[LRFlex] Re: Film/Dig for wedding-style shooting

  • From: Bob Palmieri <rpalmier@xxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: leicareflex@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Thu, 14 Oct 2004 11:08:58 -0500

Folks -

As threatened, an anecdotal report from the field with respect to dig/film/wedding-type shooting.

So it seems I got a call a few weeks ago to shoot an "elopement;" the gig was described as follows. Basically, the couple lives in LA and will be stopping in Chicago to marry (in a 15 minute civil ceremony with 2 guests in attendance), they then want to be taken around to a few scenic spots in Chicago for a couple of hours and have a bunch of photos taken. "Shoot 4 rolls of film and give us the contact sheets, we'll take it from there" he said.

I told him I don't really shoot weddings, I'm an art & music guy. He says they're specifically looking for an art guy and not a wedding shooter (he's the CFO of a major art museum); I say OK.

A few days before the downbeat he calls to ask if maybe I should shoot dig instead, seeing as how they're off on a 1 month honeymoon after the big event; I tell him I'll probably shoot mostly film with some digital and have the film scanned onto CDs, (although since they won't be shlepping a laptop I'm not sure why this is gonna be an improvement.)

Unfortunately for the direct relevance to this list, I brought 3 cameras but left my Leica reflex gear at home. A motor-driven Canon film mill with fill flash and 28-105 zoom was supposed to be the main axe, with my M6 35/50/90 and a Pentax digicam (Optio 555) for backup.

Within 3 shots I could tell that the Canon was getting its revenge on me for ignoring it so much over the past several years. Despite some exercising of all switches/levers and some tests a few days earlier the camera just wasn't doing its thing. Immediately grabbed the digicam and started shooting away.

In the end I shot about 70 jpegs and 1 roll of 36 Portra 160 in the M6 that I had left over from some headshots a coupla years ago (just past the expiration date but "what the heck, its been in the 'fridge...")

I load the jpegs into the laptop (my distinctly amateur digicam doesn't do raw and takes too long between shots for TIFF's).
Really mixed light, mixed contrast, mixed everything; basically they each needed to be massaged in Photoshop individually.
Took a couple of hours, really; (my Photoshop skills aren't the slickest.) This pesky pink jacket she's wearing just won't quite come around at the same time as the skin tones, I'm thinking of doing an out-of-gamut search, etc.... I also can't seem to get everyone's skin to look good at the same time; I'm hoping that My Friend the Film is gonna save my butt...

I get the film back along with a Kodak Photo CD. It looks truly hideous. Cyan skies, completely washed-out color (even for a low-saturation film.) More hammering, one shot at a time.

Conclusions:

The skill of being able to present 100+ acceptable-to-really good color images of people is not something to be minimized. Not that I think the folks on this list need to hear that... As someone who's accustomed to shooting a few rolls and working up a few shots, this is a skill that I'll need to be working on if I ever intend to take another gig like this.

These amateur digicams can really be a drag when called upon to to a DSLR's job (I suppose I already knew that.)

Maybe these film expiration dates are a bit more serious than I thought.

That "little bit of fog" on my 35 4th gen. 'Cron that Don Goldberg & I both shrugged off last month will hafta be exorcised. I shot most of the film with this lens and I'm pretty sure it was a major factor in the washed-out look.

Under many conditions the workflow involved in delivering said 100+ images might actually be better with film. However, it sure is great to be able to fix so many foibles in-house.


When you're 5'-9" and you're shooting someone who's 6'-4" it's hard to shake the thought that with an assistant and a ladder life would be a bit better.

Bob Palmieri







On Oct 14, 2004, at 3:26 AM, Bille Xavier F. wrote:

Andy,

I spoke the other night with a photog who is very good with technique: he just said that the most difficult part is to calibrate the Photoshop profile to match the RAW data of the camera (he has not gone into details and this is not the right list to develop) and then it is quite easy to make pictures.

However, the downside of Digital is the resolution. Not better than a 24x36, our beloved reflexes and with a film equivalent of 400 ASA grain.

Yesterday, they weer mounting the albums of last WE photos and the 6x6 let them print in horizontal as well as in vertical. Using a lens of the 60s gives resolution but softness, ideal for portraits.

So? we are so ancient as we pretend.

cheers
---------------------------------
Xavier F. BILLE
Maisons-Alfort - France.





From: "andy Wagner" <yxandy@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Reply-To: leicareflex@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
To: leicareflex@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [LRFlex] Re: dyed-in-the-wool (fixer?) dinosaurs
Date: Tue, 12 Oct 2004 21:16:04 -0500

Even though I too am a dinosaur, we can't buck the tide forever. It is an interesting theory though; A wedding photog shoots his wedding, downloads the card and via wireless internet sends the raw files to his lab which does the photoshop work and returns the files along with the proper profiles to print the pics. Kinda Buck Rogersey but considering what I was saying just a year ago regarding digital and the advances they've made in a year it might not be that far off

From: "Steven Rosenthal" <steverose108@xxxxxxx>
Reply-To: leicareflex@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
To: <leicareflex@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [LRFlex] dyed-in-the-wool (fixer?) dinosaurs
Date: Sat, 9 Oct 2004 10:18:27 -0700

That is interesting to hear how this digital/film debate is settling out at
least in regards to wedding photographers. What it sounds like is a real
business opportunity for some enterprising soul to set up a service business
to do the back end of their digital business so they can just concentrate on
shooting.... the way a good trusted lab can support a film shooter. Don't
know if this would work but it might be a whole new industry. Since I just
shoot for fun at this point, and mostly B&W, I too am a happy film
dinosaur...
S

----- Original Message -----
From: "David Young" <dnr@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <leicareflex@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, October 09, 2004 8:47 AM
Subject: [LRFlex] Re: Change at the top.


At 10/9/2004, you wrote:

>Xavier:
>
>I know of some wedding photographers who are close to switching back
>because they are finding that they are spending twice as much time
>producing prints digitally, than they did when using film.
>
>One in particular is "up all night" using Photoshop.
>
>Jim


I am told, by several knowledgeable sources, that in Vancouver, Canada, the
switch by wedding photogs back to film is now virtually 100%. Simply put,
they can send the film to the lab and go out and shoot another
wedding. Film, for them, is more cost effective.

For those pros doing work where speed is of the essence, or the few doing
photo murals where digital is easier to stitch together, fine. But for
many pros, digital has proved a financial disaster.

Ich bin ein film dinosaurier!
----------

David Young,     | égalité, liberté,
Victoria, CANADA | fraternité et Beaujolais.

Personal Web-site at:
http://www.horizon.bc.ca/~dnr
Leica Reflex Forum web-page:
http://www.horizon.bc.ca/~dnr/lrflex.htm


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-----------------  >--
Regards
Andy

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