Is it Wednesday already? Where oh where does the time go? As always, thank you for your questions, keep them coming! Here are a few from this week...
What is Bokeh?
Bokeh is the Japanese term meaning blur or haze. It is the blurry or out of focus part of a photograph.
There is good and bad bokeh so to speak. Good bokeh is when the blur of the photograph is silky and pleasing and makes your subject that much more attractive. Bad bokeh is when the blur is harsh and might take away from your subject. And if your whole photograph is in focus and has no blur then you have no bokeh.
How much does a second shooter hire for?
Well it all depends. First if you are going to hire someone you have to make sure they can take sellable photographs. Can they edit and do color correction by themselves? If the answer is yes and if that’s something you want them to do, anywhere from $300 – $600 for the entire day or $25-$35 an hour. There are a lot of green photographers out there that would love to second shoot just for the experience. If you are looking for free – cheap this might be your only choice. A nice idea, if you’re trying the free – cheap route is to let your second shooter get to use some of their photos to build their portfolio. Just be careful because in a lot of cases you get what you pay for but remember we all have/had to start somewhere. I lucked out and had an incredible first time 2nd for my first time wedding but I would say most are probably not so lucky!
What do you, the photographer, wear to a shoot?
It completely depends on the type of shoot as to what I’m going to wear but I do always want to look well put together. For a typical family shoot I wear what ever I want. Uusally slacks and a nice light weight top. The stress is on light weight or at least layers because I get so hot chasing after kids or when the heat is cranked for a newborn so I try to make sure I’m not going to be sweat’n! The 2 things I never wear… skirts or loose cut tops. I’m up. I’m down. I’m laying on the ground… And the last thing I want is to make Mrs “Smith” feel uncomfortable while Mr. “Smith” is getting a free show!
For weddings it’s a bit different. For my wedding in November I’m planning to wear black slacks, FLATS and a stylish black top (have not found the top yet). Oh and at EVERY shoot my hair is up in a ponytail so as not to be in the way even if I hate my hair up cause of big ears. The ears loose because I need to see my clients not my hair in front of my lens! 😉
Just always dress so that people take you seriously. I just figure that if you push what your clients wear (and I do), you should practice what you preach if you know what I mean. If you want to be considered a professional, dress the part!
Do you use a UV filter or any other filters for that matter?
Yes. I have UV-Haze filters on all my lenses! First to protect from finger prints. Have you ever noticed that when you get them it’s SO hard to get em back off? And second is in hopes that the colors will have more vibrancy. In all honesty thought, I have not noticed much difference from when they are off to on. I think I need to invest in some polarizing filters. Here is an article I found if you want to know more.
What do you think about matching outfits like where everyone wears a white shirt and khaki pants?
Can I be totally and completely honest here? I despise when everyone matches and I can’t stand when they all wear white! The idea of it seriously makes me cringe. Is that terrible of me? I just feel like you can add so much to family dynamics with great clothing choices, why ruin that by doing a bad 80’s flash back where everyone has on a neon-green over sized t-shirt. I ask clients to stay away from white (besides it captures terrible) and pastels. I encourage bright color, great texture and layers.
As always email or post in the comment box your thoughts or questions.
We want to know what you’re thinking about!
you said: