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IP Roundtable (EP-196)

Questions:

  • Jamie Hoff (IP+): Any advice on shooting a group of 5 women with 1 flash and an umbrella? I have a 43in umbrella and a 60 in? Can I make this work or do I NEED a 2nd flash?
  • Monty Craig (IP+) I am almost out of options here, I use a Fuji X Pro1, and I recently bought a Youngnuo 560 Tx along with three 660 flash units that were Nikon units. I finally got the trigger and flash to talk to each other, but it still won’t fire with the trigger on the camera. What can I do to get this rig to work? Anybody? I bought this kit from a guy who seemed credible, but when I presented the problem, he all but disappeared. He has offered a few suggestions on facebook, the last one being, scratch the paint off. Still no luck, and I’m starting to lose faith in this guy, so, once again I am turning to my friends at Improve Photography to see if I can find answers here. Please Help Jim!
  • Alan Combs: So I know my prices are going up next year for sure. I had someone ask about doing their wedding next June. Do I offer my current rate or my new rate? I imagine this is just opinion, but I'd love thoughts. Prices are going up 30% across the board.
  • Austen Swenson: I was asked by a local country club to do a “photos with santa” event in December and they wanted to know what my sitting fee is, and if I wanted to just share in profits…Should I just charge a flat fee and get more money up front, or lower my sitting fee and share in the profits from prints?
  • Jose Martinez: Hello IP friends, I entered a local photography contest a couple years ago and my photo was the winner, I just saw that picture on an a local attorney's website, would it be wrong or inappropriate to contact the attorney and request at least that the picture be credited to me.

Laryssa:

How to build followers in Instagram.  Posting regularly in instagram is a way to build followers.  I don’t think the idea of following people just so that they follow you back.  That seems to be a way some people build followers.  The key to building followers is consistency.  The more you post the more followers you can get.  Now of course you have to have a catchy photo.   

Midroll: Squarespace

Fracture

Jeff: Tips for shooting fall color:

  • Been doing a ton of this lately, can see my shots on instagram @harmonjeff (https://www.instagram.com/harmonjeff/)
  • Composition is a huge key.  Get off the beaten path if at all possible.  Especially getting something from a higher view.  Climbing up the ridgeline of the mountains here in Utah.
  • Mix it up between wide-angle and longer focal lengths.  Pano stitch if needed so that you don’t make molehills out of mountains.
  • More important than ever to not shoot during the middle of the day.  Had Columbus Day off from the day job, ran up to the Alpine Loop in Utah, but only had from about 11 am through 3 pm to be there and shoot.  Pictures are fine, but the light is so harsh and it just doesn’t match the fall feeling.
  • Shoot with a polarizer if you have one to reduce glare off of the leaves.  Been a while since I shot with my polarizer and I just couldn’t even find it and the highlights in my photos are too bright.  Adjusting them in post using HDR and luminosity masking, but would be much better if I had used the polarizer
  • Watch the saturation levels of the colors.  Seeing a lot of fall photo colors with saturation way too high.  Canon cameras tend to over saturate reds for example and I am seeing them just drowned in color so that you can’t see the detail.

Jim: IP is hiring a full-time employee

  • https://improvephotography.com/hiring
  • Sony a6500
  • Shooting in Arizona week after next

Doodads of the Week!

Doorandom of the Week:

Rain Bird WR2-RFC A553100 Wireless Rain and Freeze Sensor

5 thoughts on “IP Roundtable (EP-196)”

  1. To pick up on Monty Craig’s question, there are a number of reasons why flashes won’t fire from Fujis.

    They won’t fire if the camera is in continuous shooting mode (CL or CH), although the X-T1 will now after a recent firmware update. Single shot (S) should work fine.

    They will only fire in mechanical shutter mode (MS) and not with the electronic shutter modes (MS+ES and ES).

    They will not fire if the camera is in silent mode.

    They will not fire if the flash mode is set to “suppressed flash”.

    I would also check that all the flashes fire when tested from the 560TX controller. If not then they are not linked to the controller properly. The instructions, I agree, are terrible!

    I wondered about the fact that the controller seems to be for Nikon, The pin positions on the recent Fujis are the same as Canon, and the Canon version of the 560TX works fine. I wouldn’t know if the Nikon version works, it may not.

    Some suggestions:
    Check all the settings as above
    Try them with the Canon version of the 560TX controller
    Try them with the Yongnuo RF-603CII-C1 flash triggers. The settings can still be altered from the remote but use these simpler triggers to actually fire them. I do this all the time.

    Hope this helps,
    Steve

    1. Great comment, Steve. I’m going to write an entire article on this for the website. It’s a common enough problem that hopefully it’ll fix some people’s issues. Thank you for writing that. I had forgotten about silent mode and quiet shutter causing issues.

      1. Thanks Jim, you’re welcome. I have since found out that other people say the Nikon version of the remote works just fine.

        Cheers,
        Steve

  2. Now that Jim has switched to the Sony A7R2, what flashes is he using? I have the YN560 plus a Neewer TT850, which I LOVE! Goes forever. But I want to start using HSS so I can shoot at F4, F2.8 outside. Any suggestions?

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