July 27th, 2010
Hyak Photography’s new studio, co-located with Sheep’s Clothing (owned by my wife for the past 7 weeks) is located at 8551 W Gage Blvd in Kennewick. We’ve both put a lot into Sheep’s Clothing and into the new studio space and we’re not quite done in the shop, so studio bookings are available starting in mid-September. Call 509-205-1673 or use the contact form to schedule your session.
This also heralds a change of assistants. My wife, Marcia, is no longer able to assist with most of my shoots because of her new venture. On your next session you can probably welcome Kris who has worked with other photographers in the area, kept Marcia’s sanity intact at our wedding, and has been on the other side of my lens before.
Tags: studio
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July 16th, 2010
Note: This was written in May, and should have been posted some time ago, but finalizing contract issues dragged on and then the actual work getting everything setup drove me to forget to post it. Everything in it is still basically valid. Photography bookings resume in August.
We’ve signed papers on the new studio space.
No, I’m not going to do away with in-home portraiture. This has very little effect on what I see as my primary focus which is bringing in a level of fun while reducing the headaches of going to the portrait studio.
So, if business as usual, what does going from hourly rental to having our own studio mean? Reduced in-studio sitting fees! Lower minimum time requirements! It’s simple math: the current fee schedule includes up to 1 hour travel time each way for in-home sessions and matches the minimum 3 hour studio rental that we have now. A fixed location means lower set-up times, less wear and tear on equipment, etc.
I don’t know how this will affect scheduling yet. Right now when you book a session a 3-4 hour section is blocked out on the calendar. That means I can do 2 or at most 3 sessions per day. As existing clients know we make an effort to keep a number of blocks available each week so that wait times are at most 2-3 days. I will be floating the idea of “studio days” where we’ll block off, say, 8am-6pm on a Saturday and divide that time into 30 minute sessions. That’s not enough time to do a family of 6 or a full maternity set but would be enough to do as part of a series. A newly born child could schedule a full newborn session in studio or at home and then use 30 minute sessions once a month to produce a first year wall collage.
Tags: classes, event, studio
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May 7th, 2010
This post is mostly geared at other photographers, but it’s available for anyone who wants an insight in some of the backend solutions here.
As all of our clients know, we store digital negatives indefinitely. We can run off prints of images from 2005 (our switchover to digital) and hope to be able to say that for many years go come.
As cameras have gotten more advanced it’s gone from approximately 1GB per shooting hour to 4-8GB per hour currently. This means that I abandoned DVDs and DVD-DLs some time ago as a back up solution except in specific circumstances. All storage is currently done using magnetic hard drives. (I don’t feel that flash-based SSDs are, as of early 2010, ready for general use).
The current workflow is as follows:
- CF cards out of the camera are stored during a portrait session, or backed up on site to an Epson Photo Viewer with a 100GB hard drive.
- After the shoot CF cards are read into the photo processing workstation (currently a 15″ Macbook Pro for portability).
- All CR2 (Canon RAW) files are backed up to a network share and stored indefinitely.
- CR2 files are converted to Adobe DNG (Digital NeGative). DNG is an open format suitable for long-term archiving and suggested by the library of congress.
- DNG files are imported into an Apple Aperture library where shoot metadata is added, shoot metadata is added and basic editing is done.
- The workstation is backed up hourly using Time Machine and Aperture libraries are regularly backed up to the network share.
- Photo delivery to clients is done by uploading shoot picks to Photoshelter for the client’s web gallery. I upload full-resolution jpeg images so that even in a worst case scenario printable images are stored on by Photoshelter on both the east and west coasts.
- After delivery the digital negatives are exported out of the Aperture library as referenced masters on the network share. I keep the thumbnail (1024px) images so that I can look images up as needed and I can work on the images any time I am on the network.
- The network store is backed up to the off-site storage using rsync on a regular basis. For very large updates the specific new files are transported by hand on other media. (Hard drives, DVDs, etc).
Why is my backup workflow this complex? I worked in computers for years while photography was a hobby. In that time I saw a lot of hard drives and other media fail. It is not a question of IF it will fail, but when. While doing photography and other tasks I’ve had hard drives fail all around the world and I feel that the current system lets me keep as much data intact as possible. I also believe that the structure I have set up makes for a simple and relatively inexpensive upgrade path where my data follows along.
Why am I posting this now? Well… hit the part after the break to find out the trials and tribulations of last week’s series, yes, series, of hard drive failures and the specific pieces of hardware I am using right now. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: drobo, hard drives, photography, storage
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April 21st, 2010
Hyak Photography has partnered with GNP Frame to offer custom framing at reasonable prices. Call (509) 205-1673 to make an in-home appointment to view framing options or hit gnpframe.com to view the whole line (we carry most of it).
The blog has been quiet as there are some exciting developments in the pipeline coming along this July. Stay tuned as there will be specials and promotions to celebrate.
Tags: framing, prints
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March 25th, 2010
In the interest of public service I’ve put out a call for ideas on what people would like in photographic tutorials. Anyone is welcome to request that I cover something, and I’ll make an effort to do a post covering anything of interest.
First up will be for Daniel on Facebook who wants to know how non-neutral reflectors affect non-photographic light sources. I’ll be working out a way to cover it some time next week. My hope is to cover around one topic a month.
Tags: guide, how to, Tutorial
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March 11th, 2010
As the weather warms up we turn into what is often called Wedding Season, the time when brides- and grooms-to-be are seeking the details that go into making that one perfect day. If that sounds like you, or if you are one of the parents of a soon to be bride or groom, welcome.
I encourage everyone to read my post on What Questions to Ask Your Wedding Photographer, which both gives some questions you might think of, and some that you might not that you should ask every photographer that you are considering. It includes my answers as they stood last year and I’ll be adding a new post or page to the site with the minor changes, mostly in equipment, that have happened over the weekend.
As usual, my wife and I will only be taking on a handful of weddings this summer due to extensive obligations. If you are interested in having Hyak Photography provide your please contact us soon so that we can at least pencil you into the schedule. (509) 205-1673 or the contact link at the top.
We are also very excited by our portable printer service for events and are looking to add more printers through the spring.
Tags: event, photography, questions, wedding
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March 11th, 2010
A good friend of mine, the wife of my best friend, has been diagnosed with breast cancer in her mid-twenties. She found it after her mother was diagnosed the week before.
They live 2,000 miles away, so there isn’t a whole lot I can do for them from here, and, honestly, there isn’t a lot a photographer can offer. Many photographers in this situation make calendars as fundraisers, and I saw one very good poster, but the amount of money they bring in for the work involved seemed unreasonably small to me.
So, my contribution is very simple. If you have been diagnosed with breast cancer, are undergoing treatment, or have recently completed treatment your photo session is at no charge, includes an 8×10 print, and will have other printing discounts. No obligations at all, and no major caveats on what it doesn’t apply to. Portrait session of yourself, portraits of your family, boudoir so that you still feel sexy, or an image for a campaign for cancer awareness.
The offer is available indefinitely.
Tags: breast cancer, cancer, free, photography
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Photo Packages Are Here!
July 23rd, 2010The new packages are now available should anyone prefer to do packaging over a la carte. They involve a slightly higher up-front cost, in general, but lead to discounts of 10-25% on prints.
Hyak Photo Packages PDF Form
Senior Portraits – Prints Included – 3 8×10, 2 5×7, 6 4×6, 24 wallets*.
$150 – 1 hr studio session
$175 – 1 hr outdoor session
$250 – 2 hr indoor/outdoor session
Studio Portraits**
$150 – 1 hr studio session – 1 11×14, 3 8×10, 2 5×7, and 6 4×6
$250 – 1 hr studio session – 1 11×14, 6 8×10, 4 5×7, 8 4×6, and 16 wallets*.
$400 – 1.5 hr studio session – 1 16×20, 1 11×14, 3 8×10, 10 5×7, 32 wallets*.
Children’s Lifestyle – Natural Unposed Photography Series
$175 – 45 minute session – 1 8×10, 2 5×7, 6 4×6, 16 wallets
Maternity
$100 – 1 hr studio session – 1 11×14, 1 8×10, 2 5×7
Newborn
$150 – 1 hr studio session – 1 11×14, 1 8×10, 4 5×7, 24 wallets*.
In Home Studio*** – Studio Portraits in the Comfort and Convenience of Home
$100 – 1 hr session – All Prints A la Carte.
Grow With Time
$550 – 1 hr studio maternity session, 1 hr studio newborn session, 30 minute “Free Studio Saturday” sessions monthly for first year with 8×10 and 8 wallets* from each monthly session. Includes all prints normally included with Maternity and Newborn packages.
A la Carte
Additional prints are available by the print as an add-on to any package.
Full Resolution Digital downloads (with rights) available for $750.
All Packages
All Packages include online gallery which may be public, hidden, password protected, or require username/password login at no charge.
Weddings, Rites of Passage, and other photography available upon request.
* Wallets are printed in sets of 8 per pose.
** Limit 4 people, including children. $25 per person extra. Max 4 adults 4 children.
*** Limit 4 people, including children. $25 per person extra if space is available.
Tags: photography, portrait, portraits, pricing, prints
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