I know what you are thinking - the bottom half of the image will be all black because no flash reached that part of the sensor. AHH! Partially true - no flash reached that part of the sensor, but the remaining ambient light did! Therefore, the bottom part of the image will look slightly vignetted - and that's not a bad thing. Check out the accompanying image - looks pretty good, doesn't it? I used a Quantum T5d flash head with a FreeWire FW7Q radio receiver attached. This was all powered with Quantum's 2x2 power pack. The flash was triggered with a Quantum FreeWire FW9T attached to the hot shoe of my Canon 30D. We have a very nice directional light on our subject and the gentle light fall off down her gown helps in keeping viewer's attention on her face.

Check out your own camera's flash sync area by using a non-dedicated flash like the Quantum, pointing at a white wall, and fire away at different shutter speeds above the native sync speed of your camera. Now all you need to do is keep your subject in the flash sync part of the viewfinder. Here is another piece of almost useful information. Some cameras, like the old Nikon D70 have an electronic, not mechanical shutter, and that means you can sync full frame at over 1/1000 sec. Give it a try - it's kind of fun to get the more dramatic result.

"While on the treadmill on Monday, I got to watch the first 45 minutes of famed wedding photographer David Ziser's "Digital Wakeup Call" DVD, and it just blew me away. If you're a professional wedding photographer, it's like having David standing there stuffing money in your pockets, because it's packed with so much practical advice on how to be competitive in this market where cameras have gotten so good, and so inexpensive, that everyone thinks they're a pro wedding shooter.

It's a real eye-opener, and he shares lots of real world advice, sales strategies, and how to make your work stand out from the crowd. He was just getting into lighting patterns and stuff like that. That was just this first section, for wedding photographers it would be worth 10 times the price (by the way, it's a 4 1/2 hr. DVD for only $69. I think he WAY underpriced it). Way to go David, for sharing all that you've learned, and for working to help the entire pro wedding photography industry."

Thanks, Scott for the great endorsement. We only have a few copies left, so please check out the link below for more info and to order. Also, be sure to check out www.photoshopuser.com and www.photoshoptv.com for almost endless tutorials, info, and videos on Photoshop. The NAPP association is the best!!!

David' Digital WakeUp Call DVD Set »

Please remember, if the lesson hesitates, just hit pause button, give it a few minutes to catch up, and then hit play again. Check out the tutorial to see how easy it is, and what a nice result it gives - Enjoy!

Please feel free to drop me a note with any problem images you may have or any requests and we may feature them in one of our tutorials.

Click here to play tutorial - Easy Vignetting in Photoshop »

Here is a quick idea - as you are finishing with the prospect's phone call, ask for their e-mail address (as well as the groom and parents, if possible.) In our case, we offer to send the bride a collection of images created in our LumaPix:FotoFusion software that represents not only our work, but also reflects some of the bride's other plans as well - venue, flowers, cake, etc. The cool thing here, is that we've got our foot in the door right away. Of course, we send out our "information packet" as well - but the first and fastest impression is best. When it lands, the bride will share it with her family, friends, and vendors as well - all propagating with our branding attached.

So create a series of collage images - LumaPix:FotoFusion makes it so easy - and add your branding, of course. Be sure that your collages represent several reception venues, churches, florists, caterers, bridal consultants as well and have them ready for the next phone call. By the way, include a Bcc in your email, to your "vendor buddies". That way, they can see you are recommending them too and that's good for business as well.

Click here for more info on LumaPix:Fotosion »

Secondly, we will be showing how Lightroom can be a big part of the wedding and portrait workflow - making the whole process much less laborious and eminently more rewarding. Digital album design is also revised and updated for the fall class.

Each participant receives the Master Class Handbook containing over 100 pages of the week's entire presentation, all the images David shoots for the week, and best of all - our Wine and Cheese Party on Monday and the "All-Out" gourmet cookout on Thursday.

Remember too, if you are a past student, your tuition is reduced by $100, as is the tuition for the 2nd person from the same studio. Please check out the link below for all the info. We hope to see you there.

Fall 2007 Master Class info »

See you next time! David