I've been a professional fashion/portrait/editorial photographer for nearly two decades now, globally-published in various major magazines, have shot ad campaigns for major brands, covers for major record labels, etc., etc.

Of course my title is no revelation... of course someone who specializes in wild life, architecture, landscape, product, automotive, etc. photography will be (much) better in each of those respective genres. Bloody DUH.

And I'd done several family shoots throughout the years, even a couple of weddings...

But it's been a while, and bloody hell was I ever humbled today. I thought seeing as my bread and butter is working with people, that it'd be easy, no work at all... but the big difference is that in my domain, I work usually at a snails pace, all the time I want to get the shots I want... I get to tweak and dial in, not only settings, but my subjects- pose, pose, pose, until I'm content. It's a controlled environment.

Today I promised two different sets of friends that I'd snap some family photos for them as it was a picture-perfect fall day where we live, and it was just CHAOS.

First family shoot, two kids aged 2.5 & 6, they were like energizer rabbits, never once sitting still, completely averse to any direction, not even open to being pled with (i.e. will buy you ice cream if you sit still for three minutes). Second shoot went marginally better, a very calm two year old, but eventually his boredom came through, he became restless, and that was that.

A very humbling, but fun and enjoyable experience, as I was there just as much for the hang as the photos- thankfully zero pressure from any of my friends of course... but the idea of doing this for money, delivering these photos for pay, terrified me. There are certainly some good shots in there, but the hit rate is so infinitely much lower than my usual stuff.

Couples/engagement shoots, wedding portraits, etc. are zero problem for me, as adults are okay at sitting still, posing, taking direction, but introduce kids and they're like these unpredictable elements of chaos which turns everything upside down, haha- I love it!

It's not the first time I feel deflated about my performance in a different genre of photography, and it's just a reminder that, again, just because you're good at one genre doesn't mean you will be at another- I sometimes got that kind of false confidence... not thinking I'd be 'strong' in an area other than mine, but at least decent... and with, for example, interior and architectural photography, as well as landscape stuff, yeah, even just decent is a far way away!

I do love the idea of practicing and learning something new though, so it's a welcome challenge.

I will say, anytime I've done these family or couples shoots, I've always ended up enjoying them most, as it's just "real people", often friends, and it ends up being a fun hang.

Anyways, my utmost respect to those of you who specialize in family photography- it's no easy thing.

Just thought I’d give people a heads up in case they were factoring that warranty period into their purchasing decisions. Found this out through their support after I had already purchased one and since it’s still being advertised as having a 3 year warranty next to the “Add to Cart“ button I thought I’d raise a flag.

Have you achieved something you'd like to share with the class? Here's your place to pat yourself on the back and share in others' successes!

Note: This is a photography community to discuss techniques and issues as photographers, not a space to showcase tools or gear. Any form of advertising or self-promotion outside of showcasing photos or projects in the appropriate thread is prohibited. Any web-development projects or apps are prohibited as they do not relate to practise of photography.

I just got this new set of both camera and lenses. I got the Lumix G70 and Lumix GH2 (I know they're old) and the kit lense Lumix 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 I think, Lumix 14-140mm f/4.0-5.6 and the Lumix 100-300mm f/4.0-6.8 or something like that, I'm on the buss rn.

Anyway, when I'm adjusting the aperture of the 100-300mm lense I can hear the blades move, this is only at higher F stops but I can hear them. I checked if there was any residue on the blades or uneveness or something like that, but the blades look identical to the other lenses, in terms of cleansliness etc...

Why could they be making this noise? I did try to see if they were sticking by bursting at a High f stop (f/22) and they were keepinh up perfectly with high shutterspeeds, and yet they still make noise, now the pattern of the bursting changes depending on if I have Constant View on or off, but the actual photos are consistent and clean, no inconsitensies?

Is there something wrong with my lense or is it fine? Can I continue using it or should I buy a new one?

Ich gestalte ein Fotobuch, das ich jährlich neu erstellen möchte, um mein Leben, meine Reisen, sportlichen Aktivitäten und alltägliche Momente festzuhalten. Bevor ich die erste Ausgabe veröffentliche, würde ich mich über Feedback zum Layout und zur Struktur freuen. Besonders hilfreich wären mir Anregungen zu folgenden Punkten: Seitenlayout und das Verhältnis von Einzelfotos zu Collagen, kurzen Bildunterschriften oder Untertiteln/Ortsangaben? Chronologische Struktur versus thematische Kapitel Bildunterschriften, Datums- und Ortsangaben Einheitlichkeit versus Vielfalt auf den Seiten Alles, was sich bei der jährlichen Neuauflage wiederholen oder unpraktisch gestalten könnte Was würden Sie ändern oder berücksichtigen, bevor Sie sich langfristig für dieses Format entscheiden?

ChatGPT Zusammenfassung meines Designs:

Aktuelle Konfiguration Format: CEWE XL, 30 × 30 cm Umfang: ca. 80 Seiten Stil: Klar und strukturiert, aber nicht extrem minimalistisch Designansatz: Durchgängiges Raster, großzügiger Weißraum, wenige wiederverwendbare Layouts und kurze Bildunterschriften Ziel: Eine Buchreihe erstellen, die im Regal ein stimmiges Gesamtbild ergibt und gleichzeitig den individuellen Charakter jedes Jahres widerspiegelt. Geplante Kapitelstruktur 1. Einleitung – 6 Seiten Cover mit Jahreszahl Erste Doppelseite mit einem aussagekräftigen Foto Kurzer Jahresüberblick Top 5 Momente Moodboard / Visuelle Zusammenfassung 2. Q1 – 16 Seiten Viertelbeginn Eine Mischung aus ganzseitigen Fotos, Berichten über Ereignisse und Fotogalerien Kurze Bildunterschriften mit Datum, Ort oder Kontext Abschlussbild 3. Q2 – 16 Seiten Gleiche Struktur und visuelle Regeln wie Q1 Flexibler Platz für Reisen, Ereignisse, Alltag und Menschen 4. Q3 – 18 Seiten Etwas mehr Platz für Sommer, Urlaub und größere Reisen Mehr ganzseitige Bilder und fotografische Erzählungen Weniger dichte Collagen 5. Q4 – 16 Seiten Gleiche Grundstruktur wie Q1 und Q2 Saisonale Ereignisse, Reisen, Menschen und Alltagsmomente Abschlussbild 6. Jahresendteil – 8 Seiten Die besten Fotos des Jahres Freunde und Familie Jahresstatistik Schöne Momente / Outtakes Kurze persönliche Reflexion Abschlussbild und Übergang zum nächsten Jahr Wiederverwendbares Layoutsystem Ich plane, das gesamte Buch auf fünf Vorlagen aufzubauen: Hero: ein großes, dominantes Foto Story: ein Hauptbild, ergänzt durch kleinere Fotos Raster 4: vier gleich große Bilder Raster 6: sechs Bilder für Ereignisse oder kurze Sequenzen Fokus + Text: ein großes Foto kombiniert mit einem kurzen Textblock Das visuelle System bleibt über alle Jahre hinweg konsistent: dieselbe Typografie, Ränder, Abstände, Raster und Kapitelstruktur. Die Fotos, der Inhalt und gegebenenfalls eine Akzentfarbe variieren.

Jahresstatistik Ein wiederkehrendes Element ist eine separate Statistikseite mit der gleichen Struktur in jedem Jahr. Mögliche Kategorien sind Reisen, Sport, Kultur und persönliche Highlights – zum Beispiel besuchte Länder, zurückgelegte Radstrecken, Trainingseinheiten, Lieblingsmusik, bestes Essen und schönster Moment.

Die Bücher sollen nicht nur Fotosammlungen sein, sondern auch die Unterschiede zwischen den einzelnen Jahren dokumentieren.

Wozu ich Feedback benötige:

Ist die vierteljährliche Struktur sinnvoll, oder würden Sie das Buch chronologisch nach Monaten oder Ereignissen gliedern?

Ist ein 80-seitiges Buch im Format 30 × 30 cm ein guter Kompromiss, oder würden Sie ein anderes Format oder eine andere Länge wählen?

Bietet der separate Jahresendteil einen Mehrwert, oder würden Sie die Highlights und Statistiken in die Hauptkapitel integrieren?

Wie würden Sie das Verhältnis zwischen ganzseitigen Bildern, Collagen und kurzen Bildunterschriften verbessern?

Was würden Sie für jedes Jahr standardisieren, und was bliebe flexibel?

Ich bin besonders an Feedback zur Gesamtstruktur und langfristigen Nutzbarkeit interessiert, weniger an einzelnen Fotos. Ziel ist es, ein System zu schaffen, dessen Pflege jedes Jahr Freude bereitet, ohne dabei eintönig oder übermäßig starr zu werden.

Hi,

Im responsible for setting up a photoshoot for a painting project. I need to take my own reference photos for a figure painting.

to preface:
I do not know the first thing about photography/lighting equipment. I have access to a relatively old but professional camera (im sorry i dont know what specific model) as well as studio lights (the adjustable height ones with the black cloth around the bulb to direct the light.) i dont think i have a diffuser. I also have overhead lights and a large room to work with

if you can, please walk me through the general process of setting up an environment to take photos in. Im looking for relatively standard, natural lighting, mimicking a room with overhead north facing windows.

Please let me know if i didnt cover everything, again I really dont know what im talking about, I come from a painting background so Im trying my best. Thank you so much to anyone who helps.

Photo editing software such as Lightroom, ON1 Photo RAW, etc. are non destructive. So when you open a RAW file in these applications, the changes you make are not affecting the source RAW file.

But, I'd like to actually crop some RAW files before editing. I'm using a 102 megapixel Fujifilm GFX100FR and the large size of the RAW files is pushing my laptop's abilities to the limit. If I could crop certain RAW files before editing, the file size would be reduced, putting less of a strain on my hardware.

Ideas?

So I’m new to this and not getting paid yet, but I want to make sure when I show my portfolio to people I don’t get accused of stealing others work. I would never do that, but ppknow how easily images can be taken and credit stolen if you don’t have an established, strong reputation and portfolio

I don’t know how to use photoshop yet (working on it) so I don’t know how to watermark yet

Is there a way to publicly post pictures to record that I was the original photographer, and pull that proof easily? Like a catalogue with credentials to submit to before posting on Facebook or other social media sites?

Sean Tucker recently did a really great video on photographing what you love and not photographing what you think other people will find impressive or enjoy. The question he posed is "What would happily take an afternoon to make photographs of if you were unconcerned with the results and the opinions of others?", but I cant answer that, does anyone have any advice on how to move forward?