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All responses Most smiled responses
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I prefer Mac
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I don't offer any workshops at this time, but I'm really flattered you asked! :-)
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I started out second shooting for a wedding photographer that I really admired. It took a while to get "in" with her so to speak. It took building a relationship and gaining trust before she allowed me to shoot with her. Don't just email a photographer offering your free services- we get those emails ALL THE TIME. Think about what you can offer them that is mutually beneficial. For me, even though the offers for shooting for free are nice, it's not beneficial to my clients. I need to offer my clients the best service possible, and for me, the best service happens when I'm working with skilled assistants that I have trained and worked with for a long time. On the wedding day, we operate like a well oiled machine and I don't have to micro-manage my assistant. Bringing a new assistant who wants to gain experience, doesn't really help me.
So where does that leave you? I know it's difficult... a catch 22 of sorts, but I would recommend trying to build a relationship somehow. Start getting your name out there on Facebook and Twitter. Become their fan on FB, comment on their blog and wall. Plant little seeds here and there, so hopefully they start to know you. They're much more likely to respond to your emails that way. That's basically what I did in the beginning. It's a lot of work. You have to be determined.
Then, even after I started second shooting, I wasn't allowed to use any images I shot for my portfolio! So here I was, gaining tons of experience, but I had nothing to show potential clients. But I had passion. Sounds SO cheesy, but I seriously think it's how I got where I am today. I KNEW without a doubt in my mind that I wanted to shoot weddings. I knew I was good at it and I knew I would LOVE what I was doing.
Anyway, to finally answer your question (the long, round-about way). Since I had experience but no portfolio, I decided to start portraits of friends and family for free or minimal amounts of money. (Side note- In general, not charging or undercharging, hurts the industry as a whole, but what was a girl to do?) I just shot enough sessions to create a nice looking website and starting blogging.
For there on, I think I wanted it SO BADLY that everything just fell into place. I shot my first wedding for $200 (severely undercharging and I lost a ton of money since I hired an assistant because I was really nervous to shoot my first wedding on my own), but looking back I actually think it was a pretty fair price considering my lack of experience/wedding portfolio. The couple took a huge chance on me, not having seen ONE image from a wedding and trusted me that I had shot a couple dozen weddings as an assistant. Plus, I think they could see and hear my passion. From that one wedding, I created a really nice sample album and it just snowballed from there. I got really lucky, but to quote Paulo Ceohlo, "When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it."
I hope that helps. Sorry so long! -
Although I blog mainly color images, I do give my clients a limited number of black & white images. Maybe 10% or so? I tend to prefer images in color, but sometimes I think black & white is more beautiful- especially candid moments during the ceremony and reception.
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You're welcome!
Awesome! Another option would be to rent before you buy. Since we all have different preferences, I can only vouch for myself when I say I love the 50! West photo in Minneapolis has rentals or you could try borrowlenses.com or rentglass.com -
I never shoot wide open.... MAYBE reception details in a really dark room, or a ceremony shot in a really dark church, but I think 1.2, 1.4 or 1.6 are pretty dangerous! Your focus has to be SPOT ON!
I usually shoot in the range of 1.8-2.2.
You might be thinking, "Why have the 50 1.2 if you never use it wide open? Why not save a few bucks and get the 1.4 or the 1.8?" I've own all three 50s and the investment of an L series lens is worth it- no question! -
Probably 95% of the work on my blog is shot with my 50 1.2. I absolutely love that lens! I also use my 24L and my 70-200L at weddings, but the 50 is definitely my workhorse.
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Aw, thank you so much! Unfortunately, I will not be doing fall mini sessions this year! I'm traveling the first two weeks in November, then I'm moving to NYC December 1st- just too busy to squeeze them in this year! I know lots of great photographers that are doing mini-sessions, so please email me if you need referrals- info @ lauraivanova.com
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I don't have an ASK.FM account. Too much stuff to keep up with!
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Can you email me? info@lauraivanova.com- I'll put you in touch with Katie...
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That's a tough question to answer because I've been curious/interested in every place I've traveled to! If I had to pick just one place, I would probably say Istanbul because it's such an interesting mix of east and west. It was also my first experience traveling to a predominantly Muslim country. It was fascinating to hear the Call to Prayer ring throughout the city and to visit the mosques around the city.
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Not a weird question! This is an issue at every single wedding. Of course, the answer depends greatly on the venue/site, layout, the officiant and the couple. When I have my pre-wedding planning meeting with the couple, I always bring up this topic. I ask them if their ceremony site has rules and regulations that I am to follow.
On the day of the wedding, I arrive early, scope out the site and make a plan for my assistant and I in terms of where were start, move to and finish. I always strive to get a variety of angles and shots and if I move around I do so during the most appropriate times. If possible, I talk to the officiant or on-site coordinator prior to the ceremony. Most of the time, they usually find me and make a point to share their rules, specifically at Catholic churches!
If all else fails, I use my best judgement and ask for forgiveness not permission! -
asked by ladedaphotos
Hmm... tough question! Of the the dozens and dozens of weddings I've shot, I can only recall ONE TIME when I could absolutely not find any shade and the sun was directly overhead, so no chance of backlight. So, this would be very rare. I would try harder to find shade- along the side of a building, inside near large windows, go to another location... shooting with the sun overhead is very undesirable to me. If it had to be done, I would position them with their back to the sun as much as possible and try everything humanly possible to make sure there are no shadows or hotspots on the peoples' faces.
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asked by ladedaphotos
I don't know if I'm understanding your question correctly. When using flash (at a reception for example) I like to keep my aperture wide (1.8-2.0) and my ISO high-ish. If the ISO is too low the background looks too dark and I want to make sure I'm getting lots of ambient light. I like my flashes powered down to anywhere from 1/8-1/2 power, depending on the lighting situation, of course. My shutter is probably typically around 1/125th, I'm guessing.
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Thank you so much! Hands down, my favorite lens is the Canon 50mm 1.2L. No question.
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Yes! I have a summer intern coming in and I have an assistant for weddings. I may be looking for someone in the fall and I'll most likely need an intern for summer of 2011 too!
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I edit my images almost exclusively in Adobe Lightroom. They look natural because I don't do a ton of post processing and I don't use any funky actions. Of course, I always try to nail my shots in camera. According to my Canon 5D MkII I'm overexposing by nearly a stop, but I don't necessarily trust my in camera meter. Usually my post production consists of upping the exposure even more and adding warmth (I like slightly overexposed, warm images). Sometimes I add a bit of black and usually play with the curves.
The images on my blog are edited in the same manner an entire wedding is edited. I don't do anything special and they rarely get photoshopped or any kind of special treatment. If I use photoshop it's because I like curves better in that program or because I want to do some sort of skin smoothing process. For blog pics or album pics, I'll remove distracting elements from a photo, but I always avoid those sorts of things while shooting, if possible. For example, I may clone out exit signs above doors; things of that nature.
Lastly, anything that goes on the web gets sharpened appropriately for it's size. I usually sharpen in Photoshop because I like the results better. -
Hmmm... I honestly know nothing about the 7d or t2i. I'm sure either would be amazing cameras for someone just getting into photography. If I were you I would buy the best I could reasonably afford. You can always upgrade if you find yourself feeling limited by your equipment.
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Laura Ivanova’s Bio
Minneapolis, Midwest & Destination Wedding Photographer
