NOT ME
I admire those who create an idea in their mind, lay it out and make it happen.
This being said… That’s not me.
I show up to a shoot, hang out, try to make the subjects happy and in a good mood and figure out what is going to work for them.
I think a major part of this is that 99% of my subjects are not models… they are who they are and they come to me to get pictures of who they are.
Working with the light as it happens
Also it seems to work for me because I usually try brand new spots and random times of the day and have no idea what the lighting is going to be. So If i see the lighting is bad I avoid that shot and if it is awesome I do a shot I might not have tried before.
I might as well stick to what I’m good at… and in most cases that means bringing out the best of who people are. At least that’s the compliment I usually enjoy the most when people say it.
Wouldn’t mind, at all
On the other side, I’d love to have the ability to set things up and create like many other photographers out there… if nothing else just to have that as another weapon in my arsenal.
How I roll
Tags: comercial photography, intereacting with clients, people skills, photo styles, photographer, photography styles, winging it
Last year I made a goal of weddings and i hit it and did a few extra.
This year I upped the goal by 15 to 40 weddings.
Happy to announce
I am very happy to announce that I went to the mailbox a minute ago… and saw I had complete confirmation on booking wedding #40
Commence balloon drop and other types of fanfare!!
Might I add the strange part that only 1 wedding is booked for after august 22nd
Yes Utah is a bit crazy with bookings… but I did go to 10 different states to do weddings.
Don’t try this at home! haha
I know many of you are photographers
And if you do try to do that many… have assistants, or at least don’t have a family or another job and expect consistent 12-15hr days.
Plan for future
Well while i’m young single 40!! and up to the task It’s all good.
But I have plans to slow things down and do a more manageble amount of weddings… in part to have a bit more of a life, not get burned out and to be able to work on other projects.
Tags: job description, photographer, photography job, super busy, wedding bookings, wedding gigs, wedding photographer, wedding photography, workload
This is the landscape… after having got to the location 3 hours late because of a fiery fatal accident on I-80
Be sure to catch Dave Terry’s Pictures on his blog
Introducing our main model/dancer for the night.
I didn’t know how cool this would turn out or I would have spent more time on it instead of just like 2 shots.
Taken by my friend Kate while driving as we arrived at the shoot
It barely rained at all… but I continued on through the rain.
Tags: ballet dancers, bonneville, dance photography, dancers, Photo Sites, salt flats, salt flats shoot, u of u ballet, u of u dancers, Utah, wendover
So it’s not often a portrait photographer would be putting his life and equipment on the line.
Sure an adventure photographer or even some kinds of sport photographers.
Absolutely for a wartime photographer …
But not a portrait or wedding photographer!!
Well I might not have died falling into the river I’d say 50/50 with the almost freezing mountain water. But it was sure possible to fall in and the camera woulda been toast.
And those rocks were crazy slippery.
Perhaps I’m a wimp or perhaps I want to make it into a bigger deal than it was.
UPDATE: I guess I was right in thinking it was pretty risky… here’s a story of an actual death
Let’s just say my heart was pumping getting out on the rock and the dang thing was slick as anything… but stephen thought ahead and put towels on the rocks … or it would have been impossible.
This is stephen getting the towels on the rock. Doesn’t really show that there was no easy way to get to the rock.
I’m sad I didn’t get him to take a picture of me on the rock… but my thoughts were elsewhere.
Might we add the obvious!! They were out on that log… they were pretty crazy too!
And stephen!! Well the kids just a stud… jumping around on those slick rocks!
Going back to my bag when the battery ran out. Etc Etc
Fun times!!
Tags: adele, big cottonwood canyon, Canyon, log, mountain river, portraits, precarious, river, scott jarvie, stephen nelsen
Disclaimer
I’m talking about tons of editing… fast editing.
A computer for tons and tons of editing with fastest speeds possible.
Not a computer that will be used from time to time to edit.
Because if you have other pressing needs for the computer then your decision might differ.
My solution isn’t for the pretiest or the most user friendly… I’m talking effeciency!
Fastest, most powerful machine to run Lightroom or Photoshop. = Saving Time
Winner = Hand built PC for serious editing
If you want the fastest machine possible (at the moment) for picture editing you’ll have to stick with a PC for now.
-Good news is it will be abt half the cost (Roughly $3000 less)
-You’ll either need to set it up yourself
OR – Pay someone a couple hundred to set it up.
Still much cheaper than a Mac by several thousand.
Price has a lot to do with my consideration… so if several thousand for a similar powered machine isn’t a concern… by all means go Mac.
I don’t like store bought PCs
Thing about PCs is that stores sell cheap PCs or sell the good ones too expensive.
(Not an efficient move)
The PCs in stores aren’t that good… companies trying to make a buck on shoddy stuff. Therefore the whole PC system gets a bad rap.
And I must admit Macs are great for people who don’t know much about computers and have no desire to learn. But they just aren’t as fast for the same cost… and the options are way limited in comparison. (Stick with them for laptops)
Get a really great one set up by someone
Like i said just pay some techy friend to set it up…
or I’ll find you a techy friend to set it up for you.
Spend the couple hundred you save by buying hand selected parts and pay someone.
My old PC vs New MacBook Pro
I have a brand new MacBookPro for traveling but it’s way way slower than my PC. (1 yr Old quad core)
But laptops are small and convenient and great for travel. I don’t expect to use it all the time, just travel… that’s what it does best.
Why mac for laptop – macs don’t have a huge price difference when it comes to the higher end. I think it was only a few hundred more than the HP and it was smaller and had better battery life. The mac laptops are great…
BUT… For serious editing – use a desktop with real power
But come on, don’t use a laptop for editing if you do lots.
If you edit just a bit… it’s ok, by all means… get a laptop and plug it into a monitor and use a mouse.
COST
Top of the line PC can be built sub $2k (w/o monitor)
(See details below)
Throw in a dell or a mac 30″ monitor and then you’re loving life, you’ve saved several thousand by going PC why not.
MAC = $5549 (w/o monitor)
8cores 2.6, 2 video cards, 2HDs
(NO FAST HD option like an SSD … at least not from their store… so you’ll need to get one of those somehow and reinstall OS)
So yeah it’s a fast machine I can only imagine, perhaps due for an update… but it’s nice.
They really don’t have a lesser version I would recomend unless get the 4 core instead of the 8 core.
Mac is $3000 dollars more and isn’t technically quite as fast. (Not sure how it compare honestly)
But it is prettier and the Mac/OS is nice for many people.
But let’s face it… you’re using Lightroom and Photoshop not finder or laucher all day long.
Seriously I’ll find someone to build it for you
Specs=
i7 8cores, 12gb ram, SSD fast HD with several 1.5TB HDs, best video card or two for up to 4 monitors, full tower, best MB with tons of toys.
Crazy fast for Lightroom editing.
Add in a 30″ monitor or a couple of regular size ones.
I recomend always having a couple of monitors
Oh and if you play games on the side… You’ve pretty much built the ultimate gaming machine
Yet another reason to get a PC for editing?
Fusion IO is coming out with their incredible new pro-sumer HD and it’s a PC device!
And no longer do you have to spend $3-$10K to buy one!
Tags: 17" mac, 8 core, adobe, apple, best computer, computer for editing pictures, computer for photographers, computer for photography, computers, editing, editing on pc, i7, lightroom, mac, mac pro, mac vs pc, macbook pro, pc, photographic computer, photoshop, picture editing, quad core
For the full gallery click here.
Tags: bouquet, bride, bridesmaids, family, flowers, friends, groom, kissing, LDS Temple, Reception, Temple, tuxedo bride, Wedding, wedding cake, wedding dress
For the full gallery click here.
Tags: bouquet, bride, bridesmaids, family, flowers, friends, groom, kissing, LDS Temple, Temple, tuxedo bride, Wedding, wedding dress
For the full gallery click here.
Tags: Bridal Pictures, bridals, bride, hare krishna temple, indian temple, krishna temple, peacock, salem utah, spanish fork, Temple, utah spots for photography, veil, wedding dress
Disclaimer
I’m not the final decision or the most qualified expert on the subject but I’ll just say it as I see it.
Original Post
It wasn’t too long ago I wrote a post looking for the “Best photographer Laptop?”
Time to say what I came up with.
The Winners are:
HP 18t fully loaded
-or-
MacBookPro
Both will be about the same cost.
The HP will have more horsepower and more bells and whistles when it’s loaded up.
But I must admit the MacBookPro is pretty snazzy and has some crazy good battery life and the size and weight are nice.
I don’t think the other options (dell, gateway, Toshiba etc) are that much better. To give them the nod over these two.
I could be swayed otherwise given that I haven’t had real life experience with all of them.
But for now I’d say the HP 18″ or the new macbookpro
You really need to have a large screen if you’re going to edit on the road.
And a word on that:
Laptops and Editing
Try not to Edit on the road!
in fact
Don’t edit with a Laptop!!
Particularly the SCREEN or the TRACKPAD!
Both are terrible choices!!
(Now That I’ve said my inflammatory statements I’ll continue on and say why)
For the insistent
If you insist on it being your only computer for some interesting personal reasons, OK, Fine… but understand. It’s never as good as a desktop when it comes to EVERYTHING besides portability.
Use a Desktop
I will still be using my custom built PC for editing because it’s Much much faster
It’s consistent… I’m not moving it around into different lighting situations.
I get to use two identical monitors or 3 monitors or even 4… maximising my efficiency.
A keyboard and a mouse are a must and I’m not tempted to try to edit without them.
I use my desk and am not tempted to edit on a couch.
(For busy moms out there maybe that’s why you go with a laptop so you can edit in different rooms throughout the day. Or computers on the bus or subway)
Not As Good
Tags: computer for editing pictures, computer for lightroom, editing, editing pictures, hp 18t, hp laptop, laptop for photography, laptops, lightroom, macbook pro, macbookpro 17, photographers laptop, photography laptop, photography tips, tips from a photographer
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Tags: Add new tag, bouquet, bride, bridesmaids, car, family, flowers, friends, groom, kissing, LDS Temple, Reception, Temple, tuxedo, Wedding, wedding cake, wedding dress
A good friend Devin Graham a great videographer invited me to a video set they were doing for a swim and dive team at BYU
Check out some of his footage (playing around) he got with all the underwater equipment they rented from California and the Red One
Visit their company’s vimeo site to see some good stuff
Here’s some stuff I captured for them and just to play around.
Here’s Devin… pretending to be cool. haha
When he’s famous I’ll of course take out the words “pretending”
Tags: BYU, byu students, byu swim, byu swim team, devin graham, film set, greenlight films, movie set, pool, scott jarvie, scuba, scuba photography, swim photography, swimmer photography, swimmers, underwater, video, videography
Remember back in the day when I talked about how individual portrait shoots or modeling shoots are pretty easy.
Well I don’t get to do them often with all the other shoots going on and since I’m known mainly as a wedding photographer.
Well Jenny convinced me that I should take time and at least do her’s.
She did a good job because in a week where I had 8+ photo shoots I fit her in for a nice long shoot with 3 outfit changes from direct sun to shady to dusk and even night with lots of off camera flash stuff.
It helps when you’re with good company.
Jenny is working on a fitness show and I wish her all the luck in the world with that.
Tell her how beautiful she is and perhaps even how Amazing My work is. haha
BTW, I stand by what I said this kind of individual portraits is so much easier than weddings or shoots like that, but there’s something about weddings that make them worthwhile… oh yeah and they also pay better.
That being said I’d take nice paid portrait/model shoots any day if anyone is looking.
Tags: blue skies, clouds, fitness pictures, girl, jenny kay, model, model photography, night shots, park bench, portrait photography, portraits, pretty girl, utah lake, woman, working out, workout pictures
