Q. How will you get my pet to cooperate?
A. Your dog (kid?) is a spazz, huh? Well, I have some unique abilities. I can communicate with animals in a way most people can't. I work with energy which is how animals communicate with each other and I'm exceedingly patient. My sessions include ample time for a pet to get comfortable with me and my equipment. Professional dog training skills (Petsmart class of 2008) are also very helpful. I figure out your pet's motivation to perform the behaviors I'm requesting to make the photos your want and then incrementally offer small rewards in return for the cooperation I'm seeking. Pets really enjoy their time with me. You'll enjoy how sound they sleep afterward. Thinking hard is exhausting and I'll require it of your pet!
Q. What equipment do you use?
A. While this list is subject to constant changes, here's the current arsenal for you gearheads:
Cameras: Canon 5D Mark iv, Canon 7D. Lenses: Canon 11-24mm F4 L, Canon 35mm f2, Canon 50mm f1.4, Canon 85mm f1.8, Canon 24-105mm F4 L, and Canon 100-400mm L. Speedlight flashes: YN560-III (x2), YN5653X (x1). Triggers: YongNuo Digital RF-603CII (x4). Studio Strobes: PCB White Lightening 1600 (x1), Alien Bees B800 (x2). Light Meter: Gossen Digipro F, Vivitar Flash Meter. Tripods: Slik Pro 700dx w/ tilt/pan, Manfrotto 3021 Pro w/ tilt/pan. Accessories: a Quantaray 2x extender, various light stands & umbrellas up to 6' parabolic, one 4' Octabox, one gridded softbox (4x1), two gridded softboxes (2x3), one Turfstand, several adapter brackets, brass monkeys, lens hoods, filters, gels, clips, squeaky toys, a rape whistle, a Leatherman utility tool, a flashlight, a headlamp, lens cloths, cords & cables, rechargeable batteries and a partridge in a pear tree.
Q. This seems so expensive?!
A. Hiring a skilled artist/technician with professional equipment to create something unique to your specifications does have a cost. As a professional photographer, I operate like a business and have processes and procedures in place to ensure your total satisfaction. I've done this before. I do it every day. Since 2009.
I set prices carefully, and believe I do a great job because I'm not the most expensive studio out there, not even close. My clients feel I offer an excellent value.
It is expensive just to BE in business. Consider my fixed costs... my salary, spaces to operate in, marketing and advertising, utilities, insurance, continuing education, association dues, outside services like accounting & legal, web hosting, photo equipment, computer, software, data storage and so much more. Even your individual job has costs... lab fees to print/produce your products, outsourced services like editing or retouching, travel time and wear & tear on my car and photo equipment, credit card processing fees, shipping, tax and more. You're right! Providing a great professional photography service IS expensive! Maybe I should raise my prices?
Q. Should I just have my friend with an expensive camera do it?
A. You can, but there are many reasons to hire a professional. For starters, consistency of results and receiving the work in a timely fashion might matter to you. I have a repeatable process and well-defined artistic style. Why else would you read this far? I also have top of the line photographic equipment AND know how to use it skillfully and artfully. I have taken the time to research the available printed product options and do all the legwork of ordering fine products for you to display and flaunt. My livelihood is predicated on your satisfaction. If I had a nickel for every time I heard a sob story about how someone didn’t hire a professional for their special event or to photograph their pet and now the pet is gone (I could get something fancy at Starbuck’s).
Q. Can I get ALL the images after the session?
A. Part of the value of a professional photographer's service is preparing and offering a curated collection of quality images from your session. To that end, after every session I perform a rigorous culling process so anything not representative of my best work (blinks, unflattering expressions, camera misfires, out of focus shots, test exposures, duplicates and such) is purged. This way you only spend your time evaluating the best shots. I know from years of experience that presenting too many images creates analysis paralysis. In short, I value your time and mine too much to do that to you.
That said, I do have a few clients that pay me an obscene hourly rate ($500/hr) for me to shoot on their memory cards. They get it all... exposure tests, focus failures, camera misfires, duplicates, blinks, unflattering expressions and have to sort through all that to find the good stuff. They are accomplished photographers in their own right and fully capable of professional postprocessing, finishing and retouching and creating quality art with my raw data. Without completing my processes, including postproduction work, I am unable to attach my name or signature to the work.
Q. What kind of pets do you have, Dave?
A. Sadly, I don't have a dog or cat at the moment. Just a garden full of happy wildlife including "Stumpy" the blue bellied fence lizard who's missing a foot, a shy alligator lizard and several humming birds who hover by the compost pile plucking bugs out of the air. I’m also friends with the opossum, the pillbugs, the butterflies and the doves that come ‘round now and then.
In the past I've had a great many pets. Sam, the Welsh Corgi was my first. A nameless box turtle came next. He lived in a pyrex baking tray full of mud for awhile. Grandma tasted it, but wasn’t impressed. I also had several sleepy hamsters, hundreds of fish, a few very vocal guinea pigs including Cobalt & Mr. Brown. Melissa was my first kitty. Daily exercise and feeding of PJ, my aunt’s coonhound mix was my first part-time job. German Shepherds, Jenny and Boris, were constant companions through my teen years. A pair of feisty farm cats, Ralph and Mr. Leonard, kept Jenny and Boris on their best behavior. I know I'm missing a few small pets (Like "Jim", my Kingsnake during college) here and there and these are just a few pets that I've considered mine over the years. I become pretty attached to my friends pets also, but they're too numerous to list.
Q. Pets are great, but have you ever photographed a ______with a ______ and a ______?
A. Maybe, maybe not. Let's talk about the job. I'll tell you honestly if I'm confident taking it on or not. If not, I can probably break it into smaller jobs and combine them later with Photoshop.
Q. Why didn't you answer my question?
A. Um... good question! Please ask it in a message through my Contact page. If it's a good one, I'll put it on here too.