bkyser Loc: Fly over country in Indiana

:thumbdown: I'm going to share this tale, in hopes that other people can relate, and maybe share some things that will make me feel, not quite so stupid???

Had a family portrait shoot yesterday. Wife's family. Her 3 sisters, and brother. Seemed simple enough, that this is for "grandma's 90th birthday surprise gift" "She who must be obeyed" offered "no sitting fee" and guaranteed me that it was going to be "easy," one family shot, and go home...

They want "inside" my sister-in-law's 6000 square foot home about an hour's drive (check) Backdrop (check), on location instead of my "studio" (double check)... my studio space is a junk room, and I really don't want to clean it out :oops:

I get there, start unloading, and I'm directed to a basement. (uh oh) Ceilings about 6.5 feet high. Bare rafters. I suggest we set up "upstairs, where there are high ceilings" They said there won't be enough room? What? This place is huge. Ends up, my brother and sister-in-law didn't want to do this, and they were trying to be as big of jerks as humanly possible. (one reason the family hasn't spoken in years) My wife begs me to, "Please, just work with it, and get it done." OK, well... I will just have to be very careful with my lights, and do my best, and just figure they are getting their money's worth.

People start showing up. Like, roughly 30 people! Several toddlers. (do you have any idea how hard it is to get more than one toddler to smile or look at the camera at once?)
The "great news" my kids and grand kids aren't there, because nobody let us know it was supposed to be EVERYONE and not just my wife's generation. The issue is that they haven't spoken to each other in years, so it would mean a lot to "grandma" to get a photo of them all in the same space.

I suggest that I do individual poses of each person, and I will just take the time to composite them. A big NOPE! They are concerned that it wouldn't mean as much to grandma if it wasn't all done "together" Mind you, I now have to take photos of my kids and grandkids separately and somehow work them into the photo, so... it won't be "all together" anyway, because her stupid sister (I mean, nope, stupid sister pretty much covers it) contacted everyone "but the family of the photographer" and said to make sure EVERYONE came for this photo. (except my kids evidently)

So, not only did I have to try to get 30 people in one shot, taken in a dungeon, with impossible lighting... then each family wanted individual pictures taken. (which is what I wanted to do in the first place) The toddlers were all horrible little human beings (and I LOVE kids), most of the teenage group was just as bad. I will end up spending hours trying to PP the heck out of what I got, AND, only got one half hearted thank you for the trouble.

Yes, I will hopefully have a photo of this mess to post. It will surely give me a lot of PP practice.

What does this have to do with wedding photography? I was informed by the sister-in-law who sabotaged everything, that she "expected me to bring my camera to her son's wedding in August, because they didn't hire a photographer, because they figured I could just do it while I was there. uh, nope! Guess what? I have a feeling that after my response to her, the family will go back to not speaking to each other. :thumbup: I could have been more diplomatic, but thanks to her, I lost an entire Sunday (12:00-7:00) and haven't even started the PP work, and still have to clean out my studio space so I can get photos of my family to put in the "gift for Grandma." My guess is, we will end up paying for the print, or blanket, or whatever they are giving to Grandma... and the family's part of the gift will be showing up.

I couldn't even sleep last night, as I reflected on how many times I should have just packed everything up and left for home, with, or without the boss lady. (of course, she feels awful, so I need to start dropping hints about the D-500 while the iron is hot :thumbup: )

So, please share that I'm not the only one who should be shot for not putting a stop to the whole mess at some point during the day yesterday. Of course, if I get a D-500 out of it, everything will be worth it, and I'll be thrilled that I could do something nice for grandma. :roll:

jaysnave Loc: Central Ohio

Thats a great tale Bob! I always enjoy reading your experiences with people. I feel like I was there :) I don't really know what to say that will make you feel better other than I can see the same thing happening to me. Just keep dreaming of that D500. Nikon had an introduction event two Saturdays ago for their new products. I should have invited you to drive 2hrs. this way.

superpijak Loc: Middle TN

My sympathies, sounds like a no win, lose only situation. No matter what you do (which appears to be going above and beyond the call of duty of any rational photographer) you will be pegged a the *%&-hole of the family. Financially you would have come out better staying home and just buying the D500 outright. Of course you would have to convince your other half of that.

Hopefully you won't have to face this again...... :thumbup:

bkyser Loc: Fly over country in Indiana

Thankfully, she who must be obeyed, got a good taste of what was happening, and I dare say, she will not put me in that position again. She feels pretty awful about it, even said we could just send an email out stating that I forgot to put a memory card in my camera. Just when I get REALLY frustrated with that woman, she says something like that, and I remember why I fell in love with her in the first place.

bkyser Loc: Fly over country in Indiana

Honestly, I've been wanting the replacement for the D300 forever, but I just don't have it in me to run out and buy a D500, just because it's finally here. I researched the heck out of my D-7100 and D-7000 that I use as my back up and primary bodies, and they do everything I need for my style. I just miss the feel of the D-200 (I never got my D-300s that I wanted) and loved the simple controls that I could adjust without ever looking at the camera. I am so used to DX now, that I'd probably freak out if I went back to FF (film size) in the viewfinder.

That being said, if she actually "offered to get me one," I surely wouldn't turn it down ;-)

As for going to the event, I think it would have been a blast, but I'm afraid that the GAS that I've always been able to avoid, might take hold. Took me too long to build up my "GAS callouses," (bad visual) and realize that it isn't the equipment that will make me better, it's surrounding myself with people like my friends here...to force me to be better.

jaysnave Loc: Central Ohio

Ok, I think I figured it out. I had to google it, but "GAS" is gear acquisition syndrome! It says commonly used by musicians. You used to be a musician so bingo!

BHC Loc: Strawberry Valley, JF, USA

D500, my foot. I'd tell SWMBO that it's a D5, or she can go home to her mama!

Bobbee

First, as for not sleeping, call Ron, he seems to be always up.

Maybe your too much of a nice guy, In my family I am on the 'don't talk to him end'. If I was invited to do this then everyone knows they would have to put up with me. I would eat this crap if it was a paying client. Which is when I back down. But for nothing and family. I would have let my normal, charming personality come out. Then the fun would start!! LOL

In the end, you did good. Better than me. Cannot wait to see your 'Chaos in Still'

bkyser Loc: Fly over country in Indiana

I spent 2 hours on it last night. I still need to set up shoots for my kids. I used a white backdrop, and even though SWMBO (she who must be obeyed) told her sister that they shouldn't wear white, well... I'm going to have to come up with a different color for the backdrop, so the brother-in-law doesn't blend in. Typical. I was just going to let him look like a floating head, but SWMBO didn't like that.

The evil side of me, was thinking about showing them all a photo composite of the worst of the worst.

After the horrible shoot, I'm surprised, but I am having a lot of fun doing the PP. It's been a long time since I had one photo, that required this much work. I don't normally get to take this much time on wedding photos, or individual portraits.

bkyser Loc: Fly over country in Indiana

Not a bad idea, but D-5 is FF, and I have a LOT of 2.8 DX glass. The other side of that is, it would be coming out of "our" money, so I still want to be frugal about the best bang for my buck.

The only reason I've ever drooled over FF was because of the low light performance. Once the D-500 actually gets some real life reviews from real people, not just the "paid ones," and once I get a chance to rent one and try it myself(and once they are available as refurbs, maybe in a year) I will be "ready" to pull the trigger. By then, SWMBO will probably have forgotten about all this guilt.

Having a conscience kind of sucks sometimes... :lol:

Bobbee

So, you know this but I am going to say it anyway. Just had a wedding, The brides brother, in the party, showed up and his suit was a really nice light grey. Unfortunately, all the other ushers were charcoal grey. He was really upset, pissed off and would not stop. You know how rednecks get after a few beers. I went up to him and told him to calm down and I would fix it. the first time I did it, he looked and me and I thought he was going to swing. So I repeated and added some more explanation. After, it was the first picture I brought up in ACR. Nope not there. In PS I played and what worked was LEVELS and playing with the middle slider. So, Quick Mask, Levels and change his shirt to HOT PINK. Like the old saying goes..........."I don't get even, I get ahead!!"

bkyser Loc: Fly over country in Indiana

:thumbup: Yeah, I'm kind of between a rock and a hard place. I want to just jack it up so bad that they never ask me again. On the other hand, it IS for my lovely bride's 90 year old Grandmother.

Beercat Loc: Central Coast of California

In regards to the August wedding ..... simply say that is one of the busiest times of the year for you and the time of year you make your bread and butter ..... and that you can't promise anything.

jaysnave Loc: Central Ohio

Something tells me that after you spend all that time fixing people and the background you will get more complaints than compliments from the crew. But, I am sure grandma will love it. You can hold on to that. Hey, I just thought of something. Justify the D500 by telling the fam that your wedding gift is the wedding photography and equipment you bought for it! Well OK, I guess that would not be equitable.

bkyser Loc: Fly over country in Indiana

Actually, I wasn't that diplomatic. I informed them that "if" I even go, I won't even bring my cell phone camera. I will be a guest if I'm invited, if not, I can find other things to do. :thumbup: (maybe "fun things" like a Colonoscopy) :shock: