Ugh... so irritated... noise in pics? *pictures*

[jritz]

I'm just stating that by the pictures you posted, charging people for mediocre photos is probably not the best idea. The pictures you posted above have nothing to with a problem with a lens, they have to do with the fact that this need flash fill to light the subjects facial features (mainly the eyes). Also, if you knew the exposure triangle you would know that f/16 is not ideal this situation to help keep your iso to the lowest setting possible. Learning the basics of your camera and how to expose whether it be through proper metering or adding flash for fill are necessary tools in being a pro photographer. I just think your getting ahead of yourself and are already backpedaling and making excuses for your photos.

 

[paniologal]

I usually only charge $25/ hour, with no obligation of buying the photos. I am seriously thinking about refunding the couple last night because the photos were awful - mediocre would be a compliment for the ones I took last night. The pictures I posted are some of my worst ones. But, as I said, I was taking photos at f/4 and the results were the same. There's no excuse. I did awful - it was my lack of knowledge, I know that. I should have been better prepared with a lens that was functional and had an external flash. I'm not going to do another photo shoot until I have the proper equipment. I'm also going to read my camera's manual cover to cover.

 

[MTVision]

RAW files look worse than JPEGS so be aware. JPEGS have been processed in camera whereas you have to process all RAW files. Great thing about RAW is you can change your WB after the fact.

Friendly advice: even though you are only charging 25.00/hr maybe you should hold off on the business part of photography. You admitted that you are lacking some basic fundamental knowledge - so instead of trying to make money with OK pictures you should learn your craft inside and out. Then create a business. I have no doubts that people love your pictures but that is besides the point. Being able to take nice pictures isn't all there is to photography.

 

[paniologal]

RAW files look worse than JPEGS so be aware. JPEGS have been processed in camera whereas you have to process all RAW files. Great thing about RAW is you can change your WB after the fact.

Friendly advice: even though you are only charging 25.00/hr maybe you should hold off on the business part of photography. You admitted that you are lacking some basic fundamental knowledge - so instead of trying to make money with OK pictures you should learn your craft inside and out. Then create a business. I have no doubts that people love your pictures but that is besides the point. Being able to take nice pictures isn't all there is to photography.

Thanks for the heads up. I think I will hold off for a little while.. do some photo shoots with friends and experiment more, maybe take some classes, get the right equipment, then start back up again with my business.

 

[2WheelPhoto]

I usually only charge $25/ hour, with no obligation of buying the photos. I am seriously thinking about refunding the couple last night because the photos were awful - mediocre would be a compliment for the ones I took last night. The pictures I posted are some of my worst ones. But, as I said, I was taking photos at f/4 and the results were the same. There's no excuse. I did awful - it was my lack of knowledge, I know that. I should have been better prepared with a lens that was functional and had an external flash. I'm not going to do another photo shoot until I have the proper equipment. I'm also going to read my camera's manual cover to cover.

 

[paniologal]

I usually only charge $25/ hour, with no obligation of buying the photos. I am seriously thinking about refunding the couple last night because the photos were awful - mediocre would be a compliment for the ones I took last night. The pictures I posted are some of my worst ones. But, as I said, I was taking photos at f/4 and the results were the same. There's no excuse. I did awful - it was my lack of knowledge, I know that. I should have been better prepared with a lens that was functional and had an external flash. I'm not going to do another photo shoot until I have the proper equipment. I'm also going to read my camera's manual cover to cover.

I don't know if you're surprised because that's too much or not enough, but even the worst photographers in my area charge 200/hour.

 

[2WheelPhoto]

Too much for snapshots, by far!

 

[paniologal]

Too much for snapshots, by far!

Actually, in my area, people charge a lot for photos to be taken - and people pay it too! Usually I get a generous tip and people have said I'm under charging. But thank you for the input.

If anyone has any interest, here's my site: http://www.wix.com/paniologal/libsphotography

The rates on there aren't the true rates as of now though. I do my 'special' - 25 dollars.

 

[ann]

"Thanks for the heads up. I think I will hold off for a little while.. do some photo shoots with friends and experiment more, maybe take some classes, get the right equipment, then start back up again with my business."

Your best statement , take it very seriously especially the practice part. I would also suggest start studying about lighting and the exposure triangle.

 

[bazooka]

The images are noisy because you are shooting ISO 800, compared to the first two shots are at ISO 200. Opening your aperture didn't help any because that just adjusted your shutter speed. You have your ISO set statically.

 

[spacefuzz]

Read your manual and a book on natural light / flash portrait photography. Make yourself a page of notes based on various lighting conditions.
Go get an understanding friend, go to the beach and shoot all afternoon evening doing your best to tweak via the histogram and lcd preview. Then go home and spend several hours being brutally honest about how well you really did. Make more notes about what you did well at, and more importantly what you need to improve.
Then go back the next day and do it again (very understanding friend). Repeat until you can read the light and set up your equipment on the fly.

 

[bennielou]

Libs,

I think people have told you the truth here. And for $25 bucks a session, that seems like a fair rate.

But I also saw on your site that you offer wedding and sports events, etc. I don't know how to say this, but you just ARE NOT READY for that yet. And I'm not judging by this post, but your own portfolio. They are very consistantly exposed incorrectly. And that is about the only thing that is consistant.

You can list all the people that adore your photos till the cows come home, but the simple fact is that had you known the very basics you could have pulled off this shoot.

Now, it's not all bad news: People seem to like you, so you have that going for you. $25 per session seems alright, because they know at that price point it's a crapshoot. I just think you have a lot more work ahead of you before you are ready to tell people that you are better than most of the pros out there.

 

[Josh220]

IMO you should learn how to properly use your equipment before you charge people. This type of question should be nonexistent if you are profiting from your work. As of now, your shots are underexposed snapshots, NOT portraits. Here's an example of a quick shot I took of myself and my girlfriend on our trip to Maui this summer:

I do not feel that mine is professional quality, nor would I feel comfortable charging for this work. Keep that in mind when charging for your images when comparing the quality of your shots to mine and others.

I am not trying to bag on you in any way, and you shouldn't be discouraged. But I would suggest picking up some books, reading more on the forum, practicing with your friends, saving for better equipment including some off camera lighting, etc. Paying clients are not how you should practice, you should have everything down perfectly before charging.

 

[bennielou]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

I know I need to learn a lot more about shooting photos and lighting situations, but the pictures I got are just not acceptable. I've shot under the same exact conditions but the photos weren't nearly this bad. No matter how bad I did they should have a better result... like I said, the point and shoot did better than the D90. I kept it on automatic most of the time, however, I also opened up the f stop and the results were no better. I agree with the posters who said there would be little reason to shoot in RAW. You can't make a bad picture good, though I've been trying. I will try experimenting with RAW to see how it works though.

Any more tips would be appreciated. I'm still thinking it's the lens. It has been having a lot of problems and the bigger lens gives much better results even under the same conditions.

It's NOT your lens. This is user error, plain and simple. Shooting backlit subject requires a bit of finess from even the best of the bunch. What you had here was a crappy time of day, too much backlighting, no off camera lighting, and a heaping helping of "beginnerness". This could have been done very easily with knowledge of the camera and lighting, even if it was just natural lighting.

First you blamed the photos on noise (in the title), and then you switched it to your lens. Stop blaming the poor lens. It's not the lens. And you wouldn't have excessive noise if you hadn't shot 3 stops under.

There is no shame in taking a time out to reaccess yourself and your work. Go back to the chalkboard, and I'm sure you can get there. But for today, you are miles away (and barefoot on broken glass) from being there. :-(

 

[bennielou]

I usually only charge $25/ hour, with no obligation of buying the photos. I am seriously thinking about refunding the couple last night because the photos were awful - mediocre would be a compliment for the ones I took last night. The pictures I posted are some of my worst ones. But, as I said, I was taking photos at f/4 and the results were the same. There's no excuse. I did awful - it was my lack of knowledge, I know that. I should have been better prepared with a lens that was functional and had an external flash. I'm not going to do another photo shoot until I have the proper equipment. I'm also going to read my camera's manual cover to cover.

I don't know if you're surprised because that's too much or not enough, but even the worst photographers in my area charge 200/hour.

Guess what? I could charge a million dollars an hour. Will I get it? Well that's the million dollar question, isn't it?