OTRTexan

Through the wonders of the internet, I may have the opportunity to be the second shooter on a cattle drive shoot for some very high end clients. After having about an hour long discussion, I quoted the photographer my fee. What wasn't discussed, and I'm not sure if she's even thought about it, is photo credits. I don't know what her actual photography experience is, and I know that her gear is only a partial indicator, but she's having to rent most, if not all, of what she needs. Her only body is a D7000. She's having to rent a 70-200. She has an 80-300 as her longest. That being said, she still may be a fantastic photographer. The client is looking to purchase 30-40 wall size prints (40x60), for their ranch house and 3 guest houses. So it's a very large contract. Needless to say, the fee is secondary to the possible contact. What I really want is my name attached to the images that I shoot, that they use. Is this an acceptable request as a second shooter? The client lives in an area that could very easily be within my base of operations. I'm certainly not going to try to take over this shoot or attempt to steal it away from her in any way. I'm just going as a second shooter hopefully. I gave her a profit percentage quote. But if the client uses a good number of my images, I don't want them to think she shot them. They will of course know I'll be there as she has to talk to them about letting me assist. As a secondary question, are watermarks used on these types of prints? Again, that could be a customer generator if their high end guests Ike the images.


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I've been shooting rodeos lately and really enjoy it. Horses are in my blood and would love to make them a solid part of my business. Where I'll have to start is the smaller rodeos, which usually start before sundown and go into the night. Or some of them are indoors. While I've made some decent images so far, I am struggling with noise, even with the D5. The the arena lights cycling, it's kind of hit and miss. So, I need to add some powered monolights. I'd like to find a set that has a chance to keep up with the D5 as much as possible. I know that it isn't going to happen fully, in fact I may be better off using the 810 once I need lights.

If really prefer not to spend 10k on lights. I think I'll need 4 at a minimum. Has anyone had any luck with mid priced lights vs going all out with profoto bank breakers?


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I shot a rodeo last weekend and as I was going through the 4k images I shot, I found this one. I cropped it two different ways. Obviously the hat and Rodeo tag are what makes it unique, but the judge being in the way makes it hard to 'judge'.  I really want the rodeo and hat to stand out, but to me, the tighter crop missing most of the horse, gives me problems. What do y'all think?

 

 Rodeo Hat-1-2.JPG   156.58KB   135 downloads

 Rodeo Hat-2.JPG   107.42KB   131 downloads

Last night I stopped and shot a small rodeo. I'd contacted the people putting it on a couple of days before I got there to make sure I could bring my gear, and possibly to get a little freedom. They told me I was welcome to bring whatever I wanted, but they'd already hired a photographer, and since it was a small arena, they had limited space. All well and good, I didn't want to step on anyone's toes.

I got there a couple of hours early and did some scouting and found a good place to set up. This ain't my first rodeo, so I knew what to expect. First to shoot, not first to attend or be a part of. The rodeo started at 7:30 pm, still an hour and a half of light before they turn the arena lights on. The official photographer shoes up with a D5xxx and a pair of kit lenses. She'll be fine, until it gets dark. Now, I don't know if this is her first rodeo or not, but where she shot from most of the night, it possibly was.

That's fine. I'm sure she got some good shots. But now for my rant. For those of you who have never been to a rodeo, it's steeped in honor and tradition. Respect is huge. During the opening ceremonies, they had what's called a missing rider formation. A couple of weeks prior, one of the long time rodeo judges from the area, had passed away. So they draped a US flag over the saddle of his horse, and circled the arena with a moment of silence. As the horse goes around the arena, spectators stand, remove hats, and silently watch the horse go around. The official photographer however, had her back turned to the horse, and was using her cell phone.

So my point is, if you are being paid to shoot an event, respect the event and its traditions.


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I'm curious to hear your opinions on the subject of buying a DX body for the supposed extra reach with lenses. This has been a curiosity for me for awhile now and really fail to understand people's reasoning. Perhaps I'm missing something.

In any photography group, people ask advice about which body to buy. Heck when I was deciding between the 750 and 810, I was here asking opinions. Inevitably you'll see the comment made that they should buy a DX body for extra reach. Now in my eyes, and from my experience with my DX to FX move, this magical extra reach is an illusion, and only has any effect on shutter speed requirements at the long end of a super tele. I can take the same shot, at the same actual focal length, on a DX and FX body. Using the FX file, I can crop to the same image and get the same "reach". However... You can not take the DX image and back it out to replicate the FX image.

Now bear in mind I'm strictly talking about the "reach factor" here and comparing models as close to each other as possible. I fully understand why a sports shooter would choose the D500 over the 750 or 810 as there are other factors involved. I don't however understand people suggesting a 7200 over the 750 or 810, when cost is not an issue, to get extra reach.

Am I missing something?




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