  All joking aside, we are going “shopping” – I just hope not all day. 

We have a busy schedule for this weekend.  Tomorrow we are taking in Sandy Puc’s and Jerry Ghionis’s Power of Passion tour which kicks off right here in Las Vegas.  Sunday we are hitting the WPPI programs hard too.  Part of my intent is to meet some of the new speakers and maybe get them to do a webcast or two for us in the upcoming months here at DPT.

So that’s what’s up with us this weekend and I hope you have a good one too.  Hey, any of you coming to WPPI?  Let me know. 

See ya’ at the show,  David

"Burning Daylight"

"Burning Daylight"
©David A. Ziser

I made this image in November as we headed out on the second day down the Baja Peninsula on our way to Cabo San Lucas.  We wanted to get an early start and were under way slightly before the sun came up. 

All seemed fine for the first 45 minutes but as the sun grew higher in the sky, it was right before our eyes burning our retinas to a crisp.  It really was quite uncomfortable for about an hour driving into that burning ball of light.

Visually, it was quite cool to see through the camera's viewfinder.  I was shooting with the Canon 7D with the lens racked out.  The benefit of the long lens was the severe compression of the scene making the sun appear even larger. 

The nearly empty country road, the numerous telephone lines, and that giant ball of light created an image that easily supports it's name, "Burning Daylight". 

Camera specs: Canon 7D fitted with 18-200mm IS lens at 200mm,  F14 @ 1/1600 second?, ISO 200?  Enjoy!  -David

Business Day Thursday: After The Wedding - What Happens Next: Part 2

Good Afternoon Everybody,

We headed out bright and early this morning and are on our way to Las Vegas for the huge WPPI Convention.  I'm not speaking at this show - we're here mostly to see what is new and to take in a few of the programs.  I'm also doing a gig or two in the Westcott booth, so if you get a chance, come on by and say HI.

Hey gang, last week I began a new series "After The Wedding - What Happens Next?"  I'll be posting for the next several Business Day Thursdays walking you through our workflow and sales flow at my studio. I hope you enjoy the read.

After The Wedding - What Happens Next: Part 2

Time To Recap The Job

I don't know about you guys and girls reading this but after the wedding I'm exhausted!  I'm usually working with two assistants, we've been running like wild banshees for 10 straight hours, so the first thing we need to do is regroup - that is check that we have all the gear and all the cards in a safely secured and accounted for.  We make the rounds to say our goodbyes and head back to studio to unload the gear.

After we arrive back at the studio we unpack the gear, check that we have everything and pull all the cards.  Most of the time that's about 4-5 16 gig full and partially full cards. I grab the cards and I begin the download with our Delkin Image Router. I've discussed the Delkin Image Router previously at DPT.  It's the fastest, easiest way to download gigs and gigs of data.  I can have 4 cards downloaded simultaneously in about 35-40 minutes - pretty darn quick.

OK, I know it's late by the time we wrap up - usually about 12:30 - 1:00 a.m. - am I heading to bed? Heck no.  We still have work to do and need to have an "adult beverage" or two to enjoy ;~). I'm serious about this.  We head to one of the local watering holes to get something to eat and something cold to drink. Remember, I don't eat at weddings so we are famished by days end.

The main reason my team and I take this time at the end of the day is to recap the job - what went right? where do we need improvement? did our newly tried ideas work? do I need to review issues/concerns with my team while they are fresh?  This is just a great time to sharpen the saw for yourself and your team after the event and in preparation for the next big event. 

OK, let's say your a single shooter. I would still recommend that you sit down with yourself and jot a few notes about how the job went while things are still fresh in your mind.  In this digital age this is  simplistic process. Grab your iPad and start making your notes in Evernote, tag them, and use them for review before the next job. Doing this on a regular basis gives you a great resource to prep for those future events.

Back To The Downloads

I'll usually finish up downloading the last card or two the following day.  If I have a second shooter, and I always do, the second shooter's images are all put into one folder with my images in another.  All files are renamed as such ####-DZ_SmithW11 and sequenced in time/date order. 

My assistant's images would be annotated with his/her initials.  This is done so I can easily review and critique my second shooter's work.  We are constantly striving to improve and polish our product for our client.

After the numbering/renaming process, All the images are imported into Lightroom 3 with my "Secret Settings" [link].  No the cards are not cleared yet.  That doesn't happen till we have the images stored in at least three places and one of those places must be off line.

Backup Policies

Up until a few years ago, we backed everything up to two sets of DVDs.  But that was back in the JPEG days when I could back up 3000 images on 1-2 DVDs.  That number has increased to 10-12 DVDs since switching to RAW - ouch!  Needless to say, things have not been going through the normal back up policies for the last few years.

I will admit, I'm a bit nervous about that too.  I still prefer DVD backup.  Some photogs have told me that they found that some of their CDs and DVDs and become corrupt and unreadable.  I have never had that problem. I suspect the reason that we've not experienced these issues is because we only use high quality 100 year archive media, for example, Taiyo Yuden/JVC discs.  We get them from CD Dimensions right here. Read my lips - your data will slowly fade away if you use cheap disks!

What's the disk solution to a 50 gig wedding?  The only answer has to be Blu-Ray which have been quite expensive these last few years.  The prices on the burners and media has started to come down and we're looking to upgrade this year to the new burners and Blu-Ray media.

In the mean time though our policy is to have all images residing twice on the main computer and then having a third backup on a USB external drive - I prefer Western Digital to Seagate, BTW.  This drive gets disconnected from the main computer after the third backup is made.  The drives are getting so inexpensive, it's really a no brainer to back up to a third drive.  I've seen 2T WD drives under $150 - I can back up a years worth of jobs easy.

I've been playing around with the compact Toshiba pocket drives which I also like. A 1T drive is only $150 and is quite small and portable.  You can pick them up at B&H for under $114 [link]. Don't you love how things keep getting cheaper, faster, and better.  My first 1T Lacie was $700!

All this discussion takes us up to the point where we need to ready the images for Internet upload and client viewing.  I'll get into that next week.  Our plane is ready to land so I'm wrapping the discussion for today. Check back next week for What Happens Next: Part 3.

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Hey gang, that's it for me today.  It's time for us to hit the town and see what's cookin' in Vegas.  I promised LaDawn a little time off from the blogging duties this week so I may not be back tomorrow, well, maybe for an image of the day post, at least ;~)

Have a great one and I'll see you soon,  David 

”Portrait Of A Young Musician”

”Portrait Of A Young Musician”
©David A. Ziser

This was an image I made several years ago.  It points out what I say all the time.  My teaching is always about lighting and composition, yet, most of the time, my camera is pointing to brides and grooms.

Regardless of the subject the basic rules of decent composition and lighting need to come into play in order to create a sellable photograph.  So is this a photograph of a groom or is it a photograph of a young musician that plays for the church music ensemble?  It really doesn’t make any difference.

What we have is a very dynamic on location portrait of this young man.  The wide angle lens certainly adds to the dramatic feel of this image. Now look at the composition.  See how I’ve framed him up within the rectangular space under the organ pipes.  That placement helps the viewer’s eye to more readily be led directly to the subject.

If you look at where all the lines are leading , you will see most are intersecting almost behind where he is standing.  I’ve placed him in front of the vanishing points of those lines.  This is also a very effective way to visually design a portrait.

Lighting was easy – my strobe through a translucent umbrella camera right.  The accent to the left – just a small optically fired strobe camera left and slightly behind the subject.  This second strobe helps “rim” out or separate the subject from the background more clearly defining him in the composition.  Photographers and artists have been using accent light for centuries.

So, do you see that’s it’s not always about the subject?  Lighting and composition have to play a big part in this kind of portrait.

Camera specs: Nikon D1x fitted with Nikkor 16mm fisheye, F4.0 @ 1/30 second, ISO 400.  Enjoy!  -David

Webcast Wednesday & Beautiful Weddings

Good Morning Everybody,

Boy am I stoked today! I just received an email  from a former student and daily reader of DigitalProTalk, Ann Nester.  Ann drops me a nice note about how much she has enjoyed the blog and my seminars.  She attended both my Digital WakeUp Call program in 2009 and then Captured By The Light seminar last year. Both presentations are now available on DVD,  [link].

I don’t want to take all the credit but she was thrilled to tell me she won her first Fuji Masterpiece Award for her wedding image pictured above. WOW, what a great image!  The Fuji Masterpiece Award is one of the highest print awards you can receive at a state or regional PPA print competition. 

Look at the gorgeous lighting in the image – all available light! Look too at her composition – perfect placement of all the attendants' within the image.  I love how the light bounces off the bride’s gown to illuminate the little flower girl – just a great image on all counts!  Congrats! Ann for taking the top honors with this outstanding image!

Check Out My Guest Blog Post Over At Scott Kelby’s Photoshop Insider Today!

That’s right, my post “Wedding Photography – State Of The Union – Part 2”  just went up this morning.  Here is the link right here.  You can read the first post from two weeks ago right here – it was one of the most commented posts so I think you’ll enjoy the read.

Part 2 is the follow up and is quite a serious read.  I wanted to spell out several solid solutions that photographers who have found the wedding market turned upside down can start using right now! It spells out what we need to do to compete in the brave new wedding world.  Enjoy the read and please feel free to add your comments to the conversation too. 

Re-Webcast Wednesday! Super Bowls and Weddings

I can’t wait for you to see Lynn Michelle’s webcast we did last week  at Digital ProTalk – it was great.  I asked Lynn if we could re-run the webcast and she said “No problem.”

Our conversation is jammed packed with tips and tricks on how she keeps her wedding calendar filled, how she produces her outstanding wedding images (wait till you see them), and how she manages her very busy studio.  Why not hit the PLAY button and enjoy the show (again!)

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Hey gang, that’s it for me today.  We are leaving bright and early in the morning so look for tomorrow’s post to be up later in the afternoon after we land and get settled into our room in Las Vegas.

Have a great one and I’ll see you tomorrow.

Adios!  -David

”A Classic Beauty”

”A Classic Beauty”
©David A. Ziser

If you follow this blog regularly you know I'm a fan of classic lighting and posing.  That isn't to say that I don't like the gorgeous fashion images and some of the new exciting wedding images I see photographers producing - I love them too.  But you know what, there is still something that I see as refreshing when I see a classic portrait. 

The simplicity of the pose, the easy expression, the soft directional lighting - this is how the Renaissance Masters painted their subjects, who were of course, the royalty of the day.  I see my brides as royalty too when they step before my lens and I want to treat them as royalty as well on their very special day.

This is a beautiful portrait of this young lady in a profile view, a view of the face not frequently photographed by today’s modern photographers.  Just look at the image more closely.  Doesn't it draw you into the image?  Look at her beautiful eyes, her creamy complexion, her soft expression.  Look at how the light wraps around her facial features presenting her persona elegantly to the viewer. 

That's what's cool about a profile view - it's a portrait study, an image that presents itself for our visual edification and enjoyment.  You know, when we shoot a wedding, we are not just shooting for the wedding couple.  We are also shooting for other sets of clients - the parents and grandparents of the couple as well.  This type of image especially sings to that client.

Camera specs:  Fuji FinePix S-1 Pro fitted with a Tamron 24-105 F2.8 lens at 50mm, F9.5 @ 1/90 second, ISO 400.  Enjoy!  -David

Technique Tuesday: 5 Ways To Better Bridal Portraits

Good Afternoon Everyone,

Well yesterday turned out to be a fairly interesting day.  I received a call from Scott Kelby asking me to be part of a very special project.  When he told me what he wanted, I jumped at the opportunity and said yes.  All I can tell you right now it that it will be a "hoot" when you see the outcome.  My lips are sworn to secrecy for the next few weeks ;~)

Hey gang, I' putting the finishing touches on my newsletter that goes out in a few days.  If you would like to receive it, you can sign up right here.  It's going to cover some of the highlights of my DPT blog over the last few months so if your not a regular reader, you just may want to get the newsletter so your up to date with the latest and greatest news.

I've got a pretty cool Technique Tuesday put together for you today so why don't we get right to it.

5 Ways To Better Bridal Portraits

I've seen many wedding images taken by photographers with a wide range of expertise in the field.  All too often we all make some mistakes. If we would have been more aware of our surrounds, we would have captured a better image for ourselves and, more importantly, for our clients.

In today's video tutorial I’ll walk you through 5 key things ranging from lighting, exposure, and composition that you need to know to capture outstanding images of your bride.  They are all simple techniques but in the "heat of the wedding day shoot" they can sometimes be overlooked.  Why not hit the PLAY button and see what I'm talking about. Watching this video may have your brides smiling even more.

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Hey gang, that's it for me today.  We're trying to get ready for our trip to WPPI on Thursday and I've still got a few loose ends to wrap up.

How about I plan to see you tomorrow same time, same place for a bonus post.  Last week I had a great conversation with Lynn Michelle of Dallas, TX in our DPT Webcast entitled "Super Bowls and Weddings".  Lynn was a big hit and since I recorded the webcast I thought you would enjoy seeing it in case you couldn't make it last week. 

Our conversation just barely lasts over one hour but Lynn's Super Bowl stories and tidbits of wedding wisdom is worth every minute.

I'll see you then,  David

”Aria Arabesque”

”Aria Arabesque”
©David A. Ziser

Since I’ve got Las Vegas on my mind this week, I thought I’d post a photograph I made during last year’s Las Vegas visit.  The newest development in Las Vegas is the City Center – a veritable treasure trove of lines, shapes, and forms.  I just love walking around shooting this structure from all the angles.

This is an image of one of the buildings in the City Center, and to be honest, I’m not even sure which one.  What I do love about the image is the cool curved lines running through the image and how the one set of lines is juxtaposed from the second set. I also like the simple color scheme, and the dramatic lighting.

When you look at the camera specs below, you’ll see I was shooting directly into the sun’s reflection of the building.  The exposure really brought the rest of the tonal values way down, while still holding detail in the shadows, adding to the dramatic movement feeling of the image.

This image is just a fun play of line, shape form, and color  - I really like it.

Camera specs: Canon 7D fitted with 18-200mm IS lens at 90mm, F14 @ 1/1250 second, ISO 200.  Enjoy!  -David

Quick Hit Monday: WPPI; Power Of Passion; I Have A Famous Daughter; and More!

Good Morning Everybody,

I can’t believe it – sunshine!! Yep, sunshine and moderately warm temperatures finally hit the Mid-West.. It was really good news to hear the weather man report that we have more on the way this week.  Hope the weather is nice in your part of the world.

Hey gang, we’ve got a busy week shaping up so let’s get right to Quick Hit Monday.  Here we go…

Heading To WPPI This Thursday

That’s right, LaDawn and I jump on a jet and head to Las Vegas this coming Thursday.  We’re getting in early for a couple of reasons. One reason is to see Jerry Ghionis and Sandy Puc’s kick off program at the Hampton Inn Tropicana on Saturday [link].  I’ve heard about their new seminar series and wanted to see it first hand – it should be a kick.  If you’re planning to attend, come on up and say HI.

We’ll hang for few days before the WPPI convention kicks off on Sunday.  Look for me at the Westcott booth and the Manfroto booth doing a few lighting demos.  This is always a great show and we’re looking forward to being with the other 15,000 photographers hanging in Vegas next week – see you there!

Animoto Makes My Daughter Elizabeth Famous!

Well, almost famous. I don’t know if you have taken the opportunity to try Animoto yet – I’ve been using it for years – but the new “rendering engine”, now 10x faster, is producing videos that look great!  You will love the higher resolution videos – sumptuous!  All the latest info right here.

Anyway, Animoto got a little press from the big guns at CNET [link] and my daughter Elizabeth is pictured in the feature. Elizabeth has been working with Animoto for several months, you may have met her at the Imaging USA show in San Antonio, TX this past January.  Anyway, very cool for a dad.

Captured By The Light Continues To Get RAVE Reviews

I just received a note about my book “Captured By The Light” from Rob Acocella at DigiMortalPhoto [link]. 

The opening paragraph quickly caught my eye,  “David Ziser's Captured By The Light,which is easily one of the best, most comprehensive books on wedding photography I've ever read”.

Rob is a first time wedding photographer and found the book extremely helpful for his upcoming shoot.  THANKS Rob for the great shout out!  -David

One Touch Color Correction - Tutorials

One of my long standing favorite color correcting plug in has been Pictocolor’s I-Correct Portrait.  One click of the mouse and the color looks great.  Another feature I’ve always loved about the app is the fact that it let’s me also click on a skin tone – once again, one click and my portrait images are really looking good.

I just got their Valentine’s email – always good deals, BTW – and I picked up something I’ve never previously tried – setting up my own custom colors for one click color correction for types of skin, etc.  Very fast, very cool.  Check it out right here.

Fab Westcott Shootout At WPPI

The first time I saw the Westcott shootout was at last years Photoshop World.  Boy, was it over the top with four beautiful models, fabulous sets, and tons of lights ready to go.  I was blown away by the setup.

Well, the good news is that I hear Westcott is planning the same thing for WPPI next week – I can’t wait. Here’s the link to all the details right here. I’ll be hanging around lending a helping hand so why don’t you come on by?  See ya’ there.

One Last Quick Note On Note cards

Lexjet has always been my “go to” vendors for all things inkjet  and we are into our inkjet printing quite heavy around my studio. 

Anyway, they put out a newsletter each month which is filled with terrific ideas on how to get the best out of your inkjet printing.  More and more folks are jumping on the inkjet printing wagon so you really need to check out what’s happening over at Lexjet.

Here is an interesting and informative article [link] on how my buddy, Clay Blackmore, produced some stunning All Occasion greeting in his studio with some of Lexjet’s newest paper products.

It’s a good read.

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Hey gang, that’s it for me today. I’m putting the finishing touches on my Guest Blog post “ Wedding Photography – The State Of The Union –Part 2” for Scott Kelby and sending it over this afternoon.

Part 1 was published two weeks ago right here.  Part 2 is even more in-depth with lot’s of solutions to the current upheaval in the field of wedding photography.  Look for it on Wednesday.

Have a wonderful hugs and kisses day and I’ll see you tomorrow for another Technique Tuesday.

Adios Everybody,  David

”Painted Sunset”

”Painted Sunset”
©David A. Ziser

We were working on an art project for our friends the last three days and I came across this image I made while in Cabo, Mexico a few years ago.  It was a perfect evening for a sunset, the breezes were calm, clouds were just beginning to settle over the ocean and the sun was getting close to the horizon.

As it does so many times in Cabo the sun lit up the sky with it’s bright rich colors. Instead of settling for a simple sunset, I decided to work a little Photoshop magic on the image.  Now I am not one to get carried away with all the tools in Photoshop.  If I can get the result I want in a mouse click or two, I’m a “happy camper”.

That was the case here.  I simply applied a “brush stroke” filter, I believe, to the image and had what I wanted in short order.  I like the effect and think the image would look beautiful printed on canvas.  That’s my goal this year – turning more of my fine art images into canvas wrap presentations.  I’ll keep you posted.

Camera specs:  Canon 40D fitted with 17-85mm IS lens at 28mm, F18 @ 1/500 second, ISO 400.  Enjoy!  -David

Friday Wrap Up

Good Afternoon Everybody,

Today is supposed to be no-blog Friday but I just wanted to give a quick update on a few things. 

Lynn Michelle’s Webcast – A Hit!

My thanks again to Lynn Michelle for a great webcast yesterday.  The program went just over an hour and we could have gone even longer.  It was refreshing to hear Lynn’s enthusiasm as she talked about her wedding photography.  You could tell she loves what she does.  Our 75 minutes together was jammed packed with tips and tricks on how she produces her images as well on how she manages her studio.

In case you missed it, no problem.  I recorded and will have it posted here next Wednesday.  Be looking for it – it was quite an experience! Oh, and yes, Lynn has agreed to come back again and next time talk about her very successful and tasteful Boudoir business.  You can check out her work here.

Get My Latest Newsletter – Going Out Next Week!

I’m putting together my February newsletter that will be going out next week.   If you are not on the list, you can sign up right here. It’s always full of tips,  tricks and techniques along with the latest news happenings.

Working On The Eye-Fi Card and Wireless Shooting

My buddy, Damien and I have been experimenting with the Eye-Fi Pro 2 card I purchased a few months ago.  By next week I hope to have some news for you about how it can be a nice addition to your shooting routine.

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Hey gang, that’s it for me today.  I’ll see you on the flip side of the weekend all the pixels willing.  Have a great one and I’ll see you then.

Adios,  -David

”Lavascape”

”Lavascape”
©David A. Ziser

This surreal image is from a trip we made to the Big Island of Hawaii a few years ago.  I still find this a very intriguing image in how I put it together. It began as a straight forward photograph from our hike across the lava fields – quite and adventure in itself.

The park rangers advise leaving near dusk so the you arrive at the live lava flows, yes, live, red hot lava flows about 90 minutes later well after sunset.  That way it’s really easy to see the lava flowing under your feet through the cracks and crevices on the lava field.

It was quite the experience – both of us ended up with melted soles on our shoes.  The real challenge was making it back in the blackness of the moonless night over the 2-6 feet high lava flows.  It was like being on a Stair Master for 2 hours on the way back – we were wiped out!

Anyway, back to this image.  It was made on the way out to the lava fields.  We had perfect weather and just the right amount of clouds in the sky to make for a great shot. The original photograph looked like an ordinary landscape image – I thought I could make it more that that.

Lightroom was not out yet so I did all the image manipulation in Photoshop. The process was quite simple.  I highlighted the center part of the lava to give a focal point to the center of the image. 

I wanted to carry that out in the sky too.  It was easy to do.  I selected half of the sky, none of the lava, from the center to the left of the image. Then I just made a mirror image of that selection and placed it in the right half of the image – now I had my cool sky.  I worked the sky into the lava part of the image and presto, I had the image I was looking for.  I think it is quite hypnotizing the longer you view it.  Hope you like it.

Camera specs: Canon 5D fitted with Sigma 12-24mm lens at 13mm, F16 @ 1/400 second, ISO 400.  Enjoy!  -David

Business Day Thursday: FREE Webcast Today & Running Your Business after The Wedding Shoot - Part 1

Good Afternoon Everybody,

I can't wait for our conversation with Lynn Michelle today.  She really sounds fired about about her Super Bowl shoot on Sunday - she should have some great stories to tell.  The other thing that struck me when we talked was how busy she was with her photography. 

With most photogs complaining about where all the business had gone, how is it that Lynn can be booked solid for the rest of the year - inquiring photog minds want to know ;~). We'll find out at 2:00 p.m. EST today.  You can still register right here.  Hope to see you there.

OK, time to get on with today's post.

 

Running Your Business after The Wedding Shoot - Part 1

This is one of the most asked questions I get in my emails and through the Skribit widget to the right.  I've covered much of what we do around here in several posts over the years here at DPT.  That doesn't mean we are still doing the same old thing.  You've got to be quick on your feet these days to stay ahead of the competition.

Another reason I'm doing this series is the fact that it will put all of what we do in one place where you will be able to reference them easily in the future.  So, that said, let's get started.

Who In The World are You?

One of the most important things a business person needs to do is let the client know who they are and create what I call a sense of “stickiness” with the current and prospective client. Before we get to the actual work of post production and selling our wedding photography to our clients, I want to touch on this subject first - I just think it's important to mention.

As you all know, I was recently heavily involved in our PhotoPro Expo, a great convention if there ever was one.  Anyway, I collected business cards from several of the photographers attending and I was shocked by what I saw!  What was so surprising to me - clearly 50% of the business cards I received DID NOT include the owner's name!  Over 50%!!!!!!!! 

What is this about?  Sure, they had the studio's name on their business cards, but not their own name.  This is about the worst kind of self promotion one could engage in.  It's called SELF promotion - that means PROMOTE YOURSELF, not just your business.  Folks these days want a much more personal connect with whom they're doing business with and you can't do that if they don't know your name.  Get your own name on your business cards if you don't already.

Creating Client "Stickiness"

Now having said that, I never thought business cards were a great idea anyway.  Why, because they never call you back anyway.  That business card is long lost before they need to call you.  The bottom line - your potential client is now disconnected from you.  Business success demands a "stickiness" with all your potential clients.  What do I mean by "stickiness"?  I mean a way to stay connected with that potential client.

Here is a little known thing about David A. Ziser Photography - I have never bought, used, or owned a business card.  Madness you say - not really.  I learned early in my career that the potential client would lose the card before they ever got around to calling me.  When ever a person asked me for a card at a wedding, I always let them know that I didn't have one on me, could they give me one of theirs.  They always obliged.  If they didn't have one on them, I simply wrote their contact info down on a paper napkin.

Now I have "stickiness" to that lint.  Now's it's up to me to make the contact with the potential clients.  I don't have to cross my fingers and wait for them to call me. Now I have a 100% guarantee that I will be following up with them because I WANT their business.  If I give them a card, I have to WAIT FOR their business - never happened for me over all the years I've been in business.

Super Glue "Stickiness"

OK, I've got their contact information, but how can I improve even more on this "stickiness" situation.  Simple, I press the heck out of them when they first ask for a card.  Like I said, don't give them a card - ever!!! Now you can whip out your iPad and show them your portfolio - wow, that is impressive.  Those images look superb in the slightly darkened room of a reception hall.

Let them select one of their favorites and email it to them. Now you have their contact information and they have one of the best calling cards in the world - a sample of your best work in their inbox which now they can easily forward to their son, daughter, mom, or dad also mentioning the fact about how they met this super nice photographer at last weekend's wedding.

I hope you get the idea here - business cards are a passive way to interact with a potential client.  The technology today, iPads and all the tablets hitting the market, make it so easy to pro-actively connect to your potential client that your chances of reconnecting and doing business with them are supremely enhanced.

And isn't that what we want when we interact with a potential client - absolutely!

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Hey gang, that's it for me today.  Next week I'll share with you what we do after the wedding starting with the minute we return for the job.  Hope to see you then.

Time for me to get scooting around here.  Our webcast with Lynn Michelle begins shortly and we got a few things to prep for the show.  Yep, you can still register right here.  Hope to see you in a few.

Adios,  David

”Rockin’ All Night Long”

”Rockin’ All Night Long”
©David A. Ziser

I love making this kind of image during the wedding reception – the band’s view of the party.  I’ve got to be very careful not to trip or unplug any of the band’s wires and cables – that could be disastrous.  Unusually the bands know me so I can move freely among them to capture these kind of photographs.  To me, this kind of image really captures the party atmosphere of some of the big events.

What’s working for me in this photograph? I love the long shadows of the band members silhouetted against the dance floor created by my super wide angle lens.  I like seeing the drummers cymbal kicking into the image from the left.  I like the partial view of the guitar player on the right. 

This is a totally available light image – I’m only using the lights in the room to make this image. That means high ISO’s and fast enough shutter speeds to stop the motion of the musicians.  Since I’m using such a wide angle lens, depth of field at F6.3 usually is not an issue. 

This is still one of my favorite reception images.  Even if the bride and groom don’t select it for their album, which very seldom happens, I may incorporate this shot into the album layout as a background image.  The double page spread always looks cool. 

Camera specs:  Canon 5D fitted with 12-24mm wide angle lens at 12mm, F 6.3 @ 1/25 second,  ISO 1,600.  Enjoy!  -David

What’s Up Wednesday: Last Call - FREE Wedding Webcast: Easy As 1-2-3; Fall Workshop Announced

Good Morning Everybody,

Just a quick note about a few things happening today and a new series beginning tomorrow. Here we go…

Last Call - FREE Webcast Tomorrow: Super Bowls and Weddings

Don’t forget we have our FREE Webcast happening tomorrow with Lynn Michelle, one of the busiest photographers in Dallas. I talked with Lynn earlier today and it sounds like she has some great Super Bowl stories to tell – like how she literally ran into President George Bush!  She said it was one of the most insane, exciting times of her life.  I can’t wait to talk with her tomorrow about the entire experience.

That’s only part of the story.  As I said, Lynn is a fantastic and very popular wedding photographer in Dallas – she is booked up for the rest of the year!  I’ve asked her to share a few insights with us about what today’s bride is looking for in her wedding photography and how she keeps those bookings coming. 

This webcast is a special feature for our DPT readers so I’ll hope you’ll join us for tomorrow's show at 2:00 p.m. EST.  You can hit the button above or register right here.

Captured By The Light DVD Set Receiving RAVE Reviews:

Since we released my CBTL DVD set of over 14 hours of training last week, folks have been lovin’ it.  A lot of photographers are opting for our SUPER SPECIAL Easy 1-2-3 Build A Bundle deal.  For only $40 more you get my 13 hour Digital Wake Up Call DVD set and your choice of my autographed CBTL book, a Zumbrella, Love Lightz, or Sun Spotz reflector! Not bad for only $99!

Remember, for everyone ordering the CBTL DVD set, we are throwing in the Tour DVD and the Tour Handbook.  It’s like being there all over again.  I did receive one very interesting comment from someone that purchased the DVD set.   They told me that they’ve watched the DVD over and over each time picking up some new tip and technique, but even after all the viewings they still didn’t win a door prize ;~)  Anyway, check it out right here – you’re going to love it.

Announcing My Fall 2011 Digital Lighting Workshop

This is BIG news gang.  I was holding off doing another week long workshop in the Fall.  But my team has convinced me to do at least one more.  Our Spring workshop has been sold out for month’s and photographers have been calling about when the Fall workshop would be scheduled.

Well, I can now tell ya’ – we have just set the dates so mark your calendars:  October 10-14, 2011 right here in the Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky area.  Cost is only $1195 for the week.  That  includes workbook, portfolio development (you keep the photos you take of our models), 50 solid hours of training by myself and my coaches, two meal functions at our home, and much, much more.

You’ll fly into the Greater Cincinnati airport (CVG).  We made arrangements with the 4-Star Homewood Suites hotel and were able to hold room rates to only $94/Single or $129 for a shared 2 bedroom suite (BEST deal).  We love this hotel, the staff is great and everyone loves the “Suites” accommodations.  Bring a friend, and share a 2 bedroom suite with a common living area and kitchen, 2 separate bedrooms and 2 separate bathrooms. What a deal for only $129!  BTW, the hotels offers complimentary breakfast every morning and a light dinner/snack with adult beverages available every night.  That really makes your stay a bargain!

Call the Studio 800.292.2994 or 859.341.5900 to reserve your space. EASY pay is available so don’t wait and miss a spot in my Fall Digital Workshop.

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Hey everybody, that’s it for me today.  I hope to see everybody same time, same place tomorrow of another episode of Business Day Thursday.  You don’t want to miss it.  I’m beginning a brand new series, “What Happens After The Wedding Shoot?”  I’ll give you a tour of our workflow/salesflow exactly as it  happens in my studio.  Be sure to tune in.

See ya’ tomorrow,  David

”I’m Just A Country Girl”

”I’m Just A Country Girl”
©David A. Ziser

This image was made while I was shooting for Kelby Training a few years ago.  I selected this image for today’s post because it speaks to the tutorials I’m posting today.

This image represents a fairly normal situation we as wedding photographers find ourselves in over the course of the wedding season.  We’re shooting in an urban location – that means streets, telephone poles with wires, cars, etc. in the background.  That was the situation in this session. I was able to drop down into a gulley affording me a much lower vantage point for my shot.  That means I was able to drop the poles and wires out of the background quite easily.

Whenever I’m shooting outdoors, I always try to position the sun behind the subject.  That way I don’t get any “hatchet light” those bright specs of sunlight that sometimes fall on the subject – if the sun is behind the subject, that simply can’t happen. That was easy to do in this case as you can see by the direction of light falling on the trees in the background.

The result of my positioning the bride in this location was that I  illuminated the bride with direct sun light falling on her from behind but now her face was flatly lit by the ambient light.  Bringing my off-camera strobe in from camera right gave me the nice loop lighting on her face.

The problem when shooting outdoors is getting the sky to go dark enough to give the scene a more dramatic look.  We only have a few options to make that happen – smaller F-stops and smaller apertures.  Both of those options can be problematic mostly from the flash power stand point – you need more fire power to over come the smaller apertures when shooting outdoors.

At F10 and at 1/320 second I was able to darken the sky sufficiently for my purposes.  That meant that my strobe at full power was just out of camera range camera right. I used the faster 1/320 second shutter speed to darken the sky even more.  Since native sync speed for the Canon 40D is 1/250 second, the bottom 1/3 of the image is NOT illuminated by the flash.  No problem though – it looks like an easy vignette on the subject which draws viewers’ attention even more to her face.  Check out today’s videos below for a thorough explanation – I think you’ll enjoy them.

Camera specs: Canon 40D fitted with 10-22mm wide angle lens at 20mm, F10 @ 1/320 second, ISO 200.  Enjoy!  -David

Technique Tuesday: High Speed Flash & Revisiting How To Cheat The Sync; Super Bowl & Wedding Webcast

Good Morning Everybody,

I hope you are off to a great week. My week is getting off to a slow start.  Zoomtown, our ISP in Cincy, was down for over 5 hours today – hence the late post.  And yesterday I was under the weather for most of the day – no, it had nothing to do with the Super Bowl party the day before, but an on-going “bug” that just keeps trying to keep me down ;~)  That put a few projects on hold for me most of the day.

I was scheduled to do Scott Kelby’s guest blog post again tomorrow but simply felt too crummy to complete the post.  Brad gave me a reprieve till next week – Thanks a ton Brad.  The post is about complete but I want it well crafted to be a great read for Scott’s readers and our DPT readers as well. I’m adding the rest of the “spit and polish” to it today.

Feeling lousy also made for a change of plans for today’s post as well.  Not a big deal – I’ve still got some good information for you today.

High Speed Flash & Revisiting How To Cheat The Sync

I didn’t quite get a Technique Tuesday put together, but no problem  – I came across a great video showing how high speed sync works.  This video is outstanding!

I’m running that video alone with my “Cheating Flash” video I ran several months ago.  Both of these videos speak to a topic that I covered in today’s image of the day above and is quite popular with many photographers who really want to take their lighting proficiency to the next level.  I hope you enjoy them both.  Hit the PLAY buttons below and enjoy the shows.

HIGH SPEED SYNC:

 

CHEATING THE SYNC:

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Hey gang, that’s it for me today.  Remember, don’t forget to sign up for our FREE webcast Super Bowls & Weddings.  We’ll be talking with Lynn Michelle about how her Super Bowl Party shoot went on Sunday.

We will also be talking weddings with Lynn on Thursday.  Lynn is one of the most respected wedding photographers in Dallas [link] – I can’t wait to hear her comments.  You can still register right here.

See ya’ there,  David

”Dancing In The Clouds”

”Dancing In The Clouds”
©David A. Ziser

This is just an easy portrait I made of this young lady  in the middle of the day under the worst of conditions. – very bright and sunny, urban clutter everywhere, and VERY hot and humid. 

It was a city photographic session so I was challenged to separate my subject with a part of the sky that would allow enough “space” to supply an adequate background for this image.  Low camera angles and long lenses can make that job quite a bit easier.  I was sitting on the pavement with a long lens attached to my camera to get the framing I wanted.

The next challenge was to keep the bride out of the direct  sun – which is never flattering light.  There was a shadow being cast by a nearby building in which I could place my subject within. Now a lot of photographers would have just shot away and been satisfied with the flat non-dimensional lighting on her face. 

The other problem they would have encountered would have been getting the correct exposure on the bride standing in the shadows thereby rendering a detail-less, overexposed sky behind her – again, not a very interesting image.

Adding the off-camera flash solves the problem.  It brings detail and dimension to the bride’s gown and facial features as it is brought in camera right just enough to create the loop lighting pattern on the subject’s face.  Now by balancing the flash exposure with the sky behind the bride, I can easily bring in the nice textures of the clouds in the sky behind the bride. 

Finessing the image in Lightroom 3 finished the result.  All in all, a nice basic image of the bride captured in a not so basic way.

Camera specs: Canon 5D fitted with 70-300mm lens at 120mm, F 14 @ 1/200 second, ISO 400.  Enjoy!  -David

Best Projector Ever; Time Lapse Inspiration, and Top 10 Lists Galore!

Good Morning Everyone,

I hope your Super Bowl team won yesterday and if they didn't I hope your buddies weren't too rough on you after the game.  You know, it doesn't matter if your a football fan or not, sometimes it's just fun to get together with family and friends.

I've never been a big football fan, but LaDawn has been her entire life - here Dad was a high school football coach and her kids were lettering athletes in high school and college.  She grew up on the game. She is nearly 100% percent right on any close call - when the refs go under the hood to review a close play, I swear, they're calling LaDawn to ask how she saw it - she is ALWAYS right!  Anyway, a good time was had by a few friends at the Ziser Super Bowl Party!

Best Data/Home Entertainment Projector I Ever Bought

OK, so the packages begin arriving from Amazon around Wednesday and my wife, LaDawn begins to wonder, "What's up?". Well, for our Super Bowl party we hosted yesterday, I wanted to have it in the larger studio portion of our home.  The problem was that there was never a TV or cable in that room.  I had always had a data projector for client viewing of their images which I covered in a post a few years ago giving our DPT readers a tour of my studio [link].

What I needed was a digital TV tuner that I could hook up to my data projector.  You see where this is going - super BIG deal, not really, Super Bowl BIG viewing of the game, a REALLY BIG deal.  My Kworld External Digital TV Tuner Box [link] arrived along with Terk HDTVa Indoor Amplified High-Definition Antenna [link] I needed to pick up the FREE digital broadcasts from the local TV stations.

We hooked both the tuner and antenna up as shown in the manuals and in about 30 minutes, we scanned for the local stations - the KWorld tuner box/Turk combo came up with 42 stations. And yes, I was amazed how much FREE content was available in the Greater Cincinnati viewing area. 

Next we hooked things up to the old Dell data projector and in short order were watching TV in big, bold living color on the 10 foot drop down screen on which I show my client their images.

The problem that now I had three devices, a TV tuner, a Internet ready DVD player, and my studio computer all wanting to use that projector at one time or another.  It was a real inconvenience to keep swapping cables every time I wanted to use a different device.  There had to be a better choice.

The Dell XGA data projector I had been using for over four years had done a decent job.  The 1024x768 resolution made the images look pretty sharp on the screen and the projector was plenty bright 4 years ago - projector bulbs don't burn out, they slowly fade away.  Still with the 1920x1080 resolution sources I was feeding into the Dell projector, the image quality was severely compromised. 

I decided to do something about it later that day.  After some quick research on the web, the very reasonably priced Benq W1000+ presented itself as an option - under a $1,000 and 2000 lumens of 1920x1080 hi-def wonderfulness [link].  I ordered one from Amazon and was due to receive it on Friday.  

Not only was it a hi-res projector, but it also had two HDMI inputs - that would take care of the digital TV tuner and the Blu-Ray DVD player.  It also had a separate VGA input for my studio computer and several other inputs as well.

It arrived mid afternoon on Friday and I had it hooked up in about an hour to all three devices.  The image was gorgeous!!!  What a difference the 1920x1080 resolution makes!  My client images looked sparkling projected on  the 10 foot screen out of Lightroom.  Casino Royale was amazing in it's Blu-Ray glory, and digital TV was equally amazing to view.  Now with the simple press of a button on the controller, I was good to go to present images to my clients, watch a DVD or Netflix on the DVD player, and even tune in the Super Bowl yesterday. Our party guests had the best time relaxing in the comfort of my studio watching the Super Bowl activities 10 feet large!!  Life is SOOOOO good.     

More Monday Morning Inspiration

During my weekend surf sessions, I found some super cool time laspe videos - that are amazing.  The first is entitled, "The PaOule Blue Dot" by Michael Marantz right here is an inspiring time lapse film with the late Carl Sagan reading that poem during the visually stimulating imagery.

The second is even more amazing!  It by Tom Lowes and it's entitled "Rapture".  I found it over at Vincent LaForet's blog and it is an astounding piece of work.  Tom has apparently been working on the "Rapture Project” for nearly a year and this is just a peak of what he is putting together.  Hit the PLAY button below and prepare to be blown away!

TimeScapes: Rapture from Tom Lowe @ Timescapes on Vimeo.

 Like Those Top 10 Lists So Many Folks Put Together At The End Of The Year?

I also provide a glimpse at my Top 10 selections.  Fellow blogging buddy, Jim Goldstein, of JMG Galleries has put together a fine collection of 10 of the Top 10 photo blog listing for 2010.  His list includes things like the top ten Hubble space images, the top 100 sports images, top ten Vimeo videos, etc.  Here is the link right here.  A very worth while collection for your Monday morning dose of inspiration.

Also, Photoshelter.com [link] has a great set of top ten lists available. Their lists cover everything from Photo Marketing, Photo Gear, Photo Technique, Photo Inspiration, and more.  It's another worthwhile link to bookmark.  Here is that link right here.

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Hey gang, that's it for me today.  Have a great Monday today and a fine beginning to this week.  I hope I got you off to a good start today. I'll plan to see you for another Technique Tuesday tomorrow.

See you then,  David