Posted by Elizabeth Stacy | Posted in Foto Care Workshops
Posted on March 18, 2011
Foto Care and Bron Imaging Group would like to welcome Dan Saelinger, a New York City based commercial photographer, as he shares his ideas on photography and making it in the industry. Learn everything from Dan while he discusses such points as portfolios, equipment insurance, websites, blogging, representation and making a living at what you love.
With the busy business of photography it is sometimes difficult to know where to begin, and where to end. With today’s market there seems to be never ending “work” to do for your work. Before you think about the job you want to get you need to think about equipment insurance or the resources to get the business started. Before you think about promotion you need to think about the dozens of ways this is possible. These are just a few points to keep in mind when beginning in the industry.
Dan will explain the fine-tuning of your business by delving into the following points:
- Setting Up Shop: Things to think about before you start shooting
- Promotion: What does and doesn’t work? How to get your work in front of potential clients.
- Representation: How to find a Rep, is it needed for you?
- Making a Living: From smart billing to controlling costs – making sure your business is profitable
- Video: Stepping into video and you need to know before taking that first video assignment
Working with clients such as Nike, Brides, National Geographic, Men’s Journal and many more Dan has had the experiences to understand the best approaches. Make sure to join us along with Bron Imaging March 31st for an event not to miss.
We are pleased to be a part of this special event being held during PDN PhotoPlus Expo in October. It will be an exciting an event where you can learn all about the new equipment, hear from some of the top professionals and get your chance to play. This event is ideal for professional photographers, photo assistants, advanced students or any imaging professional that would like to learn about the latest cutting edge products and techniques.
Shoot-NYC is an exciting and informative forum hosted by photographic industry leaders Hasselblad and Bron Imaging. This 2 day event features live interactive shooting sets incorporating the latest photographic technology on the market today. Attend and learn how the professionals are harnessing and integrating today’s most advanced professional photographic tools and education into their business. Also register in advanced for the free educational seminars covering a wide variety of subjects that affect the business of today’s professional photographer. In addition, debuting in the United States, will be the Hasselblad Masters 2010 Exhibition at the same location. Don’t miss out on this incredible event, more details and registration information below.
Shoot-NYC
la.Venue
The Terminal Building
608 West 28th Street
New York, NY 10001 RSVP
October 28th: 11:00AM – 7:00PM Happy Hour at 5:00PM October 29th: 10:00AM – 4:00PM After Event Party at 6:00PM
Posted by Elizabeth Stacy | Posted in Foto Care Rental
Posted on September 15, 2010
Don’t miss out on this exclusive rental special for Kobold HMI lighting! It ends on October 30th so make sure to reserve your rental today at Foto Care Rentals.
In the ever changing world of professional photography, have you come across the need for continuous light but don’t know what to use? Well, forget the rest, and “Test the Best”!
For a limited time only, receive 50% off your first time rental on the world class Kobold HMI system of continuous lights from Foto Care! Also receive 50% off your accessories and grip equipment.
• 50% off rental discount applies to first time user rentals on Kobold outfits at Foto Care NYC.
• 50% off any accessories or grip equipment rented for use with the Kobold outfit (up to $100.00)
• There is no time limit on how long the rental can be on either the Kobold or grip equipment.
• Promotion runs until October 30th.
Call our rental department at 212-741-2991 for more details or to reserve equipment.
Posted by Foto Care | Posted in Product Reviews
Posted on July 28, 2010
We recently saw this article on the Bron Imaging Blog about power packs and wanted to share this with our readers:
A gas generator can get you power where you need it. While there there are plenty of battery packs available you might think that you don’t need to consider the extra hassle or weight of a gas generator. Battery packs like the 2400 watt second broncolor Verso pack will work seamlessly between battery and AC power and give you more output than any Elinchrom or Profoto battery pack (Verso=2400 WS!). And the 1200 ws broncolor Mobil a2r is small and easy to transport and has 2 heads for about the same price as a single head Profoto 600b and only a few hundred $ more than an Elinchrom Ranger (yep broncolor quality at Elinchrom prices!). But no battery pack will run all day with full power output and modeling lights cranked up all the way.
Sometimes you just need to be able to plug in your strobes, camera batteries, laptop, a few props, a makeup light , and whatever else you might have - so you need a generator. Or maybe sometimes you just need to shoot all day (or all night) with the modeling lights on. And you hate that anxiety about whether your batteries are really gonna make it through the whole shoot. Running off a generator can get you those extra hours on your shoot using regular AC power packs. But be careful! Most packs are not designed for use with a gas generator and not all gas generators are created equally.
Broncolor Scoro packs work on any microprocessor controlled sine wave inverter style generator. The 3200 watt second broncolor Scoro A4S requires a maximum of 15 AMPs at its fastest recycling setting. This is by far the lowest power consumption for any 2400+ watt second pack. The Scoro works by using a gentle – but still insanely fast recycling charge system (faster than any other pack out there). And then on top of that, the Scoro has a power control circuit that is a lot more intelligent, basically analyzing the power coming in and changing its own power control behavior before a spike has a chance to damage the circuitry.
Power pack manufacturers generally don’t publish their pack’s power consumption, but even if you don’t have a power meter, you can do a simple test to get a general sense of its consumption. Just take any 2400 watt second pack and plug it into a regular 15 amp 110v plug and start banging away. Some of them will blow your breaker if you fire 2-3 fps at half power for around 20 seconds. That wil tell you that you are drawing more than 15 amps. Go ahead give it try with a non-broncolor pack (but don’t call me if your pack blows up). Oh, and if your pack cant do 2-3 fps at around 1200ws you should take a look at the Scoro. You’ll need the power consumption information when looking at taking a pack out in the field on a genny. Remember that Watts =Volts x Amps (w = va) – therefore the genny you need will depend on how power hungry the devices attached to it. A Scoro draws 15 AMPS at 110V which means it pulls around 1650 watts. So you need a generator that is rated for at least that draw. As an example, check out the Profoto 8a documentation. Their user manual recommends a 6000 watt generator for a Profoto 8a 2400 ws power pack – more than twice what we recommend for the 3200 ws Scoro!
When calculating the total power requirements for your setup don’t forget to add in the modeling lights. broncolor heads use a 300 watt modeling light when running at full output. So for each head you run with modeling lights you need to add a approximately 3 AMPS to your setup.
So how to you select a generator? Not all of them are created equally. We tend to recommend the Honda EU 3000. The Honda EU inverter microprocessor controlled generators provide stable sine wave output as long as they are properly maintained. If you have got a clean one then it can provide you with good clean power without any problems for your Scoro. Of course there are larger and more powerful generators – I just walked past a Con Edison 40 foot Genny Truck running at full power on 40th street in NYC yesterday. This thing was running backup power for an entire building – but for the sake of this article we are just talking about what you can fit in the back of a mini-van.
I just read a great article in Pro Lights and Staging News about how generators work most efficiently and how to know if the load you are going to place on a genny is going to actually work. Richard Cadena covers important issues like calculating load supply for a given generator. Richard also touches on how to size your genny correctly. He says that running a genny at around 80% of its load rating will give you the best result. Check out his complete article here: PLSN.com That’s a Load of Watts
If you are shooting with 2 packs its best to get a Honda 6500 watt generator (or 2 3000 watt generators). Keep in mind that as you go up in output that the generators get much heavier. As an example a Honda EU2000 watt model weighs around 50 lbs; a EU 3000 watt weighs around 130 lbs; and a Honda EU 6000 weighs around 265 lbs. One way around the extra generators is to change the recycle or “charge” speed. If you set a power pack to recharge more slowly then the pack will pull current through the line at a much slower rate and thus enable the pack to work when less amperage is available. Remember its always better to have a little more power than what you think you might need. One of the biggest causes of blowing up a strobe power pack while using gas generators comes from using a generator that is not powerful enough. Basically what happens is that after you fire your strobes, the pack tries like crazy to refill the capacitors with juice. When the pack draws all that juice from the generator the power level in the generator drops. But the generator tries to quickly compensate for the drop in power and drives up the output of current as fast as it can. A good generator will control the compensation and thus the stabilize the amount of compensation, but a bad one will overcompensate and simply spike up the power to a level that will cause the power control circuit on most strobe power packs to explode – a costly repair. The Scoro’s power control circuitry is designed to reduce the creation of the spikes in the first place as well as to adjust quickly to compensate for these spikes when they do happen – but any electronics will blow if the power spike is really big. So while a Scoro gives you you flexibility and forgiveness than other power packs there are limits. So use a microprocessor controlled generator and you can fire away without worry.
Key Requirements for Generator Selection:
* Electronically controlled (aka microprocessor controlled) sine wave inverter output
* Rated for at least 15amps at 110v (~2000watts or above)
* Look for something that is relatively quiet (but a genny will never be as quiet as a battery)
* Recommend Honda EU series 3000 watt and above
Benefits of Gas Generators Over Battery Strobe Packs:
* You can power other stuff (laptop, backup storage, fans, props, whatever)
* Go all day long (a little extra gas will keep most gennys running all day long)
* No stress about how fast your batteries are being consumed
Drawbacks of Generators:
* Fuel: It burns explosively and can therefore be a pain in the butt to handle…especially near a city. Check your local fire codes for rules about handling fuel and generators inside (or even near) buildings and public places.
* You can carry a ton of batteries for the same weight as a genny
For more info about using the broncolor Scoro on gas powered electrical generators see the instruction manual. Go ask your favorite brand of power pack if you can use their pack on a genny…the answer is usually that it will void the warranty. Not with Scoro. The Scoro’s low power draw coupled with an advanced power control circuit will give you great results on a clean power generator like the Honda EU 3000.
In addition to gas powered generators we are also starting to work with some really cool battery packs from LibertyPak . The Liberty Pak Products put out so much juice that they actually call them Little-Genny and Big-Genny. These products provide serious battery power. They are not like the little JackRabbit battery packs – the Little Genny is a serious power supply that can handle powering a 2400 ws power pack. The Big Genny can actually power Kobold HMI lamps for about 45 minutes. We will cover the Big Genny and Little Genny more in a future post.
Foto Care is pleased to announce an exciting evening with New York photographer Daymion Mardel, as he shares his fascinating journey of becoming a photographer with his fortunate start as an intern for photo legend Richard Avedon, and his path to establishing himself as a succesful, in-demand photographer today.
Daymion Mardel Lecture
Foto Care Retail
Tuesday, July 27th
6:00PM – 8:00PM
Below we have shared an interview with Daymion first published by Bron Imaging (via the bronimagingblog).
When did I know I was going to be a photographer? I guess the better question would be, when did I know I wanted to be an artist?
You frequently hear the old cliché, “It’s in the blood,” but for me, I really think it is. My Mum and siblings are all artists of various forms. All of us make a living doing what we love best.
I was born in England in 1973. When I was almost 9 years old, my Mum and Dad pulled my brother, sister, and I out of school. I know that may sound crazy to anyone else, but it was a decision that helped shape the rest of my life. Along with two of my siblings, we set off in a Volkswagon bus to tour Western Europe for almost a year (my older brother, already in college, joined us throughout various legs of the trip when he could). We had lessons on the bus, and Mum required that we keep a journal of our experiences, along with scrapbooking ticket stubs, postcards, and our own sketches.
That was my introduction to the classics. Moving from campground to rest area to campground, we hopped from museum to gallery to monument, learning about European art and architecture, and meeting several interesting characters along the way (probably why I see the NY subway as more of a social gathering place to make friends, rather than a claustrophobic nightmare of strangers). Although I’m not sure I fully appreciated seeing my first Botticelli at such a young age, I can see now how it defined even my earliest notions of beauty, and has remained with me ever since.
After a year in a bus, we relocated to Boston, Massachusetts, where I was enrolled in public school. Though we were initially the odd kids who talked funny and called rain boots “Wellies” and ate wobbly tarts for breakfast, I quickly found my niche in a tightly-knit group of friends who have remained some of my dearest ever since. I may have dual citizenship and was born across the pond, but you can take one look at my collection of hats and know that I call Beantown my home.
After graduating from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst with a degree in family studies, I enrolled at the Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara.
Following my third year at Brooks, I was accepted for a three-month internship in New York City with Richard Avedon. Within the first week of the internship, Avedon asked if I would take a full-time position in his studio. Without finishing at Brooks, I moved to New York with literally nothing to my name. My suitcases were lost in the flight, and so my brother had to ship hand-me-downs to the cramped east village apartment I shared with eight other roommates, who’d been willing to squeeze me in to cut down the rent.
Within a few years, I became both first assistant and studio manager for Richard Avedon, an experience that could fill volumes and volumes of my own memoir. Needless to say, it was an apprenticeship that impacted me in profound measures I cannot even yet fully assess. Having lost my own father several years back, it was very much like losing a second father. More than just an American icon to me, he was my mentor, and a very dear friend. I was in San Antonio assisting him on the Democracy project for the New Yorker on October 1, 2004. Words still fail to express what a loss to the world was taken that day.
Though I was eager to help establish the Avedon Foundation in any way that I could to help maintain his legacy, I knew that it was time for me take the wealth of knowledge and inspiration with which I have been so graciously blessed, and begin to find my own voice in the world of photography. After a brief freelance assisting job with the great acclaimed photographer, Henry Leutwyler, I transitioned into a full time freelance photographer. I credit Leutwyler for a lot of things, but especially giving me the confidence to leave the assisting world and inspiring me to own my own broncolor lighting equipment.
The past five years as a photographer have been thrilling, sometimes terrifying, but continually affirming that I absolutely love doing what I do. I may not yet own my own studio, and with freelancing there are few contracts to secure my income is guaranteed tomorrow. But with editorial credits like American Vogue, and Advertising clients that include J.Crew, Coach, and Ann Taylor, etc. I certainly can’t complain. In between my hectic schedule, I am continuing to pursue my own self assigned personal projects. I’ve been blessed to make a living doing what I love more than anything, and to do it with the most incredible lighting in the world; broncolor.
Join Foto Care and Jim Reed of Bron Imaging at Hudson Studios to learn about the new Foba Turna and start transforming your photography. Perfect for creating 3D-visualization clips of all sorts of objects from shoes to electronic devices to people. Within minutes you will have a 3-dimensional image for multi-platform use. Images are fully customizable through the integrated software so you can control timing, movement and the end product. With its extensive range of fittings you can customize your setup for almost any object giving you room to be creative.
Take some time to mingle, talk with the pros, and ask questions.
Hudson Studios
601 West 26th Street, 13th Floor
New York, NY
There will be hands-on demonstrations where you can try the product in person, and a wine and cheese reception following the demonstration. We look forward to seeing you!
Posted by Foto Care | Posted in Foto Care Rental
Posted on June 8, 2010
We are excited to share this Foto Care interview published by BronImagingBlog.com. We hope you enjoy Fred’s tips on how to maximize your experience renting photo equipment to ensure a smooth, efficient shoot.
Today, we’re interviewing Fred Blake, Business Partner and Manager of Foto care Rentals. Fred, having been in the photo industry for many years, has a particularly broad knowledge base incorporating both the shooting, manufacturing and retail sides of the photo industry. Fred has been with Foto Care for fifteen years.
First off, why would a photographer consider renting equipment?
Many reasons:
For the professional, if they’re in need of a product they may not currently own, or perhaps a piece may be too expensive for them to purchase at that time; this is where we can help out. Other times, we may have a photographer that’s called to do a very particular type of job where they may only need specific equipment once.
For passionate amateurs, renting allows them to take various gear out for test-drives to see what works for them. While at the same time, it gives them access to a broader range of gear when special occasions like vacations, weddings, births or graduations come up.
Most of the time it’s more economical, technology moves faster than the time it takes some equipment to pay for itself (especially digital and hybrid video cameras)
How do I choose a good Rental Facility?
Honestly, price shouldn’t be the primary consideration. Most rental houses are in the same ballpark. For us, we pride ourselves on working with our customers based on their budget restrictions or working within the specific budget for the project at hand.
Proximity and accessibility should be factored in as well. There may be times where on site training on a product may be the best way to learn. Most importantly, a facility’s breadth and depth of its equipment is the leading reason as to where one should rent. Can a facility support what it rents? Can a facility suggest the best tools for the job? At Foto Care, this is what we pride ourselves on.
Talk to us about your staff’s knowledge:
Our staff has been with us an average of eight years, with some having been here for decades. The fact that we’re all passionate techies makes this not seem like work. We go out of our way to test drive every piece of equipment. It’s amazing how eager everyone is to get to know the hardware as soon as it comes in. Plus, part of our job is to be able to troubleshoot with our customers over the phone so we all need to understand the ins and out of each piece of gear we rent.
All of us have our particular areas of expertise but everyone seems to have jumped on the video bandwagon in a big way. We are becoming video hybrid experts. Things have been moving so fast that keeping up is critical. Video is just exploding. We’re adding microphones, special lighting and lenses that we’ve never had before based on demand and interest.
Talk to us more about the depth of equipment you offer?
Having the newest/latest equipment available for our customers is critical. And not just one or two either. Our depth of equipment and inventory (usually having 10 or more of something) is key. For example: We have more then 90 Broncolor powerpacks; more than anyone in the country.
Foto Care has built a reputation on Outstanding Customer Service. How does that apply to Rentals?
It’s always been important, I remember one time Avedon Studios called from India with a problem: They were shooting the Dalai Lhama in 8 x 10 format with very limited time restrictions so every piece of film needed to be usable. With exposures all over the map, they needed to process the film by inspection so we ended up finding them night vision equipment to help them process their film.
These days, some of our newer customers will call to discuss various lighting scenarios they are considering and ask for our recommendations. Helping problem solve with them is one of the highlights of our day. In fact, often we’ll set up lights here at our facility to show them a particular setup. Fortunately, our facility is quite large and allows us to show a variety of setups to our customers. The time investment for us is important because this is their job at stake, and we see ourselves as a trusted partner in their business. And this doesn’t just apply to the working professional. We want all of our customers to be comfortable with the gear they rent from us. That’s why they keep coming back.
What can a customer do to ensure they get the best results?
1. Call orders in advance:
Most errors are made when under pressure. If this is unavoidable, check your equipment before you leave. Ten minuets at the counter can save you two hours in set.
2. Ask questions:
We’re not just handing out a box with no support. We expect our customers to ask us questions. In fact, we encourage it. We’d rather help answer all your questions when you’re placing an order or when you pick it up as opposed to when you are out on location or back in your studio. And b all means, keep asking questions until you are comfortable and satisfied. In photography there is more than one way to achieve most goals.
What do you recommend for customers consistently ordering over the phone?
If you start an order over the phone, get the name of the rental technician. This way, if you call to follow up with questions, there is continuity by dealing with the same person. We also except orders via email. Really, its whatever works best for you as a customer.
When picking up an order, what should customers know and do?
Go through your equipment. Look at it. We try to pack orders as accurately as possible but there can be misunderstandings. Sometimes funny ones: Someone the other day asked for a “Gary Coleman” C-Stand. Huh? Hadn’t heard that one before. What they wanted was a short 20” C-stand versus a 40” stand. With all the slang in our industry, it’s easy to misunderstand what folks are sometimes looking for.
What are some of the things to keep an eye out for?
Clean, maintained equipment, especially clean sensors. It’s a matter of pride with us. You can tell a lot about a rental facility by how clean and well maintained their inventory is.
Anything else people need to know?
All rental houses in NYC require deposits, valid identification, and, in some cases, proof of insurance. It’s a very good idea for photographers to have insurance. This not only protects the photographer but the rental department can take a reduced security deposit for the value of the deductible.
Is there anything else you want customers to know?
Join Bron Imaging Group & Foto Care at the First Annual BIG ED Print Swap Day!
Thursday May 6th at Foto Care
6-9 PM
The print swap is an activity that has a long and celebrated history in college and university photography programs. Swappers bring in 3 to 5 un-mounted prints of a single image and offer them in trade for the work of others. It’s a great way to begin a photography collection, make contacts, network, and get your work out in the community.
Iconic celebrated photographer Markus Klinko has donated a print to be awarded as a door prize.
