# Advice, please - Engagement Pictures using Canon Rebel T1i



## JaxsMomma (Aug 22, 2010)

Hello!  I'm new to photography and new to this forum.  I have a Canon Rebel T1i.  I have a tripod, zoom lens, wide-angle lens, a telephoto lens, extra flash attachment and 3 filters.  I have no clue how to use these extras to my advantage. I try to get out and take creative pictures with my camera as often as I can, but it isn't often enough.    I have a session this coming Saturday for a couple's engagement pictures and am excited but, naturally, nervous.  We are set to start sometime mid-morning to avoid the high temps we've had lately.  Any advice on camera settings would be MUCH appreciated!  I already know it's best to utilize the creative zones and I've practiced mainly with the Tv setting; shady areas so the bright sunlight isn't too harsh on my subjects; etc.  I also know to use the flash in bright settings if I have to shoot in the sun.  But I'm having a hard time achieving that beautiful soft glow that I've seen on professional sites.  Also, how do I get my subject's eyes and eye color to really pop and shine, while also exhibiting amazing clarity, and still capturing soft skin tones and colors?  And with this couple I'd love to get some silhouette shots in the shadows and am not sure how to do that.  And while I'm sitting here rambling I'd love some tips on photographing sunsets/sunrises.    Thanks.  Btw, I have Photoshop CS4 for my touch-up work and am learning that as I go - I have a great book by Scott Kelby.  But there's not a lot Photoshop can do if the picture isn't great, having motion and/or grain to begin with.  I guess what I'm really trying to get is the soft glowing pictures with plenty of detail and no grain.  Please help!!    This couple knows that I am very much an amateur and are probably expecting mediocre work - but I really want to wow them!!    Thanks in advance.


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## DirtyDFeckers (Aug 22, 2010)

Well, to avoid the grainy look, keep your ISO as low as possible.  As far as other settings, there isn't any standard to go by, as this is dictated by the conditions you are shooting in.  Quick question, will you be getting paid for this?


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## carvinrocks2 (Aug 22, 2010)

The settings all depend on the conditions. They are ever changing. IMHO, usually when your outside 80 ISO, 600 or above shutter speed, and either small or big aperture depending on the DOF you are going for.


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## JaxsMomma (Aug 22, 2010)

@ Dustin, yes I am charging a small fee.  I'm definitely "cheap" for this area - for now.  

Thank you guys for the advice.  I have read to keep the ISO low to avoid grain.  So if I am shooting in shadows and want to have a "black" or dark silhouette of my subjects while capturing a nice background do I keep the ISO at 100 and just lengthen my shutter speed to ensure the whole picture isn't dark?  Sorry if these are stupid ?'s.  I work full time and have a family to maintain so my opportunities to practice are limited and sporadic.  I haven't had as much trial and error as I'd like.  I plan to shoot a couple hundred pictures so I'm bound to get a handful of keepers.  And, as my husband says, no one expects you to have 100 solid and breathtaking pictures to choose from in the end.  So I need to keep in mind not every single one will be great. 

On another note, should I always shoot in RAW rather than JPEG??


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## eccs19 (Aug 22, 2010)

JaxsMomma said:


> On another note, should I always shoot in RAW rather than JPEG??


My opinion would be to shoot in RAW.  This way if you get a shot that looks half decent, but exposure of WB is off, then you may be able to save the shot, and make it a great shot.  If you shoot JPG, then you will have more trouble fixing mistakes.  If your camera supports it, you could always shoot RAW + JPG.  At least with the JPG's, you'd have something fast to look at on the computer, and worry about processing the RAW files when you've got time.


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## DirtyDFeckers (Aug 23, 2010)

JaxsMomma said:


> @ Dustin, yes I am charging a small fee.  I'm definitely "cheap" for this area - for now.
> 
> Thank you guys for the advice.  I have read to keep the ISO low to avoid grain.  So if I am shooting in shadows and want to have a "black" or dark silhouette of my subjects while capturing a nice background do I keep the ISO at 100 and just lengthen my shutter speed to ensure the whole picture isn't dark?  Sorry if these are stupid ?'s.  I work full time and have a family to maintain so my opportunities to practice are limited and sporadic.  I haven't had as much trial and error as I'd like.  I plan to shoot a couple hundred pictures so I'm bound to get a handful of keepers.  And, as my husband says, no one expects you to have 100 solid and breathtaking pictures to choose from in the end.  So I need to keep in mind not every single one will be great.
> 
> On another note, should I always shoot in RAW rather than JPEG??



I would also strongly recommend shooting all images in RAW.  2 reasons:  1.  They are easier to edit, and appear on your computer screen "as shot".  They never touch the camera's in house processor.  2.  You don't deal with any file compression as you do with JPEG.  Essentially, when you shoot in JPG, you lose image quality when it is processed and made into a smaller file.  That is why you can take almost double as many shots on the same memory card when shooting JPG, as opposed to RAW.  RAW just produces better quality images, period.


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## Derrel (Aug 23, 2010)

Four or five years of solid practice ought to allow you to get the glow and pop that professional shooters can achieve.


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## DirtyDFeckers (Aug 23, 2010)

Derrel said:


> Four or five years of solid practice ought to allow you to get the glow and pop that professional shooters can achieve.




  As the sarcasm pours over me


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## Derrel (Aug 23, 2010)

DirtyDFeckers said:


> Derrel said:
> 
> 
> > Four or five years of solid practice ought to allow you to get the glow and pop that professional shooters can achieve.
> ...



Not really trying to be sarcastic. As the OP stated, equipment and experience is, "a tripod, zoom lens, wide-angle lens, a telephoto lens, extra flash attachment and 3 filters. I have no clue how to use these extras to my advantage."

I figure it'll take a while to learn how to use a flash, tripod, wide-angle,and telephoto lenses. Learning how to utilize a wide-angle lens can take quite some time,and if the goal is "professional" results, a beginner can not realistically expect to get "glowing" results without some serious effort invested. The OP mentions, specifically, "limited and sporadic" time to practice...I figure in 4 or 5 years of limited,sporadic practice, the OP ought to be able to get some pretty good results; I've been taking photos for 37 years now...I still have plenty to learn...


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## Robin Usagani (Aug 23, 2010)

If your camera is stuck on Manual Mode, will you be able to take good photos? If not, you should not charge people. You should be taking photos of friends and family.  I bet cha you have 18-55mm as your "wide" angle, and 55-250mm as your telephoto?  Thats my guess.


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## Mustlovedragons (Aug 23, 2010)

Do you have one of the flash-attached soft boxes? Those are a God-send, imho. Camera settings are condition-based, as others have said, so maybe go to your site a bit early and set up by taking and looking at your pictures before it counts? Can't be TOO far in advance, though, as the lighting may change considerably.


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## oldmacman (Aug 23, 2010)

Schwettylens said:


> If your camera is stuck on Manual Mode, will you be able to take good photos? If not, you should not charge people. You should be taking photos of friends and family.  I bet cha you have 18-55mm as your "wide" angle, and 55-250mm as your telephoto?  Thats my guess.



I'd wager that many people who frequent this forum would struggle with manual only mode. The OP is not passing herself off as a professional and has been very upfront about experience.  What difference does it make if you are right about the lenses? The way you say it makes it seem like the OP is unworthy somehow. At least wait until some pics are posted before being too critical.


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## NateWagner (Aug 23, 2010)

oldmacman said:


> The way you say it makes it seem like the OP is unworthy somehow. At least wait until some pics are posted before being too critical.



The question is... unworthy for what?

Unworthy for critique? unworthy for us to help the OP out if they have specific questions? no... I don't think he's saying that at all. 

Not yet good enough to be charging a fee for images, there's a good chance of that. Anyone who describes their lenses as a "zoom lens" and that they have a "flash attachment" and three "filters" doesn't really show the sort of knowledge that they would need to have to understand the explanations of how to get those images they want. 

Schwettylens advice was basically just do you understand exposure and how it works? if not, you shouldn't be charging for your work. You need a basic understanding of exposure when taking images to know what the end result will create. Other wise you might as well spray and pray. 

He wasn't saying you have to shoot in manual, he was saying you have to "be able to" shoot in manual.


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## Robin Usagani (Aug 23, 2010)

Im saying about the lens because thats what I got for a package deal for my T1i.  People shouldn't be buying a camera with kit lens and a zoom lens and start charging people for photos.  Thanks NateWagner, that was exactly my point.  All these other settings especially the different scene modes, the camera just decides whatever setting it thinks necessary to put the light meter at the center and most of the time, those are not the settings you want especially if you are involving flash.


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## oldmacman (Aug 23, 2010)

NateWagner said:


> oldmacman said:
> 
> 
> > The way you say it makes it seem like the OP is unworthy somehow. At least wait until some pics are posted before being too critical.
> ...



I meant unworthy of taking photos.

And. yeah, I understand what he is saying. It's the *"I bet cha you have..."* kind of thing that does not come across as advice. I know people get frustrated with mwac, but really Derrel has the best advice... that's too much to get a handle on between now and Saturday.


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## oldmacman (Aug 23, 2010)

Schwettylens said:


> Im saying about the lens because thats what I got for a package deal for my T1i.  People shouldn't be buying a camera with kit lens and a zoom lens and start charging people for photos.



If your point is that the OP should practice, that is good advice. If your point is that a good photo cannot be taken with a kit lens, I would have to disagree.


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## NateWagner (Aug 23, 2010)

absolutely, you can. But, the thing is if you don't know your equipment you probably haven't practiced, and you probably aren't at the point to charge.


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## ToadMum (Aug 23, 2010)

NateWagner said:


> absolutely, you can. But, the thing is if you don't know your equipment you probably haven't practiced, and you probably aren't at the point to charge.


 
I have to agree and I'm a noobie! (under a year of photography under my belt)  I take 75-85% of my photos using Manual Mode, I have an understanding of exposure and how to use my light meter.  I don't feel that my results are consistent enough to start to charge people, I need to practice, practice, practice.


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## KmH (Aug 23, 2010)

It's ok to charge, even if you have some gaps in your knowledge and skill set.

As long as the photographer is up front about their skill level, it's up to the client to decide if the charge is worth paying.


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## JaxsMomma (Aug 24, 2010)

Thank you for the responses.  I've known this couple for 5 years and they are friends of mine.  They have seen the amateur work I have done so far and like and trust it enough to have approached me about taking their pictures - especially since the small fee I charge is not even minimum wage for the time put in.  I am confident I can produce for them what they are expecting, although it may be unworthy of praise and approval from many people who are more skilled in the art of photography.  Maybe I'll achieve mediocrity in 4 or 5 years.  I have the utmost respect for photographers and what it takes to be great, as that future for me isn't even a light at the end of the tunnel.  I understand there is a lot to learn and know - just hoped someone might have 1 or 2 beginner tips to share.  That is why I came to the beginner's forum.  Thanks to those who have helped so far.


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## boyo3221 (Sep 8, 2010)

I Disagree, I am what you call a Newbie to the photography world as far as equipment goes, i used to use a 35mm in high school a long time ago , but a year ago bought a rebel t1i. I disagree with not being able to charge aspect. I may not have all the knowledge or technical knowledge, but i have always had an "eye" for what good photos are. I have always taken great photos, but they looked crappy, because point and shoots sucked. now with this great camera and better lenses i finally can achieve the photos my mind saw, but was unable to capture with point and shoots. I admit i have tons and tons and tons to learn, and love hearing veterans give advice, but to say i cant with my "eye" not take great photos is silly. i use manual alot to learn and use auto settings to learn as well. when i see the settings the auto programs choose based on scenarios, i learn and grow. but the T1i takes beautiful photos in auto and teaches newbies to become better.  as far as wedding photos the auto setting would make amazing photos with the right lenses and "eye". just my 2 cents


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## KmH (Sep 8, 2010)

See http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/...ry/216625-application-selection-workflow.html.


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## Taylor510ce (Sep 8, 2010)

Schwettylens said:


> If your camera is stuck on Manual Mode, will you be able to take good photos? If not, you should not charge people.


 
Just like if you don't have any L in your signature, you shouldn't be selling prints.:roll:

 I couldn't resist, sorry.


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## Taylor510ce (Sep 8, 2010)

The main thing is, learn how to use your equipment so you dont look like a hack. It doesnt matter the mode or type of camera just use what you have and use it well.

Trial by fire.


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## Whootsinator (Sep 8, 2010)

Step 1: Call your 'clients' and tell them you're going to do it for free because you've been friends for five years and you really are not in a position to charge a dime for your 'services'.

Step 2: Read a blog called 'Stop Shooting Auto!' diligently. 

Step 3: READ IT AGAIN.

Step 4: Practice in manual mode using what that blog taught you until you get the gist of the results and repercussions of the changes you make in manual mode.

Step 5: Go to aperture priority or shutter priority, whichever is called for, and just GO HAVE FUN with photography. Don't make it a chore or way to make money.

Step 6: KEEP HAVING FUN!

Step 7: Maybe possibly think about trying to charge people, because by now you're at least halfway decent.








I'm not trying to be an ass or anything here, but this thread is a little absurd. "Hello I'm new to photography, I have an expensive camera with lots of extras though, how do I make cool pictures for these people that are paying me?" You've come to the right place to learn how to produce awesome photos, but your priorities are a LITTLE backwards. You're lucky to have anyone that even wants to take time out of their day for you to take pictures of. Accept free and willing models gratefully, don't make them pay for your practice.


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## astroskeptic (Sep 8, 2010)

Whootsinator said:


> I'm not trying to be an ass or anything here, but this thread is a little absurd. "Hello I'm new to photography, I have an expensive camera with lots of extras though, how do I make cool pictures for these people that are paying me?" You've come to the right place to learn how to produce awesome photos, but your priorities are a LITTLE backwards. You're lucky to have anyone that even wants to take time out of their day for you to take pictures of. Accept free and willing models gratefully, don't make them pay for your practice.



You may not have been trying, but you succeeded with that insulting and completely unwarranted next-to-last sentence. Essentially, you're telling the OP she's lucky to have her friends, quite an indictment of someone about whom you know next to nothing.

To the OP I offer the following advice:

Charging money is perfectly fine, since at a minimum, they're paying for your time with a presumably accurate understanding of your skill level.

You have little time to work with and you've given us little indication of your skill level. Not knowing your skill level, I'll assume it is very beginner-ish in which case I'd offer up a few basic skill areas to focus on as your time permits: (1) taking sharp pictures, (2) managing depth of field, (3) getting proper exposure and (4) correcting color balance. I leave it to you to assess your skill in these areas and to seek out specific advice on these topics - you'll find plenty of it out there. Good luck saturday and if you're not too disheartened by some of the responses here, post some results for us to critique when you're done.


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## Blake.Oney (Sep 8, 2010)

Schwettylens said:


> People shouldn't be buying a camera with kit lens and a zoom lens and start charging people for photos.



That's ridiculous. If someone is unable to take a photo good enough to charge for with the kit lens it's their own inexperience. The kit lenses are good. They're not top of the line, but to say that you shouldn't charge for a photo taken with a kit lenses is one of the most ridiculous things I've ever heard. Especially since I've been charging for portraits for almost 2 years now with 0 complaints. Oh, and most of it has been with kit lenses.

However, I absolutely 100% couldn't agree more that someone should NOT just go get a camera and start charging for photo's. I didn't do it, and I would never advise anyone to do it. It takes practice and a lot of understanding what you're doing to get to that point. I honestly feel like I started charging too early, but it worked out. I think Schwetty kind of said something different than he was meaning about the lenses.


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## pgriz (Sep 8, 2010)

Here&#8217;s a thought.  Given your experience level and lack of practice with the tools you have, you have to keep things as simple as possible.  You&#8217;re not being paid to produce technical masterpieces, you&#8217;re being asked by your friends to help preserve memories.  So.. some basic pointers to increase your chance of success &#8211; don&#8217;t try to get fancy.

First, use a low ISO value (200 would be good).  The lower the ISO, the lower the noise in the shadow areas.
In your custom functions, turn on the &#8220;highlights priority&#8221; setting (c.F6, pg. 186 of your manual).  This helps reduce the chances of your highlights getting &#8220;blown&#8221;.
Other menu settings:  set your &#8220;Quality selection&#8221; to RAW + Jpeg.(shooting menu 1 (red))  It takes more space on the memory card and is slower, but allows you to get photos (JPEG) without going through the post-processing required of RAW.  It also allows you to use RAW to correct some of the shooting errors and setting errors that you can make (such as setting the wrong colour balance).
Consider setting the review time (same menu) to &#8220;Hold&#8221;.  Then you can look at your pictures and decide if you like what you see.  As soon as you start pressing the shutter button, the back screen will revert to the shooting screen.
I&#8217;d set the photo display to show the three-channel histogram.  This will be valuable in reviewing your shots.  If you have too much on the right, you&#8217;ve got blown highlights.  If the histogram shows most of the pixels in the middle range, you&#8217;ve got a good exposure.  If you have lots of pixels at both the left and right sides of the histogram, then the scene you&#8217;re shooting is exceeding your camera&#8217;s ability to capture (too much contrast), and you are getting both blown highlights and featureless black shadows.  You can&#8217;t post-process these shots into anything good.
While you&#8217;re still setting menu items, I&#8217;d recommend you turn the &#8220;Beep&#8221; off as it can be very annoying to hear the camera beep all the time while you&#8217;re focusing, shooting, etc.
Set your white balance to whatever your primary light source will be.  If you change from outside to inside, remember to change your white balance.  It won&#8217;t affect your RAW files, but it will be encoded into your JPEG files.
Consider shooting primarily in Av mode, which is where you set the aperture and your camera sets the shutter speed.
Use low aperture values (such as F2.8 or F4.0) to create a shallow depth of field when you need to isolate your subject from the background.  Use aperture values of f/8 or f/11 for group shots and situations where you need to get everything in focus.
If at all possible, keep the sun behind you (well over one or the other shoulder would be better to avoid squints from your subjects) &#8211; that way the tonal range of the scene is more or less even.  If you have to get into back-lighted situations, use either a fill flash (which you said you knew how to use), or select the spot-meter metering mode and use the spot-meter reading to set the exposure off your subject(s) faces.
Changing lenses can be both dangerous (to your equipment), annoying (to other people), and time-consuming (to you, causing you to miss important stuff).  So I suggest you start with the wide-angle zoom, and work with that.  Experienced photographers usually don&#8217;t change lenses &#8211; they have a body for each lens that they plan to use.  You don&#8217;t have that option as you have only one camera body, but there are good reasons (some stated above), why you DON&#8217;T want to change lenses during an event.

As Derrel and others have already pointed out, getting &#8220;professional&#8221; results takes a lot of time (experience), practice, good equipment, intimate knowledge of lighting, and good post-processing skills.  Maybe they make it look easy, but it isn&#8217;t.  You don&#8217;t have the time to acquire all of that.  So... do the best you can, remember your limitations, keep it simple.  Doing photography in a high-stress situation like an engagement is like participating in a race &#8211; you better have the fundamentals ingrained into you and instinctive.  You don&#8217;t have that level of practice, so to increase your chance of success, KEEP IT SIMPLE.  Reduce the number of decisions you have to make, and you increase the chances that the decisions you make will be good ones.

Oh, and get at least two memory cards of 8GB or more.  They will hold up to 250 RAW+Jpeg each.  If you think you'll be shooting more, get more cards.  Also, get a spare battery for your camera and make sure BOTH are charged.  If you can arrange it, get (buy, borrow, rent) a grip for your camera - then you can use AA batteries to shoot.


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## Whootsinator (Sep 8, 2010)

astroskeptic said:


> Whootsinator said:
> 
> 
> > I'm not trying to be an ass or anything here, but this thread is a little absurd. "Hello I'm new to photography, I have an expensive camera with lots of extras though, how do I make cool pictures for these people that are paying me?" You've come to the right place to learn how to produce awesome photos, but your priorities are a LITTLE backwards. You're lucky to have anyone that even wants to take time out of their day for you to take pictures of. Accept free and willing models gratefully, don't make them pay for your practice.
> ...



Really? THAT'S the statement that put me over the top? She IS lucky to have her friends, and she is lucky to have friends that are willing to take time out of their own schedules for her to practice on. Are you saying that that ISN'T something to be grateful and appreciative of? I never said anything about the quality of the OP as a person or whether she should or shouldn't have any friends. I said she's lucky to have free models to practice on, and I have a feeling 99% of photographers would agree.


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