...is art too, right?  =)
While I'm on the subject...are there any makeup artists in the area wanting to make some extra money?

I think it is, but due to it's temporariness some people may disagree.

I bet it benefit's your photography to know how to apply make-up (I'm lost when it comes to hair and makeup!).

I could do it....but I'm much more productive if someone else can do it. =) I'm already lacking in time as it is! LOL!

i know a girl here in tokyo, but she is expensive. i used her for a few commercial shoots, like 120 an hour

I'm not that high key. LOL! I try to keep my clients local and on base for the most part, and lord knows we don't bring in tens of thousands of dollars a month being military. So I can't charge that much.  LOL!
But if I take it another direction, I will definitely be asking for some 411. Thanks!

i stopped marketing on bases because people dont pay. I have 20k in equipment, why would i charge rebel prices, when you dont get rebel quality. too many people running around yokota with point and shoots, and rebels, and d90s calling themselves professionals.

Krush.....why do you need makeup services? Are you going to start a Glamour Shots business? lol I have a pink, furry boa you can use. lol J/K

youd be surprised what shows up on camera. some people who think they have great skin, and dont need makeup, REALLY do under lights.
Or think they know how to do their makeup, but end up looking ridiculous.
Or just dont know how to do it for photos. Its a different beast when you have the tendency to sweat, sometimes hot lights (depending on who is shooting and the budget), or wearing hot stuff in summer for a winter weather gear photoshoot (that was fun, ugh).
makeup artists know how to combat this stuff. how to keep everything flowing. I gladly hire them when i can

Posted By FLSimages on 08 Mar 2010 08:18 AM
youd be surprised what shows up on camera. some people who think they have great skin, and dont need makeup, REALLY do under lights.
Or think they know how to do their makeup, but end up looking ridiculous.
Or just dont know how to do it for photos. Its a different beast when you have the tendency to sweat, sometimes hot lights (depending on who is shooting and the budget), or wearing hot stuff in summer for a winter weather gear photoshoot (that was fun, ugh).
makeup artists know how to combat this stuff. how to keep everything flowing. I gladly hire them when i can

Oh believe me....I need all the help I can get on camera.   She's a friend of mine, and I was just giving her a hard time.  I think that would be an awesome service to be able to offer.

LOL! I have a black one...I could incorporate both! LOL! Seriously though...you would be surprised what some of these ladies want for boudoir shots. =/
Actually, I was trying to offer it as an added service. Yes, it will definitely cost a lot more since the client would be paying the makeup artist separately, but you can most definitely see a difference.
I get exactly what you're saying, FLS. I only have a little more than 1/2 what you do in equipment then (here anyway)... =) But for a lot of the basic shoots that I'm doing now, I only bring out about half of it. I have a lot of kids that I shoot and lord knows they don't need all that extra equipment to trip over and have crashing down. Luckily I don't have to deal with makeup sweating due to lights though (I use strobes...mainly because of the heat issue).
But I want to start focusing more on fashion, and I guess you would say Glamour, but crap...Glamourshots are so freaking cheezy! I really wish they hadn't used that name. LOL!

yeah, i hate hot lights with a passion, but a few people on base use them

hit up with model mayhem. the first few you will do for free, but then i got a steady stream of models ready to pay for portfolio stuff a few months after. lets me get out into tokyo and shoot!

give it a try!

Nice shot!
You aren't the first one to recommend them. I think I may have registered, but never followed up. I'll have to check it out again.

Thanks!

its worth it!

Posted By FLSimages on 08 Mar 2010 08:04 AM
i stopped marketing on bases because people dont pay. I have 20k in equipment, why would i charge rebel prices, when you dont get rebel quality. too many people running around yokota with point and shoots, and rebels, and d90s calling themselves professionals.

I think this statement is woefully indicative of a male "professional photographer"; male photographers tend to focus on the quality of the gear, rather than the quality of the photos. In the studio, there is little or no reason to use a large expensive dSLR, as you are in a controlled environment. This was even more true when using 35mm film vice digital. I still to this day use both 135 and 120 film.  While I am not, nor do I claim to be a professional, I do understand what it takes to make a great photo, and $20K in gear is not it. I have a particular photographer I like who uses a Panasonic DMC-FS3 (P&S) and recently upgraded to a Canon 450D (Rebel XSi in the US, Kiss X2 in Japan).  Check her out: http://cunene.deviantart.com/

i do not use a studio
I shoot in a city environment always. I need to have low light capability, lenses that are fast, sharp to take advantage of the available light if i want to do a simple one light setup.
I need to have large sensors (21 mp on my current 5dmk2) because some of the commercial shoot i have done, end up being wall sized posters. Sorry, but a rebel, or XXd does not have the resolution to do this.

however, most of my more expensive gear is in the support equipment. tripods, shoulder rigs, LCDs, cases, steadycams (i am a camera man/event videographer as well) none of which is cheap even on the lower end. Im not catering to the 100.00 a session demographic that is on yokota. Im catering to the 10,000 yen an hour business in tokyo. Its a shame, but you also have to take into account client expectations when you get into commercial and higher end clients. they expect you to have certain stuff, to be able to do what they want. sometimes a cheaper body just cant do it unfortunately.


but all that being said. ill still do probono, and TFP shoot if the subject is inspiring enough. i did one a few weeks back of a girl from sweden. her eyes were just wow

Having expensive equipment most definitely does NOT make someone a good photographer, but I agree that you CAN see a difference between a photo where a rebel with a basic lens is used vs a professional grade camera with an L lens.
I have known several people who call themselves photographers (and charge up the ying-yang) whose work show less than great composition, and if you asked them to shoot in film would no doubt come out with a less than awesome photo. Very sad.
As far as needing a 1D or something similar to be a professional photographer, I don't believe that it's 100% required. Nice for wall sized posters? Yes. But the normal client wouldn't have a need for this, so a 50D with a decent lens would work just as well.

The high ISO trend is a rather new phenomenon, one which I welcome with open arms. When using film I wouldn't dream of using anything over ISO 100 for anything other than snapshots (and the occasional "intentionally grainy" photo taken with my Diana or Holga). Yet now some of the highend professional cameras are producing very fine photos (low noise) at high ISOs.

I don't agree with the assessment that high resolution (MP) is required for most photography; I'd rather have a low noise 12mp camera than a noisy 30mp camera. Even with cropping I can't imagine needing more than 12mp for anything but "poster" sized prints. Even though I am a longtime Canon user, I really applaud Nikon's approach to digital photography as of late (I would love to have a lower price pro body with "only" 12 mp... let's call it a 9D )

I think Make-up is still very relivent even with the amazing things that can be done in post processing.

You're getting ahead of the game! The 7D just made it's way out and you're already pushing for the 9D? LOL! I'm still waiting for the Mark IV to be more readily available! =)

I'm still saving for a 7D, as I've been spending most of my money on glass and accessories (and "wasting" my money on antique and classic cameras).

I'm also looking to get a 40D to mod into a full spectrum camera; I think IR photography is AWESOME, especially for models. With the prices coming down on the 5D (mkI) I may change my mind.

What do you have now? The 40D is hard to find these days, isn't it?

Hmmm...5D...I like that it's a full frame, but it's a little slow for me. Most of my clients involve little ones, and sometimes those extra 3-4 fps can catch the perfect shot. =) I really like the 7D, but it's not too far off from my 40D so I figured I would save up for the bigger boy. Too bad he's hard to come by. =(

Glass is just as important (if not more so) to me. I'm really interested to know what antiques and classics you have! =) Do you actually shoot with them? I used to have a limited edition (Pentax, I think), but I have no idea where I misplaced it. =( It's gotta be around here somewhere! Other than that, I have quite a few older film Canons.

Posted By KRushPhoto on 09 Mar 2010 08:17 AM
Having expensive equipment most definitely does NOT make someone a good photographer, but I agree that you CAN see a difference between a photo where a rebel with a basic lens is used vs a professional grade camera with an L lens.
I have known several people who call themselves photographers (and charge up the ying-yang) whose work show less than great composition, and if you asked them to shoot in film would no doubt come out with a less than awesome photo. Very sad.
As far as needing a 1D or something similar to be a professional photographer, I don't believe that it's 100% required. Nice for wall sized posters? Yes. But the normal client wouldn't have a need for this, so a 50D with a decent lens would work just as well.

maybe for the demographic around here. but off base, it is preferred. If i wasnt liking video so much, i would have a hassy by now so i can really get the sizes i want out of my photos without having to blow them up.

Posted By Fireballfish on 09 Mar 2010 12:18 PM The high ISO trend is a rather new phenomenon, one which I welcome with open arms. When using film I wouldn't dream of using anything over ISO 100 for anything other than snapshots (and the occasional "intentionally grainy" photo taken with my Diana or Holga). Yet now some of the highend professional cameras are producing very fine photos (low noise) at high ISOs. I don't agree with the assessment that high resolution (MP) is required for most photography; I'd rather have a low noise 12mp camera than a noisy 30mp camera. Even with cropping I can't imagine needing more than 12mp for anything but "poster" sized prints. Even though I am a longtime Canon user, I really applaud Nikon's approach to digital photography as of late (I would love to have a lower price pro body with "only" 12 mp... let's call it a 9D ) I think Make-up is still very relivent even with the amazing things that can be done in post processing.

high iso is a MUST for event photography. i work for the marketing department here on yokota for services, and if i didnt have high iso, i woudlnt be able to get ALOT of the shots i do at stuff like Mrs. Yokota, the bodybuilding competition and others. And i never said it was need for most. I said it was needed for ME. i routinely have stuff printed that is rather large, bigger than the 13x15 or whatever that size is. As for PP, i am 100% anti post processing. i dont ever edit my photos, just a personal thing. Id rather spend a little more time and get it exactly how i want it on location.

Posted By Fireballfish on 07 Mar 2010 07:07 PM
I think it is, but due to it's temporariness some people may disagree.

I bet it benefit's your photography to know how to apply make-up (I'm lost when it comes to hair and makeup!).

So is ice sculpture (temporary) amoung other things so I can't agree that temporary would be a deciding factor of whether or not something was art.

My vote is that it IS art...if kept under proper conditions, it doesn't have to be temporary. LOL!

i concur

Maybe u can ask one of the ladies who work at the clinque comestic department if they are willing to work for extra dollars... They really do an awesome job.....