Yikes! Going to press.

Rgb to Cmyk Conversion Tips: if you don't know what I am talking about that's ok. Until you have an image for an ad go to press you probably never will experience this.

Definitions First:

RGB: Red, Green, Blue, that's what you see on your monitor right now. It is also the format of most non-commercial printers. Just because your printer has cmyk cartridges does not make it a cmyk press. this is also the format of digital cameras.

CMYK: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black: This is the format of commercial printing presses.

A strange and horrible thing happens when in Photoshop (edit>convert to profile>Cmyk) This simple action seems harmless enough. You may see a slight change in colors on your monitor when this happens. Unfortunately what comes out of the press is a dull lifeless low contrast image.

In a nutshell you are converting the primary colors of RGB to CMYK. Some colors cannot be reproduced in CMYK. this is called out of gamut. they just don't convert over. Purples , greens some yellows. The dull and lifelessness of the images is because of the way that cmyk reproduces black. Theroetically C+M+Y= black. but on a press it just uses too much ink. So the black ink is added. Sounds good but a true rich black is actually: CMYK calibration values must be 50% Cyan (C), 40% Magenta (M), 40% Yellow (Y), and 100% Black (K). Notice the colors below:Well if the black in the image is now just grayish the overall contrast is reduced and the images look terrible.

Here is a partial fix for the problem: Go to curves. Pull down the black channel and bring in the curve one box to the left at the top and one box to the left at the bottom. This adjusts the contrast without changing the original color too much. Add a brightness/contrast layer and boost the brightness 10-20 on the image. lo and behold the contrast is resurrected. Check each image to make sure the final is good and get a printed proof to test the results.

Good luck and I hope this will make going to press a little easier for you and make your client happier with the end result.

Wedding Photography 100,001

I admit this blog has gotten off with a very slow start. The last few weeks have me shooting two weddings. First thing, if you can get out of it. . . RUN AWAY. If you do decide to take the job, do it right, do it professional and plan everything so it goes smoothly.

If your brother's fiance calls and says by the way he did tell you that he wanted to shoot their wedding right? Yikes. Oh and did we mention it is in the forest with 100 foot tall redwood trees with either super bright spots of sunlight that managed to get through the trees or no light at all. Double yikes!

So what did I learn?

1. Don't bring strobes into the forest. why? it makes it look like a dark forest nightclub. Light literally stops at the edge of the image leaving the black hole sucking up any available light behind the bride and groom.
   
2. Weddings are for professionals, Leave it to them. If you are going to shoot weddings prepare and plan well.
   
3. Buy a flash bracket. there is good reason why wedding guys use these. Get that flash as far away from the lens as possible.
   
4. a Gary Fong lightsphere will not guarantee good light in a forest. There is no ceiling to bounce light off of.
   
5. If you are going to remotely trigger strobes at the reception have them in every corner of the room and group them together if possible. Front and back seemed to work well.
6. Don't listen to the Bride when she tells you she doesn't want any candid getting ready pictures. she actually does but she doesn't know it yet.
7. Details, details, details it is amazing how the little things mean a lot to the Bride and groom. shoot everything.
8. Get an assistant to shoot with you. Those times when you are trying desperately to get the flash card out of the camera because it is full is when they are getting the shots that you missed. Really you can't be everywhere at once.
   
9. Have a list of formal pictures that you need to take and stick with it. ex. bride and groom, BG and wedding party. BG and parents bg and grand parents. you get it. make a list and don't forget someone( grandma will never forgive you for leaving her out of the family pic)
   
10. Be careful about shooting at high iso numbers >800. Not even noise ninja can revive that photo.
    
11. Don't be afraid to shoot at high iso numbers. this works great in a forest on a tripod. Get the exposure right. With digital cameras a poor exposure at high iso is a throw away shot.
    
12. Scout the location in advance and take photos in the light to see how they will turn out!!!
    
13. If the bride is happy with the photos, and her mom is happy with the photos everyone is happy.
14. Don't make the mistake of undercharging for these images they are lots of work. expect 1600-2000 images plus post processing. even at 5 minutes a photo thats a lot of time.
    
15. have fun, enjoy yourself. Your kidding right. Do take a minute to get some food, you never know when you will be running down Bourbon street trying to catch up the with the second line you weren't told about.

Good luck and if you have any other questions about shooting a wedding just post a comment and I will do my best to respond.