| |
| |
| Preface | |
| |
| |
| Acknowledgments | |
| |
| |
| |
| Understanding Digital Wedding Photography | |
| |
| |
| |
| The World of Wedding Photography | |
| |
| |
| Capturing Weddings | |
| |
| |
| Challenging and Rewarding Profession | |
| |
| |
| Using the Tools of the Trade | |
| |
| |
| Camera choices | |
| |
| |
| Personality goes a long way | |
| |
| |
| Training your eye | |
| |
| |
| Getting experience | |
| |
| |
| Recording Life's Milestone with Pictures | |
| |
| |
| Breaking into the Business of Wedding Photography | |
| |
| |
| Summary | |
| |
| |
| |
| Developing Your Own Style | |
| |
| |
| Two Business Models | |
| |
| |
| Low prices up front | |
| |
| |
| High prices up front | |
| |
| |
| The motivation factor | |
| |
| |
| Follow the money trail | |
| |
| |
| Traditional Wedding Photography | |
| |
| |
| Equipment | |
| |
| |
| Personality | |
| |
| |
| Services and items offered | |
| |
| |
| The wedding day | |
| |
| |
| After the wedding | |
| |
| |
| Photojournalistic-Style Wedding Photography | |
| |
| |
| History and current trends | |
| |
| |
| Personality | |
| |
| |
| Informal formals | |
| |
| |
| The wedding day | |
| |
| |
| After the wedding | |
| |
| |
| Portrait Journalism | |
| |
| |
| Current trends | |
| |
| |
| The wedding day | |
| |
| |
| Equipment | |
| |
| |
| Finding a Style That Works for You | |
| |
| |
| Giving Clients What They Want | |
| |
| |
| Summary | |
| |
| |
| |
| Choosing the Right Equipment for the Job | |
| |
| |
| Comparing Point-and-Shoot and SLR Cameras | |
| |
| |
| Point-and-shoot | |
| |
| |
| Strengths and weaknesses | |
| |
| |
| Major drawbacks | |
| |
| |
| Choosing a Camera of Your Own | |
| |
| |
| Lightweight | |
| |
| |
| Interchangeable lenses | |
| |
| |
| Fast focus | |
| |
| |
| Fast shutter | |
| |
| |
| Good color | |
| |
| |
| No perceptible shutter lag | |
| |
| |
| Long battery life | |
| |
| |
| Availability of a powerful TTL flash | |
| |
| |
| LCD screen | |
| |
| |
| Vertical shutter-release button | |
| |
| |
| Short power-on time | |
| |
| |
| Lenses for the Wedding Photographer | |
| |
| |
| Wide-Angle Zoom | |
| |
| |
| Dressing room shots | |
| |
| |
| Dancing shots | |
| |
| |
| Group shots | |
| |
| |
| Medium Zoom: A Little Bit of Everything | |
| |
| |
| Telephoto Zoom | |
| |
| |
| Low-light shooting | |
| |
| |
| Shallow depth-of-field effects | |
| |
| |
| Candid shots | |
| |
| |
| Compression of subject and background | |
| |
| |
| Portraits | |
| |
| |
| Art Lenses | |
| |
| |
| 50mm f/1.4 | |
| |
| |
| Lens Baby | |
| |
| |
| Protective Filters | |
| |
| |
| Lighting Choices | |
| |
| |
| Portable flash systems | |
| |
| |
| On-camera flash systems | |
| |
| |
| Color Balance | |
| |
| |
| Bags and Boxes for Carrying Your Gear | |
| |
| |
| The photo backpack | |
| |
| |
| The rolling box | |
| |
| |
| Camera Settings and the Setup Menu | |
| |
| |
| Color space | |
| |
| |
| File format | |
| |
| |
| Sharpening | |
| |
| |
| Exposure modes | |
| |
| |
| Aperture priority mode | |
| |
| |
| Shutter priority mode | |
| |
| |
| Program mode | |
| |
| |
| Manual mode | |
| |
| |
| Methods of exposure compensation | |
| |
| |
| Exposure lock button | |
| |
| |
| +/- Dial adjustment | |
| |
| |
| Manual mode | |
| |
| |
| Summary | |
| |
| |
| |
| Creating Your Wedding Day Workflow | |
| |
| |
| Discovering Workflow | |
| |
| |
| Wedding Shoot Workflow | |
| |
| |
| Preparing for the Shoot | |
| |
| |
| Batteries | |
| |
| |
| Battery packs | |
| |
| |
| Battery chargers | |
| |
| |
| Color space | |
| |
| |
| What to give your clients | |
| |
| |
| Getting your own prints | |
| |
| |
| File format | |
| |
| |
| JPEG | |
| |
| |
| RAW | |
| |
| |
| Adjusting the file type to the job | |
| |
| |
| What file type is right for you? | |
| |
| |
| Memory Cards | |
| |
| |
| Formatting your cards | |
| |
| |
| Memory card failure | |
| |
| |
| Deciding whether to format | |
| |
| |
| Packing up | |
| |
| |
| Final details | |
| |
| |
| Shooting the Pictures | |
| |
| |
| Portable Storage Options | |
| |
| |
| Transferring Images from Camera to Computer | |
| |
| |
| Creating a Backup Image Set | |
| |
| |
| Reviewing and Editing Images | |
| |
| |
| Archiving Finished Files | |
| |
| |
| Workflow Samples | |
| |
| |
| The Author's Digital Wedding Workflow | |
| |
| |
| Studio Coburg's Digital Wedding Workflow | |
| |
| |
| Holland Photo Arts' Digital Wedding Workflow | |
| |
| |
| Summary | |
| |
| |
| |
| Composing Your Art | |
| |
| |
| The Rule of Thirds | |
| |
| |
| Moving into the Frame | |
| |
| |
| Use of Empty Space | |
| |
| |
| Cropping People | |
| |
| |
| Shooting a Bull's-Eye | |
| |
| |
| Leading the Focal Point | |
| |
| |
| Natural Posing | |
| |
| |
| The Creative Portrait Session | |
| |
| |
| Think Creative Thoughts | |
| |
| |
| Summary | |
| |
| |
| |
| Shooting Weddings on Location | |
| |
| |
| |
| Finding Beauty and Emotion in the Dressing Rooms | |
| |
| |
| Equipment | |
| |
| |
| Wide angle lens | |
| |
| |
| Medium lens | |
| |
| |
| 70-200 telephoto | |
| |
| |
| Lens Baby | |
| |
| |
| Lighting the Dressing Rooms | |
| |
| |
| Window light | |
| |
| |
| Balancing light sources | |
| |
| |
| The guy's room | |
| |
| |
| Details shots | |
| |
| |
| Dressing Room Etiquette | |
| |
| |
| Knock before entering | |
| |
| |
| Talk about the nudity issue | |
| |
| |
| What not to shoot | |
| |
| |
| Summary | |
| |
| |
| |
| Shooting Outdoors | |
| |
| |
| Equipment | |
| |
| |
| Working in Bright Sun | |
| |
| |
| Dynamic range | |
| |
| |
| How to cut your losses | |
| |
| |
| Using JPEG on a sunny day | |
| |
| |
| Watch the histogram and blinking highlight warning | |
| |
| |
| Exposure Latitude | |
| |
| |
| Overexposure | |
| |
| |
| Underexposure | |
| |
| |
| Tips for Group Photos | |
| |
| |
| Dealing with direct sun | |
| |
| |
| Late afternoon direct sunlight | |
| |
| |
| Fill flash | |
| |
| |
| Backlight techniques | |
| |
| |
| Overcast light | |
| |
| |
| Finding shade | |
| |
| |
| Light reflectors | |
| |
| |
| Late Evening Light | |
| |
| |
| Background Choices | |
| |
| |
| Including the background | |
| |
| |
| Minimizing the background | |
| |
| |
| Let the background pick your lens | |
| |
| |
| Summary | |
| |
| |
| |
| Shooting Indoors | |
| |
| |
| Equipment | |
| |
| |
| Tripod | |
| |
| |
| Slaves | |
| |
| |
| Lighting the Set | |
| |
| |
| Common lighting setups | |
| |
| |
| On-camera flash | |
| |
| |
| Single main light plus on-camera flash | |
| |
| |
| Dual umbrella | |
| |
| |
| Bounce flash | |
| |
| |
| Reflectors | |
| |
| |
| Diffusers | |
| |
| |
| White Balance | |
| |
| |
| JPEG shooters | |
| |
| |
| RAW shooters | |
| |
| |
| Minimizing Reflections | |
| |
| |
| Choosing Your Locations | |
| |
| |
| The Altar Area | |
| |
| |
| Seeing Good Locations | |
| |
| |
| Summary | |
| |
| |
| |
| Documenting the Ceremony | |
| |
| |
| Must-Have Shots | |
| |
| |
| Ceremony Etiquette | |
| |
| |
| Flash Etiquette | |
| |
| |
| General Ceremony Information | |
| |
| |
| Networking | |
| |
| |
| Strange situations | |
| |
| |
| Emotional moments | |
| |
| |
| Working with Extreme Light | |
| |
| |
| Direct sun | |
| |
| |
| Low-light ceremony shots | |
| |
| |
| Catching the Guests | |
| |
| |
| Where to Be and When | |
| |
| |
| Pre-ceremony | |
| |
| |
| Mid-ceremony | |
| |
| |
| End of ceremony | |
| |
| |
| Summary | |
| |
| |
| |
| Capturing Candid Moments | |
| |
| |
| Seeing Candid Moments | |
| |
| |
| Equipment | |
| |
| |
| When to use a long lens | |
| |
| |
| When to use a wide lens | |
| |
| |
| Catching Candid Moments | |
| |
| |
| Character studies | |
| |
| |
| Face the face | |
| |
| |
| Watching and waiting | |
| |
| |
| Summary | |
| |
| |
| |
| Creating Romance in the Magic Hour | |
| |
| |
| Defining the Romantic Image | |
| |
| |
| Deconstructing Romance | |
| |
| |
| Equipment | |
| |
| |
| Creating the Photo Shoot | |
| |
| |
| Pre-bridal shoot | |
| |
| |
| Pep talk before the photo shoot | |
| |
| |
| Digital Romanticizing | |
| |
| |
| Summary | |
| |
| |
| |
| Jazzing Up the Reception | |
| |
| |
| Must-Have Shots | |
| |
| |
| Cutting the cake | |
| |
| |
| Capturing the first dance and parent dance | |
| |
| |
| Bouquet and garter tosses | |
| |
| |
| Signing the wedding license | |
| |
| |
| Advanced Flash Techniques | |
| |
| |
| Equipment setup | |
| |
| |
| Techniques | |
| |
| |
| The twirl | |
| |
| |
| Panning | |
| |
| |
| Other Reception Images | |
| |
| |
| Summary | |
| |
| |
| |
| Destination Weddings | |
| |
| |
| Reality Check | |
| |
| |
| How to Find the Jobs | |
| |
| |
| Your Web site | |
| |
| |
| Coordinators | |
| |
| |
| Advertising | |
| |
| |
| Web | |
| |
| |
| Magazine | |
| |
| |
| Travel Arrangements | |
| |
| |
| Airline travel tips | |
| |
| |
| Taxi travel tips | |
| |
| |
| Bus travel tips | |
| |
| |
| Health Issues | |
| |
| |
| Travelers' diarrhea | |
| |
| |
| Dangerous critters | |
| |
| |
| Vaccinations | |
| |
| |
| International Travel Paperwork | |
| |
| |
| Crossing U.S. borders | |
| |
| |
| Crossing international borders | |
| |
| |
| Specialized Equipment | |
| |
| |
| The carry-on camera case | |
| |
| |
| Checked baggage | |
| |
| |
| Carry-on camera box | |
| |
| |
| Carry-on backpack | |
| |
| |
| Laptop | |
| |
| |
| Wi-Fi connection | |
| |
| |
| Is It a Job or a Vacation? | |
| |
| |
| Two Reasons to Do Destination Weddings | |
| |
| |
| How to Calculate a Fee | |
| |
| |
| Summary | |
| |
| |
| |
| The Business of Digital Wedding Photography | |
| |
| |
| |
| Creating Your Own Workspace | |
| |
| |
| Three Workspace Options | |
| |
| |
| Studio | |
| |
| |
| Office | |
| |
| |
| Home office | |
| |
| |
| Designing Your Space | |
| |
| |
| Wall colors | |
| |
| |
| Seating | |
| |
| |
| Lighting | |
| |
| |
| Client Interviews | |
| |
| |
| Digital projector | |
| |
| |
| Plasma TV | |
| |
| |
| Cost comparison | |
| |
| |
| Music | |
| |
| |
| Setting the scene | |
| |
| |
| The portable interview | |
| |
| |
| Computer Hardware | |
| |
| |
| Choosing an operating system | |
| |
| |
| Selecting your computer size | |
| |
| |
| Desktop | |
| |
| |
| Portable | |
| |
| |
| Notebook | |
| |
| |
| RAM | |
| |
| |
| Hard drive speed | |
| |
| |
| Drive space | |
| |
| |
| Drive connections | |
| |
| |
| CD and DVD burner with software | |
| |
| |
| Graphics card | |
| |
| |
| Networking your computers | |
| |
| |
| Monitors | |
| |
| |
| Calibrating your monitor | |
| |
| |
| Adobe Gamma monitor profile | |
| |
| |
| Office Printer | |
| |
| |
| Fire-Proof Safe | |
| |
| |
| Essential Software | |
| |
| |
| Internet Service | |
| |
| |
| Domain registrar | |
| |
| |
| Web site host | |
| |
| |
| Your Web Site | |
| |
| |
| Do it yourself or hire someone | |
| |
| |
| SEO | |
| |
| |
| Construction phase | |
| |
| |
| Make it client friendly | |
| |
| |
| What information to include | |
| |
| |
| Software for creating the site | |
| |
| |
| Summary | |
| |
| |
| |
| Working in a Digital Studio | |
| |
| |
| Transferring Images from Camera to Computer | |
| |
| |
| Download problems | |
| |
| |
| Don't format in the computer | |
| |
| |
| Editing, Selecting, and Deleting Images | |
| |
| |
| DAM software | |
| |
| |
| The editing process | |
| |
| |
| Select your best | |
| |
| |
| Renaming image files | |
| |
| |
| Archival Storage | |
| |
| |
| Image Manipulation | |
| |
| |
| Levels | |
| |
| |
| Brighten a dark image with screen mode | |
| |
| |
| Sharpening | |
| |
| |
| Summary | |
| |
| |
| |
| Creating the Finished Product | |
| |
| |
| Print Options | |
| |
| |
| The proofing process | |
| |
| |
| Paper proofs | |
| |
| |
| Digital proofing | |
| |
| |
| Getting Paper Prints | |
| |
| |
| Purchasing from a lab | |
| |
| |
| Printing your own prints | |
| |
| |
| Printers | |
| |
| |
| Printer color calibration | |
| |
| |
| Bulk ink systems | |
| |
| |
| Paper choices | |
| |
| |
| Online proofing and print sales | |
| |
| |
| Online Storefront Providers | |
| |
| |
| Labtricity.com | |
| |
| |
| Pictage.com | |
| |
| |
| Printroom.com | |
| |
| |
| IntoTheDarkroom.com | |
| |
| |
| Set an expiration date | |
| |
| |
| Onsite Client Orders | |
| |
| |
| The Data DVD or CD as a Finished Product | |
| |
| |
| Specify Home Use Rights | |
| |
| |
| Other files to include on the disc set | |
| |
| |
| Albums | |
| |
| |
| The Design Stage | |
| |
| |
| DVD Movies | |
| |
| |
| Computer Slide Shows | |
| |
| |
| Summary | |
| |
| |
| Index | |