Lessons

Lesson Info

9:30 am - Q and A

Best shot asked what percentage of horizon horizontal versus vertical do you shoot for the album? Do you sell many vertical sometime? I want to make a habit sometime habit don't work with me because I'm not I don't stick with habits but I really like toe for example if I do details shot it's better to do everything horizontal or vertical so it's fitting the album correctly yes and there are always reason why I should vertical or why I should horizontal you it's all plain so I don't try to get crazy on on changing the position off the camera and another thing also I don't rotate the camera hundred eighty degrees either horizontal all the shattered on top when aiko vertical so I know that although I don't have to rotate falls and it works out much better it's always I have the shutter button on top all right we have a couple more good questions, your honor I also wanted to remind you macia would like to know and we talked about yesterday the processing of the veil to be suspects at some ...

point I'm going to show you did but if you see this ville it is a lot ofthe textures so it's not gonna work fantastic with these fail but I will have points that I will use it at some point today we get teo don't worry it's coming okay good and then I have a question from fashion extreme who says you won't do sharpen your images if yes do you do it during raw processing? I don't shop in my files okay I don't shock from my fights I've got good lances I've got good cameras I don't want to go very sharp because we're photographing people especially woman so there's no point in sharp in england if they're sharp as they are I will only sharpening a little little bit out of focus so that's a good question you and I don't I usually leave my camera setting in default I don't I don't touch anything I find it that's quite a good setting and I will make sure that it stays there create an m scott asked how many hours did you shoot this last wedding? This wedding that army editing way can easily find out here I can't remember inspector let me see where is it uh so this wass twelve one o'clock so quite a reason of a good time one o'clock toe maybe eight o'clock one two eight year so that include the church, the reception and everything can I ask one more question? Yeah keep on asking me okay while we're going to this and you people if you have questions ask me create even even the students because I want to give you as much information while I'm going to this this is the foyer off the hotel she's moving out so I have to do the shot quickly sometimes my mind was setting is incorrect you see this one I don't get too much excited because the girl at the front is not greater expression anything but hers and her mother's is quite nice so I will close crop it eventually I will crop it dimension do you give them guidance when they're choosing the photos for the album like tell them to no no no because I want him the only guidance is come girls guys make a story telling maybe the groom and bride don't sit down together they select their favorite separately and we put it together and the guidance happens when they come and visit the studios always start we start helping them with the layout are there ever times when they pic pictures that you wouldn't necessarily have picked for the book and there will be some pictures here if I can fit them if it's going to work all right here then if not always take it out but I will tell them after that that picture didn't work so so yes I will you know this is this is quite a mess a picture she wanted it but I see isis it can become quite nice if I focus on the little girl's there so it ended the that's the main parties is this is all nearly snapshot because this's when she's arrived in church and we have to move I never tried to stop them here for hours because I will be playing the priest will blame me that it was because ofthe mitch is running late and most churches good churches book so many weddings in a day that you know if you're running late you're in trouble so I are really trying to take the quick shots and that that's a great shot off her and her father it's run the same action here it's a bit off no we went back to oregon maybe we don't need this one but let's go here and copy dissection based there how we going girls? Any question do tbe photography we did touch on this yesterday but judy bee photography says or ask when you're adjusting color and the tent of a photo do you sink the photos so they will all look the same if it's in the same light condition yes that's what I'm doing I'm clicking on the button at the bottom copying the setting and move to the other picture you see that was one kiddo that wass not too happy to be there and this kid was being cute so but unfortunately there's a bit of movement there or fortunately I don't mind having a bit of movement there easy those kids when they got together on the page is going to be fantastic and you see a life I loved to stay behind and wait until the bright star toe work I loved photograph her the bake off the dress usually my assistant will photograph from the front and I love those special moments that they don't even know that I'm there they don't even know I'm there I'm just silently because these are real moment and I don't want to interrupt him this is not my strength I don't I'm not good at capturing real moments all the time but thiss happens drive in front of me and I won't miss it well now that you've said that I'd love to know what your strengths are my strength out toe grab the beauty off the woman make her a fashion model where she's not make her a real person becomes the model and being the best offer it's it's wrong to say become a model I'm capturing the book best off the woman the best day of her life the best time the best moment hopefully tease and I try to get it sometimes when you get a bright she's concerned about the dress it's going to get their tissues concerned about that's the bright is not going to get good pictures because she's too concerned it's only today don't worry you know I never have done a trust addressed top over coverage uh because my bright spent too much money on their dress and they're not going to trash it some of those braces cost upto I have a bright who who paid forty thousand dollars for a dress and another bright came and said, I love this dress I rang the the other she said, do you think she will sell it to me? There were similar sized girls and she said twenty five thousand dollars in the other bride protect dress, so so, yeah, because if she could put the real one, it was going to cost a forty thousand dollars, so I get girls like that and distresses they won't trash it, not even don't mention it. There will be so angry with you. Just another question, he said that you have the bride and groom choose their favorite photo separately. Are they separate? Actually when they do that or are they sitting there together and just take turns cheese? Which one? The ppp at their house? Well, you said that when they're choosing the photos for the album, you have her picture way, let them do it at home to separate, but each one will send us the files. We put them together before they come, so the two of them and you find out fifty percent is the same picture, but the other fifty percent it's totally different look here, I'm copying one off the correction and I'm applying to the next one so so you will save time and they'll go go same this's a different camera, different angles so we'll do a small eater other adjustment you see it's very important for me to bring the details ofthe off the dress because that's what the bride wants to see this couple works so hard for their waiting he did very hard heavy job for a couple of years a construction and everything so he can bring her dream team forward the parents couldn't afford all the expensive taste the head so they did it to himself. So it's it's amazing how much if if you get the right couple how much they want and for them the photos was number one nothing else mattered they wanted it recorded sometimes in a different lighting condition here are much rather fix it in in photoshopped in two more than date. So sean a zo as a party asked when asking the client to choose the pictures for the album. Do you give them a choice regarding choosing the detail shots are are they automatically chosen by you know if you don't choose the details so shot and if it's missing I will I will ask them to do it or I will introduce it to the album and if they don't want, we will take it out and are the detail shots part of the two hundred sixty photos that you talked about I haven't chosen my my favorite here I'm just going with their favourite so most probably when I go home and finish the album I will include more off the detail shots because I don't see too many details here definitely they were photographed they had little bottles wait for the bridesmaids and everything so they haven't chosen so I will when I designed the album I will go and choose those pictures definitely and uh just a question was more I guess just a technicality as I'm sort of watching the angles you're shooting from um and what focal lengths what are you using for or your second shooter for more of the close up shots when they were standing twenty four seventy really okay this's my assistant twenty for one oil one or five so I know that one of the go to lenses is the seventy two two hundred and that it's a beast of a latin so it's it's it's it's kind of it's really need to hear a different perspective of you I amused because I said I'm lazy to take too many lances on dh I don't want to be too much controlled by the lenses I make a decision to take the twenty four seventy it's a gorgeous lets you can get beautiful close ups but many times also the bride and groom want to see the beautiful church want to see the details so for me the white is better then have a lot of close ups, so we we concentrate just doing and when they're getting giving their vows and everything I goingto details off the chair so I can I can do them eaters in an album there are done shot off the details I like the window there I will crop it you see, I I couldn't go any closer by that I don't care I can I can cropped it after for a couple of pictures it's not wanting to carry that big planes and I want to tell so I don't want the depth to follow false so I don't carry those laces your aunt photo guy asked, do you have a favorite place to shoot weddings? No, I used to worry about that a lot I used to be trying to go oh, I better go to venice to show the wedding and now I don't care because now I'm grown up and now I say it's not about the background it's about the people you know the background is only me too the background is only me too, so it's it's very important it we we've discovered the couple they are our backgrounds, they are everything and work around them and wherever we go should look fantastic so it is thiss hear what you're saying is all details from the church and I will work on and make it interesting in one part of the album, so they've chosen quite a lot off the church so they must be religion it's a beautiful church catholic church and they had a lot of nice details I like I like the greek orthodox church because the icons are so amazing the gold aiko's I'm not talking about religion here I'm talking about details I have a question about the album purchase process do most of your clients purchase it before the wedding and then ad pages are way cell packages before the wedding? I said this yesterday you can and I will repeat it because important wei need to lock them in a package it's very important and never try to look them in the cheapest package because to go high from a cheapest is very difficult but if you lock them in a package that you're happy to finish on that, try to look on that so if they don't have any extra money to spend, you're already have a good cells you're wanted for mask question for you what differentiates your packages? Ah, the number of pages uh I think the top package I'm not too familiar with our packages because I don't want to know I don't care that's not my part of the business that's why it's good to have the sales people handle it decide what it's going to be? All I do is take the shot. All I do is take the shots, but I think the basic package is on ly fifth fifteen spreads and that it plus the coverage off the wedding and the the rest the next. The next album is a good album because it will have more pages it's reasonably priced and it it just includes the album in the service the last album has a few more extra s so is there difference in the our services or no? No, I hate working by the hour because if you finish your work early she's going to say I paid you until this hour, so I have to hang around or on the other hand, which is my case, I like to shoot more than then less I want to take a lot of pictures, so until I'm not you see, I don't stay usually at the reception that's part ofthe the exchange in our package if the couple want are set to reception it's, extra thousand dollars or something on dh, we have a special reception photograph for I have done so many years of reception, I really don't enjoy staying at the reception because it's not the photograph is jump it's all moments eso we've we've introduced that package and we say guy's instead of wasting your money on the reception, dancing, dancing and nothing or speeches I spent that money on extra pages in the album it's going to be much better and I'm going to be at the reception to cover as much as you want I'll cover everything in half an hour if they're not going to dance and luckily in australia the reception's have listened to us also and they cut the cake at the start they make the first time since the start so basically everything that's important is covered a to start the rest is party so I need I don't need to be there if if I have let a jewish wedding and because they have so many traditional traditions happening yes, I will stay if the couple insist always stay it's, not that I don't do I will do, but I try not to not to do if they don't they don't need it, I need to go home and if if they wanted one off, my assistant will continue tell quality coverage so it's not a problem, it'll when you're when you were talking about the packages, I know that you don't really deal with the sales part, but I was wondering if you what the how you decide what the price jump is from each package like is it by page like usually it's by page because we charge quite a lot for its paid so if including include fume more pages and make the price quite reasonable and people say that might be a better package we can get so many more pictures they will go for it maybe you can offer them a portrait a big parent on maybe you can offer them farce in the package wei have one package that I know there is far in the package s o so give them options but don't try to sell them the highest at this stage before the middle which you are happy to sell and after the wedding after you show them everything after they've committed to the middle pocket it's very easy to go another two three thousand up but from one thousand dollars to go to ten thousand dollars is impossible he can't today but john pick up two thousand dollars is not a problem so try to sell as much as possible to the couple before before the wedding day because that's the only chance you have to make a good sell because at the moment they're excited they have the money they have a budget so you'll go in the budget if you leave it after the but their budget it's going to be tough business it's going to be tough business if the bride had a certain amount pages in her package and she ends up loving and wanting tons of photos how do you go about telling her this is going to be this many pages more you just design thiss one for example, it's tons of pictures, we expect the bride to come up with fifty pictures for the basic album fifty prints. So she is two hundred thirty it's three, four times bigger than what she she's buying. But when when the girls sit down with them when and when they go to through the orders, the girls will tell them okay, guys, this is too many pictures shall we edit? It will make the good guys they sell it on to edit or you want us to design and you can decide with this couple that wass the replied it just go for it and we have a budget for it and we're happy we loved the pictures, so we want to have as much as possible then we'll decide the rest after if they commit that much we take half off the way will estimate twenty, two hundred thirty six paid prints divided by three per spread. We will estimate how many pages they're going to have. We will make the total in front of them because I don't want to surprise them after after we've worked, we will say, okay, now you're looking at five, six thousand dollars more are you happy to cooperate it? Oh, it's too much? Then we start reducing if they say you go for it we will take half off the balance off it because we've taken all the money now they don't know what said anything, so we will take half off the balance, the stage so we know that we've locked them in. This may be a little bit of a silly question, but there's no silly question asked me the question when you say spread, that means that full two pages, right? Because there's so many different like when you're ordering in albums by page or bice, usually album companies go by page, a page is one side page one page toe, so spread is that one into together, so you sell not by page, but vice way cell by page, but you can't have a page by itself. You need a second pitch, so so so if she says, I want one extra pidge can have it, she has to pay for a second plate. It makes the price looks cheaper if you say per page, because if you say per spread, if it's one hundred dollars it's going to be two hundred dollars, so if you say per page, it sounds peeper. So your mom, I'm so excited to see how you're going to create this album, and we're going to take a break in about ten minutes. Just to keep you just people, I'm just going to keep on because of that the next next station I don't want to do this, I'm just going to keep on running through this, so I'll finish before the next station. Perfect. Okay, I have a question with regards to composing the album, this is from demeanor. Alexander, who is joining us from romania and demeanor, says, how do you compose the books? Referring to the photos? Do you follow the wedding course? Or do you compose your books with the most beautiful and intense photographs from the wedding? I liked create their wedding book like timeline. I like to create timeline unless they have the year bond collection from graffiti, which is three volumes, then I can three volumes one hundred sixty spreads on the sixty spare sorry, twenty sixty space or hundreds hundred twenty pages, one hundred twenty pages, then I have I can't separate them into groups, but when I have one album, I like to tell a full story from the start to the end, so you start with the breaking of the day, is it's going okay? And I'm just I'm still a little confused about the process, so if a bride is getting in her package an album that could fit about fifty photos when you sent her the photos, do you see say you know hey you can fit about fifty and she still chooses to hundred you just say choose all your favorites well first we say choose all your favorite we don't give her she's only thirty because she's going on ly two thirty and then you can tell it it's important to up sell our packages there that's that's the business part of it so we say to lose all your favorites and come and we will sit down together and we will end it down to the best so if we she comes with two hundred pictures and she's not ready to spend that money we will be the good guys helping or reduce it so we will help but this is good this is not good but if abroad comes and says I think most probably despite came with five hundred pictures and the girls reduced it two hundred six thirty pages so it gives us more the less pictures, the better the album so it gives us more freedom to design the album the way we want it because if you have five hundred pictures you can't make an album with too many unless she's just happy to spend all the money I think I have a sort that this one in the order off the day anyway s so it's very important eso if they come with five hundred pictures if they insist they want five hundred pictures, then you have to sell them many volumes not one volume of album and I hope many cast some customers do that some customers today I shot I shot a wedding end off last year because it's our businesses and I I asked I asked a couple not toe not to come until I come back from the street because I know where their engagement was like twenty albums s o I can't imagine how many albums is the wedding going to be so so I told them toe wait until I come back so we can work it out so you get this car's tumors every now and then but it's not commenting and you're not going to get them all the time so you hopefully will be always satisfying what they want and in the way we do our presentation the way we do, we show them our sample albums we don't have small albums in the studio, we don't have a thirty page album, everything is full albums so so you usually brought come and say how many's thirty album and when you show them half off the album you have there so maybe it's not enough so indirectly also did you know you told tell them they're thirty is not going to do you a favor that's the big advantage of shooting a lot of variety you see I'm editing now and I still haven't reached to the best part of the wedding these are the parts they wanted to be in the album the part that I want it to be in the album we haven't been yet they're so imagine how many pages they're going to get so most probably I'm going to consider concentrate later on more on the beautiful pictures then the traditional pictures our date after this wass because it was a beautiful church there was another wedding waiting after after hours after I did the family shot I asked that there was a waiting inside but I took them to the bell tower because there was this beautiful light there and I took a couple of pictures and we didn't bother the other wedding because we didn't go inside the church so so I tried to take a much as advantage what I have there what if it rains what if it gets worse? What if wei don't have time so if I have a good time good weather, good lighting I'll take as much as possible then go to the next location so all these are at the church at the moment do you have a perfect number of images that you like to put in the book and don't tell you hundred he's a very good number and do not tell them I'm on purpose at a hundred specimens and we'll stick with one hundred or I don't want them to come because off the numbers I want them to come what they like then if they have that extra picture it's all right because I want to edit or the girls want to edit with them so we have a good good design album this is this is a very unusual case where you get all those customers say just put it all and see so this this has not been edited as much as we want but but it's it's it's for mates might give me more opportunity to design a better storytelling album blake photo ask please talk about church's restrictions will you turned away a client if the church rules are too restrictive no no uh you see early days off my career I've been a couple of hit on my head from the police because I didn't know I was not allowed to take pictures I've been kicked out from a church early days off my career but then I learned to be strong about it I went and challenge those pits to kick me out or say how can you kick me out from a religious paige how can god is not going to do that to me? How can you do that to me? You know you're not allowed to do that you're only human like me I mean the church I'm not disturbing anything I'm just taking beautiful pictures off the couple there's a good case off this which which I always tell this story I love it because it's just shot the priest up because I wass there's a beautiful cottage really melbourne right downtown in the middle of the city no fans it's right on the curb on dh our headache riding home it was their request because they couldn't get the church because it was busy they said can we get to the church and do a couple of shots in the in the in the entrance and in the car park car park as beautiful was the church is such a beautiful church and we are in the car park taking pictures the priest comes to me and says can I see your permission I said what permission sir they said I need a permission that you can't take pictures here I said no I don't have a permission he said then you better leave the grounds I said you're going to keep this beautiful bright out off the ground are you serious? He said yes I'm very serious if no I'm going to call police I said look first why don't you kick out the homeless people? Why don't you kick out the drunks from where we're drinking under the world? Aren't they a problem? Also I said that's none of your business I said, well I I think I love god and last night he here he rang me and in my dream, he said, son, tomorrow going take picture outside the church and I'm following distractions. I'm following the instruction, he said, are you being sarcastic? I said, excuse me, he said, are you being sarcastic now? I said, sir, you don't believe in god on he walked away and he walked the way we didn't have any argument with me I took my shots, you know, it's it's, it's, it's a person trying to control other person, I don't like it this is this is not a security place, this is a religious place and it should be open for everyone. We're not doing pornography or anything outside the guy it's just a beautiful bryce tracing white and were in the car park there's ugly cars in there, you know? So it's ah it's ah, I I really and a little bit freedom fighter I love my freedom and even even if location that say you can take pictures if I can come inside this shop and I can buy things so I'm gonna walk in and buy something and I'm going to take pictures stop me no, stop me how you can't stop me buying or drinking in your place or you can come in and only if you buy something it's, okay, whatever