FINALLY! FINALLY! FINALLY!
I'll never do that again.
Wow, oh wow, oh how I need to make sure I have the correct lens for the job. Specially when you are doing a high volume of photos.
From February through June... I was editing photos for a figure skating competition. If there was one thing that I could have done to not take so long, it was to have the lens for the job. It wasn't to say I hadn't used a good lens. But it was a 50mm prime. What I should have used: 70-200 f4 or better.
What is the difference? Cropping. I wasn't going to present photos that had a relatively little spec in the center of the photo be the subject of some one's review. So I cropped, to show what I was thinking during the photo. And I didn't have a way to automate this process.
I use Adobe Lightroom, and it is great at taking all of your photos and (provided you have the same settings on all the photos) you can correct the color, exposure, shadows, lens flaws all at once. It makes general editing a breeze. And I think it made me over-confident.
Then what lengthened this time... I started taking time away from other things and I started realizing I could not do this straight through. I almost resented the job and opportunity. I started to resent the things that took me away from the project.
So I have 2, possibly 3 major projects coming up this year. First is a national figure skating competition in Grand Rapids, MI. Then I have an opportunity to maybe get a shot of the Eclipse in Tennessee. Finally, an ice show this winter. I call these major because I fully intend on a good volume of photography. And I'm going to start things out by renting lenses.
If you haven't heard it from other photographers... you'll start hearing it from me: "I hate cropping!" Does this mean I won't ever do it any more. I'm mortal, and sometimes won't be able to help myself. But large volume photo jobs need the right tools. Or you are never going to get any money doing what you love.
That or you are going to burn yourself out and annoy your customers.
