The Wedding of Keith & Sara

Posted by William Petruzzo on Aug 14, 2009
Filed under: New Photos, Wedding Photography

Sorry, this post is going to take a little longer to load because I’ve included more images than ordinary.

Keith & Sara’s wedding was nothing short of a great time. We started at Sara’s mother’s house in Bowie while the girls got ready. From there we moved to the Bel Air mansion for the formal photographs of the wedding parties. The wedding was held at Grace Baptist Church in Bowie, MD and the reception at Pauls On the South River in Annapolis.

All of the formal photographs were shot with the help of natural lighting.

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Prints or Digital Files — Which is right for you?

Posted by William Petruzzo on Aug 12, 2009
Filed under: business, information, products

Today, everyone who hires a photographer has to make this decision. A decade ago, when you hired a photographer you knew that after you looked through the proof book, you’d order prints of your favorite images. Today, with computers occupying a dominant place in people’s lives, you have a choice. Do you want your images in physical print, or would you rather receive digital files? Each has it’s advantages, but neither is always right for each and every person I photograph.

Since most people are already familiar with ordering images in print, lets take a quick look at digital files.

Digital negatives, what are they?

Back in the days of film cameras, the ‘negatives’ were what the camera’s film turned into when it was developed. It was what was used to easily make copies of images. Today, the term doesn’t make a whole lot of rational sense—it simply refers to the full sized image files that came out of the camera—the image files you would need if you wanted to go and make duplicates of pictures you had taken.

Because of the huge cost to the customer, It is not typical for truly professional photographers to hand these files over to the customer as a standard part of wedding or portrait packages. Buyers should be cautious when hiring a photographer who’s promising to hand over a CD with full resolution images on it. This is sometimes a sign that a photographer is not truly a professional.

Web-Resolution Images?

When you upload a picture to Facebook or MySpace, the picture is resized so that it doesn’t take up too much space on the server. You can save yourself time by uploading a picture that’s already been resized and optimized for the web. So, if you plan to share your photos with lots of people on Facebook or MySpace, or some other website, you don’t need to spend the extra money on the ‘digital negatives’. All you’ll need are the web-resolution images.

So which should I choose, digital files or print?

You want to get the most for your money and effort, so to help answer to this question, take a look at the suggestions below.

Prints

Ordering your images in print is probably the most cost effective option for you if you’d like single or double copies of lots of different images. If you’re assembling an album or scrapbook, ordering your prints directly from me will be the most cost effective solution.

Web-Resolution Image Files

If you’re mostly excited about sending your images to friends and family through the email, or sharing them on social networks like Facebook or MySpace, then ordering a CD of web-resolution images will be the most cost effective. The images will come pre-sized and web optimized to make the process of sharing them as quick and easy as possible. And remember, if you’re ordering prints, you can still order the web-resolution files, too!

Digital Negatives

Digital negatives always cost the most on the front end—which is why they are not offered as a standard part of any packages. Because digital negatives come with the rights to privately reproduce the images as many times as you like, it’s the most cost effective solution for do-it-yourselfers and anyone who plans to reproduce a few select images many times, for whatever reason.

In conclusion…

Selecting the most cost effective option for you is easy, as long as you know what you’d like to do with your images. Take a few minutes to think about this and your photography experience can be more enjoyable and more affordable.

What Gear is In My Bag?

Posted by William Petruzzo on Aug 07, 2009
Filed under: business, equipment, information, news

IMG_8666 I get this question pretty frequently, especially from hobbyists had folks who are considering going intophotography as a business. So, I thought I’d  post a detailed breakdown of some of the gear I use on a regular basis.

(At a glance: Two Canon 5D camera bodies, Canon 16-35mm 4/2.8L, Canon 50mm f/1.4, Canon 28-70mm f/2.8, Canon 70-200mm f/2.8, Two Canon 580EXII Speedlights, a collection of Alienbees strobes.)

My Cameras

I shoot on two Canon 5D bodies. Before buying all of my lenses and accessories and such, I had to select my platform. Although there are lots of choices, at the end of the day the question really comes down to Canon or Nikon. Both companies make truly formidable hardware and both companies are endorsed by some really excellent photographers. But, for my taste, I strongly prefer Canon over Nikon so that is what I chose.

All of Canon’s professional cameras (Beginning with the 30D/40D/50D models) share roughly the same interface. Two wheels—one by your thumb to control aperture, and one by your index finger to control shutter speed. All of your basic settings can be rapidly adjusted without taking your eye out of the viewfinder, and without having to navigate some kind of digital menu.

Another personal appreciation of I have for the 5D is that I find it easier to mimic the effects of true film, without so many steps in Photoshop. Of course, this has a great deal to do with visual style, but it is among the reasons I have not updated to the new Canon 5D MkII.

My Lenses

I shoot on four standard lenses which cover my whole focal range. From widest to longest:

Canon 16-35mm f/2.8L – This lens is absolutely indispensible for wedding and real estate photography. It’s wide, but not fisheye so it’s great for getting a lot of information into a picture, without a lot of space to do it.

Canon 50mm f/1.4 – This is my only non ‘L’ lens, but it’s probably my favorite. At an aperture of 1.4, the depth of field is almost paper thin. A portrait can have the subjects eyes in sharp focus, but her eyelashes well out of focus. It’s also extremely lightweight and portable. Not to mention, you need significantly less light to expose a photograph properly.

Canon 28-70mm f/2.8L – This lens is sort of the catch-all in my kit. It’s excellent for photographs during a wedding’s ceremony and really any situation where you can be close but not that close. This lens was later replaced with the almost identical Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L. It’s also a formidable lens, but with the 28-70mm about $400 less expensive on the used market, I didn’t find it worth the extra expense.

Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L – Portraits are rarely as flattering as they are from very long focal lengths. That’s why the Canon 70-200L is my favorite portrait lens—that is, when I have the space to use it. I also use this lens during weddings, perched in the back with an assistant. It’s sure to catch a clear, detailed view of that all-important first kiss.

My Light

While it might seem like the camera body or the lens takes the cake, light is really a photographers most important tool. In every stage of the photographic experience—from shooting, to viewing images—light is that absolute unchanging necessity. So, like any photographer, I use light as a tool. Whether it’s modifying light that’s already present, or bringing my own light. Here are some of my tools in that:

Canon 580EXII Speedlights – I use two of these. Partially for redundancy and partially to achieve different effects. With the help of a set of PocketWizards, I am able to have one 580EX mounted on my camera, while a second rests on a discreet stand across the dance floor. The light from multiple angles adds drama and a three-dimensional effect to event photography. Also with the help of the PocketWizards, these lights act as great fill lights in outdoor portrait photography.

AlienBees – For bigger and more demanding portrait work, I use the surprisingly affordable AlienBees strobes. They’re durable and produce a lot of light. They’re also inexpensive enough that additional strobes can be added on a whim as the needs of studio work change.

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