From: jay@metran.UUCP (Jay Ts)
Newsgroups: rec.photo
Subject: Re: Fashion Photography -- Going Pro
Date: 12 Jan 93 13:07:11 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: Metran Technology, Tampa, Florida

panlilio@acs.ucalgary.ca (Victor P. Panlilio) writes:
: In article <358@metran.UUCP> jay@metran.UUCP (Jay Ts) writes:
: 
: About Kodachrome 25 Professional
: 
: >o  Too slow
: 
: The price of sharpness. I got some PKM back today, and through my
: Schneider 4X, I can see TREMENDOUS surface detail in a black lace
: dress, as well as the model's gorgeous black hair. Detail that
: just *isn't* there with Velvia. I've tried, believe me...

Velvia is very contrasty.  Did you try EPX?  According to the technical
data that I have, it should be just a little sharper than PKR, even though
it is 2 steps more grainy (hmm, maybe PKR isn't so bad...).

: Outdoors in full sunlight I get incident readings of f/5.6 to 8
: at 1/125th. And I tend to shoot with pretty fast lenses, anyway.

I mostly work in the shade, or in the open if it is cloudy enough, for
diffuse light.  I also like to use 1/250 sec to maximize sharpness, and
sometimes I want to have some depth-of-field.  PKM is just a little too
slow for that.

: Overall, my E-6 film of choice where skin tone matters is EPX.

Same here.

: [K-14 process less environmentally-friendly]
: Sad but true. But is modern E-6 chemistry that much better?

I don't have any hard, cold facts, but from what little I understand
about K-14, it is a problem.  Maybe it is possible to set up a "clean"
K-14 processing line, but it is very expensive!  Maybe in Canada, where
you can get Kodak to process your film, you can be reasonably sure they
have "done it right", but here in the U.S. I have to wonder.

E-6 is at least much simpler.  Also, Kodak changed the E-6 chemicals a
year or so ago so that there is now dramatically less formaldehyde, which
used to be the single worst chemical.

: >: And what other slide film has such good shadow detail, huh?
: >
: >Actually, T-max 100.  You didn't say *color*! ;-)
: 
: *chuckle* I've never used the TMX reversal outfit, myself...

If you have any use for B&W, I would suggest you try it.  It works
quite well.  Especially since Kodak has changed their formulation to
get away from the dichromate bleach (gag, sneeze, sputter... :-).

Reversing T-max is an easy way to get B&W for publication, without
having to spend hours in the darkroom making prints.  Of course, you
also lose the freedom of expression of print making, too.

I have started mixing my own reversal chemistry, and if I ever have the
time to work on it, I will be able to adjust contrast.  That will be nice.

: >: I may be shooting a clothing catalog within the month
: >
: >How much do you charge for that?
: 
: I wish I knew how to price my services (first time). Most pros
: I've talked with say for someone starting, like me, CDN$600 per
: day (8-10 hours) PLUS expenses would be a reasonable figure.

Very.

: I suspect that the potential client may find this too steep, so I
: may end up submitting a lower bid or quote on the entire job.

Remember the words of Jay Maisel: "If you're not ready to walk away from
a job, every job you get will be a bad one."  I read that in an article
by Emily Vickers, who works for him.  She highly recommends the book
"Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In", by Fisher and Ury.
It is about the technique of principled negotiation, developed by the
Harvard Negotiation Project.

I bought a copy and read it, and it is quite good.  You might want to
check it out.

: I think I'm not totally out of line. I show my portfolio to the
: art director on Thursday...wish me lots of luck. I'll need it.

ASMP recommends a MINIMUM of US$500 per day.  Lower than that, they
expect the photographer to go out of business.  So your rates are
very fair.  You are probably already underbidding most, if not all,
of your competition.  Good luck.

: Oh, and depending on how much sharpness is needed, I may switch
: my film to EPX or even EPN (very ACCURATE and neutral colors). If
                                   ^^^^^^^^
I maintain that there is no such thing as an accurate color film, but
that should be the topic of another post.
-- 
Jay Ts
uucp mail: uunet!myrddin!tscs!metran!jay
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