Photography : SG set EXIF data

you could also try the SG Photographer Hopefuls group, which is specifically about shooting for SG. many staff photographers are in there and im sure would tell you lots about the technical side of things

Apart from the things already said by tmronin and Rigel, EXIF data is always stripped from web-optimised images. I always get asked why I take the EXIF data out of my sets and that's just the nature of how it works. Unless you (and everyone else) wanted to wait for full quality JPGs to download the EXIF data will never be present. Not to mention not all sets are digital to start with

For the record there are quite a few pros working for SG. Check the photographers out here: http://suicidegirls.com/about/ many of them have their websites and flickr accounts linked in their profiles.

If you like shallow DoF check out Sean, Zoetica, Vermelho and Missy's latest works, and of course Lavonne as tmronin mentioned.

1. There's a SG Photographers group . . . and you're not invited. Official photogs only, but there's always the hopefuls group.
2. Many of the photographers are also members of the photography group, and there are a number of professional, non-staff photographers in there as well that do amazing work.
3.On the other hand, I'm not sure how quickly the staff photographers would respond to technical questions, since many of them are *gasp* professional photographers and do this for a living so are kind of busy. Maybe you didn't intend it that way but your final comment is patronizing and misinformed, oh and kind of snobby.

...and yours isn't?

I think it'd be a pretty cool idea, but yes, I understand it's a pain in the ass to share/whatever the EXIF data. But I think it was a cool suggestion!

I think the Photography group is a great place to ask questions and learn new things. spend some time over there.

I'm not a pro. I'm just a housewife who does photography as a hobby in exchange for money.

(sarcasm)

Yeah, I don't really like posting my EXIF anyways - I'm not sure why - so I'm not really a fan of the idea. It's not that hard to learn to guess it though, with a pretty good amount of accuracy. Just takes some practice and some basic knowledge of lenses/exposures.

Why don't we turn this into a thread where SG photographers can share some of their info if they feel like it?

What I primarily shoot with:

Digital:

Canon 20D
(yes, it's 3.5 years old. it's been a work horse having shot over 200 SG sets not to mention 10,000s of other photos for other projects)
Lenses: 28mm f/1.8, 20mm f/1.8 50mm f/1.8 and very occasionally 14mm f/2.8
ISO: I like to try and shoot between 100-400ISO if I can but have been known to shoot at both 800 and 1600ISO in the past

Film:

Contax G2 rangefinder (35mm)
(similar to Leica rangefinders)
Lenses: Voigtländer 40mm f/2, 90mm f/2.8
Film: Usually Kodak Portra either NC (neutral colour) or VC (vivid colour) depending on the saturation/colours I want. I want to try some Fuji film soon.
ISO: Usually 400ISO but occassionally 160 or 800ISO
Scanner: Epson 4990

Software:
Adobe Lightroom and then Photoshop.


Lighting:

These days I mostly like to work with either continuous cool lighting or available lighting. As I mostly shoot in film these days it's best for me to shoot with daylight balanced lights, but sometimes I mix up colour temperatures for various effects.

I also shoot with strobes (usually a 2-3 light setup), although that is more in the past for me now. These days I'm all about ambient light.

General Technique:

No matter my lighting and medium I always try to keep control of my DoF by shooting anywhere between f/1.8-f/6 or so. I like to mix it up within a complete set, rarely keeping to extreme shallow DoF for the whole set because I think it's important to take in the surroundings and to have some photos with a fair amount of the model in focus. But, anyone that knows my sets knows I love my shallow DoF, but I try hard to control it and make sure it's necessary for the shot rather than just a default setting.

I usually shoot in manual mode when I have control of the lighting but occasionally will shoot in aperture priority.



I know not all photographers may be comfortable with sharing this level of information, but it would be nice for this thread to actually become useful

hmmm shallow DoF ♥

Cherry, I love you. And i want to buy a new lense too (shooting with a 50mm 1.8 is cool but it was hard with Sinnah's set because i didn't have enough place sometimes ^^)

Ooops. I meant Zeiss lenses and it's a 45mm not 40mm, I'm going mad. They're much better than Voigtländer, so no one rushes out to buy Voigtländers and gets disappointed

Have you shot all of your film sets with the Contax? Do you plan on using any of your other cameras?
I'm having a really hard time getting good results with lighting, unless I'm using natural light. I haven't quite figured out yet that lighting doesn't work quite the same with film as it does with digital.
Ooooh, and the Potra 160NC is quickly becoming one of my favorite films. the box I have is a few years expired, but is still doing a great job.

I tried to stick to the equipment and process I use for SuicideGirls sets as that's what the OP asked about, but nice to read other stuff too!

When I say ambient lighting I don't necessarily mean I just go with what's there (i.e. natural light) and leave it at that. I like to use lamps and household lighting you'd find in a "normal" setting and get my control through that

I probably won't use any more of my film cameras for SG work because they are mostly hobby/antique cameras and not good enough for professional work or they are medium format pro cameras and shooting a whole set on MF would be a pain in the arse and not be much different at web-resolution. The Contax G2 has some of the best lenses in the world, so there's really no reason for me to use anything else film-wise.

Light isn't that much different in film to digital. The only real difference is that there is much more exposure latitude so that means you have more room to not be accurate with the exposure and the shadows will be more open than in digital. Technically your light should behave exactly the same, if it's not then there's something going wrong with your exposures.

...or I'm just a tard and probably not doing it right. hahaha.

I don't have a lot of time right now to go into what I shoot with and how but I just wanted to add that just because not all sets are shot with shallow DoF or Bokeh doesn't mean that a person is not a professional photographer. I am a fashion photographer so while I really appreciate other people's techniques I don't tend to shoot a lot of shallow DoF stuff. I do it on occasion and like the results when I do but SG is the only place I really do that.

If you saw my professional portfolio you would see a lot of stuff shot at f11 and higher because that's how a lot of people shoot fashion commercially. This doesn't make me less of a professional photographer.

it's true--and she kicks ass at what she does!!

And here's me thinking you did it just to please men... I mean, that's all that women can do, right? And SG photographers. *crosseyed*