Yikes–I can’t believe I stayed up this late on day one of the Mobilization conference. But this will be an interesting first test of rapidly uploading photos as I shoot. Up until now I’ve just been working on building my archive from existing files clogging my hard drives. I’m also hoping that people at the event or just interested in it will find my new archive a useful service. My agreement with Sojourners (where I work my day job as Web Editor) was that I build this site on my own time (rather than on work time) in exchange for freelance rights to distribute the images. We’ll see how that goes. As I try to emphasize in my terms of use, I’m not in this for the money, but for now mainly to break even on my investments in photo gear and web infrastructure. OK, time for beddy-bye. Tomorrow will be a long day at the event…

Over the years, I’ve shot quite a few weddings, mostly for friends and friends of friends. I used to hesitate before committing to shooting a wedding, because it can be a high pressure situation, but working for friends it usually ends up being a good time, and I like doing my part to subvert the wedding industrial complex with what I think are very reasonable rates for professional quality photos. Also, the food is usually awesome. So this the basic deal I’ve come up with.

What I provide for my minimum $500 base rate:

• Up to five hours of photography (additional charge for more hours)
• Ceremony candids
• Reception candids
• One session of family and wedding party portraits at one location (can be different from the ceremony location—I recommend outdoor settings with good natural light)
• All images in high-resolution jpeg format on disc
• All images uploaded to a private online gallery at www.ryanrodrickbeiler.com where friends and family may buy downloads or prints (though the couple may freely upload them  elsewhere as well if they like)
• Average number of photos is at around 700, but often more
• The benefit of 10+ years of photojournalism experience

What the couple must provide:

• A designated “director” for group portraits who will gather and arrange people. This is so neither the photographer (who doesn’t know everyone), nor the couple (who don’t need another source of stress) have to do this.
• A prior estimate of total hours from when I need to be there to when I’m done
• Full payment before, or on the day of the ceremony, based on the estimated total hours and portrait sessions
• An email invitation to as many guests as possible with a link to the online gallery after it’s been uploaded

There are some things I just won’t do:

• Suggest whimsical poses for the couple to assume—that’s up to y’all
• My strength as a journalist is capturing candid images of real moments–not manufacturing artificial ones

What I charge:

• Minimum $500 base rate—includes up to total of five hours to shoot ceremony, reception, and one round of portraits
• $100 for each additional hour beyond the included five hours
• $50 for each additional portrait session beyond the included session (Regardless of total time spent. Frankly, this rate is intended to disincentivize endless rounds of portraits at multiple locations, which in my experience are not fun for anybody. I encourage everyone to keep it simple. Portraits also require additional post-processing, another reason for the added cost.)
• And above all, I’m flexible to work with your budget and needs if exceptions are needed depending on the circumstances.

For a long time, I bought all of my framing supplies (mat board, foam core for mounting, frame sections) from Dick Blick. But though I still often buy my paper supplies from either them or any local art store, I now prefer Art City Frame’s custom cut metal frames for better prices, selection and availability.

I get my glass from a local hardware store that will custom cut any size for a very reasonable price. If you’re in the neighborhood, it’s Cooper Hardware at the corner of 14th and Oak St. NW. I’ve experimented with ordering plexiglass online so I could cut it myself, but it’s a pain and scratches easily. For all of the “non-glare” options out there, I still think regular old glass looks the best and most professional.

I also recommend browsing your local thrift store for quality frame materials. Look for frames that have real glass and frame sections (usually aluminum) that can be taken apart with screws. Though some cheaper frames that use flat springs to hold the artwork in place can work just as well. This is an especially good way to get poster sized frame materials that are quite expensive to order or buy at a frame shop.

And if you’re really serious about doing your own framing, it’s time to invest in a professional mat cutter. You can get pre-cut mats for most standard print sizes, but if you’re going to be framing on a regular basis, you can get a mat cutter for around $100 that is very easy to use and pays for itself with a few uses.

I have a Logan Model 450. The key features are bevel and straight blade cutters that fit into a rail, a “production stop” that makes sure you don’t cut too far and ruin your window, and a parallel mat guide that makes it very easy to set your depth. I can’t believe all of those years I wasted with a hand-held cutter and a frigging ruler, making all of my mistakes on that last cut.

I was tickled to read of this exchange between Lancaster County Amish and New York City’s ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities. I have deep affection for both of these groups of hat-wearing beardos.

First, because my paternal grandfather was Amish as a boy–his family later backslid to become Mennonites, as I am today. No I do not drive a buggy–that’s the whole point. But I do drive a black bumper car. (But only because that was the color of the best-priced used VW Jetta diesel, purchased to run on biodiesel. My previous diesel was a butter yellow ‘83 Mercedes with worldly chrome bumpers that must have had my Amish ancestors spinning in their graves.)

The second reason this story caught my eye was because my all-time favorite and always-reliable photo gear and supply catalog has been B&H, operated by Hasidic Jews in Manhattan. They consistently have the best prices of non-scammers–often better than many of the Hong Kong-based sellers on Ebay. Plus, superfast shipping. The only wrinkle is that they close for sabbath and Jewish holidays, so the Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 I just ordered won’t ship until after Passover. But with their service and reliability, I’m not complaining. One of these days I’ll do a post on other trusted retailers–a constant source of late-night Google searches when I’m agonizing over whether that Ebay seller or cut-rate site is too good to be true. It usually is.

And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the Simpsons episode where the visit Capitol City and drive by some Hasidic Jews:

Bart: Look, it’s ZZ Top! [leans out the window and shouts] You guys rock!

Hasidic Jew: Eh, maybe a little…

As I quickly learned when beginning my photo archive project, an efficient and well-defined workflow is essential to … well, not going crazy and floundering about in a sea of high resolution images. What format should I use? How should I keyword? How much to retouch if I may never use this photo? All questions that need to be answered or you’ll be continually second-guessing yourself, stressing out, and wasting time. Once you define a workflow and stick with it (though always be open to refining it) you can start chugging through those 1500+ images from that assignment you just shot with confidence.

Shoot RAW

• Once you get over the shock of the increased file sizes on your memory cards and hard drive (you do have a massive external hard drive, right?), the benefits are significant
• RAW functions as a digital negative. That means no matter how many tweaks you make in Lightroom, your edits are lossless, saved in either an XMP sidecar or the LR database (or both).
• Adobe has launched its DNG (digital negative) format for that same function, but for now I’m sticking with Nikon’s NEF
• I also prefer setting Lightroom to automatically save the XMP sidecars so that I can open edited versions of those files in other programs if need be and not be hamstrung if something happens to my Lightroom database. Which leads me to my next point…

Process in Adobe Lightroom

• It would be nice if it had more of Photoshop’s editing features, especially a full-featured dodge/burn tool, but it saves sooooo much time on batch editing IPTC data (keywords, title, captions, etc.) that feature alone is worth it.
• True, you can edit those fields in other programs, but I found my free NikonView software to be extremely slow and buggy beyond belief, and using Photoshop to open, edit, and save each file’s data is out of the question when processing hundreds of files.
• Plus the ability to flip quickly between “Library” mode for tagging and quick exposure/tint/etc. tweaks and “Develop” mode for fine-grain editing (without having to open, save, etc. between each step) is a massive time saver.
• When editing, I remember that every image will be posted online for all the world to see — and potentially purchase prints or downloads. So though I have to often fight perfectionist impulses to preserve my sanity, I do make sure everything is at least publication quality, even if not retouched to its artistic zenith.

Export TIFFs for Photoshop fine-tuning as needed

• Now that I’ve gotten the hang of Lightroom, I almost never do this, but if it’s needed, the TIFF format is lossless
• Of course, there’s no need to fill your drive with mega-large TIFF files if you’ve made all the needed refinements in the RAW+XMP files in Lightroom
• Also LZW compression is a lossless compression option that makes a big difference in TIFF filesize. Though “lossless compression” sounds like an oxymoron, I choose to believe their voodoo.

Export final versions as JPEGs

• Export JPEGs directly from Lightroom, or if you’ve done some TIFF fine-tuning, save a version as a final JPEG
• I export highest quality JPEGs for my SmugMug archive, and microstock sites

OK, so those are the broad strokes. Here’s the detailed version:

Shoot RAW and Download

• Fill up the memory card on my D90 with hundreds of images
• Download to a temporary desktop folder named: yymmdd-keyword
• Rename files as: yymmdd-####-keyword.NEF
• Immediately backup all files on at least one external hard drive (preferably two), so there’s a copy on the laptop in a temporary folder and a backup on the external drive.

Process in Lightroom

Import folder into LR

• I use a preset to automatically set noise reduction and sharpening levels for all images
• set any keywords that apply to entire folder
• export personal snapshots (if any) to a separate folder and then delete  from the main archive

First Pass

• perhaps counterintuitively, I start in LR’s develop mode, with loupe view on my main screen and survey view on my secondary monitor
• this allows me to select groups of similar images and compare them in the survey view, while setting attributes individually. In library mode, setting an attribute, such as a star rating, would set that attribute for the whole group–which is annoying.
• so I then chew through the folder, biting off chunks of similar images and setting the following attributes:
• flagging rejects (out-of-focus, blinkers, redundant, etc.) which I then delete as a group later–this saves time (deleting as you go is very cumbersome, at least on my computer, especially with the “are you sure?” prompts each time) and allows you to change your mind more easily in the meantime
• set star ratings ***** for future reference
• label potential microstock images (I use green)
• retouch images as needed (exposure, histogram, spot adjust, crop, etc.)
• delete rejects

Second Pass

• enter IPTC data (keywords, title, captions)
• generally, I use the dateline format on captions for shots, since most of my work will be uploaded as editorial stock
  example:  WASHINGTON, DC – JAN. 20, 2009: Crowds fill the National Mall for the inauguration of Barack Obama.

Export Final Images

• Export TIFFs for Photoshop fine tuning if needed, then save max quality JPEGs to subfolder
• Export all others directly as max quality JPEGs to subfolder
• Upload all JPEGs to SmugMug archive
• Export microstock shots as JPEGs to separate subfolders for each site (since different sites have different requirements)
• Upload subfolders to microstock sites
• Blow away initial backup on external drives and replace them with edited RAW+XMPs and final JPEG subfolder

And that’s about it. This is a work in progress — I’m continually making refinements. But so far it’s working pretty well. It works about the same for processing my old archived folders — which are all JPEGs — except that instead of having XMP sidecars, I believe that the data is embedded in the JPEG and image adjustments are stored in the Lightroom database. I then export edited versions from Lightroom to a “final JPEG” subfolder and preserve the unedited original JPEGs as the closest thing to a digital negative that I have (if I haven’t already permanently marred them with over-zealous edits in the past).

I’m still working out my negative scanning workflow, but that’s another post.

So finally, after 10 years as Web Editor for Sojourners, I’m launching my own site. No, I’m not quitting my day job, but it’s been a dream for some time now to have an online portfolio–and that dream has expanded rather ambitiously to the creation of an comprehensive online digital archive. After months of research, I decided on SmugMug, which despite the silly name has a stellar line-up of features (automated EXIF/IPTC data imports, unlimited storage for pro accounts) and excellent documentation for customization. You can tell they love what they do.

So now I’ve begun the arduous task of converting umpteen gigs of image directories on my external hard drive into titled, captioned, and keyword-searchable archives for print and download sale. I’ve also begun experimenting with the wide world of microstock, but I’ll blog more about that later.

I also intend to share all of the little tips and tricks I’ve picked up along the way, including the fruits of many a Google search for those elusive bits of vital information that have helped me make decisions about gear, software, and workflow.

I don’t suppose that many people will actually read this blog, but hopefully I can help a few folks along out there, and in the meantime develop a circle of folks interested in my work–hopefully enough to pay for some of it, since gear and software upgrades aren’t cheap!