Website Updated

I've just spent all of yesterday updating all the portrait galleries at my website . Both galleries have over 20 new images selected from the shoots I completed over the summer.  So if you've not visited for a while take a look there's lots of new things to see.

Celeste Childrenswear.

Tobias Key Photography was recently asked to photograph the beautiful Winter collection for local children's wear shop Celeste Children.  It was  fun but certainly a challenge photographing all those children and outfits!  Celeste is located in the Boardwalk Arcade at the top of Northgate in Chichester you can visit their website at www.celestechildren.com 

Christmas Gift Ideas - Mini Portrait Sessions - Gift Vouchers

Mini Portrait Session £50 including 2 x A4 prints

It's that time of year again,  and I'm sure many of you are already wracking your brains trying to decide what to get your loved ones. Well what grandparent could resist a beautiful portrait of their grandchildren?  At Tobias Key photography we are offering a special Christmas mini portrait session package, available to clients within 20 miles of Chichester.

  We'll come to your home create beautiful portraits for you to give to your loved ones in under an hour.  The portraits can either be created in our portable home studio or shot in a favourite place in your house or garden.  We'll edit and retouch the photos and post an online gallery for you to view them a few days later.  We aim to provide 15 - 20 images for you to choose from.  You then pick the prints you want and we'll send them to you ASAP.  We can also supply extra photos, canvasses or  framed prints and our prices are very reasonable.  To look at our extensive portfolios go to www.tobiaskey.com

If you would like to buy a portrait session for someone else we're offering gift certificates for the same £50 mini sessions or if you prefer create a package of your choice to give to your loved ones.

Mario Acerboni Albums

Here's a video showing you an example of our Mario Acerboni Reporto album, which is part of our deluxe wedding package. This album hand bound in black leather with white pages. It has 15 pages (30 sides) and can fit up to 6 pictures per page. The largest prints it can take are 11" x 14" whilst the album itself measures up at a hefty 15" x 18". Also available in smaller sizes.

www.tobiaskey.com

Products for the '09 Wedding Season - Coffee Table Books

As Brides look in earnest for their wedding photographers, this is the first video in a series showing the products we have on offer for the '09 wedding season. First up our deluxe coffee table book.

www.tobiaskey.com

What to Look for in a Wedding Photographer

It's that time of year where couples start planning their wedding in earnest so I'd just like to give you my thoughts on what you should look for in a wedding photographer.

Assessing the ability of the photographer.

You may think this is as easy as looking at a few photographs but there are a few things you have to look out for.  The first and most easy thing to be fooled by is images that are Bridal or Wedding photographs but have not been shot at an actual wedding.  Many photographers offer bridal sessions where photos of the bride are groom are taken on a separate day.  This is a fairly common practice in the U.S.  and becoming more popular over here.  Bridal sessions are an excellent way of ensuring the best photographs of you in your wedding dress but they are shot without the time or technical constraints of a wedding day.  The are an excellent guide to how talented and creative a photographer is but those same images may not be achievable on an actual wedding day.  If you would like pictures that look like you have just stepped out of the pages of Vogue then by all means book a separate session for them, but be aware when you are looking at portfolios that not all wedding images are shot at actual weddings.

There are also many courses around that will help a photographer build a portfolio by providing models and beautiful locations.  They may even give help with lighting and exposure.  Of course a photographer is getting training and help that is a good thing, what he learns on those courses will improve the job he does for all of his clients.  But again these shots are not taken under the conditions of a real wedding.

It is always prudent to ask a photographer the circumstances under which he produced certain photos - it will give you an insight into his working methods and help you make an informed choice.   Better still, ask to see albums or web galleries from actual weddings the photographer has attended.  They will give you a much better idea of what you can realistically expect that photographer to achieve on your wedding day.  It may also be a good idea to ask the photographer if he has any shots from a rainy day wedding to see how he copes when the chips are down and things are not easy.

Does his style fit in with you wedding plans?

The current vogue is for reportage weddings - that is for the photographer to be as unobtrusive as possible whilst recording your special day.  The reality is that most wedding shoots are a compromise between true reportage and a judicious amount of posed pictures.  Many photographers describe themselves as reportage wedding photographers without having any training in the skill of documentary photography (I have a postgrad in photojournalism in case you were wondering!).   I think that wedding photography falls into two camps.  Observational photography where you work passively and watch what unfolds and  a more organisational approach by photographers who arrange what they see in front of them to create the picture they want.   Both approaches can produce excellent pictures,  indeed in many ways a more proactive photographer is a safer choice as he will step in to ensure the quality of the pictures remain high.   The trade off is that the more setting up a photographer does the more he intrudes on your wedding day.   It is here that communication and planning is vital.   As a couple you should always make clear what you want your photographer to do and give clear timetables for a photographer to do any posed shots.   Most photographers have a way of working that they are most comfortable with.   It is up to the couple to ensure that they communicate what they want so everybody knows where they stand.

Editing and Retouching.

Believe it or not,  I would guess that most photographers spend more time editing and retouching images than shooting them.  Generally speaking digital files tend to need the photographer to do more work on them than they did when they could simply drop their films off at a lab.  If a photographer offers bargain prices for wedding coverage you can bet that it he will do much less post production work than his more expensive counterpart.  Most photographers will quote a a minimum number of photographs that they will on average shoot at a wedding.  It is also worth enquiring how much post production they do as well.  Cropping, colour correction and minor retouching may not be included in cheaper packages, so always find out how your images will be presented.

Dress Sense and Personality.

Unlike most of the people you'll hire for your wedding day a wedding photographer is going to be around you and your guests for the whole day.   I think it's vital to imagine the photographer as a guest at your wedding and decide whether he fits in to your wedding party.   Personality and social skills are important for a wedding photographer, and a good chemistry between him, yourselves and your guests will give you the best chance of excellent photos.   Your wedding photography should be a good fun and reflect the joy of the day.

Proper dress is also vitally important.   I think a wedding photographer should always dress in a suit and tie to fit in with proceedings.   Most do but some don't - if this is something that would bother you, make sure you ask how a photographer intends to dress on the day.

Products and Packages.

Most photographers will offer various packages including DVD's coffee table books and albums.  Be sure to check what is included in each package but also check what price extras are.  Often photographers who advertise low initial costs will encourage you to pile on expensive extras later - often ending up more expensive than you thought.  Ensure you have a set price for items like overtime and extra pages.  Also remember that if you like a photographers work but prefer a certain type of album he doesn't list he may be able source it for you - that way you'd get both the album and the photographer you prefer.

Pricing

Like most photographers I've done lots of research into the pricing of my competitors.  Generally speaking I've found that once you are past a certain threshold price is not really an indicator of  quality.  Don't be fooled into thinking that just because one photographer is more expensive than another they are necessarily better.  Pricing can come down to things like overheads, how well established they are - they may even keep prices high to limit how many weddings they want to shoot in a year.  Generally,  I would trust the quality of the work you see as well as any qualifications that they have, before using price as a guide.

www.tobiaskey.com

HP Scanjet G4050 Review part 3: Conclusions

I've had my Scanjet G4050 for a couple of months now, so after 60 days what are my conclusions?

1. The bundled software is very poor at scanning black and white film. I found the scanning software that came with the G4050 hopeless for scanning black and white film, which is most of what I need a scanner for. If if it wasn't for the fact I already had vuescan installed on my computer I would have taken the scanner back and got my money back. The software blocks up shadows, doesn't support 16 bit greyscales (essential for me), and is clunky to use.

Take a look at the examples at the top of the blog. The first scan is taken with vuescan scanning to a raw file. There is plenty of dynamic range and subtle tones, the shadow detail is good. The example below it is a 256 greyscale scan using HP's own software. Shadow detail has dissappeared in the hair and eyes, there is posterization in the shadows and the film grain has been seemingly processed out. Trust me this is no fit up, it is impossible to adjust the HP scan to get any detail out of the shadows - it just isn't there.This was the type of result that had me checking I still had the receipt for the scanner. I find it incredible that what is essentially a very good piece of equipment can be hamstrung by its own software. Didn't HP test this scanner with black and white film?

Colour scanning is quick and easy and surprisingly colour accurate. If all you wanted to do was scan transparencies then this scanner is to my mind superior to my previous Epson 4990. The web sized example above is from a 6x7 transparency shot on Fuji astia 100 colours are absolutely spot on compared to the original. It's even more amazing that HP can this part so right and monochrome so wrong.

When you use this scanner with Vuescan it's like a different machine. Produces black and white results near identical to my now dead Epson 4990, and was a lot cheaper. Like most flatbeds at this level the files need sharpening quite a lot for larger prints, but if I want to produce a large print, I get a drum scan or imacon scan , the 4050 is really only for 10 x 8 and smaller prints, contact sheets, editing and web use so this is fine for me. If you use this to produce and archive of digital contact sheets for your film work it would soon pay for itself in saved contact sheet fees from labs.

All in all the software is the Achilles heel of the G4050 and is not really up to the diverse tasks that an advanced amateur or professional might demand of it. Buying a copy of Vuescan solves his problem, but I still find it amazing that so many scanners are let down by the software that came with it.

Purchasing Vuescan for $40 drastically improves the performance of the G4050, and is something I would definitely budget for when buying this machine. In fact I would probably recommend it whatever scanner you were buying. Its ability to scan to a RAW file is worth the price on its own.

http://www.tobiaskey.com/