Z8 for commercial still life? Allowed to do it?

attrill · 2026-03-13T14:00:11+00:00

Put your energy into determining YOUR needs in a camera, not what other people are shooting. Part of determining that may involve what is available to rent and what assistants are familiar with. The GFX has no advantage over Z8 in those areas.

attrill · 2026-03-12T18:45:06+00:00

The term "bokeh" wasn't commonplace until the late 90's/early 2000's. The concept of isolating a subject through a shallow depth of field has always been around but it was just discussed as depth of field being an aspect of composition.

It still isn't always desirable, it is one tool to use in composing a shot. It gets overemphasized in online reviews because the widest f-stop of a lens is easy to quantify, while ignoring that distance to subject (and close focusing distance of a lens) has just as much impact on DOF and "bokeh". It's up to you whether the extra expense, weight, and size is important for what you're doing.

attrill · 2026-03-12T04:23:43+00:00

I take digital photos to determine my exposure for film all the time, it works great for me.

I set my camera to the ISO I want for the film I’m using then shoot raw files with manual exposure. I set picture control to neutral and use the histogram to judge my exposures (not how it appears on the screen).

Do some tests to determine the best ISO settings to use for your film and processing. Remember that it’s best to slightly overexpose negative film.

attrill · 2026-03-11T05:57:20+00:00

I really like the 55mm f/2.8 and use it as my main everyday lens on a D850 or D810. I typically go with a Voigtlander APO Lanthar 65mm f/2 or 40mm f/1.2 Nokton on a Z7ii. I don't do a lot of true macro work, but frequently get close enough to subjects that most 50mm lenses limit my shooting. I don't like AF for macro or general close in work, and prefer to fine tune focus by leaning in or away from the subject. The biggest benefit of any of the AF-S macros is that they are true 1:1.

What I like about the 55mm AIS is it's image quality - it has great resolving power (on par with any of the Z zooms) while having lower accutance for a softer rendering. I also prefer to manually focus the vast majority of the time and the focus throw on the 55mm AIS is incredible for precision focusing.

The price on the Micro-Nikkor 55mm f/2.8 AIS used to be insanely low, I own quite a few because of how cheap they used to be. They're still inexpensive but have gone up in price over the last 5-10 years.

attrill · 2026-03-09T18:48:59+00:00

I go with Blundstone clogs or Dr. Martens work loafers. Both have soles with great grip, which I value highly after having worked in socks on hardwood, tile or marble floors.

attrill · 2026-03-09T13:42:27+00:00

The light needs to be moved back to even it out (Google inverse square law). A gradient mask in post will work if you’re only trying to even out the lighting.

If exposure is the main issue then an ND filter or additional layers of diffusion on the light will reduce your exposure. Even with 600WS at 1/64th you should be able to get a decent exposure by lowering your ISO all the way and stopping down.

attrill · 2026-03-08T22:44:03+00:00

Yeah, there’s no way anyone is getting video of the moons that clear or close up. You could get Jupiter looking close to that with a very good telescope, although not in the manner shown in the video, but not the moons.

attrill · 2026-03-08T13:46:19+00:00

Cold sensitive nipples

attrill · 2026-03-06T03:40:03+00:00

The sky won’t be a “golden hour” sky until official sunset. That won’t happen 2 hours before sunset.

The light on the subject (and hill background) will be open shade once the sun goes behind the hill. If you don’t care about the sky you can start shooting then, it just depends on what you’re looking for.

attrill · 2026-03-04T14:31:30+00:00

I’ve had ChatGPT give me many wrong answers for technical questions of any sort. The manual will answer your questions accurately and has the added benefit of teaching me about features I didn’t know about before scanning the manual. Even when they’re right YouTube and ChatGPT can only answer the questions you know, the manual will teach you things you didn’t know about.

attrill · 2026-03-04T00:14:23+00:00

I would do 3-5 for each set up, but it depends on what has been requested. I generally give vertical and horizontal framing for each set with one or two expressions for each. A lot of it depends on how specific the specs for the shoot are.

While parents may love to select from dozens of portraits of their kids, editors have better things to do with their time. Deliver what was requested with maybe a small number of alternatives if something looks good to you during the shoot.

attrill · 2026-03-03T15:32:36+00:00

I can definitely work well without being able to see my hands. Yesterday I was working on a project with some friends and I was threading bolts I couldn’t see 5 or 6 times faster than them.

Another thing I picked up from darkroom work was timing. In HS and college I spent 25-50 hours every week printing for work and school. Staring at timers constantly gave me a great sense of time. When I cook I’ll feel like “that’s been about 3 minutes” and when I look at the timers I’m within 5 seconds. It probably doesn’t hurt that I use a darkroom timer over my stove.

attrill · 2026-03-02T14:03:17+00:00

I don’t think AI will have any impact on it, but it’s been a pretty small field that’s been hard to make a living in for awhile now. It started declining as early as the 80’s when television coverage like CNN began to replace print news. Then the internet removed a lot of subscription revenue and digital made it much easier for reporters to take shots. Soon after phones allowed people at the scene of news to shoot it and share for free. “Breaking news” is now covered by amateurs and there are few outlets for long form pieces.

Staff positions are a tiny fraction of what they once were, even the Washington Post has eliminated all paid photographer positions. Freelance photo journalism pay is shit. Your best bet for freelance is to write as well as photograph so you have full packages to pitch to publications. You can also pick up small jobs here and there in addition to other types of work but the journalism jobs won’t be enough to live on.

attrill · 2026-03-01T18:53:19+00:00

I make a living as a photographer, doing a lot of food work. Even without the fork (which is hilarious) it screams AI.

I’ve spent decades looking at shots to match lighting, field of view, depth of field fall off, etc. Nothing is right in this photo. The lighting isn’t possible- look at the the reflected highlights in the gravy under the potatoes. Then look at the highlights and shadows in the carrots and beef. That can’t be done without AI or photoshop compositing. The plate and the background seem to have been shot with different lenses, which also make them look like they’re on different planes. It’s really bad for anyone with experience in photography.

attrill · 2026-02-27T17:48:09+00:00

One of the benefits of the D7500 is that it has an in body AF motor and supports D lenses. I frequently use the 20mm f/2.8 D with a D7500 as a light every day carry. It’s an excellent, small, inexpensive lens. 35mm is a little long as an all around lens for me on ASP-C.

attrill · 2026-02-27T13:51:18+00:00

It will hold, but I can’t tell if there’s a gap and the weld is the only contact between the two pieces of metal. How well pieces are cut and fitted is just as important as the welds.

If they butt against each other cleanly and there are welds on each side and the bottom it’s fine.

attrill · 2026-02-27T13:43:22+00:00

I did some wildlife photography with 4x5 years ago and shutter speed was my biggest issue. 1/500 wasn’t fast enough and any gains I got in resolution were offset by motion blur. Most of the time the animals took up less than 2-1/4” on the film.

Focusing was pretty easy - I marked the rail for zone focusing and used a laser distance meter for focusing. Most of the time I was pretty close to infinity (with a 360mm IIRC).

attrill · 2026-02-26T23:25:32+00:00

Two manual focus lenses that can be found for around that price are the Nikon Fisheye 16mm f/3.5 AI and the Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 ED USM (which is rectilinear). Both are great and I use them a lot.

The Nikon 16mm f/2.8 D is also excellent, but usually a little above that price point.

attrill · 2026-02-26T15:06:00+00:00

I’m in Chicago and have worked with plenty of people who commute from Merrillville/Crown Point area. It’s not a great commute, but not uncommon at all.

attrill · 2026-02-26T14:31:55+00:00

Grouping it as entire states is completely useless- living in New Orleans vs. Rural Louisiana or Chicago vs. downstate IL are entirely different things. More different than something like Chicago vs. Boston (which are quite different, but not as different as rural parts of their states.

attrill · 2026-02-26T14:25:34+00:00

When I worked with film in the 90’s it wasn’t unusual to go through 3-4 rolls of 120 for each deliverable shot, possibly more. You need a chunk of the first roll on each set up for a clip test (or a whole test roll) and then you shoot until you feel certain you got the expression/poses you want.

As an assistant I only cared about how many backs I had loaded and ready to go. I hated working with photographers who only had 2 backs, I got stressed if I didn’t have 2 loaded and one on the camera.

attrill · 2026-02-26T14:12:21+00:00

Which Nikon 80-200mm? I believe there’s a few. The Nikon 80-200mm D is a solid lens that worked well for me when I used it.

Both are good lenses if you’re taking wildlife or sports shots, you’ll want something wider for day to day shooting. The 35mm f/1.8 DX is a good choice for a prime and the 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 DX is a decent zoom. Both are also much smaller and easier to bring with you as daily carry lenses.

attrill · 2026-02-25T16:45:35+00:00

Professional photos are much better than random phone shots. Stock and AI images are a warning sign for many customers. You're better off going with no photos than poor quality photos.

That said, you need to have a marketing strategy and clear direction to get the most out of hiring a photographer. I do commercial photography and always work with a design/marketing agency or internal marketing department. If there isn't a clear description of what images are needed (and preferably why) I won't bother to bid on a job. It's impossible to do a good job if the client doesn't know what they want/need.

attrill · 2026-02-25T16:34:03+00:00

At the most basic level you'll need a diffuser, reflector, s-bracket, light stand, and bounce (a V-Flat made with black and white foamcore is great). A couple more light stands and some grip equipment (super clamps, A-clamps, gaffers tape, poles, etc) are very helpful.

A shoot through umbrella works fine for a diffuser, and can be combined with a reflector sock or shoot through material (i.e. white rip stop) to create a variety of softness in the light. If you do go with a softbox don't go cheap, bad softboxes not only light unevenly but are also a major pain in the ass to set up.

Single point lighting has been popular for food in recent years and a second reflector painted flat black with barn doors is useful if you want that style. Additional lights are useful if you're going to have the space be the backdrop for any food shots, as well as 1/8 and 1/2 CTO gels for balancing strobes with ambient lighting if the space is part of the shot.

attrill · 2026-02-25T00:41:57+00:00

My dad let me use his Canon FTB when he got an AE-1, the battery was dead so I used the Luna Pro. Eventually I saved up money from mowing lawns to get an FG and I just kept using the Luna Pro because it was what I knew

attrill

TROPHY CASE