Lessons

Lesson Info

Debrief with Jasmine and J.D.

I now get up like a sneak peek behind all the schmoozing this guy does during cocktail hour he's like king loser and on twitter they were talking all about it and I'm just like okay I'm going to see mr smooth in action but if you'd like I will take an in class question and that allow cannon and season to prepare questions either from the chat room or twitter so do you guys have a question that maybe he's lingering from yesterday us just like all brain dead with that some people that are now following me on twitter like I said great ask you so okay abuse yeah I'll answer one of the no um I had a question from mike and he wanted to know about whether you're sharpening in camera like if you have the settings in your camera set to sharpen ahead of time or if you do that good question I got I get asked that question often people ask about used in camera settings I don't use any in camera settings for a while when I first started I thought it was really cool to bump the saturation and the co...

ntrast in the sharpening but it changed to too much of what was going on and I felt like I had less control of the photo later on in photo shop if I wanted to um you know manipulated and I felt like skin tones were orange they look like little cheetos and I'm like yeah now that's not gonna work anymore so that was the first year mistake that I that I did for a few weddings and after that there was no sense if you learn how to find good light and shoot confidently it really just does manifest itself like that so yeah don't do I just normal settings for my camera susan or kima just love me in the chat room a lot of people actually are asking this and we'll talk about it yesterday but if you could just please explain your focus and recomposed technique okay so I did watch the rewatch yesterday and people have been talking about me bobbing my head it must have been the camera angle I don't think I bob like head that much but what I am doing is um as I'm focusing for instance for family formals which I thought it was the most past is I want to place the bride and the groom in the center I will place most likely the center focal point on the bride but she's not always centered to the photo in composition so I will focus on the bride and then I'll slightly turned my camera either up or to the side the focal point on lee works on access of plane of focus I can't turn it in a day and at a diagonal I can't turn my camera to dag nowhere else they're not going to be focusing more so they have it on the bride I just shifted to the left or to the right just that the center so that the picture is centered all it is is just that I'm either moving it up or I'm moving it down or moving it left or to the right um and I will find the focal point that is closest on my grid I believe I have like nine focal points I will find the focal point that's closest to the bride and then shift in relation either up down to the left or to the right that is all I am doing what I'm doing that right now it looks like when you have it um I don't think that I would be able to like to show it the way that I did it yesterday look naturally because especially cause we're standing in a group but if that was my that was my head bobbing it's just me staying within with my camera because if I had focused it and then shifted it I wouldn't be where I want to be so it's here here and I felt like I was it looked like I felt like I was a boxer e I think that may be what it appeared to be but I think if you were sitting next to me or in front of me I'm really on lee ever pulling it up or down or to the left to the right and I'm just following the camera with it that's it and people I notice a lot people had asked um why should so many pictures um and I'm glad that I did yesterday because I like tack sharp pictures and if you if you focus and it's like a soft focus and you should fire three times you have three soft pictures which does nothing for you I would rather you know focus you focus shoot focus shoot and end up with two really sharp photos and one maybe not so sharp photo so great thank you for clarifying has all day yesterday people were discussing it's a secret technique right by the download yes so do you always focus from a composer now I do have a percentage of how often you use that one as opposed to the other ok such a person is really good I don't always shift shifted our focus and recompose sometimes I'm able tto have the focal point exactly in the frame where I want it I find myself um re composing most often with family formals when I'm working with a couple I can stand wherever I want teo I can't get eight people to like everybody move this way come this way sentence traitor it's just easier for me to do it by myself I can take control of it but when it's just a couple I find the focal point that's closest to them and that's how in relation I'll stand in such a way that the focal point is always on the eye of the bride or the girl because girls notice it there and focus guys focus less is there like thither eyes always fall on the girl girls always eyes always fall on the girl just my experience maybe I'm wrong maybe this is gonna cause like some catastrophe on twitter I don't know that's my opinion great I have a question from let's see g g j spiller and ah and tweet and a lot of people were asking this yesterday as well wondering about um do you worry about dust when you're changing your lenses and getting into the back of the camera not back well the lenses you know but I think it requires a response I've been shooting this way since the beginning of my since the beginning my business and it hasn't become a factor I am more worried about dust getting into my sensor but when I swap lenses I'm keeping my camera down I could keep my camera down I'll usually have another lens and right here which is so professional I noticed this too I was like wow jasmine you're so professional so I'll keep the lens here put the other ones my pocket bringing out here I'm having my camera down so I'm never having up so things can fall into it even if there was a speck of dust or a piece of lint or something and falling on the lens I'm shooting rather wide open you know if I was shooting at f twenty two that would become a major factor so I think stylistically it works for how I'm shooting when you shoot it one point two you know that piece of land is not showing up anywhere right great okay I have a question from you j photos did you learn anything new about yourself and your art during this experience yes yes yes but I'll cry about it way emotional I'm still like it's just no no so much like what is wrong with me um I felt like yesterday I was pushed in a way that I've never been pushed before my life I literally felt that I mean poor jd he didn't really eat last night and I actually ate that vendor meal or it wasn't evident it was actually a vegetarian meal that daniella was able to sneak me best vendor meal have ever had ever I will go down in history as the best of under meal that chef rocked my world the risotto the veggies he had this like oh this creamy feta girls vegetable thing like lasagna with no noodle it was just insane I was sitting there I was like you all work I'm going to eat s oh yeah night eaten j d didn't really get a chance to eat so we got back to the hotel last night and um he asked if I wanted to go downstairs and get something to eat and I said no I'm fine and I just wanted to decompress I was tired of my voice literally I was tired of hearing myself talk he's like okay I'm gonna run downstairs I'll be back up and it was just quiet and I talked uh I called my dad I just need to talk to my dad and are away so I called my dad and I just felt like this huge burden was lifted off me and I felt like after having done that I feel like god I feel like I could do anything okay yes so you don't know anything yet given the pressure of every yesterday it was the most pressure I've ever felt my life did I don't like it I know and that's why I was really proud I felt like everybody tough the rain I felt like j d was a rock star jamie was wrong sir totally and everybody now knows the secret to my success truly truly truly truly I mean he waters the camel all day so yeah I learned the time I learned that under that extreme pressure if I could still perform there's not gonna be a wedding that anybody can throw at me that I will not be able to do what I do nice straight I have a question from twitter from two point five what made you abandon the camera strap and have you ever dropped a camera lens and we had a lot of people asking about that watching you too well I never abandoned the the the strap I just never used it um of course I will say something and it's going to make people angry but whatever um I kind of feel in my perspective that when I was and a novice photographer when I had my phone photographer my film camera you know god I think I was shooting for a while on canon rebel film and um I put my strap on it and I wore it around my neck and I just felt like it was very indicative of a novice somebody who didn't trust his or her ability to do what they d'oh and now I kind of feel like I'm a professional and I know howto handle mike here in a professional manner and I kind of feel like my camera is um oh the equivalent of a gun I'm ready to fire at any given point in time it's nice to have the reliance on a strap and not always be ready I know where my settings are one hundred percent of the day because I have it on me I'm never picking up one camera and then switching to another and not remembering where my settings where I'm always focused one hundred percent at where I am and what I'm doing and that has made a big difference and how a shoe I know I've never dropped I've never dr lenz and I've never dropped my camera but now that I say that I will drop it in my next one who's quite certain I'm quite certain it's gonna have to know so I was asking a question question from thing actually taylor who came to one of my workshop great so actually asked do you guys do formal table group shots or only at request or not at all on lee ever at request only ever I will never volunteer to do that was because I see the photos that are purchased the table photos are never purchased nobody looks good the lighting is terrible and most often the people who are sad and the table are assigned by the bride and groom and would never originally choose to sit with those would you ever want to have that photo it really just worked like that however what I do enjoy to have jd do is when the bride and groom are walking around um he might follow him and get candids of people of the bridegroom talking to people and those nice like really big bear hugs and embraces those of the pictures that people find valuable afterward so we will only ever do it on request and it usually comes like through traditional like a lot of asian cultures that's how they get their gifts is they go from table to table and so photographer has to follow them around but it's only ever by request okay you can ask daddy what lens are you doing when you're when you're shooting those shots so that you're not you know intruding you know actually when I'm if it's a fight to request in tissue table shots and things like that I try to stick with fifty but sometimes if there you know if if I'm noticing that it's there there the pictures are the groups are really large um then I'll put twenty eight on or or I'll put the sixteen thirty five just so I can have some attitude um but you know usually usually the twenty eight is what I want I'll make use just to keep everybody in the frame the twenty eight one point when your fault when the bride is like saying hello to people and giving hugs are using the same thing further away for the candid photos if their candidate than I actually ali aiken you know when I do cocktail hour I used I always is a fifty um uh I'll have that and and then I'll switch during cocktail hour I'll switch to the eighty five just so I could get singular shots of people with their drinks or people grabbing you know you know uh in order um so I'll switch from the eighty five to the fifty two that's a good question do you ever use a fish islands are bad you know it it was actually like the third lens I bought and um I was deciding I was deciding between the fisheye and the fifty millimeter one point four and like the cool newbie one year photographer was like the fish eyes with a number on and I will never forget shooting a lord have mercy I shot this engagement session were like fifty percent of the photos were with fish I and I thought it was so cool and I look back at that session and I'm like oh uh king you know whatever I mean whatever like they're they're married still on there happened but yeah so I bought it early on and it's just such a funky lens that even on the dance floor nobody looks good people look funny they're funny pictures to look at but they're not going to go on a wedding album they probably won't even go on facebook because people will antagonist elves in it if you want a wide lens get the sixteen to thirty five you know it's there's so much distortion especially if they're using the cannon five d that's a full frame sensor I mean that distortion it's like a global effects like that person upfront is huge and then everything else is like wrapped around and god forbid to be the girl at the very edge of the fish eye because her booty goes room like no I don't use that like I mean I should probably sell it like we haven't even touched it so it's in me it's still in great commission probably sell it next week on the log way right now I'm sure somebody will want a jasmine star maybe I don't know e question uh from the chat room would you this kind of I'm not sure how I'm gonna feel about this but up would you ever consider doing same sex marriages weddings I think it is so much depends on the situation you know I don't I don't think that I could ever give like a ah firm heart like yes or no um it just depends so much like one of my girlfriends from college um I was going to get married to her girlfriend and she asked if I could shoot the wedding and it put me in like um a weird situation because I actually wanted to go to the wedding as a guest and not shoot it and so you again so much depends so much depends on it so I don't think that I have like a firm but I think more or less it's the same way that I would you know choose most of my weddings I mean is it is it a big marketing kill it in california I think it's not I don't think it's as big as people think it is given in light of everything of like prop eight passing and things of that nature I think that it's magnified in our state but I don't really get to too many enquiries but again I think it's because um I put so much of myself out there that maybe people wouldn't necessarily find me a good candidate to shoot their wedding which is fine remember goes back to repelling or connecting but at the end of the day it really does come back teo is is this couple like any other couple a good fit for me and we'll be able to showcase what I do you know who I am I just want to tell you the repelling and attracting concept it's just really it really um resonates with so many people because it's like that in life so right now I just think that's so powerful to think about it and that way I think of it that way and that you're comfortable with that I just that's so amazing well it's something that I think people can everybody everybody can identify with because for so long it's life is like um an elaborate hey school you know and you have the cool kids and you have the jocks and you have the head of the cheer squad and you have a cool artistic kids who hang out behind the science building and I have the honor to know everything there is to know about photography and these mathematic equations on how to take the perfect picture and I felt like I've always equated myself to the proverbial junior year transfer student right because you know that kid who came in and junior year like where did this person come from and this person doesn't necessarily identify with any of the groups but if I could float from group to group and just be like hey it's cool if you like me that's awesome and if you don't it's equally as awesome um and not care I actually spoke somewhere in orange county and this guy was public he's probably ten years older than I am and he's like you know when you got to that point in high school where you just didn't whatever he had choice words but basically said you know what you got to high school then you just didn't care anymore and I'm nodding and I'm like mmm mmm I got back in the car and I realized I never had that moment up until I had photography I never not cared what people thought about me I was always the person that was trying to be everything to everybody and I was never okay in my own skin and I was always quite it was always the watcher and then finally photography comes around and it's given me the fortitude just come into my own and say you know what I don't care if you don't like me I'm finally okay and I think that that's been the biggest gift that photography is giving me well thanks for sharing that with us thank you for having me thanks for listening I have a question from twitter how do you think the day would have been without the internet being involved a lot less stressful a lot less stressful and the thing is I have to say that the stress came only for me you know what he puts stress everybody was trying to take the stress away from me so given that I think it is amazing um the on ly person you wanted to do better than I was doing was myself so um I'm glad that I had that experience I'm a better person because of it but um yeah it was me so thomas in the in the chat room would like to know roughly what percentage of yesterday's voters were too soft I don't think that the percentage of soft photos were um higher than any other percentage given the wedding I would say that I don't I don't have a ratio but I will say that for the most part especially given given um then I shoot wide open quite often I didn't shoot um when the bride was getting ready I shot wide open because I can and I want her to be in focus or I want her mom to be in focus and I'll go through setting specifically if people want to know about them um but yesterday you know as I'm shooting group formals I'm shooting an f for four point five you know um if two point five whatever the case may be but I don't have a ratio but I will definitely say him people say that sometimes have a hard time focusing I don't I don't know like maybe one out of eighteen pictures hee hi I don't know I have no idea I didn't keep track but yeah you know with the lighting yesterday inside the venue yeah you had the soft box at the back and it was like remotely triggered and so just the question was like you know how come you chose that positioning for it okay okay secondly are mentioned video lights that use them how come I mean I've got in my head why you didn't use a video like some other people might not want to use a video so what did you know I definitely want to address the lighting yesterday okay that lighting was a hot mess I mean it was really really really hard it was hard hard hard and as he was well see specifically during the ceremony when the sun is coming to me the lighting was actually softer when the sun was directly overhead because the sun was bouncing on pavement reflected light coming in as it was setting it was like an extreme hot box and I mean were you there I was I was just like someone I am like I did like an aquatic work out or something I'm like oh my gosh okay so the lighting was a hot mess and he was super super super hard and somebody brought up yesterday that there was a gentleman sitting in the second or third row in a blue shirt and he was shooting with the seventy two hundred and all I'm thinking is oh my god he's getting better photos than I am he had the better angle he had full light on billy's face and full light is really hard but at least if he was all illuminated in one particular manner I would be able to meet her for that and compensate accordingly I had so much hot light everywhere that my photos will have to definitely be adjusted in light room no doubt they're not even really photos that I'm particularly proud of but whatever given the situation that I was given I did the best that I could buy a little bit worried because laura is a photographer like yes of course what I ll or was there laura saw the light and if laura delts alight she has hours of video to see what we're working with um another thing that somebody asked was why we didn't use the video lights I don't always use the video lights I only ever use a video lights if I feel like we have tio um that's my last resort I will only ever try to shoot with natural light and it's really hard for people watching on the web to truly understand what the room looked like without compensation exposure compensation from the video cameras and where they're standing and things of that nature so that's why we didn't use the video lights because one the room was illuminated enough to shoot without video lights on both ambient light and natural light and we'll go through the x on the detail shots that I that I I got two on the books on the soft box oh yes so I'm not gonna throw anybody under the bus but I probably wouldn't put this off box where it was and it was my fault it was my fault for not noticing where the soft box what was when it was set up I asked because I wanted teo be ready I'm like hey just get the soft walks up and he asked me where do you want it I was like just put it over there by the musicians what I should have said was not on this side of musicians but on that side of musicians because it ended up in nate's photos and ended up in some of my photos you know it was my fault I'm always the shot color when it because I know what I wanted to be I usually set up in a corner away from any type of shots that we would get naturally and then once the dancing started I move this off box to where I wanted it specifically I didn't even need the saw fox for any of the the first dances or anything like that soto have it sitting there and not firing killed me and I'm sure it killed you because you like your shots and then there's like boom you know yeah you're like awesome I'm really great but yeah I mean it is my fault it was totally my fault I I'll take I'll take that one actually you know what it was funny because when we were shooting it I was taking the angle I was my back was towards the soft box so I remember I mean it was like perfect for me and then when I realized when I you know I was that's where I was for the for the first part of the of the dance and then I eventually made my way around to where you guys were just like that's when I saw the box the soft part you know what I think we did teo really is we know when we know where this bucket box is we just don't shoot in that direction very I'm very used to not exactly not having it in the frame but when I remember when we first incorporated it I remember a lot of my photos had the soft bucks and and there was something that jasmine had it like kind of when you know when we're doing imposed to say okay look at this year this you know this is where we should what we should try to avoid so definitely that was a curveball that I shouldn't have given you guys I should have just you know and it was it was also one other thing is I kind of was still kind of getting a feel for what the room where the dance for how that that's what was in it was kind of you know I didn't know exactly how where people were going to dance so again that kind of played to me kind of just flippantly putting in there you have to work around that because it could have been a big exit sign and then you have to be able to see oh that's polish yeah I know that but that definitely was my fault my jasmine okay I don't think I'm getting I should've been more specific I will really take that I was only thinking I should think my mom's not watching now worse things like how dare you talk to me oh I have a question from go mad crazy do you enjoy shooting anything else besides weddings and you shoot for personal reasons do you have personal projects that you pursue my personal project is shooting didi I like what I mean I don't really shoot um a lot of times we went to we went to new zealand for a work for a workshop I taught a workshop in new zealand and janey's like bring out your camera let's shoot and I'm like okay and he's like shoot those mountains okay but she goes green hills should the sheep oh and he's like what you said to shoot I'm like there's no people I like shooting people I feel like I get no sense of greater satisfaction of bringing something out of a person and um I feel like it's kind of like a skill set both a gift and a skill set on dh she I just didn't do it for me wait usually people wear the t shirt she just don't do it for me that's really not what I want on the yeah okay that's really start for weeks ago because in my head I had it like chase could you two months ago then they planned a home you know and the wedding was for weeks now it's started at max five and a half weeks ago well and that's why when he picked it up he said ok so what saturdays do you have available and I'm like cheese what you don't understand in my life it worked well for him he could get scheduled for a shoot and he even said this he could get scheduled for a shoot you know four weeks out and you know it that's plenty time to play plan and budget or whatever he does but in our line of work we're booked out at minimum a year in advance that's why I thought that this would you definitely forgot so that's why they told you you know lost you keep that right it was the only weekend in august that I didn't have a wedding but we try to the best of our ability I try not to work for five weeks in a row and I only do that to the benefit of my client that's an optimal case situation you know like there are months actually our september october is our craziest crazies craziest months like we're working I think seven weeks in a row which is not what I want to do but I'm going to get meant to leave for it and on our off time make sure that we're just stepping away from the computers and just energizing the way that we think is good for us but in this particular situation she's called about five or five and a half weeks ago and he said okay tell me what dates were available and I'm like listen how does november work and he's like wedding in november in seattle is not gonna work it's gonna be pouring rain and I'm like okay I'm so sorry but I'm booked he said what about august and I'm like august as in like a month from now and he's just like yeah and he said I'm so sorry I don't I all my all my weekends abrupt and then I looked and they noticed that part of the reason why I didn't want to take a wedding this weekend was because I'm speaking on monday here in seattle crazy I just I can't I mean this these are the moments where I just cant you could be an atheist you believe whatever you want but my life I have chosen to believe it this has all been preordained for some bigger thing than I even know so I'm going to be in seattle on monday and chase wants me to come to seattle and do a wedding this week and I'm like how does this weekend work for you and it was literally just luck blessings a whole bunch of things port in together and you guys that were all part of the plan so yes it happened five and a half weeks ago and yes we are all flipping crazy crazy great are you ready to mike really awesome and that folks is creative live how great of live rolls craig swanson over there shout out they were just adjusting jasmine's mike dady anything you want to say we'll be getting two questions you know I didn't think I didn't think all the the second shooter's I'm gonna call you second shooter because that's our third shooter's whatever we're all kind of but honestly I think is I don't think that you need my approval or or my um you know my say because you guys are all just individually great photographers and it felt so nice we jasmine I've never had a third shooter come back with us and it just I realized how much like how good it felt just to have um you know someone to kind of talk to connect with making sure like when there was a point where uh points in the day were I knew I was missing a crucial time at cocktail hour um and or crucial time getting candidates candids and so and I knew that you guys were there doing it for us and it just felt so good and individually you guys are all just amazing people photographers and professional business uh people like I felt like there was not one point where jasmine I ever felt like uncomfortable or that we ever we never had a moment where we created or anything it was just it's not like you guys were all every single time every time there was a rotation it always felt like it was part of our team so I just want to thank you guys um publicly but I know that it's not even needed because you guys are all individually just great people and yeah under promise over deliver not that you under proper tio I have a question from simone um as far as talking about the twenty three two twenty five weddings how many inquires enquiries do you get oh that's a good question that you have to turn away well um it's I think it's a it's a layered question because I just launched a new web site and the new website did say that my collection start at seventy five hundred whereas my previous website didn't have any prices listed so I was getting enquiries that we're clearly not um referral base so they were coming with like budgets that were clearly not within striking range of what my budget would be so I don't know if I ever consider those ever viable um enquiries for me um I have a very high booking rate not because I'm a really great sales person I feel like I've refined so much of who I am on the web that when people are coming to me they are literally coming to me because they want my services or they're coming to me and they're deciding just between myself and another photographer any time you have a booking rate of fifty percent or higher you're like really good standing so of course you know I lose weddings but I'm really happy that when I see well maybe not really happy but I'm content I'm content seeing that I will possibly see that particular wedding fun one of my peers like blog's or websites and I will think congratulations to them they were clearly a better fit for that couple and the couple was choosing between myself and another photographer I truly respect so if I'm gonna lose the wedding to somebody I really respect I'm okay with that if I you know lose the wedding to somebody who well well yeah they're okay I have a question from trish finn for in texas and she asked his shooting lee get away as the brian greene leave the reception not something that you typically shoot because it's a big deal there in texas right um it no it's not it's not what we do because a lot of times in california are venues in california are actually resorts and hotels so the getaway is them leaving the ballroom and going up to the suite so it isn't very traditional in where I live um and if they do um a fireworks you know get away or they do something special they can pay me to stay on through that if they'd like but then again it's not something that's been done very often for more like where I'm from so thank you do you ever have ah couples I wanted like a day after a session or anything like that yes I do but I charge separately for it cool a charge it I allocated as like in any time session and I will do it but yeah and starting in the beginning maybe that doesn't apply as much but starting in the beginning especially because you have people want that wanted to do like family photos or baby photos or and used that right from the beginning you were not in the beginning we or I shot family photos form think about two one three months two or three months because it was a paying gig and um you know and I never did him for free that's what I noticed a lot of people dio I wasn't charging them I wasn't charging very much but I wasn't doing it for free I wanted somebody just associate something with the time in the value that I was placing for that shoot um and then it got to a point because I was working part time I was working monday wednesday friday and um most the time families couldn't actually get together for a photo shoot at the time that I needed to get to them around sunset but something california is so wide I couldn't balance it almost like needing to be set up for saturdays well if I want to start shooting families on saturdays it inhibited me from doing what I wanted to do which was second chute weddings and so I was basically forsaking for three hundred dollars family session shoot that included the disc a digital negatives an opportunity for me to shoot for free for somebody else but that very thing me shooting for free with somebody else was pushing me towards what I eventually wanted to see you I never wanted to pursue family for talk fi but the more that I did it the more of that very thing I became and so that's when they decided cold turkey this has got to stop because I'm not good and nor do I want to get better at the one thing I don't really want to dio and I decided to become a boutique photographer versus like a mom and pop in the main differ between ah boutique photographer is ah boutique anything is a highly specialized company or service that focuses on one thing when somebody is referring me I only ever want them referring me for weddings and they knew that photographers have you know websites that show everything they shoot babies dog seniors for family portrait's weddings and that's okay you could be really good at it but I would heavily advise you to brand yourself independent of that so would be nate perks baby's nate parks families nate parks weddings and have separate websites so that you were on lee referred within that specific families mind is doing that one thing extraordinarily well