About Stephen
Stephen Zeller is a San Diego-based portrait photographer, with his primary focus being families and children. He enjoys sharing what he's learned with other photographers in addition to creating stunning images. Be sure to check out Stephen's Galleries!
Client Proofing @ Zenfolio
Where I Get My Gear…
I was also in the Navy (for 4 years…a decade ago).
And I also have three kids.
And I also made photography my hobby.
Have you ever been to Japan?
That’s where I live with my wife and our daughters.
Check out my site (and feel free to comment):
http://tokyo5.wordpress.com
Thanks.
Dude!
I can’t freakin’ believe this! I’m a former US Navy Submarine sailor! What are the freakin’ chances that I’d be researching an article about wireless flash and come across a brother squid is with exactly the info I freakin’ need!!???
I’m a model photogrpaher here in North Dallas and I use the wonderful little bastard in the studio daily. I just ponied up the cash for that dream flash – SB600 – and I’ve been tryin’ to jerry rig something to give a two light configuration outside the studio for months.
I stumbled across Gadget Inifinity and nearly creamed in my jeans – lol. Then I found your review and the deal was sealed! I’m ordering the thing tomorrow. I’m doing a lot of import car shooting with my models at car dealships and I need backlighting to reduce or eliminate the damned shadows in the background.
Alfred – STS1(SS) 9/77 – 12/85
Hi Stephen, I know you get asked a 1000 times, so I won’t ask it, but in terms of my buget it is around £7oo-800 for a new PC for digital photography, I’ve thought about Mac but not sure, convince me! i am very PC literate. I have done a few weddings with a pro and enjoy it. I have built a studio at home (Garage conversion) where I’d like to do some portrait work. I have CS2, not conversant with it yet, doing course in the new year. Any PC’s you would recommend? I’ve took a look at a Sony 20.1″ tft, looks good 2gb ram, 500 gb hard drive, 2.4ghz i think, any advice much appreciated. many thanks Simon
Hi Simon,
The best advice I can give you is to go with what you think will work best for you and your budget. I use both Macs and PCs and I primarily use my 15″ Macbook Pro but I do use a PC from time to time running Windows Vista. The single most important piece of hardware is your memory or RAM, so don’t skimp on that. I would go with at least 2GB if you are going to be running Photoshop or Lightroom. If you get a PC with a 64-bit version of Vista, then you can have up to 4GB of RAM. The 32-bit version will only recognize 3GB.
As far as PC brands go, HP and Sony make great machines for multimedia/graphics work. Of course, should you decide to go with a Mac, they are all great for graphics, photography, etc. Look for features that you know you will use like Firewire ports if you know you’re going to use Firewire drives.
Desktops will give you more bang for your buck, but laptops will give you the ultimate in portability. You can always connect a larger external display to a laptop in your studio for post work. I like having my Mac with me because I can back up photos on location to my Mac and external hard drives so I can ensure my images are safe. Then I can free up my memory cards for more shooting.
Again, RAM quantity is key. Hard drive space really doesn’t matter because I don’t know a single serious photographer that keeps all of their images on their computer’s hard drive anyway. Too risky.
With regards to displays, there are a lot of choices and if you want the best you’re going to have to spend some money. Also, invest a little money in a hardware calibration device like a Spyder3 or Xrite Eye One to make your display show you the truest colors possible.
I hope this helps you and I apologize for the delay in my reply. I have been at sea and just got back today. Have a great day and happy shooting!
Best regards,
Stephen
Did you see this rant about the Nikon D3?
http://nocroppingzone.blogspot.com/2008/12/hitler-rants-about-nikon.html
ROFL!
Hi Stephen and greetings to you from Down Under”
Though i’d say G’day and share my passion about photography. Have you sailde to Ozz yet?
I have been enjoying photography for some years on and off. It has only been in the later years where i became more passionate about. One main reason being is technology making things much more fun and easier. or perhaps more complex in some areas?
How do you find the Nikon D90? It is a Camera i am stepping up to in the near future hence specific Lense equipment not costing me the Earth. I have done a lot of research prior to settling for the D90. You obviously thought it to be a good idea too to purchase one. Probably would not use the Video function on it.
Any how” Best wishes to you and your Family.
Kind regards” Ray
Z,
I was doing a search for DDGRON related stuff and stumbled accross your website. Awesome stuff! Hope things are going well for you and your family out in San Diego. Just wanted to drop a hello from all of us back here in Bath!
Phil Mills
Hi Stephen:
Just stopping by to introduce myself and inform you and your readers about an awesome photo contest.
Visit this site: nationalgeographic.com/energizer
Contact me if you’d like more info or have questions.
Thanks,
Nicole D.
Energizer Brand Advocate