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-MJR
Equipment
Pocket Wizards and miscellaneous odds and ends. I use Kingston 4 and 8GB cards, Ideally I would be shooting all 4GB cards to make for an easy fit onto DVD. For all my shoots I bring along a black Crumpler 7 Million Dollar home camera bag. I chose that bag because it doesn’t look much like a camera bag and I don’t want to go advertising the fact that I’m walking around with $10,000 wrapped around my neck.
Out of all the glass mentioned above, the 35/1.4 is my go to lens, used for about 80% of my images, it’s a total utility lens that can be used for many different situations. Next up would be the 50/1.2, there is something so right about the middle distance range that those lenses provide. I only own the 135/2 for when I can’t be physically close enough to shoot with the 35 or 50. Let me show you what I’m talking about…. Below is the 35/1.4 at full aperture on the 5D right up in the brides face. The aesthetic and characteristics of the lens are unparalleled. I’m not a pixel peeper by any means, but this glass is hot.
So, for as hot as the 35/1.4 is, the 50/1.2 is damn close. Let me show you what I mean…. Below is the 50/1.2 on the 5D wide open.
Again, this glass provides something special that even an f/2.8 lens can’t get close to.
Workflow
For me this is a tricky subject. I shoot JPG primarily, but only since about two years ago when I swapped my Nikons for the canon 5D. I know the scoffers are saying WTF, but let me tell you, the JPG files that the 5D make are better than any RAW conversion I have done. Maybe you’ve noticed that once you import your files into whatever you import to, they change tone and color slightly. well, once I found out why this was happening I basically stopped shooting RAW. I still do, on occasion shoot in RAW mode but always ask myself why afterward. Just the amount of time I save on imports and not having to convert the files is well worth it to me. I ingest my files into a program called Photo Mechanic. The $150.00 I spent on this program may be the best money I’ve spent on any piece of gear or equipment. It’s just a browsing program I use specifically for editing down fast. It’s easy to organize and get through the files blazingly. I run through the images, tag my keepers and toss the frames that didn’t make the cut. From here I go back through the collection in PM and hit the letter E to send that file to photoshop, I work the file and save it in a subfolder of the folder I’m working in, I name that folder edit. I edit my files using Exposure 2 from Alien Skin and a mixture of home made actions. Because I use Photoshop almost exclusively for editing I have automated almost everything I do in PS with key commands. Above I mentioned I use photoshop almost exclusively, thats because I use LR to organize and import once I’ve finished my edit, I also love the web galleries you can make in LR. Check this one out. LR web gallery.
Backup
When the import from the card reader is over, if it’s a really important job I burn DVD’s of every card I shoot and put the discs away labelled in the clients file. From here I back the images up on redundant drives, I make sure the files are in three different places apart from my working drive. I have had great success with Western Digital and Seagate.
As much as I’d like to keep on going, I came down with the flu last night and now the room is starting to spin. I’ll be checking the comments section, so please feel free to ask anything I didn’t cover.
Cheers
Sean Flanigan | sean@wearemjr.com
The above frames were taken at the wedding of Jennifer and Robbie this past July. They were a fantastic couple from NYC. Jennifer had grown up in the PNW and had a strong connection to Seattle, this influenced her decision to hold her nuptials on the opposite coast.
The success of the images above have little to do with my skill with the camera and much more to do with the relationship I was able to establish with the couple before the event. In all honesty, the photos were a success because I had a successful collaboration with the couple in making the frames. I wasn’t the weird guy with the camera, instead, I was just, Sean, hanging out and enjoying the festivities with the friends and family of the couple. I earned their trust before the wedding and respected that trust once I earned it. The couple was comfortable enough with me to be themselves and I knew I could work close to them without worrying if I was invading their space. There is so much more than good technique involved in making good, evoking frames.
