Digital ProTalk

"A Beautiful Blond At All Angles"

2009-11-06T09:46:00.001-05:00

"A Beautiful Blond At All Angles"
©David A. Ziser

Here is one more image from my Master Class last week. One thing we try to cover is composition – how the lines of the setting can influence how the viewer can enjoy the image. With the bride leaning over the railing above me, I was able to frame her in the triangular shapes of the architecture behind her. Also notice how the triangle shape is repeated in the ceiling above and to the left. You can also find another triangle in the shape of the railing in the foreground. I still see two more triangular repeating elements. Can you find them? Notice too how I positioned her in front of the light fixture behind her head. The lighting now creates a nice glow around her head drawing viewer's attention directly to the bride’s face. Lighting was from camera left with my assistant bouncing my Quantum flash of the wall to my right. Camera specs: Canon 7D fitted with 24-105mm IS lens at 24mm, F5.6 @ 1/50 second, ISO 2500. Enjoy! -David

p.s. Once again, gang, look for the rest of the post later today. I’m heading for a plane as we speak. See ya’ this afternoon. -David

Inspiration Friday: 5 Wedding Photography Sites You Don’t Want To Miss!

2009-11-06T09:45:00.000-05:00

Good Afternoon Everybody,

We wrapped city #54 of my 60 city DWUC tour last night. I can’t believe the tour is nearly over. We have had such a good time meeting all the people all across America – thank you all for all your support and very generous enthusiast remarks.

As we were driving to Atlanta yesterday, I commented to LaDawn about what we were going to do after we wrap the tour. Her quick response was, “Sleep”. The pace has been fairly hectic, but still a lot of fun. People are already asking about 2010 – I’ll keep you posted.

I starting this post in the Atlanta airport waiting to board a plane back to Cincy. Back home on Friday, shoot a wedding on Saturday, then back on the plane Sunday to Atlanta for Monday’s program – yep, another busy weekend!

After I land, I’m doing what we call a site survey for tomorrow’s shooting locations. The client is wanting outdoor photographs. If the weather is willing we should be able to get some good shots. Look for a few of them in next week’s posts.

But for now, let’s get on with today’s post.

5 Wedding Photography Sites You Don’t Want To Miss!

You know it’s been a while since I’ve done an Inspiration Friday post. If you’ve been following the DPT blog, I’ve mentioned that I was reviewing several websites for a special project I was working on. I’ll be able to give you more info soon.

Anyway, in the process of looking at such a large number of site, several offered some standout images. Today I’d like to share five of those sites with you. Images from the sites are seen throughout today’s post and linked back to the photographer’s website.

Here we go…

1. Bevin Beasley [link] – This is one of the most unusual collection of images I have seen. That’s all I’m saying – you have to go check it out.

2. Liliya Gorlanova [link] – No music, but still quite fun. Look through several images to find the gems.

3 Life Images [link] – Alex and Tiffany Albojer have taken some of the nicest stylized images I’ve seen – definitely worth the cruise through their site.

4. Tatiana Garanina [link] – Another stunning set of images – extremely creative photography.

5. Tanya Lippert [link]– Wow! What a nice sense of fashion, line, color and composition. It’s just a joy to sit and watch her slide show portfolios.

I hope you have time to explore these sites over the weekend. There’s some really inspiring imagery there. I still think it’s always a kick to look at great wedding photography. It’s about the best way in the world to give your own creativity a kick in the you know what and really get those “brain juices” flowing.

Hey gang, that’s it for me today. I’m back on the ground in good ole’ Kentucky - got to get those batteries charging – mine included. I’ll see everybody on the flip side next week back in Atlanta. Have a great weekend. Adios, -David

"Home Alone"

2009-11-05T09:22:00.001-05:00

"Home Alone"
©David A. Ziser

Here is another image captured during my Master Class last week. I saw the expanse emptiness of the room, the warm colors, the larger chandelier and thought it might provide a perfect location for what I had in mind. I positioned the bride in the middle of the room with all the space around her. The space was further exaggerated with my use of the very wide angle lens. All lines seem to lead directly to the subject. This is primarily a result of the wide angle optic. I illuminated the bride by bouncing my on-camera flash off the left wall. I really enjoy the finished result. Camera specs: Canon 7D fitted with 10-22mm lens at 10mm, F5.6 @ 1/50 second, ISO 1600. Enjoy! -David

p.s. Hey gang, we have a big drive as we head to Atlanta early this morning. So look for today's Business Day Thursday post a little later this afternoon. -David

Business Day Thursday: Who’s Your Best Salesperson?

2009-11-05T09:21:00.000-05:00

Good Afternoon Everybody,

We had one more rousing good time in Colombia, SC last night. One of our attendees can back a second time, Jeremy was with us in Charlotte the night before. Last night he won my audience challenge question worth $99. And then won the $1200 door prize – convention registration for two to Photoshop World! He was thrilled hugging LaDawn, jumping on stage and hugging me and about 3 to 4 others in the audience. See, it pays to come back a second time to the DWUC tour. Hey gang, only 7 to go, maybe we’ll see you again in the next few weeks.

Time to get on with today’s post. Here we go…

Who’s Your Best Sales Person?

Is it you? Or an energetic studio employee? Who really is the best sales person you could have selling for you? If you think about it, there is only one answer – a very satisfied past client. The secret is to make all your clients very happy and satisfied clients, but we all know that.

It’s that satisfied and happy client that generates those “word of mouth” referrals that many of us rely on in our businesses. But can we leverage that client satisfaction and take it to the next level? I think so.

Suppose you are planning to participate in one of the local bridal shows. You know what a bridal show is, don,t you? It’s where 5 florists, 5 bakers, 5 caterers, 5 bridal consultants, and 50 photographers come together to show their wares. At least that seems to be the case at some of the bridal fares I’ve strolled through.

Anyway, all kidding aside, we all know what a bridal fare is all about. It’s many times a gazillion wedding vendors coming together, including several photographers, all viding for the attention of the bridal multitudes that attend these weekend shows.

If we stand there behind our booth with our albums on the display table and our wedding images displayed around us, we look and sound pretty much like every other photographer showing their wares at the show.

So, you say, how can you change it up for the next show you do? My suggestion is to “hire” your best salespeople for the job – your best, favorite satisfied clients. Would they really be the best salespeople to promote your photography to all those perspective brides? I think so.

Each year, we can all recall a wonderful experience we have had with one of our clients. We just get closer to that one client over another for some reason. Maybe it’s personality, chemistry, common interests or hobbies….whatever.

Anyway, why not ask that client couple to share the booth with you? Why not ask them to be your “front person” for your studio? Who better to relate to all the future brides attending the show than a bride herself?

How would you go about arranging that for your next bridal show? Contact several of your happy clients and run the idea past them. You could easily offer additional photographs from their wedding as compensation for their time. You may even offer a casual portrait shoot, a Bridal pictorial (trash the dress) session. The point is to really offer them a nice “thank you” for their time.

Last week during my Master Class I was engaged in a conversation with Greg who had travelled from Hawaii to attend the class. He received the long distance mileage travel award:~)

Anyway, he was telling me about the big bridal show that had just taken place in Honolulu shortly before he left to join us at the class. It seems that one of the photographers displaying at the show was doing exactly what I outlined above. He said that this photographer's clients were not just standing around to answer questions. They were pro-actively approaching the prospective bides and inviting them into the studio’s booth. And, then proceeded to enthusiastically share their own studio experience. WOW! You talk about “word of mouth” referrals. Nothing better than having it happen in real time!

I think it’s a great idea that easily let’s you became the cream rising to the top, photographical speaking, at your next bridal show.

Hey gang, that’s it for me today. We are about 100 miles outside of Atlanta with computer on my lap. LaDawn informs me it’s time to fill-up the gas tank and take a little lunch break - so I’m out of here. See everybody tonight in Atlanta. Adios, -David

"Autumn Gold"

2009-11-04T09:01:00.000-05:00

"Autumn Gold"
©David A. Ziser

I captured this image on the way to Raleigh, NC on Sunday. Although many of the leaves had fallen from the trees because of the weekend rain, enough remained to splash some vibrant color among the remaining branches of this golden hillside. You know, every Fall setting looks beautiful. The season's changes are one of my favorite things about living in the Midwest. The soft change of color usually beginning in very late September, peaking by that third week of October, always carries through to the very end of October. That represents almost 10% of the year for us. With our travels from north to south with the tour this year were are able to extend our enjoyment of the fall beauty to almost two months. A true blessing - just beautiful! Camera specs: Canon 7D fitted with 18-200mm IS lens at 130mm, F5.6 @1/1250 second, ISO 400.

Enjoy! -David

Digital WakeUp Call Venue Change For Monday November 9 – Atlanta,GA

2009-11-04T09:00:00.000-05:00

Hey everybody, please note the hotel location has changed for Monday’s program in Atlanta. The original hotel dropped the ball and double booked the space – we got the boot, even with a signed contract. Just part of the trials and tribulations of planning a lecture tour.

The original hotel:

Doubletree Hotel

3242 Peachtree Road NE

Atlanta, GA 30326

404-231-1234

HAS BEEN CHANGED TO:

Grand Hyatt Atlanta in Buckhead [link]

3300 Peachtree Road NE

Atlanta, GA 30305

Tel: +1 404 237 1234

Map and directions [link]

See you at the Hyatt on Monday. -David

Wednesday: So Is It Worth It To Shoot RAW?

2009-11-04T08:59:00.000-05:00

Good Morning Everybody,

I love the people in this part of the world – and their Barbeque! Once again we had a great crowd last night in Charlotte, NC, one of the loudest and most enthusiastic anyway;~)

Today we make the short trip to Columbia, SC. The weather and the scenery has been a joy to behold on our trip south. It’s sort of like we are extending the fall colors for another few weeks as we move through the southern states. Most of the trees in Charlotte haven’t even dropped their leaves yet. We’ve never been to Columbia so we’re looking forward to the visit. Looking forward to seeing everyone this evening.

Today’s post is going to take a slightly different tack than usual. Give it a read below and let me know what you think.

So Is It Worth It To Shoot RAW?

You know, this question keeps popping up for me. I was a JPEG shooter for 7 1/2 years of my 9 years of shooting digital. And, I was a very happy camper.

I was always able to “nail the exposure” with my tried and true metering methods better know as the Ziser “blinkie” method. I usually shot in larger JPEG but at a tighter compression giving me files in the 1- 2 meg range. I was able to back up a job in no more that 1-2 DVD’s. I got great images with several on display up to 24x36 inches, many of these images are on display on my DWUC tour. Life was good.

It was Lightroom 2 that convinced me to convert to shooting RAW. I was a custom color and B&W printer back in the mid ‘70’s and loved the localized density control I could manage over each print. Lightroom 2 now gave me that same capability with it’s adjustment brush. I was sold.

The down side – now I had 40-50 GIGS!!! of data to back up for each job!!! That meant 10 – 12 DVD’s and the hours of production time to burn them – YIKES!!!

There was another issue too. When I imported the images into Lightroom 2, the RAW images never looked as good as my JPEGS. The images would load up, look good, and quickly switch to some kind of anemic looking image that was never as brilliant and full of life as what my JPEGS were giving me.

The root of the explanation lay in the fact that the JPEG was processed in the camera to the presets I had programmed into the camera. The RAW import process stripped all those settings away from my images leaving me just the RAW data – sort of like the King with no clothes – not a pretty site.

After installing Adobe’s camera profile presets into Lightroom, things improved. But there were still a number of adjustments to make to hundreds/thousands of wedding images that took hours of time. Import presets and processing presets did help ease the process.

After installing Lightroom 3 and working with it these last few weeks, some of my frustrations have returned since the camera profiles have gone south. I know, I know, LR3 is in BETA. I guess I’m just noting a little of my impatience here. I’m confident that the shipping version will be just fine.

I installed Canon’s Digital Photo Professional software on my Canon 7D RAW images and, boy, did the look great. They actually looked exactly like they looked in the viewfinder of the camera – a very good thing. Several of my DWUC attendees have told me they have had the same good results with the Nikon Capture NX software.

The reason for this is the fact that the software from these respective camera manufacturers, and I’m sure others too, are able to read ALL the EXIF data in the RAW file and create a preview that matches exactly what you see on the back of the camera. It sure would be nice if LR3 could incorporate the translation of that same data when importing the RAW images. What a time saver that would be! All we can do is hope.

But that’s still only half the problem. The other issue is the amount of hard drive real estate we encounter when shooting exclusively RAW files. It’s going through the roof these days!!! As a wedding shooter, do I really need to shoot every last candid image – 1000’s of them - in RAW mode just so I have to tweak them a bit more in Lightroom or any other RAW conversion software?

I’m thinking not. Why add to my processing production overhead time and costs and why chew up “gobs” of hard drive space for images that mostly are going to be no larger that 4x6 or 5x7 size in a wedding album!?

I think the answer to his dilemma is for all of us to consider what the subject matter is and to shoot accordingly. If you are a landscape photographer and need to elicit every last nuance of detail out of that image, than RAW is it. That would be true for the commercial shooter too. And, I would say it’s also true for the portrait photographer that is considering producing larger wall portraits.

But for us wedding guys, I’m suggesting a different scenario. Let’s just shoot the “high profile” wedding images in RAW. Those images would include the “altar return images, the groups, the special images of the bride and groom, and the key candids at the wedding reception – cake cutting, bouquet and garter toss, etc.

All the rest of the 100’s or even 1000’s of candids could be shot in JPEG mode saving tons of time in processing and gobs of hard drive real estate. Do we really need to put the “ultimate” tweak on each of those images? Working in JPEG mode still gives us plenty of control over the final result without all the RAW production overhead.

The newest cameras make it easy to switch from one set up to the next. We just need to make the effort to do so. Maybe I’m “howling at the moon”, but I think we, as wedding photographers – the guys who shoot tons of images on the job, need to rethink how we do that shooting and how we process those images. Something tells me that we could reduce studio costs considerably if we DON’T buy into the fact that EVERYTHING needs to shot in RAW.

Food For Thought --

Hey Gang, That’s it for me today. We are southbound and pedal down to Columbia. See ya’ there tonight! Ol’ Barbeque lips, -David

"Point Man"

2009-11-03T07:01:00.000-05:00

"Point Man"
©David A. Ziser

Here is another "urban" portrait I made last week. I positioned the subject at the corner of the building and used a very wide angle lens to accentuate the lines of the building. The secret here is to not get the subject's head too close to the edge of the frame otherwise you will get get some distortion of the subject's head. Nobody wants to look like Mr. Gumby. Best results are achieved if his head is right in he center of the frame as it nearly is here. The very wide angle lens is what makes the shot. Just be judicious in how you use it and you can get some terrific results. Lighting was created using my “Hollywood Lighting” technique. Camera specs: Canon 7D fitted with 10-22mm lens at 13mm, F5.6 @ 1/250 second, ISO 200. Enjoy! -David

Technique Tuesday: A Double Feature - Making Your Slide Shows Sing With Video

2009-11-03T07:00:00.000-05:00

Good Morning Everybody,

What a great turnout we had last night in Raleigh, NC - a great crowd with lots of enthusiasm. Of course, it always comes out at door prize time. You know, I think I'm going to miss door prize time once we wrap the tour;~) Anyway, thanks everybody for stopping by last night.

Today we make the short trip over to Charlotte, NC where we will be visiting about 170 for this evening's presentation. And then on to Columbia, SC and on Thursday to Atlanta. We haven't been to this part of the country for a while so it's fun to be making the trip again. If I get any good shots from our "drive by shootings", I'll get them up here on DPT. This view of the Virginia mountains is an image LaDawn took on Sunday.

One more thing – in yesterday’s post [link] I mentioned a nice tutorial by Jeff Revell where he showed how to pull a lot of detail out of an image. Unfortunately, I forgot to include the link. The post is now corrected, so go check it out – I’ll know you will enjoy it.

Hey gang, I've got a great Technique Tuesday for everybody today. As I mentioned yesterday - it's a video double feature. You've heard I'm a big fan of Animoto, but now I'm even a bigger fan. Why? because of how effortlessly Animoto lets us combine video clips with our still images. It's way super easy. Instead of me waxing fantastic here about what I've been up too, how about we get on with today's Technique Tuesday post.

A Double Feature - Making Your Slide Shows Sing With Video

I've been planning this post for a few weeks so I hope you enjoy it. Here is the back story. I photographed Lindsey for her high school senior portrait. We got some great shots but with the new Canon cameras shooting video, I wanted to augment the images with video clips.

So last week, Lindsey and I went out in the beautiful fall surrounds – and captured images and video clips only a few seconds long. I know what you're thinking, "There he goes again talking videos with still images - no way I'm doing that. I'm not learning any new software."

Everybody seems "scared to death" of the video capabilities of the new digital cameras. Don't be. In this tutorial I'll show you how, in just a few mouse clicks, you can combine still images with your short video clips. I'll also show you how simple and UN-intimidating the entire process can be.

Hey gang, I felt the same way and that's why I turned to Animoto to do the job for me. Man, it is a "piece of cake" to do and I love the result. Instead of me yakking away - why don't you hit the PLAY button below and see what I'm talking about . You are going to love it.

Next, hit the PLAY button on the next show to see the finished result - way cool!!!

Remember – Animoto is offering 3 months of commercial access for only $99 and if you use the code from my Digital WakeUp Call tour - Digitalwakeup4 - they will kick in another month for free. That’s a 25% discount. One more time – here is the Animoto link right here.

Hey everybody, that's it for me today. We are heading out to Columbia, SC shortly. How about I plan to see you back here again tomorrow. See ya' then. Adios, -David

"Amber Glow 2"

2009-11-02T10:01:00.000-05:00

"Amber Glow 2"
©David A. Ziser

This is another one of my favorite outdoor images from last week's Master Class. The rich fall foliage really complemented Amber's super tan skin and blond hair. The image was made in a small city park in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio. Most of the leaves had fallen from the trees, but the long lens I used disguised that fact pretty well. The long lens and larger aperture also easily isolated Amber from the background which brings the viewer's attention directly to her. The repeat of the arches in the background also help direct the viewer's eye directly to our subject. All and all, a very pretty outdoor bridal portrait. Camera specs: Canon 7D fitted with 70-300mm IS DO lens at 180mm, F5.6 @ 1/160 second, ISO 200. Enjoy! -David

Quick Hit Monday: Let's Have Some Fun At Mardi Gras 2010; Top 10 Wedding Photogs In The UK; Optical Storage-RIP; Detail, Detail, and More Detail

2009-11-02T10:00:00.000-05:00

Good Morning Everybody,

We wrapped my Master Class last Friday, packed the bags on Saturday for the last leg of my Digital WakeUp Call tour, and hit the road on Sunday. Can you believe it - only 10 cities to go! We made the 8 1/2 hour very picturesque drive down to Raleigh, North Carolina yesterday arriving about 8:00 p.m. and we are ready to go again tonight.

I brought the Master Class images with me and hope to get a show posted over the next couple of days. I'm planning to mix in a little video too - it should be fun. And speaking of video, be sure to check out tomorrow's post. Yes, it is ready to go and looks very cool.

Hey, enough already - let's get on with today's post.

Come On Down To Mardi Gras In February 5-7, 2010
I got an email from my buddy, Ralph Romaguera, last week about this great idea he is putting together for next year's Mardi Gras celebration in New Orleans. He wants to put together a float of photography friends every year.

Ralph has been heavily involved in Mardi Gras for many years in his home town of New Orleans, even being King of the crewe last year. He has informally put together these Mardi Gras extravaganzas for photographers the last three or four years. I've been invited each year and wasn't able to attend because of schedule conflicts.

That is not the case for 2010 - LaDawn and I are both planning to be there. Ralph wants me to offer a formal invitation to all of you. Why not plan to "pass a good time" with LaDawn and I and several other party-going, celebration happy photogs for a very special few days in the great city of New Orleans.

Here is the link for all the info right here. Check the Texas School Mardi Gras link and Ralph's link to get all the Mardi Gras information, costs, agenda, etc. Leave a message in the "Comments" section if you would like to attend. Hope to see you there - it should be a blast!

Congrats! To One Of England's Top Wedding Photogs

I just got news that fellow blogging buddy, and great wedding photographer, Crash Taylor, from England was just being named one of the Top 10 Winter Wedding Photographers. [link].

I've pointed you to Crash's site many times for his very interesting series of interviews he features with wedding photogs from around the world. Here is the link to Crash's interviews right here, and his outstanding wedding photography right here.

Look for Crash to do an interview for us here at DPT once both of our schedules settle down - should be pretty cool.

Optical Storage:RIP

Yep, that was the title of the story I read over at the ZNet blog right here. What, no more CD's, DVDs, Blu-Ray disks? Hey gang, I'm not going to over react on this piece. Things change and I think for the better mostly. I point you to this article because as we move up to higher powered, more mega-pixeled cameras, our storage needs are going to change.

I had one photog point me towards a $3,500 tape backup system, but that's not practical for the smaller studios. I admit, I'm a bit paranoid about backup at my studio with everything on DVDs and duplicated on 2 sets of hard drives going back to 2000.

When I shoot a job now, it's usually 40-50 gigs of data I need to back up to something very permanent. Backing up that much data to DVD's takes lots of time. Is Blu-Ray the answer - for me, not at $25/disk! So what is the answer? We are sticking with DVDs at this point, reconsidering shooting strategies to reduce job storage, and keeping an eye on storage options and the price of those options.

Thanks to fellow blogger, Jeff Revell, where I first saw the story.

More Detail Than You Could Ever Need

And speaking of Jeff Revell, you've got to check out his tutorial on how to get the maximum detail out of the shadows [link]. Jeff's PhotoWalkPro Blog is one of the best out there and I always like to make the visit when I get a chance.

Anyway, check out Jeff's 5 minute tutorial right here - you'll pick up lots of nice Lightroom tips and tricks along the way.

Hey gang that's it for me today. LaDawn has already headed down to set the room for tonight. We have over 200 excited photographers registered for tonight's program. Hey, if you are a DigitalProTalk reader, come on up and say HI. Hope to see lots of smiling faces this evening at the program.

And, by the way, be sure to check back tomorrow for a Technique Tuesday double-header video segment - one of my favorites to date. See you soon, -David

"A Day At The Park"

2009-10-30T08:55:00.001-04:00

"A Day At The Park"
©David A. Ziser

This is one of my favorite images of the week. Not just because it’s a nice portrait of the bride but, because of how the bride was illuminated. One of the class members held a Quantum Trio directly behind the bride to add the accent light to the veil. The Trio was fired remotely with my FreeWire radio attached to my camera. Here is where it gets interesting. I had another class member hold a 42” Westcott Illuminator to camera right. I zoomed my flash to 105mm, pointed it at the reflector and fired away. The illumination on the front of the bride is the result of the flash bouncing off the reflector and coming in at just the right angle to create the beautiful and flattering light on the bride. Nothing like a little
“Photon Ricochet“ to light the subject. Camera specs; Canon 7D fitted with 24-105mm IS lens at 82mm, F4.0 @ 1/200 second, ISO 200. Enjoy! -David

Friday: Wrapping Up The Week

2009-10-30T08:54:00.001-04:00

Good Morning Everybody,

I’m at the keyboard early this morning because I know that after we wrap my Master Class today LaDawn and I are just going to
“chill” a bit and enjoy the beautiful fall scenery we are experiencing this year.

I have to say, we have had a great class this week. Feedback from the class is that everyone really liked the new format. We will read all the comment sheets from this week’s attendees, gather additional input from the “coaches” at our wrap up meeting early this afternoon. Then we will tweak where necessary, and see if we can make the upcoming Spring Master Class April 26 –30, 2010 - even better. My thanks to everyone who attended this week’s class, my team from the studio, the coaches and assistants that shared their knowledge and expertise to further enhance the Master Class experience and made it such a good time.

Next week look for a image wrap up of the week too. BTW, don’t you love the picture of the class this time around. I thought, heck, the class is mostly about lighting so let’s really show all the strobes firing;~) Our class picture was taken by Jesica Bruzzi from B&H who came by as a consultant for a few days this week. Thanks Jesica for a great shot.

I hope out DPT readers didn’t mind me veering off our normal topic agenda too. I just thought a peek into what was going on this week with new cameras and LR3 betas could be pretty darn helpful. We’ll get back to our normal schedule next week – including the MIA Technique Tuesday episode.

And speaking of next week, can you believe it, we head out on our last leg of my Digital WakeUp Call Tour. We are heading to Raleigh, N.C. on Monday, Charlotte, N.C. on Tuesday, Columbia, S.C on Wednesday, and wrapping the week in Atlanta on Thursday.

We have 10 cities to go. Here is the list of remaining dates right here. We hope to see you there!

Hey gang, I do have a few items I want to remark on today, so let’s get right to it.

Just A Few More Notes On The Canon 7D

After Wednesday’s post [link], I received lots of comments about the camera’s dark previews in Lightroom 3 Beta. Thanks to all who commented and offered insights into the issue.

I too believe it’s a LR3 issue. Class members were having the same problem this week with the LR3 beta some were using in class. I heard comments like, “It looked good coming in then the preview turned dark.” That indicates to me that LR3 beta is just posting a preview that represents it’s best guess as to what the image should look like.

The Lightroom team has literally built version 3 from the ground up so when running the beta I don’t expect things to be perfect. Adobe did a good job with LR2, so I suspect when LR3 ships we are all going to be quite happy.

I’m going to give some of the suggestions from our readers a try and see what happens. BTW, I found it most interesting when I read Wink’s comment referencing the link to The-Digital-Picture.com site. [link] Their review reports that their testing shows the camera is exposing 1/3 stop darker than other camera bodies. Hummm… We’ll see what the next firmware brings.

Oh, one more feature I love on the 7D! THREE, count them, three custom settings that the user can set. The 40D had 3, the 50D only had two, but the 5d Mark II had 3 so I’m glad to see Canon put 3 back on the 7D. This feature comes in real handy when you need to change to a completely different set of settings during the heat of the wedding shoot. It’s like having 3 cameras in one. I love it!

Another great feature on the 7D is the “My Menu Settings” feature. The camera lets you add your most used menu choices all in one place so you can get to them quickly when need be. No more drilling down through all the myriad choices to get to the one you want. Now everything you use everyday is listed in just one place. Another – very cool!

More On Lightroom 3 BETA – The Dreaded Import Feature

This is a quick one folks, I took a peek at the import function once again and still am not impressed. I decided to add 4300 images from a wedding to my catalogue. As usual, LR3 beta wanted to populate the screen with all the previews. My best guess it that it would have taken several minutes to accomplish the task. I waited 15 minutes and LR3 still had a long way to go.

While it was populating the images, I hit “Select None” then had to scroll endlessly to find the blank icons that represented the 3 images I wanted to import. I checked them and in a short while, they popped into my catalogue. All I want to see is the file list – who cares about seeing 4300 thumbnails! On a real job, they are all coming in anyway!

I then tried to import just one image from another folder. LR3 spent minutes creating the file list telling me it was “Finding files.” Then it was “Loading dates…”, then it was “Loading dates and thumbnails…” Stop, stop – just pull out my fingernails, it would be less painful.

Maybe I’m over-reacting a bit, but the new import functionality is just no fun, time consuming and nearly impractical for day-to-day use. Don’t get me wrong – I know I’m coming across maybe slightly negative ;~) but I still love the new features in LR3. And, yes, I plan to hang in here with LR3 a bit longer, dig under the hood, and just see what this baby will do.

Hey gang, that’s it for me today. We wrap the class today and, can you believe it, we pack the van tomorrow and head out Sunday for Raleigh, N.C. Yep, we’re driving . LaDawn and I love seeing America.

Everybody have a great weekend. I hope your little pixels get lots of goodies on Halloween. I’ll see ya’ Monday in Raleigh.

On the road again, -David

"Amber Glow"

2009-10-29T13:47:00.000-04:00

"Amber Glow"
©David A. Ziser

Here is another image made during yesterday’s shoot. I found this great location where the textures and colors of the grasses proved a perfect background for this shot. There were a lot of beautiful spots in the park for pictures but this one turned out to be one of my favorites. I had to shoot around some large power units which the park had disguised in these grasses, but that was not a problem. The image is a straight forward outdoor portrait of a bride. I balanced the light – a strobe through my Zumbrella - coming from camera left with the ambient. I underexposed the ambient just a bit to bring out the flattering direction of light on my subject. The grasses not only added texture and color to the background, but a little implied motion as well. The large aperture softened the background substantially so as not to distract form the subject. All these elements came together for a beautiful portrait of our bride. Camera specs; Canon 7D fitted with 70-200mm F2.8 IS lens at 85mm, F3.5 @ 1/200 second, ISO 100. Enjoy! -David

P.S. I’ll get the rest of today’s post up early this afternoon. -David

Thursday: More On Canon 7D and Lightroom 3 BETA

2009-10-29T13:46:00.000-04:00

Good Afternoon Everybody,

Man, it’s a little tougher to get the blog up during Master Class week, but I’m still giving it a try today.

The dubious weather cooperated yesterday and we had a great day shooting at the park and the Drees Pavilion overlook. It was a long day with us beginning at 9 a.m. and wrapping about 8 p.m. The models were troopers, too, and we got some fantastic images.

Looks for lots of material for upcoming blog posts. Anyway, let me push on with some more observations about the Canon 7D and Lightroom 3 BETA.

More about Canon 7D

That’s for all the comments on yesterday’s post trying to explain the darkness of the Lightroom 3 BETA previews from the Canon 7D. I think it’s a Lightroom/Raw issue, too. The previews on the back of the camera are small JPEG previews that don’t carry over to LR3 Beta – all we get to see is the RAW data. I’ve found that pushing the Brightness to +75 and reducing the Contrast to 0 helps.

It got pretty dark on us last night and I was impressed that the 7D nailed the FOCUS – thumbs up on that one!

I found a much easier and quicker way to shoot video as well. While looking through the viewfinder, I focus on the scene I want to video. As I pull the camera from my eye, I switch the 7D into Video mode and immediately hit the record button. This is much quicker than switching the camera to video mode, finding the focus, and then shooting. More on that later.

I’m also very satisfied with the low noise performance of the camera. Any noise you see is nice and tight and almost film like.

And Now On With Lightroom 3 BETA

Now on to Lightroom – has anyone else found the cropping to be a little quirky? The crop rectangle jumps around a bit even when I hold down the ‘Shift’ key.

My biggest gripe about Lightroom 3 BETA is, hands down, the NEW IMPORT procedure. Under Lightroom 2 you just headed to the image folder, selected the images and hit IMPORT.

It took me 10 minutes last evening just to get 150 images into Lightroom 3 BETA. The new version wants to load all the file structures, populate the screen with preview images, which take forever, makes me deselect the ones I don’t want to import, an on, and on, and on. What a time waster!

Adobe will need to fix this one quick. I can see trying to load up a 3000 image wedding!!!!

Hey gang, I just checked the clock and I’ve got to fly – class starts in a few. See ya’ tomorrow. -David

"Standing Alone"

2009-10-28T09:33:00.001-04:00

"Standing Alone"
©David A. Ziser

I made this image - kind of an urban portrait - yesterday during my Master Class shoot. It’s probably my favorite shot of the day. I like the two windows flanking the groom. Their blank emptiness seem to enhance the feeling of the aloneness of the subject that I sense in this shot. Yet the soft shadow cast on the back wall suggests a mysterious presence in the scene. Lighting was from camera right with my Quantum shooting through my Zumbrella. Since I was shooting faster than the native sync speed, I had to turn the camera upside down to keep my subject in the flash sync part of the viewfinder, hence the slight vignetting at the top of the image. Camera specs: Canon 7d fitted with 18-200mm IS lens at 24mm, F5.6 @ 1/400 second, ISO 200. Enjoy! -David

p.s. Hey gang, look for the rest of the post later today. I’m running late for class. See ya’ after lunch. -David

What’s Happening Wednesday: Lots – Quick Observations About The Canon 7D and LR3

2009-10-28T09:32:00.000-04:00

Good Afternoon Everybody,

The class is off to a great start and everyone seems to like the new concept – lots of models and lots of coaches. I have to say, it’s a great way to ramp up the leaning curve for the attendees.

We reviewed images today and the class had some wonderful images to share.

So what else happened yesterday? Some BIG surprises!!! We got home last night about 8 o’clock in the evening. The first thing I did was grab the card and load up the images into Lightroom 3 BETA.

I was stoked to see the images I had shot, too. The images loaded across the screen, the previews gradually populated my entire desktop. There they were – I couldn't wait to peek at my “real” images (not vacation shots) taken with the new Canon7D.

Then surprise of surprises, images looked great on the back of the camera but were a lot darker on my monitor – what gives? With the 40D what I got on the camera’s LCD, I saw on the monitor.

Part of the problem may have been that I had the camera’s LCD brightness turned all the way up so we could view the images outside more easily. I’m hoping that was the only issue and the reason everything appeared so dark on my monitor.

I had mentioned on Monday, that when I loaded up my (vacation) images from the 7D over the last few weeks that everything looked great in LR3 BETA. We are out again for an all day shoot in just a few minutes so I’ll research the matter even further. Hopefully I’ll have more news tomorrow for you.

I know a lot of folks are concerned about the noise performance of the 7D. Noise, or lack of it seems to be a nice 7D trait – not as good as the Canon5D Mark II, but MUCH better than the 50D. I think the 7D does just fine in the noise department.

Another thing about the 7D – boy, those images sure look “pretty” at 18 megapixels. I printed up five 24x36 images for the class this morning and they looked great!

Another thing I loved about the camera was the dead-on focus. Man with the high pixel count those 24x36’s are tack SHARP!

After today’s shooting, I’ll be able to put together a more definitive list of observations that I’ll plan on sharing with everybody next week. I’ve got a few things I want to try regarding the images brightness issue, too. This by the way, may be more of of LR3 BETA issue than a Canon 7D issue. I plan to get to the bottom of it – I’ll keep you posted.

I know, I know – what about yesterday's Technique Tuesday? Too much to do – at least during class week, and too little time. I’ll finish it up over the weekend and post it next week.

Hey gang, I’ve got to get scootin’ – class starts in just a few minutes. Adios, -David

"Vegas Girl"

2009-10-27T08:14:00.001-04:00

"Vegas Girl"
©David A. Ziser

This image was taken in the Mandalay Bay Resort as part of a training session I was doing for Photoshop World a few years ago. I'll tell you, put a pretty girl in a fabulous location and it's hard to go wrong. I love the striking architecture of the background which I enhanced even more with a wide angle lens on my camera. Overall, this is a straight forward shot with lighting coming in from camera right with my off-camera strobe firing through a shoot through umbrella. Slowing down the shutter to pick up the detail of the surrounds added to the warmth of the shot. Camera specs; Canon 5D fitted with 24-105mm IS lens at 24mm, F5.0 @ 1/20 second handheld, ISO 800. Enjoy! -David

Technique Tuesday: Recession Flash - Poor Man's Lighting Set Up

2009-10-27T08:08:00.001-04:00

Good Morning Everybody,

We kicked off my Master Class yesterday with photogs coming in from around the country, including Hawaii, Arizona, and even one attendee traveling down from Barrie, Canada. Once more, we have an international symposium of photographers gathered together for a great week of learning and fun;~)

We had everyone over to our home/studio last night for our Welcome Party just to relax, share and get to know each other. Thanks to my team for pulling off a wonderful evening and dinner.

Today we head out to photograph at two of my favorite locations in the city - the Cincinnati Club (who's image is that on their splash page?) and the beautiful Mother Of God Church. This should be kind of fun today because of the diversity of the locations. I'm looking forward to all of us capturing some great shots.

Technique Tuesday: Recession Flash - Poor Man's Lighting Set Up

I was up bright and early this morning to get today's Technique Tuesday up and running before I headed to class. Well, things took a bit longer that expected and the video isn't going to be rendered in time for me to get it up before I leave.

So, I’m going to Plan B. Just to keep all my Technique Tuesday fans happy, I’m posting a repeat episode of one of my favorites. Just think of it as a re-release of one of my Golden Hits. I think you will enjoy it. It was a big favorite first time around.

Tomorrow, the planned video for today should be up and running. It's a double feature by the way, so you won't want to miss it. Anyway, hit the Play button below and enjoy the show!

Hey everybody, that's it for me today. I got class starting in under an hour and I don't want to be late. Check out the video and I'll see everybody tomorrow. Adios, -David

"City Reflections"

2009-10-26T07:01:00.000-04:00

I captured this image while relaxing in the middle of Times Square about 3 weeks ago. LaDawn and I decided to take a few minutes and just people watch. The clouds blocking the sun moved out of the way for just a few minutes allowing the suns rays to glance off the building to the right. I liked the sharp dramatic shapes of the building and the strong reflection off it's smooth surfaces. The clear blue sky added to this simple visual urban statement. Camera specs; Canon 7D fitted with 18-200mm IS lens at 50mm, F16 @ 1/640 second, ISO 250. Post processing of the Canon 7D's RAW file done in Lightroom 3 BETA and PS4. Enjoy! -David

Quick Hit Monday: Canon 7D Noise - What Noise? Test Driving Lightroom 3 BETA; Ink-Jet Will Last Forever - Well Almost

2009-10-26T07:00:00.000-04:00

Good Morning Everybody,

Hey, I've got some good items to report on today. First, I pulled the trigger on a new Sony Vaio Windows 7 laptop so I'll keep you posted on the trials and tribulations of getting everything set up on the new machine and breaking in Microsoft's new operating system - everybody keeps telling me Windows 7 is the OS to beat … we'll see.

I also have my Master Class kicking off today so let me get right to the good stuff.

Canon 7D Noise - What Noise?

Boy, that was my first impression when I took a peek at some of the early images out of my 7D which I've been traveling with these last two weeks. Granted, I haven't done any definitive testing with the camera yet - that will happen this week during class. But, some of the early tests looked very, very good when I brought them up in Lightroom 3 BETA.

AHHH, you say, Lightroom 3 Beta loads up Canon 7D images. Yes, Virginia, it does - more on that later. Anyway, even when zoomed in nice and close, I was pretty surprised by what little noise I saw in the images. That's my first quick take - like I said, more to come later this week.

Lot's of people would like me to do a comparison on the noise of the Canon 5D Mark II vs. The Canon 7D. Since I haven't gotten around to that yet - tours, classes, and things you know - let me point you towards a site who has a done a side by side comparison of the two cameras.

Here is the link to Cameratown.com right here who has comparison images all the way up to ISO 12,800 posted. Sure, the 5D MkII bests the 7D and the higher ISOs, but the 7D still looks good to 3200. Anyway, check out the images. Just click on them to see the hi-res version.

Test Driving Lightroom 3 BETA

Yep, I downloaded LR3 Beta and fired it up yesterday. You know, I've been all over the web looking to see if LR2.5 supported my brand new Canon 7D RAW files. Some people said yes, and some, including Adobe said no.

I can get LR2.5 to import the 7D RAW images one at a time but always with a error message. Heck, I've got my class starting and want to use Lightroom for the image processing. That prompted the LR3 download and install.

After taking a few minutes getting used to the slightly different import dialogue, I hit the import button and in came every 7D RAW file I had shot over the last two weeks. Whew! I'm saved for the Master Class!

There's quite a lot to like in the new version - excellent noise reduction, better vignetting, cool web sharing features - just to name a few.

Something else I noticed too, is that the LR3 preview images seem to look a lot better too. I know that sounds weird to say. But, I was never happy with LR1's preview images, and some people didn't like LR2's preview images. I'm going out on a limb here, but to my eyes, and the limited amount of images shot, LR3's preview images look like they did on my camera's LCD screen. Folks, that's like super good news. Let's see if that still holds true with this week's shooting.

Wait, there's more LR3 stuff. I'm going to point you towards Adobe's own, John Nack, who posted the announcement of the BETA release over at his site. Here is the link to John's site right here.

Be sure to read the entire article. At the end he points you towards Julieanne Kost's 3 tutorials - about an hour's worth - introducing all the brand new cool LR3 features.

Finished with Julieanne's tutorials, now head over to Scott Kelby's blog - link also at the end of John's post - to see his TOP 10 fav features. Hey gang, it's all good reading if you are riding the Lightroom train.

Oh my gosh, I almost forgot. There is also one more great post over at Luminous-Landscape right here. Michael Reichmann always has a nice take on all things Lightroom. His article is about the best to read for the most practical look at LR3.

Ink-Jet Will Last Forever - Well Almost

While roaming the highways and byways of the web this past weekend, I found this interesting post on ink-jet longevity. Many of you know that we have been doing our own ink-jet printing at my studio for several years. I was always amazed by the longevity rating of ink-jet prints as published by Wilhelm-Research who analyze such things. Here is the link to their Epson 3800 tests right here - check them out and you will see what I mean.

Anyway, at my DWUC tour I am showing 8 of the most gorgeous ink-jet prints I have ever seen. They are just stunning and everyone who sees them agrees. They were printed on a Canon image ProGraf iPF6100 printer. So how long will they last, you ask - a really long time. Here is the Canon Press Release right here over at Imaging-resource and the entire Wilhelm-Research report right here.

That's very good news for me. For 2010, we are beginning work on my fine art series of images. The Canon ProGraf iPF series of printers will be my printers of choice.

Hey gang, I've got to hitting the road. My class starts shortly. Stay tuned this week and I'll keep you up to date with more 7D news and hopefully some pretty cool images. See ya' later. -David

"Dancin' In The Sunlight"

2009-10-23T16:01:00.001-04:00

Here is an image made from one of our "Trash The Dress" sessions that I discuss below. Back in the day, we called it our "Bridal Pictorial" session. It rained on the bride's wedding day and time was limited. Only by scheduling the post wedding day shot about two weeks after the wedding could we have gotten this kind of imagery. The weather was perfect, the time of day was perfect, and the fact that we got a great sunset sure didn't hurt either. We probably picked up a grass stain here and a bit of soil there, but who cares, my client got a great set of images. Lighting was from camera left with the flash balancing the sunset for the best effect. Yes, the shot was also made with my fisheye lens - just think of this week being "fisheye week" here at DPT;~) Camera specs; Nikon D1x fitted with Nikkor 16mm Fisheye lens, F5.6 @ 1/320 second, ISO 640. Enjoy! -David

Trash The Dress Or Trash The Photographer Friday

2009-10-23T15:59:00.001-04:00

Good Afternoon Everybody,

Well, I spent a little bit of yesterday checking out new laptops with Windows 7 loaded. I still haven't "pulled the trigger" yet, but I think I'm getting a lot closer to making the jump.

I was also playing around with the new Animoto video feature yesterday and today - way cool. My quick take - you don't need to learn video editing to incorporate video into your media productions. Look for something in depth next week about this important business sizzler.

I've mentioned a few times that I'm reviewing a number of wedding sites for a BIG project I'm involved with. It's amazing to me the common denominator for so many of the images on the sites - lots of wide angle lens shots, lots of scene setters, peak action captured, not much off-camera flash, and more. I'm kind of reflecting out loud, so stay tuned. I see another big blog post on the horizon.

OK, guys and girls are you ready to “stir the broth” with me today? Here we go with;

Trash The Dress Or Trash The Photographer Friday

You know, I've been discussing this topic briefly in my DWUC tour. I made a remark in Washington D.C that went something like this. "If my daughter came up to me and told me she had booked a photographer who was going to do a "Trash the Dress" session and have the wedding party throw jelly donuts at her wedding gown, I think I'd be telling her that if that happened, I was going to have my own personal "Trash The Photographer" session right after that!"

That kind of sums up where I was stand on the topic when I hear of photographers dragging the gown through mud and dirt, painting the gown, even setting it on fire! Stop the presses - that's going overboard for me.

When I hear these kind of stories and see these kinds of images, it disgusts me. What is the point? Is it just one more indication of the coarsening of our society [link]? Is it a blatantly vulgar statement about wedding photography?

Actually, I think there is some truth in all those statements. Wait, don't leave yet - hang in here with me a bit longer. Why? Because I believe there is a place for the "Trash the Dress" session as part of our photographic repertoire. Where I disagree, is how we should approach the session.

A few weeks ago, I had one of my DWUC attendees come up to me as ask if I had seen the Today Show on MSNBC featuring "Trash The Dress" sessions in their piece entitled, "Bride's Get Down and Dirty." I admitted I hadn't, but from her tone knew she was disgusted with the story. Here is the story link right here. You need to click on the “Be sure to watch the 3 minute video” small image on the bottom right side of the screen to see the 3 minute video.

So what do you think about trashing the gown just for the sake of trashing the gown? The four brides riding around on the four wheeler splashing through the water and mud is blatantly vulgar. It's just not how my mother raised me. The photographer interviewed claimed it was a creative new way to photograph the bride - for what, shock value - YES; but creative - I disagree.

The "creativity" of some of these sessions is akin to the vulgar "creativity" of Don Imus or Howard Stern. Hey, that may be your gig........ It's certainly not mine.

That said, there are some images from these "Trash The Dress" sessions that I love, for example, the one posted above by Michael Smith. I love the textures of the water, the beauty of the setting, the wonderful way you can just view and enjoy the image. That's a creative and beautiful TTD image.

I spent a good bit of time yesterday researching the topic. I thought my take might have been a bit restricted. Maybe I need to get a different view on the subject. I found a great article on the over at Attic Annie's blog right here. It seems Annie has mixed feelings about the trend, too. I think her posts reflects what a lot of people/bride's feel about the subject.

The Fayetteville Observer had another piece on the TTD topic right here. Read the article if you’d like - I prefer the commenter’s comments following the article.

Here is another take from the Washington Post right here. I love the paragraph near the end of the article - And in the process, photographers find themselves unshackled from wedding day constraints. "I get to have creative insight for once," says Britton. "And there's no time limitations."

Folks, taking pictures of the bride and groom other than on the wedding day was a concept started by Rocky Gunn in the 70's. Yes, I said, those 1970's. After starting my business we started incorporating the TTD sessions into our own studio offerings. We just called it something different. It was called a Bridal Pictorial session. In fact , we still shoot them for our clients today. Like they say, "What goes around, comes around." Like Mr. Britton says above - no wedding day constraints at all - yes, plenty of time to be creative.

ImagingInfo.com has another article on the subject entitled, "Embracing a "Trash-the-Dress" Shoot." [link] They've come to the same conclusion Rocky did years ago - do an additional bridal shoot (call it whatever you want - TTD, Bridal Pictorial, etc.) on a different day in a cool location and, as this article points out, "... the images can create an amazing addition to any album or wedding collection." I agree - and this article illustrates the point wonderfully.

So what's my final take on these types of bridal sessions? You know there are some beautiful images created in these non-wedding day sessions. Whether they are called "Trash The Dress", "Rockin' With The Dress", or "Bridal Pictorials", the imagery can be striking (like the image below by Sean and Mel Mclellan), and striking for all the right reasons - no wedding day constraints, perfect weather, fabulous locations, not as much concern for the dress, and most of all - a wonderful way to let your creativity reach new limits!So yes, I am thrilled that photographers are finding their way back to what so many of us have been doing for so many years. I love the fact that the new brides and grooms are being informed of the range of creative possibilities awaiting them if they take the photographer up on his/her non-wedding shoot date. The images produced by those embracing the non-wedding day shoot can be a great addition to any wedding collection.

On the negative side though, too many of these sessions are in such bad taste, they are not creative, and simply represent wedding photography at it's vulgar worst. But, you say, "It's my right to have bad taste." You're right, but I don't need to appreciate or enjoy it. I'd rather be on the classy side of these sessions all the time.

Food For Thought-

Hey gang, that's it for me today. We are putting finishing touches on my Master Class beginning on Monday. I'm meeting with my "coaches" in just a few minutes, so I'm out of here. See ya' Monday, -David

"A Whisper To My Love"

2009-10-22T11:17:00.001-04:00

This image is from a series I produced for the bride and groom on their wedding day. The bride had a classic beauty radiating from her during this series. Even though the image is stylized (I added noise), I still like the feeling between the couple. I lit the scene with my off-camera flash coming in from camera right. My direction to the couple was pretty much hands off. I simply asked them just to "snuggle in close. My long lens choice kept me fairly far from the couple which gave them the sense of privacy needed to allow the sense of intimacy to come forth for this shot. Camera specs; Canon 5D fitted with 70-300mm IS Do lens at 300mm, F5.6 @ 1/100 second, ISO 160. Enjoy! -David

Business Day Thursday: Stop Putting A Gag Order On Your Sales! - Part 3

2009-10-22T11:14:00.001-04:00

Good Morning Everybody,

So, who's heading out to pick up their brand new Windows 7 computer today? Who knows, I might just pick one up myself to see what all the buzz is about.

As I've been touring the country with my DWUC tour, the subject of MAC vs. PC always comes up. Don’t worry - I'm not going there today. But another topic that came up now and then was how many Windows 7 adopters would be jumping on the bandwagon after today's launch of Windows 7.

It was amazing to me how many photogs were part of Microsoft's massive Win 7 public BETA. Even more interesting to me was the response I heard from 100% of the Win 7 beta testers. They went something like this, "I've had it running for months and not one crash." Or, "It's the most stable OS I've ever used." And lastly from a tech support rep running a MAC but using Win 7 Boot-camped on his MAC, "I’m buying it the day it comes out!"

Anyway, I happen to be one of the guys finally giving up on my XP Pro system and jumping on the Win 7 bandwagon. I'll keep you posted.

Help Wanted - One Last Time

LaDawn asked me to put out the call for volunteers for our last ten cities on my Digital WakeUp Call tour. On November 2 we head out on the last leg of our travels wrapping in Honolulu on November 18.

LaDawn is looking for volunteers for Raleigh, NC - 11/2; Charlotte, NC - 11/3; Columbia, SC - 11/4; Atlanta, GA #1 - 11/5; Atlanta, GA #2 - 11/9, Birmingham, AL - 11/10; Memphis - 11/11 and Nashville, TN - 11/12; Las Vegas - 11/16, and Honolulu - 11/18. Here is the link to hotel locations right here.

Please email LaDawn at ladawn@ziser.com for start times and more information. Hey, the adult beverages are on me at the end of the night! Oh, and by the way, LaDawn definitely makes it worth your while for helping, too.

OK, time to get on with today's episode of Business Day Thursday. Here we go.

Stop Putting A Gag Order On Your Sales! - Part 3

Last week I was on my soap box about how so many photogs are killing their sales by not being pro-actively involved with their clients during the image selection process. It baffles me as to why photogs settle for far less than what their energies, effort, and creative ability warrants.

Lest, I jump back up on my soap box, let me share with you how we've been doing things around David Ziser Photography for years. It has been the main reason for my success in the Cincinnati, Ohio area.

Since 1980, I have had clients come back to my studio to view a slide show of their wedding images and make their selection at the time when they were most excited about what I was most excited about showing them during that special appointment session. We always called it our "Presentation" appointment.

Things have changed in our brave new digital world. Today we post our images on-line for our clients to view. We notify them that their images are on-line and continue to make a "presentation" appointment with them at the same time. They select, NOT their final selection, but only their favorites from all the images we present on-line. From the 1200+ images we post, my clients typically select about 400-500 images as favorites.

Here is the cool thing that happens next. When our clients arrive for their "Presentation" appointment, they are pretty darn excited about what they viewed on line. They are visiting our studio with a wonderful first impression of what they've seen on line.

With our guidance during the "Presentation" appointment, we narrow the 400-500 FAVORITES down to a more manageable 250 - 280 images which we will design into their album. Instead of letting our clients take a "hit or miss" approach to selecting their images, we work with them sharing with them what we saw through the lens and suggesting how these series of images really tell the entire story of the day.

Here is another reason why this collaboration with your client is so important. The album that we eventually design from the client’s selected images is a reflection of your story telling ability, your talents and your creativity. The "hit or miss" on-line selection process seriously jeopardizes potential clients' perception of your most important product. That is the ability to tell the complete story of the bride and groom's most important day in their lives.

Without the collaborative process in action, that final collection of images, the story, the excitement, the beauty, the spontaneity, the emotional marrow of the special day is sadly missing.

When my clients show off the beautiful album we deliver, I can rest assured that their album is a complete story of their wonderful day capturing all the details, nuances, expressions, and splendor of the their event. That's how I want my work presented in the community in which my studio's reputation is so important.

Food for thought.

Hey gang, that's it for me today. See everybody tomorrow for my thoughts on, "Should We Trash the Dress Or Trash The Photographer? The post should "stir the broth" a bit. Hope to see you then. Adios, -David