Ergonomics and the Fuji XT-3
I recently made a new video where I discuss the Fuji XT-3 and an issue that I have with the ergonomics. I’m a big Fuji Fan, I love my X100F and have been thinking about switching to Fuji for my professional work for a while now. The XT-3 is a fantastic camera, fun to use, well-built, excellent image quality and focus. I love it, but I can’t use it.
One of the reasons I want to move to a crop-sensor mirror-less camera is the smaller form factor and reduced weight. Carrying all that gear for an 8 hour wedding day can be a burden. Unfortunately, despite wanting a smaller camera, I still need a big grip because swinging that camera with a big lens and a big flash from your hip to your eye 1000 times in a day requires a rock steady hold on the camera.
The problem with the XT-3 is that the camera is so thin and the grip so minimal that it’s hard to hold well in my right hand. Add to that the trigger placement in the “traditional” spot on top of the camera (compared to the modern “trigger” style and you get a camera that is forever unsteady in your hand. Sure, you can put a larger grip on the camera but this won’t solve the trigger issue. You still have to rotate your palm to get to the trigger which moves the camera into a position where it is held by the fingers and thumb pad, instead of the palm grip we have on other cameras.
It’s a real shame because I would love to switch and if I shot in studio or natural light or with prime lenses I would make the jump. But this old gunslinger needs a pistol that fits my hand like a glove and the Fuji XT-3 just doesn’t do it.
Oh well, there’s always the Fuji XH-2. :)
PPA Wedding Degree
As many of my photographer friends are aware, today will be the first day of district judging in a new competition specifically for wedding photographer at The Professional Photographers Association of America. I was an advocate for this degree and have long been arguing for a change in the way that wedding images are judged. Today we will start the journey of finding out what this new degree will be.
I thought that it might be fun to talk a little about what I would like to see and I’m doing it now because most judges stay off social media during competition. I want this to be about what I hope to see, not “You better do this.” Mostly, I just like talking about it. :)
Before I start, I want to give mad props to the judges. Judging is extremely hard, they take it extremely seriously, and they do an incredible job. Then they have to listen to everyone who has a complaint. But that’s okay because they also don’t get paid to do it. It’s a thankless (and wageless) job and no matter how I might feel about the way things shake out never think for a minute that I don’t respect and appreciate everyone who works so hard for no money to give me something I can be excited about. This also includes the staff at PPA who do get paid but surely not enough to have to deal with us crazy photographers. :)
What I Hope To See
I do not want it to be easier.
A lot of people seem to think that we wedding photographers want our own competition so that it will be judged more leniently. This is not true. We feel the Photo Open competition has always judged weddings more harshly than it has judged the other specialties. If it seems like we want you to move the finish line 10-yards closer for us it’s only because we are starting the race 10-yards behind.
Here’s what I mean:
“Degree of Difficulty” is not one of the 12 elements that the judges consider when judging an image. They “judge what’s in front of you” with no consideration for what it might have taken to achieve that result. Sure, it slips in here and there but they aren’t supposed to give it much weight.
This removes from consideration the biggest single quality that defines wedding photographers. No matter how good you are at posing, lighting, etc… you will fail as a wedding photographer if you can’t work fast under extreme pressure. This is why so many of us insisted that the new degree only feature images shot during the course of a wedding. Because if you aren’t shooting during the wedding, in a place you didn’t pick, with people you didn’t pick, in clothes you didn’t pick, during a time of day you didn’t pick, with a ticking clock … you aren’t doing wedding photography.
So, what I hope to see today is some indication that the judges are as impressed with the craftsmanship as they are with the art. I hope to see some images receive a merit that are not as dynamic as they would be if they were shot with models and total control but are very good considering the pressure and constraints the photographer had to deal with. This is what I have been fighting for years to see. I want to hear a judge say, ” I agree that this image has some flaws but when you consider the limitations that the photographer was faced with, it’s impressive and worth rewarding.” Because for us, the art is all about overcoming the limitations.
I feel like image competition as always been judged by people who like Cake Boss, that show where a company that does nothing but make cakes spends a week making the most incredible cake you ever saw. I hope that this wedding competition is judged by people who like Chopped, a show where people are given a box full of random ingredients and told to make a meal that’s edible in 20 minutes. The meal must taste good to be sure but there is also due credit given to the fact that you made soup out of a squid tentacle and that, in itself, is impressive.
Unlike the portrait photographer, we can’t take our children (or dog) into the studio on a Sunday and spend all day getting a merit image. (Yes, I have entered an image of a dog into Portrait this year. Yes, I expect it will do better than all my wedding images. ) We have to work with what we are given, on the job with no do-over. I’m a person who is more impressed by that than by the beauty of the image. I am more impressed by an oil painting that has some problems than a photograph that is perfect because painting with oil is harder than photography. I’m more impressed by a wedding image that has some problems than I am by a studio portrait of someone’s daughter. I hope to see some indication from the judges that they are too.
I’m sure the big hitters in wedding competition will do quite well today. I’m not worried about them. I want to see some merits and loans for the person who doesn’t have 2 assistants holding their lights and 20 hours of photoshop on a single image. The best ballroom dancers already get the big awards, how about a simple merit for the people who manage to survive the mosh pit.
I have entered 4 images. I predict that 2 will merit. I believe that they all should merit based on what I’ve just said but I’m not going to get my hopes up. It will take several years before we really get the judging dialed in on a new degree. If they all merit I’ll feel pretty good about the new degree. If 2 merit I’ll feel like maybe it’s better but time will tell. If less than 2 merit I’ll be worried for the future, unless the overall merit count makes sense in which case I’ll just know that I suck. :)
You can bet I’ll be watching today with excitement. No matter how it turns out, I’m so grateful to the PPA and the judges for giving me something to get excited about. Now that Game of Thrones is done, we don’t have much.
Dance Photography Tampa
I’ve been doing dance photography in Tampa for about 10 years now. It’s quite a bit different from most volume school type photography mostly because it’s full-length. Sure, there are sports that you photograph full-length but most of them are photographed outdoors. Shooting full-length inside, on white, can be a challenge.
Over the years I’ve tried a lot of different setups before landing on the one I use now. The lighting has to be small enough to fit in a tight studio where you will also have a table for sign-ups and a bunch of parents and kids. At the same time, it has to be lit evenly all the way across the background and the floor. Plus, of course, you have to light the dancer!
My latest session was at Next Step Dance in Lutz (a suburb of Tampa).
How Dance Photography Ordering Works
One of the things that I do that is different than any other studio is the way that I run the order side of dance pictures. I require each parent to buy a minimum package the day of the shoot. Then, they receive a coupon code. The images are posted online and they can pick whatever images they desire and whatever package they desire, then enter the coupon code and have that amount deducted from their total. If they don’t go online and pick their favorites, I pick for them and print the package they already paid for.
Why do I do it this way?
It’s all about the delivery. When I first started doing dance photography in Tampa the biggest complaint that the studio owners had was the long wait for delivery of images with past photographers. This happens because parents aren’t always quick to go online and select their images. So, everyone waits while those parents are tracked down and pressed into ordering. (Because of shipping costs, it’s not feasible to order multiple times).
So, I created a system where the people who want to order online can do so, the people who don’t want to order online can do so, and everything is delivered quickly.
Occasionally I get a parent who doesn’t want to pay up-front but that is easily solved with our 100% money-back guarantee. If you look at the images online and don’t want to purchase any we will give you back every penny of the package you purchased. So, technically, we photograph your child for free.
Finally, there’s the price. Over the years I’ve had calls from dance schools who wanted to use me for their Tampa dance photography who end up going with someone else because they sell the images cheaper to the parents. I had one owner tall me, “My people need to be able to buy one picture for $10.”
Is Dance Photography Expensive?
My minimum purchase package is $45. You get several prints and you get a facebook-sized digital file that you can share online. This is the price point I have to be at in order to make it worth my while. Believe me, I don’t make much money when it’s all said and done. What I always smile about is what I hear when I ask, “Why aren’t you using the person who did it last year?”
“They didn’t do a good job.”
“They didn’t deliver on time.”
“They didn’t deliver at all”
“They went out of business.”
This is what you get when someone says they can set up, shoot, process, order and deliver 100 kids with a minimum purchase of $10. They either don’t have the infrastructure to do it well and on time (because no full-time pro would charge so little) or they go out of business (because they spent 80 hours on the job and clear a couple hundred dollars after expenses). I never like to talk about money in these blog posts but it’s important to understand that good photography costs real money. It’s also important to understand that good photography actually becomes more valuable over time. Go back to any parent who’s child I photographed 10 years from now and offer then $100 for the image. They won’t sell it. It’s more valuable now than it was when they bought it. Believe me, 20 years from now know one will care that the awful image of their child was cheaper.
I hope this clears up a few things about how Tampa dance photography works. I see you at the studio!
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