 By John Gaudio, 303-870-1044
Some people say I get carried away, but I don't think shooting 1,994 photos in 4 hours forty one minutes, about seven pictures a minute, is so bad, especially when so many people are having such a great time. Something I could never have done with a film camera, though it's certainly possible with a modern digital camera. Last night I shot close to a thousand Moms and sons, with a Nikon D90, Digital SLR camera, and a Nikon Speedlight SB-800 strobe. I set the D90 for the highest jpeg quality and resolution available, letting me crop the original photos, in some cases making two or three "new" photos from one. Working with these 5 MB files also allows the creation of sharp clean enlargements up to 30 by 45 inches.
Of course they're not all worth keeping. One of the secrets to maintaining a reputation as a good photographer is taking lots of pictures, and never letting anyone see the bad ones. Forty years of practice helps too. With luck I'll get fifteen hundred usable shots, a hundred or two of which should be excellent. Now for the task of culling and cropping. It's a matter of balance, getting rid of any shots that make people look bad, while keeping some less than perfect shots that show Regis' moms and their sons having a wonderful time. So much for my reputation as a good photographer. ;-)
I'm a people person, and I love taking photos. While shooting took just under five hours, culling and cropping will take three to five times that long. The really hard part though, until now, has been getting the photos to my customers. What's changed to make that easier? I've found a new partner that seems to handle display, selection, order taking, printing, and shipping, quite beautifully.
SmugMug, like flickr, photobucket, snapfish, and many other photo sharing sites, makes it possible for me to upload photos, and for my customers to find, download, and print them. Unlike most of the other photo sharing sites though, SmugMug offers a "Pro" account, letting me use my own URL, YesterdaysPhotos.com, set my own prices, and determine my own profit. Smug Mug handles fulfillment by effectively making the prints, photo mugs, photo t-shirts, etc. and shipping them to my customers. I get detailed reports on who's buying what photos, when their photos have shipped, and how much money I make on the transactions. More on SmugMug in a future post.
In short, I like people, and I've always loved taking their pictures, especially at weddings, Mom Proms, and other events where they're having a wonderful time. Modern digital cameras, powerful strobes, fast Internet connections, and companies like SmugMug, have come together to make it profitable for me to do what I love. So please wish me luck on my latest business, http://YesterdaysPhotos.com, let me know if you need an event photographer or videographer to capture the smiles, hugs, dances and fun at your next event, and please, smile if you see me. I'd love to take your picture. |
