I have a pretty Good Business going, But how do I keep it going?

[PhotoWrangler]

Invest in better lights, the ones you are using now are not professional lights. You're using continuous lighting for portraits, that's not really the best way to get quality portrait images, unless you're using the sun as a continuous light, or your continuous lights rival the brightness of the sun.

This is officially the dumbest thing I have heard to date....

 

[o hey tyler]

Invest in better lights, the ones you are using now are not professional lights. You're using continuous lighting for portraits, that's not really the best way to get quality portrait images, unless you're using the sun as a continuous light, or your continuous lights rival the brightness of the sun.

This is officially the dumbest thing I have heard to date....

Why is that? Using low intensity hot lights with a shutter speed of 1/40s @ f/4 ISO 400 is what you would want to print and send to a customer? Maybe for your quality of work, not mine.

 

[PhotoWrangler]

Why is that? Using low intensity hot lights with a shutter speed of 1/40s @ f/4 ISO 400 is what you would want to print and send to a customer? Maybe for your quality of work, not mine.

Of course not. But telling someone that they need lights that rival the sun is asinine.

 

[o hey tyler]

Wow, you are far less intelligent than I had expected. Stranger to sarcasm are we?

Should have used Comic Sans I guess.

 

[vtf]

OP hasn't returned. :er:

 

[chammer]

OP hasn't returned. :er:

Perhaps they were assuming the typical family/Facebook types of responses on how great a photographer they are, and how great their images are. Fact is, as others have stated, the images are less than desirable so it's no wonder people don't come back or they don't have more customers. Now they have hurt feelings. Oh well...

 

[MotionlessMemories]

What makes people think our photos are crap? I mean seriously I know they aren't completely professional by any means, but they are still some frekin good shots. I came her for advice on how to get better and all I have gotten was put downs, which is fine, but none of it was constructive. Telling me the lights I have are crap when you cant even tell what brand or model they are is a low blow. Having the best stuff doesn't make the best photos. Knowing how to use your crap gets you good photos.

So if your are just going to talk crap then don't bother posting please.

 

[chammer]

MotionlessMemories: I clicked through quite a few images, and every single one of them was out of focus to some degree. As others mentioned there were also white balance issues, and even a lot which were underexposed. Had you posted in the beginners section asking for assistance with your photos, you would have gotten it in a much nicer way. However, you posted in a section that professionals discuss issues in, and with photographs that do not match that skill level to be frank.

You asked for assistance with your business, and these photographs are very much your business. If they lack refinement, or are not what people want in any way, then you're not going to have a business. So yes, the harsh replies you received here in regards to the images themselves were actually exactly what you asked for despite your feeling otherwise.

On the plus side, there is potential. Some of the posing under your portrait work shows you have an eye, and/or are good at giving direction. There are some really nice poses and compositions going on. It's just sad that the focus, exposure, and white balance are off on the best ones.

 

[e.rose]

What makes people think our photos are crap? I mean seriously I know they aren't completely professional by any means, but they are still some frekin good shots. I came her for advice on how to get better and all I have gotten was put downs, which is fine, but none of it was constructive. Telling me the lights I have are crap when you cant even tell what brand or model they are is a low blow. Having the best stuff doesn't make the best photos. Knowing how to use your crap gets you good photos.

So if your are just going to talk crap then don't bother posting please.

Perhaps you should look through your portfolio and post 5 of your BEST images here to be critiqued. The images that you think are ABSOLUTELY flawless... next to perfect... and have us critique them. THEN you will have a more thorough and constructive collection of tips and answers to help you better your craft.

I suggest, however, that you start a new thread for this purpose.

But I warn you... be prepared for CONSTRUCTIVE criticism... which DOES NOT mean "a pat on the head". It means that if people find fault with your images, they WILL say so... but hopefully the answers they leave you will prompt questions from you that will aid us in helping you and/or already describe what it is you could do to improve. This is a very helpful community, and I know it has helped MANY of us grow as photographers, but you have to post with a humble attitude, or else you won't get the types of responses you're seeking.

 

[o hey tyler]

What makes people think our photos are crap? I mean seriously I know they aren't completely professional by any means, but they are still some frekin good shots. I came her for advice on how to get better and all I have gotten was put downs, which is fine, but none of it was constructive. Telling me the lights I have are crap when you cant even tell what brand or model they are is a low blow. Having the best stuff doesn't make the best photos. Knowing how to use your crap gets you good photos.

So if your are just going to talk crap then don't bother posting please.

Well, I did tell you that lights would be a better use of your money, but I didn't tell you why.

I don't need to know what brand of continuous lights you have to tell you that they're not great for shooting portraits.

When you're using a shutter speed of 1/40s @ f/4 ISO 400, that's not a very good setup to get quality images in a studio situation. For one, you can't go above a 40mm focal length, because you'll introduce even more camera shake or motion blur into the shot. Shooting at f/4 is probably not optically prime for your lens and would be tough to get a group of 3 staggered people in focus. Also, having your ISO at 400 is not helping your image quality or color reproduction in any aspect. While if you had strobes, you could shoot at 1/200s @ f/8 ISO 100 no problem. If you need more light, get a reflector or open your aperture before you turn up your ISO. The difference with having your shutter speed so high, and the flash duration so short, is that you can shoot at any focal length you want (within reason), and you won't have to worry about blurry or out of focus photos (as much).

Hope this was better advice.

 

[MotionlessMemories]

Alright I like that idea. Thank you

 

[MotionlessMemories]

And thank you. Theses are things I am looking for. I do have high end lights along with a strobe flash, but no one has every really taught me how to set them up properly. The guy that worked at the store was not the most helpful person and my friend who is a photographer has not had much time to assist me. I am doing the best I can with the knowledge I have. I think with 2 continious lights and a strobe flash i should be set on lighting. as for keeping the entire image crisp and sharp, I don't know what to do. I focus around the eye because that is what I have been taught in all my years of classes. I try and shoot mostly at iso 100 but sometimes i cant help it. shutter speed varies but I try and keep the apature close to f4 as to blur the background effectively.

Hopefully now with a little idea about how I shoot, this will start to uncover same basic flaws.

 

[vtf]

Alright I like that idea. Thank you

To answer your question as far as the slow times I'm thinking that maybe you have to pursue repeat business. If you do senior portraits are you also offering family shots with the family a few weeks, months later. Are you calling your past clients and pushing additional portraits. You might consider freelancing for sports or school photography jobs. Right now there is a huge list of help wanted on craig's list.
Lastly is you quality affecting your return business. Doesnt hurt to call past clients and ask how they felt about the session and photo's they receive and offer discounts on future portraits.
I assure you if you post a few you will get good feed back, you will also get an honest feel how your peers see your images. Your images will improve if you work on the good suggestions.
Good Luck. :thumbup:

 

[o hey tyler]

And thank you. Theses are things I am looking for. I do have high end lights along with a strobe flash, but no one has every really taught me how to set them up properly. The guy that worked at the store was not the most helpful person and my friend who is a photographer has not had much time to assist me. I am doing the best I can with the knowledge I have. I think with 2 continious lights and a strobe flash i should be set on lighting. as for keeping the entire image crisp and sharp, I don't know what to do. I focus around the eye because that is what I have been taught in all my years of classes. I try and shoot mostly at iso 100 but sometimes i cant help it. shutter speed varies but I try and keep the apature close to f4 as to blur the background effectively.

Hopefully now with a little idea about how I shoot, this will start to uncover same basic flaws.

One thing that you need to understand when shooting with flashed or 'strobed' light is that your shutter speed ONLY effects your AMBIENT light exposure. Meaning, you can shoot on 1/40s @ f/4 ISO 100 and expose for your continuous lights, but if your strobe is firing too, and you increase your shutter speed you will see that the strobe is still staying at a consistent exposure while your continuous lights drop in exposure.

To control the output of your strobe you can adjust your aperture, which will also change your ambient exposure. If you could get a softbox of a shoot through umbrella for your flash, and chose to only slightly expose for your continuous lights, you'd be in better shape. I am willing to bet that your continuous lights have a different WB than your flash, but I could be wrong.

 

[e.rose]

And thank you. Theses are things I am looking for. I do have high end lights along with a strobe flash, but no one has every really taught me how to set them up properly. The guy that worked at the store was not the most helpful person and my friend who is a photographer has not had much time to assist me.

There are many of us here who haven't taken classes, haven't been "taught" by anyone how to set *anything* up, and don't have photographer friends.

Don't make excuses.

I'm not trying to be mean, I'm just saying...

There is a *wealth* of information to be had. There are books... bookstores, libraries, amazon.com, half.com, are a couple of places to check out. There are online forums ::motions around:: Ta-da! There's Google which will point you to just about anything... there are youtube tutorials...

If you sit around waiting for specific classes to show you things before you try them, or sit around waiting for the guy at the store (who is, depending on where you go, probably not very knowledgeable himself), or your photographer friends (who are probably too busy with their own ventures to be at your ever beck and call), you're not going to get very far.

Be pro-active in your learning.

I'm not saying it HURTS to have friends that know and are willing to help you learn photography, but I'm saying don't sit around *waiting* for them.