Archive for memory cards

Wedding Prep Is A Lifesaver!

Procrastination, we all do it. It’s easy to fall into a routine and become complacent. When it comes to your client’s event date though, the last thing you can do is fall into a routine; you need to be prepared for everything. Here are some of the things I do to prepare for an event to make sure everything goes smoothly for me.

Batteries, new batteries, charged batteries, just batteries. Besides your memory card these are the most important and most easily forgotten about part of your camera bag and it can bring your event to a screeching halt. I always prepare for an event by ensuring all of my flashes have new batteries, not barely used but new, and I always test them. One time I had the misfortune of buying new batteries an hour before the event only to find out the batteries I just bought at the store and hour earlier were completely dead and had I not kept my old ones I would have been in a lot of trouble. Test your equipment once you load the new ones and keep enough spares to run through however many cycles you think you’ll need. I keep enough in my bag for 3 battery changes just in case. I charge my camera batteries the night before and make sure everything is working before I leave. You don’t want any surprises when you get there.

Memory cards! On those tiny little wonders of technology can really put a cramp in your style if you turn on your camera right before your client’s event only to discover the photos from the event of the previous weekend are still on the card and you forgot to transfer them to your computer. You can’t erase them and you don’t have enough room for the photos for the current event. That will bring your event to a screeching halt and you want to avoid shooting an entire wedding in low resolution. Always check your cards at least the night before and make sure that any images on there have been transferred to your computer and make sure that you format your cards before your event. You will want to have a clean slate for your client’s event. Bring spares even if you think your 60GB card is enough. You never know when that little devil will suddenly decide to start giving you a card read error and then you not have a backup plan. Ever heard the joke about the film photographer running out of film during the wedding???? Well, it can happen to us digital photographers as well so remember the Boy Scout motto, Be Prepared! Read More→

Tying The Knot: 5 Preparations For The Wedding Day

There’s a popular saying: failing to prepare is preparing to fail. And this is true.

I have my own take on it which goes: have you seen 127 Hours?! Do you realise that failing to prepare could mean the loss of your freaking arm?!

Ok, hopefully nothing that drastic will happen to a wedding photographer! But then again, screw up someone’s wedding photos and they might want to tear more than just an arm from you – without the use of knives!

So here, for your health, are 5 essential preparations for any wedding day:

1: The run sheet: this is so important it starts with a “The”! The run sheet tells you where you have to be at what time and all the little nuances of the day. Without it you’re working blind.

Ideally you should have a first draft a few weeks before the wedding so you can familiarise yourself with the day and plan your driving routes, timings, and equipment requirements. Some of this you may have already covered off if you’ve been diligent and performed a location scout.

There will be tweaks leading up to the day which the couple should keep you abreast of but the first draft will allow you to map out 95% of the day.

On the day don’t take any chances; be savvy and have a printed copy in your pocket and a backup sitting in Dropbox so you can access it on your iPhone in case of emergency.

2: Batteries: goes without saying but it’s easy to put this simple task off until you realise you don’t have time to charge them all! Camera batteries are crucial and you should have a spare for each body you’re using plus ideally a charger for each body to reduce charging time. I use two bodies and have two chargers but with 4 batteries to charge that means I still need a few hours to top them up!

And if you’re using speedlites then the batteries and spares for those will also need to be charged.

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