Ini adalah artikel yang saya tulis agak lama dahulu dan pernah disiarkan dalam beberapa forum tempatan:

Ada orang yang ambik gambar dah bertahun-tahun, tapi gambarnya macam tuuu jugak. Takde improvement. Ada caranya untuk jadi jurugambar yang baik dalam masa yang singkat ( Sebenarnya, tak singkat jugak la, sebab there is no shortcut to success ) Cuma, dengan cara ini, anda akan bertambah maju, ke arah menjadi bagus, bukan sekadar duduk di takok lama. Mengikut pengalaman saya, 5 perkara itu:

1) Banyak membaca mengenai teknik dan teknikal fotografi
Ni yang paling penting lah. Asas kearah menjadi yang terbaik. Kalau takde basic knowledge macamana nak improve.

2) Banyak membaca mengenai peralatan dan teknologi terkini
Dengan mengetahui peralatan dan teknologi baru, secara tak langsung, anda juga dapat mempraktikkan atau menggunakan peralatan baru itu dalam fotografi anda. Contohnya, kalau biasa shoot guna flash light, apa kata study pasal lampu video light dan jadikannya sebagai satu sumber lighting menggantikan lampu flash. So, explore satu benda baru, dari segi equipment.

3) Banyakkan melihat gambar-gambar yang hebat dari jurugambar yang hebat.
My favourite - National Geographic magazine laa..photographer dia semua power. Tapi skrg, dalam website pun boleh cari gambar2 yang bagus. Tengok gambar yang bagus, study kenapa gambar itu bagus. Study apa teknik yg diguna. Satu lagi tujuan kena tengok banyak gambar ialah kesannya kepada kita punya photographic memory. Otak kita akan ingat visual2 yg kita pernah tengok. Bila tiba masa kita ambik gambar, secara tak sedar, kita akan ambik gambar sama macam gambar2 yang kita pernah tengok dan admire. Takde masalah, pada peringkat awal tiru style orang lain. Kita tiru style org yg kita admire. Slowly kita akan develop our own style. Untuk melihat banyak contoh gambar, sila ke: http://adanphoto.fotopages.com atau www.adan.biz

4) Banyak merakam gambar, tak kira gambar apa, dimana, bila-bila masa…
Ni kira kacang la sekarang ni. Dulu masa kami zaman filem, memanjang pokai, duit habis beli filem & print gambar. Semata-mata nak belajar. Buat benda apa pun, kalau nak pandai dan mahir, kena practice. Practice make perfect. So, kalau zaman digital ni, kalau ada photographer ada alasan malas ambik gambar, jangan jadi photographer…sebab sebenarnya dia tak minat. Kalau minat, semua jadi. Bila dah banyak practice ambik gambar, kamera akan jadi sebahagian dari badan kita, jadi kita punya second nature. Takde la setiap kali nak ambik angle lain sikit, terkial2 nak adjust kamera. Sama jugak dengan skill melihat, composition dsb.

5) Jangan BODOH SOMBONG.
Ni masalah besar ni. Ilmu tu luas dan takkan habis dipelajari sampai kita mati. Orang yang bijak akan rasa semakin bodoh apabila dia belajar makin tinggi. Maknanya, bila kita mendalami sesuatu bidang dengan sebenar-benarnya, kita akan nampak betapa luasnya ilmu bidang itu dan betapa jahilnya kita. Hormat orang yg lebih berpengalaman. Walau gambar dia style lama, dia pasti tau something yg kita tak tahu. Org. lama pun kena belajar dari org baru. Banyakkan bertanya. Jangan malu bertanya. Orang pandai memang banyak bertanya, cuma kena fikir dulu apa yang hendak ditanya. Tapi, orang bodoh takut bertanya, sebab takut orang tahu yang dia bodoh.

Sekian, harap tulisan ini dapat sedikit sebanyak membantu. Harap maaf
jika ada kesilapan atau menyinggung mana2 pihak.

Hasnuddin
Untuk kemajuan anda dalam fotografi, sila layari laman web rasmi fototeacher.com di http://www.fototeacher.com

Untuk maklumat lanjut, sila layari - http://www.aktiviti.sifoorian.com/rekafotowarisan/

Baru baru ni saya sempat berjalan-jalan di kota Bangkok. Bangkok adalah sebuah bandaraya yang besar dan moden. Tapi, saya rasa, Kuala Lumpur lagi cantik dari segi landscape dan kebersihan. Saya sempat melawat beberapa kedai kamera di Bangkok. Ternyata, kedai kamera di sana lebih canggih dari di Malaysia.

Kamera terbaru Nikon D3 dan D300 ada banyak ‘on display’ dan ‘ready stock’. Lensa dan aksesori yang jarang ada kat Malaysia pun mudah didapati di sana. Dari segi harga, lebih kurang macam harga di Malaysia. Pendek kata, saya simpulkan, Bangkok mempunyai pasaran barangan kamera yang lebih baik dari di Malaysia. Ini mungkin disebabkan jumlah pelancong asing dan peminat fotografi tempatan yang ramai terdapat di sana.

Hasnuddin

Nak lens apa? Pilih aje. Jangan bayar pakai RM, pakai Baht.

Kamera besar tu ialah kamera Canon F-1 dengan bulk film magazine. Ada banyak lagi kamera ‘lama’ yang dipamerkan di kedai Canon ni. Kedai kamera Canon ni, disamping menjual kamera baru, ia juga ada satu bahagian galeri yang mempamerkan kamera-kamera Canon yang terdahulu. Kedai ni terletak di MBK Shopping Complex, Bangkok.

Kat kedai ni, hampir semua lensa Canon yang ada dalam brochure, dipamerkan dan dijual, tak payah nak order. Kedai ni terletak di MBK Shopping Complex, Bangkok.

Gambar oleh: Md Zaini Bin Awang
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jai8778

KOMEN JURUGAMBAR:
“Gambar ini dirakam secara sepontan apabila secara tiba-tiba anak saya ‘pose’ sebegini sewaktu berehat di pusat membeli belah. Exif Gambar: Exposure: 0.017 sec (1/60), Aperture: f/2.8, Focal Length: 50 mm, ISO Speed: 200, Exposure Program: Manual, No Flash”.

KOMEN SAYA:
Secara keseluruhan, pada pendapat saya, gambar ini boleh dikatakan gambar yang baik, kerana:

1. Cahaya semulajadi yang lembut (diffused) yang sesuai dengan karakter kanak-kanak perempuan.
2. Sudut cahaya dari bahagian sisi memberikan kesan cahaya yang baik. Kurang cantik kalau cahaya datang dari atas.
3. Penggunaan shallow depth of field yang berkesan dimana hanya muka subjek sahaja yang ’sharp’, manakala bahagian badan dan latarbelakang jadi out of focus. Ini membuatkan wajah subjek lebih menyerlah di dalam gambar
4. Latarbelakang yang berwarna hijau gelap juga membantu untuk menonjolkan lagi subjek utama
5. Dari segi composition dan cropping pun dah cukup baik - gambar tak terlalu loose atau terlalu tight.

Cuma, saya rasa, ada satu lagi perkara yang boleh diperbaiki pada gambar ini. Ekspresi subjek kita ni bagi saya, tak berapa ‘kuat’ dan tak berapa natural. Untuk mendapatkan gambar potret yang berkualiti, ekspresi yang baik adalah sangat-sangat penting. Subjek tidak boleh nampak malu-malu atau kekok. Subjek mestilah nampak natural dan menampilkan karakter dirinya yang sebenar. Untuk membaca tips saya tentang cara merakam gambar potret, sila lihat di - http://fototeacher.com/blog/?p=55

Sekadar pendapat saya. Ada sesiapa yang ingin bagi pendapat lain? Sila berikan komen di bawah…

Kalau anda ingin gambar anda disiarkan dan diberi komen di sini, sila ke - http://fototeacher.com/blog/?page_id=131

Hasnuddin

Kita relax sekejap dari cerita pasal fotografi. Kita tengok gambar kelakar sikit. Kat sini ada koleksi gambar signboard di Britain.  Ada elemen lucu berbentuk gurauan dalam signboard diaorang ni…

Salam,

Rakan-rakan yang dihormati, saya siarkan di sini artikel sambungan dari artikel bertajuk ‘LETS HAVE SOME TALK ON PRICING…’. Artikel sambungan ini juga agak ‘panas’ apabila ianya disiarkan dalam beberapa laman web dan forum tidak lama dahulu. Selamat membaca. Harap tak panas sangat dah…

PRICING AGAIN!!!
By Hasnuddin Abu Samah
http://www.adan.biz
http://www.fototeacher.com

To inspiring photographers…

I notice that many photographers now realize that they actually put a not so profitable price for their service. But they also afraid to put the price they wanted to, because the risk of losing the job to other cheaper photographers. OK, now we know the problem. What are the solutions?

First, let makes things clear. Photographers who don’t want to expand and improve their standard can stay with their low price. OK, there is nothing we can do about it. It’s their choice. For photographers who want to improve their standard, and charge the way they wish, maybe I can give some help here.

So, why you need to charge higher? It’s not just for the sake of money actually. When we charge higher, we have enough profit. With profit, we can upgrade our equipment and our SERVICE. Imagine, if you get paid RM 100 to do a job compared to if you get paid RM 1,000 to do the same job. Definitely you will do the RM 1,000 job better. In that sense, you will produce a better quality of work. Your client will get a better value for their money and this industry will grow another step further. That is why.

Here is the truth…

It is true, when you start to increase your price, you will lose some job. The good news is, it’s only happen for a while. During my freelancing period 10 years ago, I charged RM 100 per roll. But I want to improve. When I decided to increase my price to RM 150 per roll, I lose a lot of jobs ( Well, RM 150 per roll is very expensive at that time! ) A regular client of mine ( Mak Andam at that time ) no longer being my regular income provider. I have to face it. After suffering a few months, I started to establish my new price. But, guess what? I get another new, more rewarding client. I improve more, gain more experience and gain more profit. I increase my price every 1-2 year. And that process keep on going. I increase my price, lose a job for a while, get better client, make profit and increase my price again…..and so on. Now, I can charge RM 2,000 just for my service to shoot a 4 hours wedding in KL. That is not including photo prints, album etc. But, for business purposes, I do offer a cheaper package to my client by sending my staff photographer to cover the event. I personally train them to achieve the required standard. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t say that I’m the best photographer nor a successful businessman. There are more much successful photographers out there. It’s just they are too busy to write.

I learnt things the hard way. I thought I can help to make it simpler for others.
So, for those who want to improve their photography career, face it. Take the risk. You will be where you want to be. Good luck!

_________________________________________________

PERINGATAN:

Tidak dibenarkan untuk copy mana-mana bahagian dari artikel ini. Namun, saya benarkan anda copy artikel ini, dengan syarat-syarat berikut:

1. Sila copy keseluruhan artikel dengan tajuk dan nama penulis
2. Sertakan link ke laman web http://www.fototeacher.com/blog di bawah artikel yang digunakan

Salam,

Rakan-rakan yang dihormati. Artikel ‘LETS HAVE SOME TALK ON PRICING’ ini adalah sebuah artikel yang saya tulis agak lama dahulu dan telah disiarkan dalam beberapa laman web dan forum tempatan. Artikel ini adalah artikel yang saya kira paling kontroversi yang pernah saya tulis. Saya siarkan kembali artikel ini kerana saya masih mendapat banyak pertanyaan mengenai CARA MELETAK HARGA. Tulisan ini ditulis dalam Bahasa Inggeris rojak Tapi, isinya lebih sedap dari rojak Harap anda dapat manfaat dari artikel ini. Selamat membaca!

LETS HAVE SOME TALK ON PRICING…
By Hasnuddin Abu Samah
http://www.adan.biz
http://www.fototeacher.com

This writing is dedicated to the professional wedding photographer and also for bridegroom to be. This writing might not be favourable to everybody, but the thing is, I just want to share with you some of my thought…

By the way, please excuse my English, I’m just an uneducated Malay guy trying to catch up with some other successful English speaking berabuk guys.

Many of you might agree with me that, wedding photographers now have a strong demand in the market. You also might agree that, the price to pay for a good wedding photographer is really expensive. But, usually, if you really shop around, you can get cheaper price from an unexperience part time photographer. But, you can even get a really good price cut from a photography company. So, what is the problem?

The problem is:
For the customer: With the low price, the photographer will cut a lot of ‘unremarkable’ cost in order to make a little profit. So, you will get a less quality of service or material.
While the problem for the photographer is: You get less profit in that particular job and you have a good chance to make no profit at all at the end of the year! Then, without any profit, how could you invest in a good equipment, improve your product and even survive for the next year?

I have one good story to share with you. It’s about my conversation with a young and unexperience video cameraman. I really feel sad for him…

I met this guy at a wedding. While waiting for the bride, I have a chat with him. It goes like:

Me: Berapa awak charge untuk shoot video kahwin ni?
That guy: RM 350
Me: Kalau dengan editing sekali, berapa charge?
That guy: Itu sekali dengan editing lah
Me: ( Terkejut. Terdiam sekejap…) Murah jugak tu…
That guy: Boleh lah..
Me: Semalam, masa nikah, awak shoot jugak?
That guy: Ya
Me: Berapa charge untuk shooting semalam?
That guy: Sekali lah tu. RM 350 untuk 2 hari termasuk editing. Saya bagi 3 VCD.
Me: ( Terkejut lebih besar. Terdiam lebih lama…) 2 hari shoot tu maksimum berapa jam?
That guy: Tak kisahlah. Pagi sampai malam pun saya kira sama jugak - RM 350.

And this is the best part…

Me: Boleh untung ke?
That guy: Mesti la untung. Saya charge RM 350. Kos saya tape RM 15, VCD RM 3, Minyak
kereta RM 10. Semua kos saya RM 28 je. Saya untung RM 300 lebih. Saya kerja
seminggu pun tak dapat sebanyak tu.
Me: ( Dah nak keluar api atas kepala ) Awak tak kira ke kos lain. Kos masa, equipment,
elektrik, kepakaran dan sebagainya?
That guy:( Tak faham )

Then, in a very short period of time, I explain back to him what and how he should charge. He don’t know what I’m talking about. I can’t help any further. I hope, by this time, that guy already discover what I’m trying to say.

If you also still can’t figure out what I’m trying to say, let me explain in details here:

Ok, we know the material cost for that guy is RM 28. Now let add other cost that poor guy had miss out.

Let assume that this guy’s fee is RM 10 per hour ( THAT IS REALLY CHEAP!) and lets have a look how much time did he spent for the job.

First, meet the client to discuss about the job ( 1 hour ) - RM 10
To shoot for nikah, he spend 1 hour to travel from his house to the location - RM 10
Then, he shoot the nikah, he spend 6 hours to cover that event - RM 60
The next day, he travel 1 hour again to the job location - RM - 10
Then, he spent another 6 hours to shoot the video - RM 60
After the shooting completed, he do the editing. It tooks about 12 hours - RM 120
Lastly, he send the VCD and meet the client. He spent another 1 hour - RM 10

TOTAL COST FOR TIME SPENT = RM 280.00
MATERIAL COST = RM 28.00
TOTAL = RM 308.00 ……..waiiiittt…we’re not done yet!

There IS another cost to add. YESSSS…..THIS GUY’S CAMERA AND EDITING MACHINE.
Do you think this video equipment is free?
The video camera + editing PC cost about RM 6,000 ( This is the cheap one )
Do you think this video equipment no need to be maintained?
The video equipment will break down from time to time. Need to repair. Regularly, need to
service the camera. Need to upgrade the PC.
Do you think this video equipment will last forever?
One video camera will considered as OUTDATED in 2 years.

So, how much is the cost for his camera for 1 day use. I don’t want to go into detail on asset depriciation calculation here. Let put it simple. Usually, people will rent out their camera for RM 100 per day ( That is the cheapest!) and usually, people will charge RM 100 per day also for rental of editing facilities ( That is also the cheapest!) Yes, even though you use your won equipment, lets treat it as if you have to rent it, or easier to say, the client have to rent the camera equipment with your shooting service.

So, lets add another cost for this guy:

2 days camera rental @ RM 100 per day X 2 days = RM 200.00
1 day editing rental @ RM 100 per day X 1 day = RM 100.00
TOTAL EQUIPMENT RENTAL COST = RM 300.00

OK, OK, I’m panic already. Lets add all the cost:
Material = RM 28.00 ( heheh…very cheap )
Time = RM 280.00 ( Opppss.. )
Equipment = RM 300.00 ( Huh!!! )

TOTAL = RM 608.00
Actually there is another cost, but I’m already afraid to count. Because, every time this guy do a video shooting job, he don’t get any profit ( Not even a single cent ). He actually PAY his client RM 258.00 for giving him a professional & tidious job! Wonderful!

I’ve been in this business for the past 10 years. 7 years as a freelance. 3 years with a proper business setup ( with staff, office, asset etc.) The transition from a photographer to an entrepreneur takes a lot of effort. I need to learn a lot of thing about business ( Marketing, PR, Branding, Publicity, Sales, Pricing, Production Management, Training, Finance, Account, HR, Admin and a lots more ) It’s not easy. Now I know why so few Malay people succeed in business. It is because:
1) It is so tough and the risk is so high.
2) We need to learn a lot of thing about business. It’s not in our culture yet. We need to learn from a scratch.
3) Malay businessmen is too ‘generous’. We don’t really put a deep thought on what we should spend our money for and we feel too afraid to put a PRICE for our service.

Yes, our people is not really ready yet to pay for a service. That is why photographers have to compliment their service with an album and etc. That is why a doctor has to ‘cover up’ their service charge by giving the patient some not so useful medicine.

In a short note, here is what a photographer should charge for:
1) Expertise - time and money spent to master the skill
2) Shooting Time - time is money.
3) Equipment - charge like if you have to rent it from others
4) Post production time - per hour rate X how much time spent to touch up the photo etc.
5) Material & cost - petrol, prints, album, CD etc.
6) Overhead cost - advertsing cost, building rental, telephone bill etc.
7) PROFIT - you need profit to grow

And…also keep in mind that:
Miscellaneous cost eg: mistake, client ask for re-edit, price increase in stock etc.
Also remember, you have to work on weekends when you should bring your family for a picnic and sometimes you even have to shoot on public holiday! You also have to work in odd hour. Think about it. You too should have a normal life. Don’t you like to charge a little bit extra just to compensate with your not so NORMAL lifestyle? Usually, the answer from cameraman is, ” Tak boleh buat apa laa..cas mahal sape nak bayar???” For me what is mahal or murah depends on the value. If the cameraman do not value themselves, who will?

To bridegroom to be:

Don’t worry about what I’m saying… If all the photographer charge properly, we all will get a very high quality wedding photography service. After all, when a photographer give you a cheap price, there is high chance that he is cutting down the time and cost that I’ve mentioned above.

Thank you for reading. Please write to me if you have any comments.

_________________________________________________

PERINGATAN:

Tidak dibenarkan untuk copy mana-mana bahagian dari artikel ini. Namun, saya benarkan anda copy artikel ini, dengan syarat-syarat berikut:

1. Sila copy keseluruhan artikel dengan tajuk dan nama penulis
2. Sertakan link ke laman web http://www.fototeacher.com/blog di bawah artikel yang digunakan

Sumber gambar asal - http://www.nikon.com.my

SOALAN:
1) Boleh tak kamera digital SLR guna teleconverter?
2) Apa perbezaan di antara teleconverter dari segi zoom. Berapa jauh zoom boleh pergi kalau guna 70-200mm?
3) Bagaimana dari segi perubahan aperture?

KhairulNizam Omarudin
Yon Image Photography
http://yon-kn.fotopages.com

JAWAPAN:
Sebelum saya jawab soalan, saya nak cerita sikit kat anda semua, Yon ni tinggal di Johor tapi dah 2 kali datang kursus fototeacher di KL. Saya salute semangat Yon yang kuat untuk belajar. Satu lagi… maaf Yon, saya lambat jawab soalan ni. Soalan anda ‘terhilang’ dalam ‘timbunan’ e-mel Ok, untuk menjawab soalan anda:

• Ya, kamera digital SLR BOLEH menggunakan teleconverter (TC)
• Sila lihat dalam gambar di atas - teleconverter merupakan tube yang ada kanta di dalamnya. Teleconverter dipasang di antara lensa dan kamera dan berfungsi untuk meningkatkan kuasa focal length sesuatu lensa. Maksudnya, kalau lensa 200mm dipasang dengan teleconverter 2 X, maka, lensa 200mm tadi akan jadi lensa 400mm!
• Ada berbagai jenis ‘kuasa’ teleconverter, contohnya 1.4 X, 1.7 X dan 2 X. Teleconverter 1.4 X meningkatkan kuasa focal length kepada 1.4X dan seterusnya. Saya berikan contoh:
  • Lensa 70mm dipasang dgn. TC 1.4 X akan menjadi lensa 98mm
  • Lensa 70mm dipasang dgn. TC 1.7 X akan menjadi lensa 119mm
  • Lensa 70mm dipasang dgn. TC 2 X akan menjadi lensa 140mm
• Dalam masa teleconverter menambahkan ‘kuasa’ focal length, malangnya, ia juga mengurangkan ‘kuasa’ aperture. Jika lensa anda ada aperture maksimum f/2.8, dengan menggunakan TC 2 X, aperture anda akan gelap 2 stop. Maknanya, anda tak akan dapat kecerahan f/2.8 lagi, tapi hanya dapat maksimum aperture f/5.6 sahaja. Jadi, inilah kelemahan utama teleconverter. Saya berikan contoh:
  
  • Jika guna TC 1.4 X, aperture f/2.8 akan jadi f/4 (Lebih gelap 1 stop)
  • Jika guna TC 1.7 X, aperture f/2.8 akan jadi f/4.8 (Lebih gelap 1.5 stop)
  • Jika guna TC 2 X, aperture f/2.8 akan jadi f/5.6 (Lebih gelap 2 stop)

P.S. - Kepada sesiapa yang masih tak faham apa yang saya terangkan mengenai teleconverter, focal length dan aperture stop, kena hadir kursus AFD… http://www.fototeacher.com/basicphotography.htm

Jika anda ada soalan yang ingin ditanya kepada saya, harap jangan tulis soalan pada ruangan komen di bawah. Sila hantar soalan dengan mengikut format yang betul seperti yang telah ditetapkan. Untuk melihat cara menghantar soalan, sila klik di sini.

Hasnuddin