I have a collection of posts on his blog and definitely enjoy reading it and refering it to others from time to time.

Go check it out and pass it along: http://www.ronmartblog.com/

Photographer found for wedding reunion

A woman reorganizing her wedding album from 48 years ago tracks down the photographer in St. Petersburg for a special gathering.

By PHINDILE XABA

© St. Petersburg Times,
published July 25, 2001

ST. PETERSBURG — As a young photographer, 84-year-old Jack Swenningsen had taken wedding pictures of newlyweds named Gleason. He was stunned recently when the phone rang and it was the couple, now married nearly half a century.

“A few months ago I was transferring our wedding pictures from an old disintegrating album to a new album when I noticed the stamp with Jack’s name and address,” said Marjorie Gleason, who is 75. “I looked his name up the phone book and I called to arrange for a reunion. He and his wife were very receptive.”

So the Gleasons — Marjorie and 74-year-old George — became reacquainted with their wedding photographer. He hadn’t yet opened a studio when he took their wedding pictures on Aug. 25, 1953.

“He used his home stamp on the back of each picture he took as a form of advertising,” Mrs. Gleason said.

He prides himself in having done a good job with the Gleasons’ wedding album and credits his wife, 82-year-old Amelia, for the chance.

“If it wasn’t for my wife I don’t think I could have met the Gleasons. She is the one who got this job for me. She used to work with Marjorie at the City Hall back in the ’50s and had heard that she was looking for a photographer for their wedding when she recommended me,” he said.

The Swenningsens, who have been married for 60 years, were easy for the Gleasons to find — they have lived in the same house for 51 years, 3831 49th Ave. N, St. Petersburg.

The meeting was also simple because the Gleasons — who had lived in Atlanta for 46 years — moved back to the area, the Mainlands in Pinellas Park, a few years ago.

Mr. Swenningsen said wedding pictures are a great responsibility.

“You have to be diplomatic with the family. Know family members, and look professional. That was a fun job.”

He said this is the first time a satisfied customer called after so many years.

“I was thunderstruck when the Gleasons called. I had learned that satisfied customers don’t call, I only got called when there was a problem with some photographs. I didn’t anticipate such a surprise. This left me feeling fulfilled and content that the black-and-white prints I produced then were good quality because they were still intact after so long,” he said.

As a young photographer, the multi-award winning Swenningsen sold his services to the St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce, newspaper travel sections and magazines.

And he worked for a start-up tourist magazine called Florida Speaks. He doubled as a photographer for the Griffith Advertising Agency, which used to market Florida tourism news to communities abroad.

He grew up in New York and discovered that he was a man of many talents after earning a degree in advertising art before moving to Florida. He was known for his commercial artwork and then took on photography as an interest.

Although he is retired from actively taking pictures, he still gets together with his professional photography friends every Thursday.

“We meet on 66th Street North at the Luby’s restaurant. We show each other old-time pictures and slides and talk photography,” says Mr. Swenningsen.

Mr. Swenningsen, whose living and dinning room walls are adorned with his work, has taken on a new interest: music. He plays an accordion.

“I love bringing joy to people’s lives. I have performed at a number of retirement homes.” He just had a gig at the Gulfport Senior Center last Friday at lunch. He proudly pulls out a picture he made of his band.

To see more photos, please visit Flickr.

HARDWARE

13-inch MacBook Pro / “The travel companion”

The 13″ MacBook Pro is a great workhorse for its size and allowing a lot for a little. I also prefer to carry 2 external G-Drive slims (500GB model) to act as backup for the photos. While I do have CrashPlan to be a cloud system, I know storing photos on two drives is going to help ensure I have my work backed up appropriately from a client’s event before I get back home and can properly drop the files onto the other G-Tech drives. Other than travelling, the MacBook Pro isn’t really touched beyond being a personal laptop at home. All my photo editing, etc. is done on the Mac mini.

Mac mini with 23″ Cinema Display / “Basecamp”

While an iMac is a great alternative, I chose to invest in the Mac mini because I already owned the Cinema display for linking to my MacBook Pro. While the hard drive is small (only 300GB), it gets the job done. I don’t store photos on the computer itself. All my photos are on external hard drives. I do have my personal “current year” library for Aperture on the mini, but all the images are referenced, so if I loose the library or it becomes corrupt, I won’t have fear of loosing any images from the year. I don’t really see a need to have a Mac Pro (the tower system) as photo editing* is not requiring a lot of “power” compared to an everyday workhorse that might jump between multiple programs requiring a lot of RAM and speed.

*If you’re offering video as part of your package or have a space to use studio lighting and an office, a Mac Pro might be a good investment so you can tackle the 1080p editing, capturing the photos wirelessly, and appreciate that extra boost when you need it.

1TB and 2TB G-Tech Drives / “Security”

As I follow Chase Jarvis and have been inspired by him for years, he has introduced me to a lot of great products for my business. G-Technology is one of them. I have used multiple brands of external hard drives over the years (LaCie and Western Digital), and have found that G-Tech has been the most consistent and reliable over all of them. I currently use the G-Drive (up to 3TB of storage) to back up my photos.

I will write another post regarding my thoughts on how best to network your backup routine, etc. but if you want to learn more about how Chase does it, read about it on his blog here.

Wacom Intous4 Tablet / “The fine tuning”

I love having this at an easy reach if I ever need it. I am an illustrator and artist first and foremost, so the tablet is really used when I am illustrating or creating something that is more artistic in nature. I have found that it has it’s benefits for fine tuning the cloning and/or masking out parts of a photo that might be hard to remove otherwise, but it’s definitely an “as needed” tool in my book.

SanDisk Card Reader /

I never download my cards directly from the camera. Two reasons for this. First, I am usually swapping my cards during a shoot. So, the first card I shot is never the last card in the camera. The other reason is for security. I ALWAYS keep my cards on me. The camera body, the lenses, other accessories—they are the least of my worries for a client. I have two Pelican cases that store eight (8) Compact Flash cards. When I am done with a shoot, I take my final card out of the camera, flip it upside down, and put it in the Pelican case. (There’s a great side story to my approach to storing the cards they way I do… that might come later.)

SOFTWARE

CrashPlan

I have used the service for the last four years now. I love it. While the initial backup may take months (or years in some cases), I have found a few tricks that help improve the speed at which your files are backed up. For example, if you’re using your computer only between the hours of 8-5, you can set up CrashPlan to back up during that time, but once 5pm hits, you can have it increase the backup performance while your computer is not being used by other programs. While the initial backup is not going to be quick, the daily syncs will greatly increase in speed by doing this after the fact.

Aperture

I have used this since day one of launch. And I think because Apple was first out of the gate with their professional photo software, I have found to stay with Aperture over Lightroom. While Adobe has done some great things with their application, I haven’t seen that feature that is going to make me jump ship yet. I guess it’s a lot like debating to leave Nikon and go with Canon.

Nik Software

While I own the full plug-in suite, I really only dabble with the software when I am looking to work on a select piece for printing and framing, or if I generate an album for a client. Like I noted above with the Wacom tablet, I have found that a lot of the mass editing can be handled by Aperture. Each of the applications has a great use of pin-point control on color adjustments and can help make some minor adjustments that Aperture or Lightroom might not be able to focus on.

Photoshop*

While a lot of photographers might recommend investing in Photoshop if you’re a beginner, I am one who wouldn’t recommend it. The reason I say this is because it’s really what I refer to as a “refining” tool. Like I mentioned with Aperture, it can handle A LOT. Including a great approach to batch processing, and if I was just starting out, I would prefer to invest in a non-distructive PIE-based (Parametric Image Editing) software application over a tool like Photoshop.

*I really only use this application when I need to stitch together panoramas.

TRAVEL SETUP

My wife and I love to travel. And when we do so, I make sure I have certain things with me to collect and back up photos. Especially when we’re on assignment with a destination wedding. The camera gear is one thing to note when traveling, and it really depends on the shoot for what will be in your bag as far as the “glass” goes. In regards to what I would pack for photo management, I really only see the following being the best.

MacBook Pro – Great, compact, and powerful. With the 500GB drive, I can easily store the shoot on the drive temporarily if needed. And it can run Aperture without any issues.

G-Tech slim drives (2) – I carry two because I try and follow the old addage “don’t put all your eggs in one basket”.

SanDisk Card Reader – The reader I have is VERY compact and easily travels with us.

Pelican Cases – Not only are they great for storing the cards in one location and keeping them on me. They are tough, durable, and are waterproof.

AA Batteries (8) – As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I do have the battery grip attached to my D300. While it does house a lith-ion battery, the grip comes with a AA battery drawer to swap out if needed. I always bring this along with me on the chance that a lith-ion battery fails or I am unable to charge them after they’ve been drained.

So, beyond the camera gear, make sure you define you’re needs when travelling and don’t assume that you’ll be able to get X, Y, or Z where you’re going.  I hope this helps you with your decisions towards hardware and software for your studio.

There are plenty of questions that should be running through your head and asking not only the bride or groom, but yourself.

1. Where is the wedding? Is it in a church? Is it an outdoor wedding? If it’s outside, is the wedded couple under a trellis or something that will produce shade?
2. What are the expectations of the photographs? Doe the bride and groom “just” want the typical list? Is there a photographer that they love his or her style, but don’t have the budget for them?
3. What can be expected of the event? Is it a quick ceremony on a beach? Is it a full day from sunrise to sunset and into the night?
4. What equipment do you have in your bag? Do you need to rent any additional gear?
5. Are you getting paid for doing this? If so, how much is your time worth to you? Are you thinking of this being a start to your wedding photography business, or is it going to be a one-time only offer?

Asking yourself these questions, can help you decide one of two things. Either you’ll move forward and step up to the plate, or you’ll play it cool and kindly decline.

Due to the details and complexities of shooting a wedding, I will be having a five-part series to cover:

LOCATION

EXPECTATIONS

THE DAY OF…

INSPIRATION

GEAR

CONTRACTS & BUSINESS PRACTICES

CONTRACTS

I want to take this last part of my Wedding Photography overview to discuss contracts. I am not going to just copy and paste a contract to review it and hand over the content needed… that’s too easy. A lot of what I have learned and refined over the years is thanks to a workshop I took under Mike Colon back at the WPPI conference in 2010.

To start, there are a few things that you should always note when starting to put together a good contract for weddings.

PRICE STRUCTURE

I’m listing this category first for a couple reasons. The first being, I want to stress that you charge for your services. I have never done a wedding for free–never. Yes, I’ve done one on a budget for $300, but that was not only my first wedding, but by charging for the wedding, I felt confident that it was something I could continue doing at a reasonable cost and not feel like I’m not charging what I feel I should be.

To start, I always ask for 50 percent deposit, remainder due on or directly before the wedding. Why? This might seem odd to not have even done the service yet, and still get paid the full amount. I grew up being a Boy Scout and have found that with the timeline of post production, etc. you have this notice to yourself (voice in your head) to finish the work on the photos and get them into a gallery for your client to view and buy.

Next, don’t sell yourself short. Before presenting your first contract, make a list of everything that you might need to be covering for that day. Gas for traveling, any rented gear (I’ve used Lens Pro To Go), any services you might use (ie web hosting), or memberships you might belong to (ie WPPI). By doing this, at the end of the wedding and handing off the photos, etc. you’ll see that you’ve succeeding in making a profit. The first handful of weddings I shot, I was putting half of the cost of my services into renting equipment and lenses for the wedding. And while it was well worth the cost of doing so for the quality of the images, if I was to go back to those, I would probably have a separate fee just to cover the cost of the rented gear and/or charge more per wedding to start.

TIMELINE (Day of)

No matter your cost, make sure you structure it in such a way to allow your client to understand a per hour cost if that helps them understand how the cost of a photographer is justifiable for a full day. You don’t have to directly note $200 per hour in the contract, but if you’re wanting to charge $200 per hour, make sure to that you base a 4-hour or an 8-hour day off of it.

Also, make sure that you monitor your time. If you’re shooting an 8 hour wedding and it goes into the 10+ hour evening, you want to have a clause that states something similar to “…15 minutes after the agreed end time, we will start to bill hourly in 15 minute increments at a rate of $200 per hour…”. Now you can be kind and if you see you’ve only had to spend an extra 30 minutes at the wedding, it’s probably silly to charge them, but if you’ve continued to capture images (per the clients request) beyond the end time, you’ll definitely want to get your money’s worth.

POST PRODUCTION (Day after)

I typically tell my client that I need 2-3 weeks (closer to 3) for editing. By doing this you help your client know that to expect the photos the next day isn’t going to happen, but at the same time (if you can manage your time well), you might be able to deliver earlier than expected.

First thing. Take a break. Ok, maybe go ahead and back up your cards, etc. to your hard drives or DVDs. But honestly, don’t dive into post production for a day or two. Let yourself rest from the event. Even though you know you’ve captured some great moments and want to view them immediately, I’ve found that I am more in tune with post production when I’ve mentally rested from the task of shooting for 8+ hours in a day.

The next task item is what I refer to as “please the bride”. I quickly go through the images and find 30-50 shots I think are worthy of my portfolio. I edit those, export them at a limited resolution with a watermark and upload them to Facebook, Flickr, the blog, and any other social web site I choose to help with marketing later on.

On to doing the work… I shoot upwards of 2500 images (if not more) during a wedding. Fortunately, my wife is a second shooter when we’re doing these gigs. The first step I take is importing (referencing) the images in Aperture. I add meta data such as the names of the clients, venue, subjects, city, state, etc. that will help add to the library. I then go through all the images and break them into “albums” to relate them to the post wedding, getting ready, portraits, ceremony, reception, details and anything else I find is a chunk of the day. This helps the editing process seem less daunting. From there, my wife will help me throughout the first week to narrow down the images per category and we finally end up with 500 images or so.

After doing the detailed adjustments of color, etc. I upload them to Pictage and it will usually cover a two-week editing process which results in a happy bride because I’ve delivered earlier than expected. Yes, this is an “ideal” structure. If you’re doing a 40 hour job on top of this, I would easily predict 3 weeks will be needed as I have been there myself.

DELIVERY

I have a few options the client can use. Pictage is a great online gallery with ordering services. There are multiple plans to choose from and based on the sales per wedding or portrait session, they will cut you a check for a percentage as well as cover the cost of the monthly dues if you’ve made enough in sales that month.

I will upload the selected photos via categories to allow the client to better sort through them this way. When you send you client the invite to Pictage (which I tend to do months before the wedding), they can invite friends and family to sign up for a notification and a small discount off their order.

Another service is album design. I have a great company out of New Zealand that I use. Queensberry has a very high quality structure as well as being archival with cotton pages and a great leather backing along with multiple sizes to your liking. While they are not cheap, the cost of them is very apparent. With a one-time investment, the company sends you sample albums to show off what the client will be gaining by investing in an album through you.

And finally, assuming you’ve built this into the cost of your contract as well, always be willing to provide your client with a CD of the images. This is the most common request, and don’t be offended by it as they have paid for them. The only thing you might suggest or recommend is either having them go through a professional printer and frame some of the select shots to hang in their home. On that note, at the very least, if they choose to only display them on Facebook to request they link them to you via a copyright notice or displaying your web site below the images.

FINAL NOTES…

Remember, these a more or less guidelines and things to remember when piecing together a contract. Even if you’re shooting your family members wedding or a long time friend, always have a contract to protect yourself from unwanted requests and needs. I have shot all of my weddings knowing that I have a contract in place to allow me to feel I have done a service and can continue with my life after the job is complete to not have random requests coming from a bride I shot 5 years ago for an 8×10 image.

IN ADDITION…

While I was piecing this series together to help educate photographers on the wedding industry, B&H announced a microsite dedicated to Wedding Photography as well and it goes into further detail on some of the subjects covered to help you understand more about the industry and what works. Feel free to check it out here.

There are plenty of questions that should be running through your head and asking not only the bride or groom, but yourself.

1. Where is the wedding? Is it in a church? Is it an outdoor wedding? If it’s outside, is the wedded couple under a trellis or something that will produce shade?
2. What are the expectations of the photographs? Doe the bride and groom “just” want the typical list? Is there a photographer that they love his or her style, but don’t have the budget for them?
3. What can be expected of the event? Is it a quick ceremony on a beach? Is it a full day from sunrise to sunset and into the night?
4. What equipment do you have in your bag? Do you need to rent any additional gear?
5. Are you getting paid for doing this? If so, how much is your time worth to you? Are you thinking of this being a start to your wedding photography business, or is it going to be a one-time only offer?

Asking yourself these questions, can help you decide one of two things. Either you’ll move forward and step up to the plate, or you’ll play it cool and kindly decline.

Due to the details and complexities of shooting a wedding, I will be having a five-part series to cover:

LOCATION

EXPECTATIONS

THE DAY OF…

INSPIRATION

GEAR

CONTRACTS & BUSINESS PRACTICES

IN THE BAG

So you’ve bought your first DSLR camera and you’re thinking of shooting a wedding or two, or making it something you will turn into as a business or side job because you’ve uncovered your passion for photography and see that it’s a great way to earn some extra cash.

In this post, I will inform you of why wedding photographers have the gear they do. It’s not as much as you think.

NOTE: I am a Nikon shooter, but most everything is also available via Canon or another camera manufacturer.

BODIES

Today, there are plenty of models to choose from within each make of camera. However, this doesn’t mean that the body will be suited well for shooting a wedding. Similar to sporting events, a wedding is comprised of a variety of moments. Ones that are fast (dancing and the bouquet toss), ones that are time consuming (portraits and the ceremony), and moments that only happen once in the whole day (the first kiss and placing the rings on the finger). Each of these are something that you need to take into consideration not only as a talented photographer, but with the idea of “will my gear handle capturing that moment?”

ENTRY LEVEL (Nikon D5100)*

While these cameras are amazing with their technology (16.2 Megapixel and 1080p movie functions), they often are not ideal for shooting weddings because they don’t have a fast enough frame rate to cycle through a specific moment in a wedding.

I do think that if you’re looking to have a second body on hand, this is a great option though. Because of its movie function, you can easily promote this as part of your contract.

PROSUMER (Nikon D300s)

Here is where you can start seeing some serious results in photographing a wedding. The D300s allows you to gain 6-9 frames per second (FPS) depending if you have the MB-D10 battery pack on it. Not only does this type of camera offer a fast frame-rate and some other features that the lower-end models don’t, but it is also commonly built with more durable materials, including a magnesium body to improve weather sealing.

These bodies are also considered “cropped”. By this, it allows the sensor to increase the distance the lens covers when mounted on the body. Most often, a cropped body will have a magnification of 1.6 times what a full-frame or 35mm camera will display in the viewfinder. So, a 50mm lens on a 35mm camera will actually read at 80mm on a cropped body.

PRO (Nikon D3s)*

While they aren’t required to shoot weddings (in my opinion), a D3s (or full-frame camera) is a great asset to your bag. Shooting the weddings I have over the years, I have moved from just using a D300 to a D3, and now a D3s. The advancements over the years with this body has made my enjoyment of shooting a wedding that much more fun. The reason I say this is due to the high ISO/low noise combination and the fast frame rate (up to 11FPS). And while I don’t use the video function on the camera, the fact that it can do video has improved the recycle of image capture greatly over the D3.

Know your camera well. Quickly adjusting ISO, bracketing, etc. You want to be able to move fluidly throughout the day without looking back and thinking “I missed the first kiss!” Another critical note is the always have two bodies with you when shooting a wedding. Not only does it allow you to have multiple lenses at a quick access, but if one fails (knock on wood) you have another as backup.

*While the D3s is the top full-frame body, if you prefer a more compact version feel free to check out the D700.

NOTE: It is said that the D4 and D400 will be announced in August 2011, so if you’re able to wait until then, I highly recommend doing so.

LENSES

While you can spend thousands on a set of lenses based on what you see the professionals carry around, I have found that this is what you’ll really need:

Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 (35-70mm f/2.8 D)

Nikkor 70-200 f/2.8 (80-200mm f/2.8 D)

Nikkor 105mm f/2.8 Macro (60mm f/2.8 D Macro)

Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 (85mm f/1.4 D)

Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 (50mm f/1.4 D)

There will be other alternatives to this list, and I have added the D-Model in parenthesis to show less expensive options that are just as great.

Even though having a photographic eye is a main key to shooting a wedding, the glass is VERY important as well. I am an Aperture Priority shooter and all my glass is f/2.8 or faster (and it’s needed).

KIT LENSES (18-55mm, 55-200mm)

While I am not going to promote these lenses as a good option to shoot a wedding, I will mention where they can be used if you choose to do so. If you’re shooting all day, the 55-200 will be great for you to keep your distance and take some candid photos during the ceremony and other times when you don’t want to be “in their face” with the lens to capture an intimate moment. The 18-55 might be something you can use for the portraits, but throughout the wedding, I don’t advise using it (beyond the portraits).

The reason kit lenses aren’t really something you want to be using is due to a couple things. They aren’t as sharp as the other lenses mentioned above, the quality of build isn’t rugged enough, and they aren’t considered “fast glass”. The aperture ratings on these are listed with an f/3.5-5.6 structure usually that means at the closest (18mm) you can only open up to 3.5 and at 200mm you can only read out at f/5.6. These are reasonable, but not an ideal choice for shooting weddings that tend to be set in low light environments.

Fast glass refers to lenses that not only can focus quickly, but more importantly have a single aperture rating (ie 1.4 or 2.8) across the length of a telephoto lens (ie 70-200mm).

PRO (24-70mm, 70-200mm)

These lenses are what make or break a wedding photographer. Without the focal length or the aperture, you’ll be doing a lot more post-production than you’ll want to spend after shooting for 12 hours.

PRIME (50mm, 85mm)

I personally love prime lenses. Not only do they offer a wider aperture, in some cases they are sharper than telephoto models. Both of the primes I have listed above are great. My one note though is pertaining to cropped sensors. If you’re shooting with a D300s (or similar body), the 50mm is going to be 80mm compared to the 85mm on a full-frame camera. I only own the 50mm at this time for this reason and use it mostly for close portraits of the bride and any detail shots where I want a great bokeh on the image.

MACRO (105mm)

This is a must-have lens for weddings. The rings, dress details, food, and other parts of the wedding that make it unique to the bride. This is where this lens comes in handy.

OTHER GEAR

FLASH

If you can, avoid using the on-camera flash (get a TTL cord) and add an off-camera flash (SB-900) to it. I have a Stroboframe that allows me to swing the flash in multiple directions for bouncing the light off walls, etc. so the light isn’t harsh and directly on the subject. And while do have this ability, since 2008 I really haven’t used the flash or mount system during a wedding. I prefer a very relaxed and candid style with my photography and a flash is just calling for “look at me”.

LIGHTING

During the portraits and other formal gatherings of the family and wedding party, it is nice to have a portable lighting system, but isn’t necessary for a wedding. If you simply remember to find a well lit space (outdoors or not) that will give you good lighting on the party, you’ll be able to get some great shots. I personally use Profoto for my lighting equipment, but don’t use it during a wedding.

MEMORY CARDS

My general rule of thumb on memory cards is anything larger than 8GB is unnecessary. The reason for this is two-fold. One, I can shoot 600+ images (RAW) on one card. I typically cover 2500-3000 images per wedding. And the other is due to DVD backup and fear of a failed card. One DVD can house 360 (RAW) images. So it’s pretty easy for me to quickly split an 8GB card in two and burn two discs. I currently use the SanDisk Compact Flash cards. The day before every shoot, I reformat the cards in camera. This helps restore the cards to their default structure and clean out any “hidden” files. Don’t be afraid to buy these whenever you find spare money to spend. You can NEVER have enough.

You might wonder, how do you keep track of what you’ve shot so far? I use a Pelican CF card holder (2 of them actually). One contains my 4GB cards, and the other 8GB. I start out with all of my cards face-up. Then, when I’ve filled up a card and eject it from the camera, I place it face-down in the Pelican case. The first wedding I shot, I just kept them in separate cases and had to juggle through the LCD viewer to see if I’ve used the card yet. The Pelican is well worth the $20 to save the time frantically going through cards during the wedding.

To conclude… if you are wondering about the gear mentioned above, you can see the full list online at B&H. Also, if you’re not sure about investing in the lenses and equipment right from the start, please rent it. Read more about rental services here as I rented my gear for years until I was able to amass a collection that covers what I need to shoot a wedding.

IN ADDITION…

While I was piecing this series together to help educate photographers on the wedding industry, B&H announced a microsite dedicated to Wedding Photography as well and it goes into further detail on some of the subjects covered to help you understand more about the industry and what works. Feel free to check it out here.