Traveling and your camera... Part 4

So with the last thought in mind when it comes to traveling... What do you do about your memory cards? What are some things to consider when traveling with them?

(free photo stock traveling with your camera)

As I got ready for my trip this was something that I struggled with a bit. The first thing that I struggled with is how many do I really need? I really cannot give a good answer to this question. This is honestly something that only you as the photographer can determine. Some things to consider would be the type of trip, the number of photos that you plan to take, and are you planning to have a back up. What I mean by a back up is a second card with all of the same exact shots on it. I have a Nikon D7100 that has to memory card slots and I can use these slots in multiple ways. One being a primary card and the second card is written to at the same time as a backup. On the off chance that the first card becomes corrupt or fails. This is a trick I picked up from wedding photographers and this is something that they do all the time in the effort to prevent losing parts of a wedding due to card failure or corruption. The size of the card also matters as well. If you get an 8 GB card you are going to run out of space considerably faster than if you had a 128 GB card. In my case I opted to take three 64 GB cards. In hind sight I should have taken four just to have an even number as I was using one card for back up while I was shooting. 

My next area of consideration is the airport security. As a child I had a film camera and I remember an amazing trip that my grandmother took my cousins and myself on. We were given the great experience of going to Washington DC. I remember my father taking me to the store and we bought several rolls of film and when we got home we loaded the first roll into my 35mm camera. At the airport I hand carried my camera on the plane ( I wanted to photograph everything!) and I remember putting my camera on the belt for the X-ray machine. The man at the X-ray machine grabbed my camera and asked if my camera was already loaded with film. My grandmother informed him that it was and he immediately stated that it could not go through the X-ray because all of my film would be ruined along with the photos. The man kindly inspected my camera and meant me on the other side along with my cousins and gave us our cameras back. I understand that the technology has come a long way, but before I left I still did my homework to ensure that my cards would not be damaged in the same fashion as my film would have been. Based upon my research I can say that the cards are safe. Although I do prefer to have them in their card holders and buried deep within my bag in order to protect them as much as possible. 

As I mentioned I carried my cards on to the plane with me, and this a recommendation that I will give to anyone. The memory cars are like any other electronic item. They are susceptible to changes in climate, extreme heat, extreme cold, and moisture. These three things specifically are not controlled in the belly of the plane. This is the same reason why you will see people who are flying with animals get removed from flights. When the temperature is to cold or to warm the animal that is in the belly of the plane could die, and as a safety precaution they are not allowed to fly if it is determined that these extremes may be reached during the flight. I must admit that in travel I tend to treat my cards the same as I do my pets. I do not want to see them damaged in any way and therefore I want to keep them as close to me as possible. This way if something happens to my cards I am the one at fault for the loss or the damage and therefore I can only hold myself to blame. 

Thank you all so much, and if you have any information that you would like to see added to this post please feel free to email me, or leave the information in the comments below. 

Until next time my friends! Safe travels!

Traveling and your camera Part 3

You did it! The trip is booked! But......

(free photo stock image. Looked for one with a nikon, but this was the best that I could do.)

Over the last few posts I have been discussing the ability to travel and the questions that I have in regards to traveling with my gear, because this is not something that I have done on a regular basis. Up to this point in my life my traveling with my gear has been limited to just within a few hours of home. So this meant I would put my gear in my truck and just go. There was no big concern about theft, loss or damage of my gear as I had total control of what was going on with my gear. 

Now I am able to travel without much stress on a plane, and with that said, this is where the control is lost. Especially if you have to check your gear with your luggage. I have come to the conclusion that this is just not the way that I want to go. First of all my luck is not great. I have had my baggage lost on multiple occasions, and I really do not want to lose time due to not having my gear. Especially if I am traveling for the sole purpose of using my gear.

Once past the how am I going to travel with my gear question I move on to "How do I take care of my gear in different climates?" question. I am sure that there are people that are reading this and feel that I am over reacting about this thought, but it has become a very real concern for me. Before living in South Carolina I lived in Hawaii. Hawaii was amazing! The sun was shining and it stayed at a pretty steady 80 degrees, and never really dipping below the 70's. If it was raining I would wait in my vehicle for about 10 minutes, and the rain would pass and I could get out and continue to photograph whatever my subject for the day was. However South Carolina has thrown a huge game changer for me. For example in South Carolina it reaches at its peak about 105 degrees during the summer, but than there is the humidity to factor in and that raises the temperature to 115-125 degrees. (That's the highest that I have seen so far this year.) The heat is a concern in regards to my sensor, but considering that I am not out in the middle of the day shooting it is not a huge concern. However the big concern is the humidity.

I realized that this was a concern when I was out working in the backyard and realized the opportunities that I was missing to practice shooting the small insects and animals that I was running into while out. So I ran to the house and grabbed my camera. In my opinion I did not think that there was much of a temperature change from the house to the yard (as this was early spring) but I did not consider the humidity. When I got back out to the yard I began to take photos, and realized that they were soft, and seemed to be out of focus, yet in the view finder they were sharp and seemed to be the exact way that I wanted them to be. I took photos for roughly five minutes and they continued to get worse. When I finally stopped and looked at my lens the glass was covered with condensation. I also noticed that it was starting to develop on the body and the outer portions of the lens. So I immediately took the camera back inside. My saving grace was that when I went outside I did not switch the lens so this kept the inside of the camera and the sensor protected. However it affected the glass, and caused it to spot and I worried that the weather sealing may not have been able to hold. Several hours in I realized everything was ok, but it was a huge shock. 

In another instance several years ago a fellow photographer and I were deployed with our unit to Iraq. At the time I was barely dabbling in photography and opted not to bring anything more than my point and shoot. I honestly did not think that I would have the time to shoot much anyway. Not to mention it is a desert that has been ravaged for years with war and I did not think that there would be much to really photograph that would be of interest to me. However I was sadly mistaken. 

(Sunrise in Tikrit, Iraq)

The place in of itself was not great to shoot, but the buildings, Saddam's castle in Baghdad, and the sandstorms were amazing! Sounds strange to most but the sandstorms were one of my favorite things to watch roll in. But the damage the would cause to a camera was horrible. The fellow photographer that took their camera had to send all of their lens and I believe their camera body in to be cleaned when we returned and they were afraid that the sand may have damaged the sensor. It had already done a number on several of the motors in the lens which later led to having to replace them completely.

(Soldiers standing in formation outside during a sandstorm)

As you can see in the picture above a sandstorm for us was no joke. This photo was shot in the middle of the day, and yet due to the sand being so thick in the air it changed it to a very dark and orange environment. 

So what do you do to protect your gear in various climates. Here are some suggestions from what I have learned.

l. When traveling into a new climate make sure that you are prepared for anything. The best way to prepare is do some research into the area. Determine what type of climate that you are going to be dealing with. Is it humid? Dry? Hot? Are there potential storms I should be concerned about? Cold? 

2. Prepare for that type of climate. If you are dealing with a humid environment realize that your best way to deal with this is to slowly expose your gear to the environment. For example when you reach the location just unzip your bag and let the air slowly start moving into the bag, after 15 minutes carefully check your gear without opening the bag to far and with out removing it from the bag. If it appears to have climatized you can open your bag and go about your planned day, however I do not recommend changing lens in this type of environment. 

3. If you are using your gear in a harmful environment protect it. You can use rain hoods, or in my case while I was in Iraq I kept my point and shoot in a ziplock bag and during sandstorms would shoot with it in the bag. 

4. Inspect your gear often in a controlled environment. As soon as you are done shooting for the day take your gear to your hotel, home or where ever you may be staying and check it for dirt, water damage etc. This can be done more frequently if you are worried about your gear. If you notice that your gear is not standing up to the challenge of the area stop using it!

5. Clean your gear often. I say this with a word of caution. I am not saying that you should do a full on cleaning as Nikon or Canon would do if you sent it to them, but I am saying to do the basics and do not go out of your comfort zone. Clean the outside and all of the contact points and mirror if you have one. But do not clean the sensor of you are not comfortable or do not know how. You will cost yourself more money in the long run.

If you have more tips or suggestions or maybe some things that I did not mention please comment below! I would love to hear from you! 

Traveling and your camera.... Part 2

Traveling can be a stressful experience for some, but I have come to realize that it is even more stressful when I travel.

(photo stock image)

Truth be told it almost makes me panic when I travel. I typically fly when I do travel and this leads to a number of concerns. The first is baggage check in. I have had my luggage lost enough to know that it is not a safe route to go, and the older I get, well the lighter I travel. I have it almost down to a science now. I use the same jump bag that I deployed with and that holds everything I need with room left over. However this is not exactly ideal to tote all of my camera gear in. There is no protection, and I am not about to have my gear go unprotected.

So this leads to the first problem. Do I need to base my bag on where I am traveling, or do I base it on how I am traveling or both? Or do I by pass all of this and look at a bag that is rated to handle 95% of the situations that I usually find myself in while I am traveling? I will admit that when it comes to price and spending money I do get a bit squeamish. I am trying to get every bit of worth out of something that I purchase, so I want to make sure that what ever I do it is financially acceptable. Before writing this post I posed these thoughts written a similar format to a group that I am. I did not get many responses, however the ones that I did get seemed to follow my thought process. The all-in-one bag is the way to go. Or at least preferred. But I still wonder about how others feel. I know that I carry all of my gear in a backpack, but I have noticed when I have shot at weddings and such as a second shooter that the primary shooter always has a fancy leather messenger bag, or something along the messenger bag line which leads to question if there is a need to have different bags for different activities. 

I have taken the time and looked at various bag reviews and honestly they reinforce the idea of needing different bags for different situations. Here is the first article that I read.

http://improvephotography.com/gear/bag-gear/

This article lead to even more, you guessed it. Divided thoughts about bags and what is best for what. Which here are the links for those. Please keep in mind that these are written by different contributors to the website and are all vetted by the owner for authenticity before posting.

http://improvephotography.com/35962/35962/

http://improvephotography.com/35887/messenger-camera-bag-review/

http://improvephotography.com/35723/bag-review-sneak-peek-peak-design-ona/

I also spent some time with google and discovered these sites as well. They are not as detailed, but at least it gives a few answers.... about the bags... not the decision making.

http://www.cambags.com/

http://www.adorama.com/alc/1357/article/12-top-camera-bags-traveling-photographers

After digging through these articles I am still really stuck. I have come to the conclusion that you either go with personal preference, or what you think will work best for you. Worst case scenario you have a closet full of bags for different reasons. 

The one positive out of reading all of these articles is that there seems to be one particular theme. When it comes to traveling on the plane a backpack seems to be the best option that there is out there. The reasons that are listed and make sense is that you can fit it in the overhead bin, the weight is distributed properly on your back when you are carrying your gear anywhere you are going, and you can get backpacks with rain gear protection which leads to extra protection for your camera. Not to mention a number of bags are being made now that not only hold the camera and the gear but there is also room for personal items which means even less to carry while traveling! A personal pull for me really. 

When it comes to picking a back pack I believe it comes down to comfort and durability. If the bag is not comfortable your camera is never going to travel with you purely because you are like every other person in the world and like to be comfortable.  Durability will play a huge role as well. I mean if you are putting thousands of dollars in a bag you want to ensure that it is not going to be damaged. However realize that nothing is safe. A photographer learned this the hard way. He put ALL of his gear in a pelican case and checked his bag. Once on the plane and seated he glanced out and saw lenses and gear strewn all over the ground outside. About that time the stewardess announced over head that someone's camera stuff had been dropped from the plane while loading and they needed to speak with the owner of the bag. The pelican case had busted open when it hit the ground and nearly all the gear was scratched, and there were thousands of dollars in gear that was just destroyed. It just makes my gut churn when I hear about stories like this.... Just remember... Nothing is 100% effective, and be ready for the worst to happen. 

I'd love to hear your thought about this or any other information I have put out there! 

Traveling, and your camera

As I look out my window and notice the mound of yard work that I really need to get done I can do nothing but day dream about going out and about with my camera. When I say go out and about I more specifically mean going on a vacation, or traveling somewhere, well really anywhere but to my back yard. Don't get me wrong, I love my house and where I live, but it is summer, and it is one of the best times to see the world and all that it has to offer.

In thinking about traveling my mind set is slowly changing. All of my children are old enough to keep track of themselves, and for the most part travel on their own if they want. With this concern, and stress slightly lifted from my shoulders this gives me more time to think about me and what I want to take on the next adventure.

In most cases my traveling consists of somewhere within a couple hours of home and looking for new places to hike and explore. I love exploring a new area and photographing anything that draws my attention. Which is great, but now that I am looking to start taking bigger trips there are things that I need to start thinking about.

1. Where am I going to go?
I have so many options running through my head that I have no idea where to begin really. I want to see the world and I want to do it all right now! Very unreasonable thought I know, however it is not quite so unreasonable to plan to do as much of it as I possibly can. So in order to slow myself down I have started a "Bucket List" I am sure that a number of you have them, and I am finding that they are great to have. I love lists. My biggest reason for loving them, because I love to check things off of them! So I figure that this is the best way for me to accomplish the traveling that I want to do and at the same time be organized and make sure that I do not forget or over look a place that I want to go.

2. How am I going to get there?
This is a question that in most cases would be a simple answer, however, as I said before I love lists and checking things off of them. For example, I have never been on a cruise, and I also would love to go on a tour of Alaska. Well my friends I can officially take two things off of my list. There is a cruise schedule in Alaska and if I go at the right time I can go whale watching, which means, you got it, another thing off of the list. 3 birds with one stone!  I am not sure that I can do much better than that.

So here is where my concern now comes in. I must admit that I have not done alot of distance traveling with my camera and this leads to a number of concerns that I have about my gear. For example:

1. Do I need to look at having a different camera bag for different places or activities?
2. How do I take care of my gear while I am traveling?
3. How do I keep track of my gear while I am traveling?
4. Does the care for my camera change in different climates and what is different in those climates that I need to consider to protect my gear?
5. How do I protect my memory cards from things like X-Ray machines at the airports, and do I need to worry about things like climate changes?

These are just the 5 basic questions that I have, and I am sure that there are many more. However these are the 5 top things that I think about when it comes to traveling.

I am sure that are a number of you that have great answers for these questions and I would love to hear them! Please share them in the comment section below.

If you don't have answer, but may someone that does, please share this with them and than you and I can both learn from them together,

I am looking forward to all the suggestions, guidance, and new questions that may come along the way!

Sometimes I just need a reminder

For the last several weeks I have really been struggling with myself. When it comes to photography and even writing this blog I still feel like I am a newbie and that I am not really accomplishing anything or learning anything for that matter. With my photography I have been finding it very hard to convince myself to pick up my camera and do anything with it. I know that I need to practice or I am not going to get any better, but I just can't seem to do it. I am guessing that it is a lack of motivation on my part, however I am not exactly sure what it is. When it comes to the things that I write here I am honestly writing because I like too, and in some cases it gives me a sense of purpose. When I scroll through different groups and I see things that they struggle with I try to find the answer and see if there is something that I can do or explain to help, and on the same token apply it to myself. Once I am able to do that I share it here so that everyone who takes the time to read my blog will learn as well. I thought that if I shared my short comings and my accomplishments and things that I learned on each shoot in order to improve for the next that it would not only help reinforce it in my head, and potentially at the same time benefit someone else. However over the last few weeks I have felt like I am failing with that as well. I have felt that I am just doing it all wrong, or maybe I just wasn't smart enough to do all of it. This thought process has really weighed me down as a result.

This was all washed away today.

A few weeks ago my daughter had her senior pictures taken by the assigned photography company. Now I am going to leave their name out of it as a professional courtesy. We just received the proofs today, and I was horrified. They took 20 shots of my daughter and 19 of them are completely unacceptable. The background is horrible, the shadowing (that the photographer created on purpose is horrific) they have her tilted and leaning in weird directions. Not to mention, the posing. It was not flattering at all. I just couldn't believe that these were suppose to be the photos that she was to purchase to represent her senior year. When I saw them I wanted to cry. I know that when she sees them that she is going to hate them as well, and I have nothing that I can say that will make it better. I am planning to call the school and see if I can take her yearbook photo and submit it, but I am almost certain that this will be shot down because it will not be done by the contracted photographer which I can respect. I just feel sick for my daughter.

In an effort to not be to biased about the situation I did show the photos to a close family friend and my husband to see what their thoughts were. I did not say a word as they looked at the photos. They were horrified as well. They both told me that in knowing my daughter as well as they do that she is going to hate them and not want any of them. At that point both of them looked at me and told me that I should take her photos as they will be a million times better than what was originally produced. I reassured both of them that this was the plan and that my daughter had already asked that I do her photos for her. (Which was a confidence boost as well.)

Just for further investigation we decided to look and see how much the photos were going to cost. I could hear my wallet tuck its tail between its legs and scream when I saw the prices. The most expensive all you could get package was almost $600 and this is with out "premium retouching" (Whatever that is) and the killer was the lowest package. This package really had nothing to it, but as a professional courtesy I will not go into detail about the specifics. Needless to say, for virtually nothing they wanted $160. I sat for a very long time in disbelief and the expectation that this company had.

I charge no where near what this company charges and in a side by side comparison my work is much better. Which is not something that I take lightly in saying. It is horrible that my low self esteem about what I am attempting to do with my camera was washed away at the expense of my daughter's senior pictures, but it does make me realize that I can offer so much more to a client than what was offered to my daughter.

Sometimes I think we all just need a reminder that we are not as bad at something as we feel. Or I guess a shorter way to say it is that sometimes we just need a reality check. It is something I needed to remind me that I take great pride in my work and the products that I produce in order to have happy clients with beautiful work.

Just remember, you can only go forward from here. Going backwards is not an option. If this is your dream, as I am sure it is... Take it and run with it. Work hard and continue to improve. Never stop improving. If you stop... that is when you fail.

Things to work on

Recently I was lucky enough to work with a beautiful young lady and produce her senior photos. As I have been slowly working through her photos and editing I realized there are some things that I need to work on.

1. Posing- I realized that I am very weak in this area. I have been under the impression that teenagers know how to pose, I mean, seriously they are in front of the camera all the time. They are always taking selfies for snapchat, and Instagram, and Facebook. With this in mind I really did not think that I needed to instruct her on posing. I realized in the first 10 minutes I was wrong. I am not sure if it was because mom was there or if was because she was not in control of the camera, but posing was not her thing. So I was having to give her guidance, and of course I was not prepared so I was flying on a wing and a prayer that it would look good. I must admit that God came through though and gave me amazing weather, not to mention a light breeze that assisted with a beautiful hair blown look with almost every single shot. I could not have been more pleased with the looks I got, even though I was not always pleased with the posing. Which is my fault as I had failed to be prepared for this particular issue.

2. Preparing my client- I realized when I got to my shoot that what I thought was going to happen in my head was not going to manifest into an actual photo on my camera. I had ideas of very specific shots, and with specific attitudes or well I am not really sure how to describe it. However I failed to prep my client and her mother. I also failed to be prepared for the visions of my client and her mother. This was a failure of communication. This makes me realize that prior to booking I really need to sit down with each client in person or on the phone and discuss my thoughts as well as there so that both sides are prepared and all expectations are out in the open.

3. Understanding rules and policies of the location or having a point of contact- This one sounds scary I know, but it is not as bad as it sounds. I didn't get into any trouble, however there was just a lot of stress. Our location was a botanical garden/zoo. Due to the fact that I knew we had to pay an entrance fee, I also assumed that there would be some sort of media rules. Of course there was. However I  did not quite understand where I fell within the media policies. My biggest question was am I considered commercial or non commercial? There was no specific definition within their policy in order to differentiate, and there was only an outlier of rules for bridal shoots which left me to wonder if I may fall into that outlier. Of course with this in mind there was a potential of extra charges and such. However there was no way to determine by policy where I fell. I emailed the one point of contact, and of course I got no response. It finally came down to a phone call and finding a specific point of contact and speaking to a live person to get clarification. From all of this I learned it is much easier to have a point of contact and a person to speak with versus having to play the guessing game, or functioning on a hope and a prayer that I am not going to get in trouble. A liaison is the best way to go! This helps relieve your stress and that of your client.

3. Scope out where you are going- Yes I failed this one. I allowed myself to get cocky and think that I did not have to look at the location prior to the shoot. I figured that a botanical garden was a great place and there was nothing to worry about. Which it was not a worry. However had I looked at the location I think I would have planned out my shoot 100 times better! This place was beautiful, and full of nooks and crannies that were just amazing for such a tiny garden. It was overwhelming to look at and running from spot to spot, and now I wonder if there was a chance that I may have missed some amazing shots.

4. Being early is amazing!- We opted to do this shoot in the morning as soon as the garden opened. This was the best decision we could have made! We were the first ones in and we were over half way through our session before people really started to show up and becoming a problem with the shoot. It was amazing to not have to work around other people and worry about shots being inadvertently ruined by other guests. Not to mention the lighting was amazing for a 9AM shoot!

5. Editing- I noticed after the fact while I was editing that even though for most shots that I had great skies and I was super excited, however there were several shots that the sky failed me. It was flat, gray and just plain boring. This called for a sky replacement in Photoshop once I realized there was nothing that I could do in Lightroom to save the sky. I thought that I understood enough to be able to do this. However I realized several things. The first is that I am not great when it comes to more technical things in Photoshop, and two that I did not have the files to do what I wanted. I initially tried to use the sky from another portrait in the same shoot, but I just could not for the life of me make it realistic. Due to time constraints and the need to get these photos processed I did not feel that I had the time to do the research to teach myself how to do the replacement, and I did not have the extra money to purchase sky replacement files. So this left me at a loss. Sadly some of these portraits were amazing, but had I been able to replace the sky this would have made it perfect! So I have learned not only do I need to spend time behind the camera, but I need to invest more time learning to work with and learn Photoshop and Lightroom. I have the basics, but there are times that the basics, or a preset is just not enough.

With every shoot there is something new to learn and something new for me to share. I hope that in sharing where I have failed and the things that I need to work on that this will help you avoid my downfalls, and also help everyone to realize that no one is perfect. Mistakes happen, and as long as you learn from them there is not much more anyone could ask for.

Are we as photographers considered commercial or non commercial?

Lately I have had a number of eye opening experiences, and I have just had another one. I love to learn, however it has been rather complicated as of late. Let me explain.

I had a returning client contact me about a session. They wanted to do this session at our local zoo/botanical gardens. This made me slightly nervous. I have never shot at a place where I have had to pay an entrance fee and not to mention I have been ridiculed by other photographers for posting photos from the Zoo on my business page due to their beliefs about the zoo's media rules. With this in mind I went to the zoo's website to see what the exact policy was. This is where the confusion came in.

Per the zoo policy if the shoot is a commercial shoot there would be a $1,000 a day fee, plus extra fees if you needed to have a zoo Representative or not and than there were additional charges for other things based upon the number of hours that you were there and the equipment you may or may not need. There was also the charges per photo depending on if you were going to use them for textbooks, or other items. It was a lot overall. However there was also a clause about non commercial shooting. Which basically as long as you did not interfere with the flow of the visitors to the park and did not sell your photos you were in the clear. However if you were shooting bridal photos those had an extra charge and could only be shot after hours in the park. As I said it was all confusing.
After reading the policy the first thing I needed to do was figure out if I was going to be considered commercial, non commercial or potentially fall into the same classification as a bride with this particular shoot. I did some research and asked in several Facebook groups and came up with the same problem. It was a fifty fifty choice. Some stated that I would be commercial because I am being paid to shoot, and others stated non commercial because this is a senior photo session, it is not an advertisement shoot which is what made sense to be. However no one could really answer if I would fall into the bridal category or not as sometimes portraits in general can be lumped together like that.

In an effort to figure out where I fell I began some research on line. I was directed to this article from F-Stoppers https://fstoppers.com/other/fstoppers-answers-what-commercial-photography-2963 where various well known photographers described what they thought the difference between commercial and non commercial shooting was. Needless to say they seemed to come across as though they were not sure. I tried to find a state law or some guidance and there was just nothing that I could find, even with the help of Google that could answer my question. Which honestly I was surprised. Google usually never fails me. The last step that I could think of was to see what other photographers in the area had done. I noted that there were a large number of them that had shot at this location, and I noted that they had even linked back to the zoo itself. So this caused me to really stop and think. My thought process than became, "If the photographer linked back to the zoo they must have signed a contract stating that they had too." Which this led to the thought that this session would be considered a commercial session. At the same time I tried to contact a few photographers in the area, and sadly they had no information for me. Some chose not to answer when I called or when I asked they had never shot there and were unaware of the procedure.

I know that a number of you are probably wondering why I didn't start with just talking to someone at the zoo. To be honest I had started to get in contact with them. The minute that I was asked to do the session at the zoo I looked up a point of contact at the zoo and sent off an email. I let 48 hours go by with no response, and since this was a last minute shoot I needed to have my ducks in a row or I needed to find another location. I personally did not want to have to find another location because this zoo with its gardens are amazing. So I was holding out hope that it would all work out in our favor. After no contact was made from the point of contact I tried calling the zoo, and the first phone call was a complete failure. They wanted a message and they would get back to me at a later time. So I waited, until the next morning. I can almost bet I was the first call of the day. I called as soon as I knew the gates were open and I was praying someone would actually want to talk to me. As luck would have it there was someone who wanted to talk to me, and they even had the answers that I was looking for. Per the interpretation of the policy I would be shooting as a non commercial entity. Which seems odd because I am still selling the photos. Here is the catch. I am selling them to an end user. I am not creating them for marketing and they will not be used to advertise for a specific business. That is where the difference lies. This session also did not fall into the bridal category because there was not going to be all the extra things like hair and makeup and a huge dress that was going to be in the way. In their eyes this was nothing more than a family trip to the zoo.

So what I have learned that there is not a defining answer that goes across the board to determine if we are all considered commercial or non commercial. Even though we are getting paid for a service and a product it may not mean we are commercial. This is something that is determined by the location that we are shooting at, and what we are planning to use the photos for once they are completed. Which now that I know this is either going to be a blessing or a curse, as this now leads me to question every time that I shoot at a new location where am I going to fall, and I feel that I need to find a way to understand the policies as I read them a bit better in order to reduce the stress of trying to figure out what I am or am not based upon the project that I am working on. I feel like I have said all this to simply say, no matter what you do as a photographer when it comes to determining if you are commercial or non commercial it is left to the discretion of others whether you like it or not.

What are your opinions about this particular topic? I would love to hear them!