[Thomas]

I just read some other posts in the forum and thought it would be funny to mention this here.

The baby shot I posted has a white vignette and I did it knowing full well that it’s a faux pas, lol. BUT, none of you mentioned it and I’m glad, as I didn’t want it to be visible and it obviously worked. As you are all aware, some (a lot I would say) of lenses can/do cause small amount of vignette. This was the case with the baby photo so I just used a white vignette to bring it up a little. Subtlety is key here, something most fauxtogs are not aware of it seems.

[Thomas]

@ dont.care

Love your last post, nice to have a sensible discussion with someone about these things  :o)
I do agree somewhat with everything you said in your OP, and judging by your responses you realised I wasn’t trying to be a dick by disagreeing with you which is great. And I totally think using flash for landscape is a good idea, if it work it works. The pier thing shows your creativity and ability to see your surroundings, map out the shot in your head and go do it, excellent stuff. Pushing boundaries and trying new things is a good way to get noticed.

 

One last thing, don’t forget that if we have full time jobs and make money from photography as a small portion of our income, we can still call ourselves “Semi Professional”. I’m trying get things moving here myself but still wouldn’t use the term “professional” anyway. Not because I don’t think I’m good enough, I just think it sounds a bit….pompous perhaps? I prefer to tell people I make photographs or do some photography etc.

I wont say anymore about it now, we’ve said all there is to say, thanks again for the interesting replies  :o)

 

I’m glad you like 1,2 & 4, haha.

@KeyAndFill

I’m still blaming the lens ability at f1.8 as this happened on many more shots then, and since. I focus on one area and it focuses on something else entirely, and as I said, I do know how to focus, lol.  I see your point though, if I had gone to f4 the DOF would have increased and the eyes would likely be in focus as I wanted. I don’t really think I should HAVE to do that though to make my equipment perform as I want it too. I assume that another advantage to more expensive equipment would be not having to worry about your equipment being so unreliable, so to speak. But as you say as long as the result is almost the same (Bokeh if that’s what I’m after) I wont use 1.8 anymore unless I’m shooting very low light and I’ll take some chances with it. Otherwise I think I’ll stick to 2 or 2.8 and above. Would probably be wise to run some test shots, hey what a great suggestion KeyAndFill, I’ll do that soon  :o)  (haha).

[Thomas]

is there some way to make them bigger, its hard for people to critique thumbnail sized images.

[Thomas]

dont.care

Your original post is there for all to see. I’ll break it down a bit. I must say that I agree with you on MOST of the points made but I’m merely pointing out some things which are a bit of a generlisation.

A ‘professional photographer’ as the title implies, offers a product of quality from start to finish.. It goes without saying;

This above: Although I agree that professional should mean “offers a product of quality” that isn’t entirely what it means, as Loke pointed out. Professional simply implies that you do something as a profession. Defined on Wikipedia as:
A professional is a person who is engaged in a certain activity, or occupation, for gain or compensation as means of livelihood; such as a permanent career, not as an amateur or pastime.

Generally, if something seems to good to be true, it usually is.. – Totally agree with that one.

$25-$50 photo sessions are usually low quality, and not something you’d generally be proud to display on your wall.. – Again this implies…well what is says basically which is a generalisation. BUT, I agree with you in as much that a line needs to be drawn to display a general characteristic of someone who carries out crappy work. How else can we hope to explain to customers that they get what they pay for? So I’m 50/50 on this as I have charged £20 for doing 10 hours worth of work on product photography in the past for a work colleague. And they were pretty damn good (if I do say so myself). I will admit I was pissed at earning £2 and hour after doing it mind but the experience made up for it.

 

1)  Fastest lens is a: f/5.6-f/6.3 (typical kit lens), or god forbid a Point and Shoot. – We covered this bit already.

 

2)  Doesn’t know lighting ratios – I don’t “know” specific ratios but I know what they are and how to use different light intensities when taking photos (is this what you mean). But I see where you are coming from.

 

3)  Doesn’t know how to stop up/down a lens. – You’d have to be stuck on auto, or using a point and shoot or an iphone to not know this. I totally agree with this point.

 

4)  Doesn’t know how to use RC-Sync, or know what ‘flash sync’ is at all – I really don’t know what RC sync is but I know what high speed sync is if that’s what your talking about? I half agree with you about this again. If you don’t use flash then maybe you wont know,. BUT, if you are at a professional level (whereby you love photography, or at least should) you should probably know these things regardless.

 

5)  Doesn’t have a bare minimum of 2 hot shoe flash guns that can be used off camera. – Again I have to say I disagree with this entirely. Not everyone needs a flash for their photography, and certainly not 2. Yes there are “times and places where you absolutely need ‘artificial light” but that depends on what you plan on shooting. This is the equivalent of a landscape photographer making the sweeping statement that you aren’t professional if you don’t own a tripod! If you have one, how often do you use it? I have a Manfrotto tripod which I generally only use to take self portraits or for night photography, and for the night photography I do, I don’t use a flash. Both of these things are rare occurances so I don’t really NEED a tripod.

 

6)  Doesn’t know how to expose for ambient light; adjust ambient light to bring up/down highlights/background over/underexposure and use fill flash. – Lets just change this to “Doesn’t know how to control exposure” and I’ll say I totally agree with this statement.

 

7) Offers a cheap CD off a spool with sharpie written all over it. – This has nothing to do with photography skills and everything to do with how you present yourself to your clients.

 

8)  Doesn’t know how to color correct/post produce a photo and sharpen/crop for print. – I agree with the first bit, not the second because again it implies that the photos WILL be printed. But as per most of the others I see where you are coming from.

 

 9) Offers print products from a chain photo printer, i.e. Walmart, CVS, WalGreens, etc. – Partly to do with photography and partly how you present yourself but I will agree with this, it’s cheap and nasty.

 

10) has a camera that is stuck on auto. – No choice but to agree whole heartedly. I’m not saying that a good photographer couldn’t take a good picture on an auto mode, but having no creative input is plain stupid.

 

 
I hope you understand what I mean by this. I’m all for laughing at true fauxtogs who advertise incredibly poor work and charge for it. It makes me wonder whose photos they look at for inspiration? Must be no one if they can’t look at their pictures and think “fair play, these are utter shit!”.

But making sweeping generalisations and catergorising people as fauxtogs based on personal preference of gear…no. Take a look at digital revs cheap camera challenges. All the equipment does is make our lives easier. I’ve learnt everything I know by practicing and using the internet. I took one set of classes for Photoshop because I have only ever used GIMP. I didn’t attend them all because I realised very soon on that I already knew more than they were teaching at the basic level I attended. I’ve seen hundreds of posts by people talking about getting prosumer DSLRs as their first camera thinking they can take great photos, we all know the story. Doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t get one (as much as it makes me jealous), at least they wont need to upgrade for a long time! I’m still using an entry level Canon EOS 400D (Rebel XTi for those in the US) and feel like I’m producing some great work in what I do. Damn right I want a new body and lenses, not because I think I will instantly become god like, but because it will open up more shot opportunities and will make things easier (low light performance, faster focusing, faster processors etc”. I want a new PC too, not because I think I’ll become an editing genius, but because mine is so old that Lightroom 3 barely runs on it, and god forbid I try to open GIMP at the same time, I have to wait 10 minutes for it to calm down.

So anyways, that’s my personal opinions made clear, hope you enjoyed reading that. I’m off to bed as it’s past 2am and I have to be up for work at 6….shit

[Thomas]

Agreed.

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lceymil/8580156313/in/photostream – Great

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lceymil/8580189777/in/photostream – Great

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lceymil/8580130783/in/photostream – Not sure why I like it but I do. I have to say something about this though, it’s not a criticism, just an observation. The line of the furniture (slant) in the background annoys me. And I mean this about ALL photos like that. What frustrates me is that sometimes, even when I straighten my shots and I know they are straight, the other lines or perspectives in the image bug the hell out of me when they make it look wonky. It’s worse on wide angle shots as it’s impossible to correct for every line. I’m going to borrow your image and straighten it anti clockwise a bit and see if I’m still as annoyed….LOL.Seriously it’s not a criticism, it happens in LOADS of photos I’ve seen.

 

 

Ok so I did it, it still pissed me off. It wasn’t so much the furniture but that thing that comes in from top left and slope down towards middle right…stupid perspective.  Anyways, good work, keep it going!

[Thomas]

Client : “BOLLOCKS!”

Tog : “What’s wrong?”

Client : “I’ve fucked my back up again!”

Tog : “PERFECT, hold that pose!”

http://www.bigboy-photography.com/s/cc_images/cache_3584121004.jpg

 

[Thomas]

That “Big_Boy” thing on page 43:

 

Weddings start at $500 to cover the wedding and reception up to and including the cutting of the cake, tossing the garter and flower toss. All photos will be unedited on a disc. You chose 5 photos from the disc to be edited. You will be given a release to get them printed anywhere.

 

WHAT THE F!

[Thomas]

You lot are so mean, at least they’re trying…..Paaaahahahahaha. I can’t stand it anymore. I refuse to believe that people pay for work by these fauxtogs. I mean, come on, seriously? I nearly cried the other night when I went to a link on here and the person had double the amount of likes my page has. It’s not the “likes” that upset me, (I’m not a facebook freak) just the fact that they have a bigger audience than me and the work was utter hippo shit! I’m finally confident enough with my ability to try and make something more of it and there are point and shooters making money and leaving me in the dust. Of course the fauxtogs aren’t entirely to blame, why do normal people see some crappy work and think “oh yeah I’m gonna get me some of that, look how cheap they are honey!”. I swear photography will lose its value entirely at some point.

[Thomas]

Oh and thanks CameraClicker, awesome post. I love that shot, didn’t David Hobby do a version of that once? Not sure if it was him but I saw the same shot done where the bulb was held by a hidden clamp and the person actually soldered wires to the electrical contacts so power it. At least that’s what my memory tells me, haha.

 

I am a fan of primes, but I do intend to upgrade to a 5D MkII (if I can find one brand new at that point which is unlikely), a MkIII or whatever is available at the time. I like the sound of the newish 6D but I want a weightier body, the one I have looks too small in my hands and I fear that the 6D wouldn’t fare much better. That and the fact that I have a “More is More” kinda mentality when it comes to Cams and Lenses, lol. Maybe the 6D with a grip wouldn’t be too bad….something to consider. It amazes me how you guys afford all your gear. I work full time, so does the Mrs, both in decent jobs (civil servants) but the cost of running the house just means it’s damn near impossible to save for anything. I remember thinking I was poor when I lived with the parents, but looking back I was bloody minted! Should have wasted less and invested more, hindsight really is a bitch!

[Thomas]

Oh what the shit!!!

Balls to the wall, here’s the damn links!

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/94383905@N05/8592883231/in/photostream  –  Kit lens

http://www.flickr.com/photos/94383905@N05/8593986046/in/photostream – 50mm 1.8 natural light

http://www.flickr.com/photos/94383905@N05/8594040160/in/photostream – Focus issues!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/94383905@N05/8592963563/in/photostream – Pin sharp me because I’m super awesome!

[Thomas]

I just created a Flickr account to get this working so lets pray….

Canon 18-55mm Kit Lens

Canon 50mm f1.8.  I have actually been noticing that this lens isn’t as sharp as I used to think it was. I focused on the eyes for every shot but looking back through these again they all look soft. I thought it was probably a combination of a focus issue with the lens plus the older body I’m using. And no, I’m not making excuses, I’m stating facts. I’ve been shooting for long enough to know how to focus. I found exactly the same problem doing a portrait shoot in September last year where nearly all the shots taken at any distance had some SERIOUS focusing issues. (I know it was a long time ago but all shall be revealed)

 

Here’s an example with EXIF on the shot. It’s OOC so don’t judge. I was cutting ambient and shooting with 3 flashes at 1/250th sec,  so not much chance of the problem being camera shake. View the larger image and look at the eyes etc. This happened on about 90% of my shots and it knocked me for 6 at the time as I knew it was happening after reviewing on the back of camera.

 

I thought this problem was me going nuts as I started a project earlier this year and took shots like this below which are pin sharp. And these are all pre-focused self portraits so you know there is room for error when focusing (you know how many times you have to take try and get it right with these things).

Anyway, it turns out that f1.8 is the culprit here with this lens. The “pin sharp” image above is f5.6 at 1/200th sec.

 

Fuck my life….

 

 

 

[Thomas]

Damn it how do you embed images on this thing?!!

[Thomas]

Hello everyone. I’ve been visiting this site regularly for a few months and I must say I find most things on here very amusing. Some things are just plain stuck up, and some are arguable.

With regards to the OP I’m going to say the following.

1)  Fastest lens is a: f/5.6-f/6.3 (typical kit lens), or god forbid a Point and Shoot. – My fastest lens is a 50mm 1.8 but I use my kit lens (18-55mm f3.5-5.6) on a regular basis. I will add that I do hate using the kit lens but I simply cannot afford to purchase the lenses I would like at the moment. I live in Wales UK (So I’m WELSH, not English). I toyed with the idea of buying the Canon 24-70mm f2.8 L but I use a crop sensor DSLR (EOS 400D) so I debunked that until I could afford a 5D MkII and go all in at the same time. That was until they scrapped the MkI and went on to the MkII lens, and the damn MkII 5D for the MkIII, both of which are double the price….stupid progress! So until I can afford that I’m screwed as it’s not worth investing money in a 10, 14, or 18mm Sigma equivalent at around £500 at the moment. I hope you understand my predicament. That being said, here is a shot I did on Sunday using my kit lens on the 400D. I fail to see much wrong with this from the point of using a kit lens (maybe negligible amounts of CA around the trees?)  You may not like the composition, lighting, whatever, but other than that it isn’t bad.

 

 

5)  Doesn’t have a bare minimum of 2 hot shoe flash guns that can be used off camera. – This is utter BS. I use 2 Canon 430EX II’s and a £20 Centon FG105D as an optical slave, not always all at the same time might I add. But I also use ambient light (less so) and produce some great images. There are a lot of other photographers who ONLY use ambient light and produce beautiful images. What about landscape photographers?

 

Other than that you are spot on. *Please be gentle….* LOL

[Author]

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