on being asked to work for free

dear photographers,

stop complaining about people asking you to work for free, if that's happening for the most part it is your fault.  why?

• the presentation of your brand is weak or inconsistent.

• you can afford to hire yourself

• you have not done your due diligence to educate  clients

this does not mean once in a while people don't ask me to work for free, this does not mean that i don't work for free.  what it means is that i work for free when it is beneficial to my company or worth my time. even the $10,000 plus wedding photographers work for free but when it benefits them. 

one of the best ways you can avoid people asking you to work for free is to strengthen your brand.

brand

there are entire books written about this but i will go ahead and list a few premises:

• you are your brand: 

• appearance matters, you should be well dressed and groomed in a manner that's consistent with the message of your brand.

• website, logo, email should speak high volumes and be consistent

• have great work and it should be well presented

• impeccable customer service: how well do you answer the phone from the beginning of the interaction?  are you returning emails on time? are you delivering on time? etc.

• your brand should be consistent: presentation, marketing materials, social media, pamphlets, website, invoices, your attitude, the way you dress and speak et al.

...and the list can go on

you can afford to hire yourself

n.b consumers associate price with value.  i cannot afford to hire myself, i am too expensive. i’ve spend, sometimes 15 hrs a day honing my craft, i have read hundreds of books, and study thousands of videos, inturned, carried other photographer's bags, paid for and attend seminars, workshops fell and rise and worked extremely hard. my craft is worth what i am charging. the time i spend documenting other families is valuable time spent away from my own family. my time, expertise, and the art i produce is valuable. if you are not charging your worth, how can you expect people to respect your time?

education

the key is to never say no to a person asking but rather to do your due diligence and educate them as to why you won't work for free. i have had this happen before and based on the education i provided, it turned into event work, a wedding, and more event work from the entire family.  don't be afraid to let people know the cost of doing business, also that you pay insurance, and taxes. educate.

keep kewl!

using direct sunlight through a window

as wedding photographers, we love to use window light for brides and grooms. it is one of the most tasteful light sources and easiest light sources to master. it easiest to use on overcast days and evenings, but it can be difficult when there is direct sunlight through a window. wedding photographers tend struggle because they expose properly for the face but blow out the bride's dress or over expose the groom's shirt.  here i will teach my method of using direct sunlight through a window, it is easy to set up and does not take more than 3 minutes.

tools:

1.     knowing the basics of exposure (i.e. the brighter the scene the more your meter should be reading on the + side and vice versa)
2.     light meter
3.     nylon (i bought mine from B&H)4.     posing: turn the head to the light and turn the body away from the light (this helps to light the face properly and there will be dramatic fall off on the white dress so it will not be blown out
5.     posing and shooting: shoot on the shadow/short side, this will slim the face down.  the broad side, will make the face look bigger.
  

how

1.    thumb tack the nylon over the window, this will make the window into a giant soft box by evening out the light. 

2.    set camera to matrix metering

3.    use your light meter and meter for the face.  if you don’t have a light meter assess the light scene and dial your meter to the plus side, if and only if the scene contains a lot of white. ( a good educational video that i recommend is photocafe’s perfectexposure for digital photography by tim cooper , it teaches the zone system of exposure that was invented by anslem adam 

4.    pose the bride or groom  by turning their face to the light and body away from the light

5.    set your camera to readings of your light meter and shoot.

this shows the window without the nylon  ISO: 200, f/3.6, 1/200 sec. the red highlights indicates areas that are blown out.

 nylon hung over window with harsh/direct sunlight

below, nylon over the window

ISO: 200, f/6.3, 1/200 sec. 

note the light is even and softer, as well as the face is properly exposed and the dress is not blown out. 

some hotel rooms where the bride and groom gets prepare, the windows have a sheer material behind the curtins. so there is no need to hang nylon, ther is already a giant softbox created for you. 

creating bokeh backgrounds

here, i'll teach you the basics on how to create bokeh backgrounds, the technique becomes simple, after you practice, practice, pracitce and learn the basics.

you must practice this over and over before you decide to do it at a wedding or engamenent session. i don't believe in talent, or genius, those things are overrated, i believe in practice, i believe in practicing for long hours, daily.

how

1. meter for background lights (photo 1 that would be the fairy/christmas lights "A"
in photo 3 that would be the window lights of the buildings of New York City) a simiar concept is used in photo 5, using the sparklers "E")
2. under expose the background lights
3. add a video light or flash  (B, D or F.) to light the face. in photo 3, 4, 5, & 6  either my wife or assistant is crouching behind the couple with a videolight or flash

practice and enjoy...