Christmas Family Photography

I have a few years experience in photography and was asked by my boss to take her family Christmas photos at the beach. I was planning on shooting a couple of rolls (yes I shoot film) and giving her all proofs in 4x6 prints. I use a Canon Elan and will use professional film and a professional lab. I usually just charge my friends for processing, but would like to make a little $$ this time:)

Are you ready to be your own boss? Then remember he knows you are not a pro yet, so why should he pay you like you are? Think of this as a friendly shoot. My thought would be to charge him for all the lab work + $50. Be fair you will still have to work for him until you turn pro.

2008-10-28 17:03:30 by christian j

Jatin and Daksha arrived from Hartford. Rikin from New York, Renee from Boston and Niket came from Rochester, NY. We had great time during ...

I bought an Olan Mills gift voucher for my sister for a family photography session for Christmas but now that they've gone bust I don't think I'll be able to use it. They said I can apply for a refund but really I want my sister to have her Christmas present! Help!!

Have you tried locating another Olan Mills? The one here doesn't seem to be going out of business.

http://www.olanmills.com/studiolocator/

2008-12-30 09:15:19 by ceri6236

Price: $15.75 $13.75

I have a canon digital rebel xt that i received as a Christmas present. I'd like to take professional looking portraits of my baby and family, whats the best lens for this? I'd also like to buy a good lens for landscape photography. Any suggestions?

If you understand the fundamentals of photography you will know the lens that best fits your needs. The fundamentals are not really rocket science, to really really use an SLR/DSLR like the XT you need to know how to get the max out of it.

For example: If by landscape you mean like a sunset or a sort of mountain/lake scenery you will need a deep depth of field (DOF) and you need to know what DOF means and how you can very easily change that on your XT (you do this by changing the aperture of your lens in the the Aperture Priority (Av) or Manual mode (M) mode). Similarly for babies you want a shallow DOF and you do this since the baby is the focus of your pic and you want the background blurred.

But by changing the aperture you also mess with the amount of light thats entering the camera and that affects the shutter speed etc.

Its not that hard, once you understand the fundamentals you will know EXACTLY what kind of lens you need. For starter I suggest:

1) Get a good photography teacher or a good easy to read photography book. I recommend "Understanding Exposure" it has lots of pics that explains what the terms means visually. IMO its the BEST $15 you will ever spend in your photography hobby. You will understanding what makes up an Exposure-Aperture, Shutter and ISO.

2) Once you know that, when you read your Camera manual it will make a lot of sense.

3) For beginner portraits the best lens is the $75 EF 50mm f/1.8. This is a prime lens (it does not zoom you zoom in and out with your feet) and it a fast lens (any lens with an aperture more than f/2.8 is called fast, since it usually yields fast shutter speeds) and bigger the aperture f/1.4, f/1.8, f/2.0, f/2.8 even f/4 the shallower the DOF and the more blurred the background is.

Note: In photography f/2.8 is smaller than f/2, which is smaller than f/1.8. This is because it is a ratio, so f/1.8 is large coz it lets in MORE light than say f/2.8. It's confusing now but will make a lot of sense once you get the fundamentals.

I am assuming your camera came with a EF-S 18-55mm kit lens. This is a moderately Wide Angle Zoom lens and its really good for landscapes and close people shots. If you do 1-3 as listed above you will figure out what your favorite focal length is for shooting and what you really need.

I could easily tell you to get a $640 EF-S 10-22 mm lens for wide angle landscapes or a $300 EF 50mm f/1.4 for portraits but you need to know WHY they cost that much and how to use them first to justify the cost. There is a reason why good lens cost a LOT of money and you need to understand photography to understand their cost and how to get the most from them.

2007-12-29 19:18:28 by Sarah Stevens

Price: $38.99 $36.99

Would a photography package be a good idea for a gift for a new baby?
My fiances brother and sister in law are due any day now for their first baby. For the baby shower, I purchased items off the registry but I also have been wanting to give them another gift when the baby arrives. I purchased three little outfits but I was also considering buying a photography package from a local photographer whose work is just fabulous. Is this a tacky or rude gift? I'm sure that at some point they will want to have photographs taken of the baby within the first few months... I want to give them something that they will be able to treasure and always have... The photographer did my engagement pictures and is wonderful and easy to work with... but I'm worried it could be viewed as shrewd to pick out the photographer and everything... I purchased photography sessions as a family Christmas present a few years ago and everyone loved the idea... For moms to be or moms in general, would this be an accepted gift?
Everything has already been purchased of their registry. They have been VERY blessed to have wonderful people around them... As I stated, I purchased three outfits that they will be getting when the baby arrives... They aren't newborn sizes either--they are for the winter... I spent well over $150 for the registry gifts alone :) I just thought a photography package would be nice...
For the person that I said "I am up to something"... What in the lords name are you talking about? I am trying to give them a GIFT of a photography session so THEY can have proffesional photographs taken of their child. It is very common to have pictures of your infants taken (my parents did it 20 some years ago) and all my friends with babies have done it too. I'm not trying to "make a buck" off a baby... I'm trying to give them a GIFT. Dear lord!

I'm using my fourteen year old daughter's account, but I am a mother, and I am also expecting. That is a very very good idea for a mother to be. With everyone giving her baby clothes and toys, it would probably be nice for her to have something different, and fun. If you're sure that the photographer is good, then I'd be fine with it. As long as I wasn't planning on having another photographer do it in the future. Really good thinking on your part, they should love it!

2009-07-24 15:34:45 by ashley

Ok, my budget for each person is max £8.

Person 1:
My dad. He is 47, not into sport, likes comedy, sudoku and photography. I don't really want to buy music because in that area he is hard to buy for. I bought him Life Of Brian on dvd for his birthday last month. What do I buy him?

Person 2:
My mum. She is 45. She is into classical music (has loads of these cds) and has just finished a 2 year course in patchwork quilting. She adores reading. What do I buy her?

Person 3: My brother. He is 18 and currently at university. He is into computers loads and wants to be a sound technician. He has loads of books such as "Do ants have arsholes?" and "How to fossilize your hamster." (he has about 5 of those books now because I alsways buy him a different one as a present but now he has them all). He also into rambling and he likes music such as Nickelback, REM, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Sonata Arctica (spelt like that?) etc. What do I buy him?

Remember I can only afford to spend a MAXIMUM OF £8 PER PERSON! (preferably as little as possible).

UK SUGGESTIONS ONLY PLEASE!
He has read curiosu incident of a dog in teh night time about 6 times! lol

my mum would find beethoven way to boring. she likes katherine jenkins, aled jones, mike oldfield etc.

my dad has loads of sudoku books too.

Get Sudoku Cube for dad from http://www.blueunplugged.com/p.aspx?p=13 7197
There is a lot of gadgets you should throw a view as per your budgets and requirement.

2008-11-24 13:28:19 by normalbutcrazy:D