Preventing disaster.

Shay Stephens · June 7, 2006

Small story about averting disaster. You may have heard stories about disasters that have happened in the past, and how if only one little thing had changed in the sequence of things, the disaster may have been averted.

Well this is a story of how that can be true.

I went to shoot a wedding in North Carolina this weekend. So I packed up all my gear and arrived the day before the rehearsal. Shot the rehearsal and that night downloaded all the photos to the laptop. Discovered that I forgot to bring my external DVD burner cable to burn the photos off to DVD.

My mind was debating on risking the chance of the computer going bad before I could burn off the photos. I didn't succumb to the temptation. And sure enough, my computer died the next day, the day of the wedding. The hard drive is toast as well as the motherboard.

So the day of the wedding, I had the stress of shooting the whole wedding with fewer memory sticks. So my plan of action was to review the photos and field delete those that I obviously could not use and would never make it into the gallery. I reviewed and deleted bad photos on the spot, and was being more discriminating about what I shot, was tighter with my composition to get it right the first time. It was harder on me and more stressful, but I ended the wedding with one stick left in reserve and did not shortchange any part of the day.

It helps that I bought extra memory a week before the trip. I wanted to have more memory than I minimally needed. I have the rehearsal photos as well as the full wedding photos. That extra buffer, and not trusting a laptop not to fail saved my behind from bursting into flame.

I am now shopping for a laptop that has a built in DVD burner so that I can eliminate another point of possible failure (forgetting to bring a stupid cable). Reducing risk is a big part of photography, and a never ending battle

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wxwax · June 7, 2006

Wow, what a scary deal, Shay.

I would have been very fearful about deleting pics in cam. The only times I've had major problems with memory cards is when I've edited shots in the camera. Sure glad it worked out for you.

Shay Stephens · June 7, 2006

wxwax wrote:

The only times I've had major problems with memory cards is when I've edited shots in the camera.

I've done nearly 100K photos on these cards and never had a problem editing in camera. However, to mitgate the risk of a card going bad (for whatever reason), I only use 1gb and 2gb cards. I try to keep no more than an hours worth of photos on a card. That way when a card does go bad, I have limited the damage to a small part of the day.

Lee Massey · June 7, 2006

Hi Shay...

Shay Stephens wrote:

And sure enough, my computer died the next day, the day of the wedding. The hard drive is toast as well as the motherboard.

Yikes... If that had happened to me I would have been freaking out at the time. I can't imagine that you were too pleased either.

Shay Stephens wrote:

It was harder on me and more stressful, but I ended the wedding with one stick left in reserve and did not shortchange any part of the day.

Given that you had this extra stress of reviewing and deleting in the field, would you say that it affected your work? For the worse or the better?

Shay Stephens wrote:

Reducing risk is a big part of photography, and a never ending battle :

Good advice... (as I rush off to backup my archives). Glad to hear that all turned out well!

Thanks for sharing your story...

Lee

USAIR · June 7, 2006

Yikes is right your one lucky dude Shay
I would have thought nothing about keeping them on my laptop

What's the chances my laptop will die tonight ?
Apparently pretty good

Something to think about

Thanks
Fred

ziggy53 · June 8, 2006

Shay Stephens wrote:

Small story about averting disaster. You may have heard stories about disasters that have happened in the past, and how if only one little thing had changed in the sequence of things, the disaster may have been averted.

Well this is a story of how that can be true.

I went to shoot a wedding in North Carolina this weekend. So I packed up all my gear and arrived the day before the rehearsal. Shot the rehearsal and that night downloaded all the photos to the laptop. Discovered that I forgot to bring my external DVD burner cable to burn the photos off to DVD.

My mind was debating on risking the chance of the computer going bad before I could burn off the photos. I didn't succumb to the temptation. And sure enough, my computer died the next day, the day of the wedding. The hard drive is toast as well as the motherboard.

So the day of the wedding, I had the stress of shooting the whole wedding with fewer memory sticks. So my plan of action was to review the photos and field delete those that I obviously could not use and would never make it into the gallery. I reviewed and deleted bad photos on the spot, and was being more discriminating about what I shot, was tighter with my composition to get it right the first time. It was harder on me and more stressful, but I ended the wedding with one stick left in reserve and did not shortchange any part of the day.

It helps that I bought extra memory a week before the trip. I wanted to have more memory than I minimally needed. I have the rehearsal photos as well as the full wedding photos. That extra buffer, and not trusting a laptop not to fail saved my behind from bursting into flame.

I am now shopping for a laptop that has a built in DVD burner so that I can eliminate another point of possible failure (forgetting to bring a stupid cable). Reducing risk is a big part of photography, and a never ending battle :

Shay,

I have a "two technology" rule that nothing is really safe until it is backed on two different types of technology. In your case, the originals were on cards and when you copied them to the HD that was a second technology. If you had used the DVD burner, that would be a third technology, and then it would be safe to erase/reformat the cards. (Back to two technologies.)

I know folks who only make CDs/DVDs, and then eliminate the originals. They don't even verify the copies! I think this is just asking for trouble.

Anyway, I'm glad I'm not the only one who worries about this and I'm glad it (mostly) worked out for you. It's this kind of diligence that lends to your overall service and value. I bet the bride and groom are completely unaware of all you went through.

Thanks for the story and the reminder,

ziggy53

Shay Stephens · June 8, 2006

Lee Massey wrote:

Given that you had this extra stress of reviewing and deleting in the field, would you say that it affected your work? For the worse or the better?

I thought about this and slept on it and I don't think it effected the outcome of the day, only my enjoyment of it. I had extra stress, but it wound up being the same amount as I had before buying the extra memory. So it was a wash I would say.

However, we went down to South Carolina for a mini vacation after the wedding, and I did not enjoy much of it, and wound up leaving a day early so I could get back to the office.

I now have the photos backed up to my satisfaction (and relief) and a new laptop is on it's way to me (one with a built in DVD burner), so I feel better now

Shay Stephens · June 8, 2006

USAIR wrote:

Yikes is right your one lucky dude Shay
I would have thought nothing about keeping them on my laptop

What's the chances my laptop will die tonight ?
Apparently pretty good

Something to think about

Thanks
Fred

It's that darn Murphy, he is everywhere and listens and waits to pounce when the time is ripe hehehe

Shay Stephens · June 8, 2006

ziggy53 wrote:

I have a "two technology" rule that nothing is really safe until it is backed on two different types of technology.

I love that rule and follow it myself

I know folks who only make CDs/DVDs, and then eliminate the originals. They don't even verify the copies! I think this is just asking for trouble.

That was one of the big reasons I went with Nero for burning DVD's, it will do a data verification after the DVD is burned. I have caught a few bad burns that way over the years.

Anyway, I'm glad I'm not the only one who worries about this and I'm glad it (mostly) worked out for you. It's this kind of diligence that lends to your overall service and value. I bet the bride and groom are completely unaware of all you went through.

They had a stress free and enjoyable wedding day, and hopefully will never know what went on behind the scenes

saurora · June 8, 2006

I'm glad things worked out Shay. A good lesson for all to learn, especially those who are wedding photographers. You were so right to not trust your laptop!!! We all know computers can go at any time. Good call. You can never be too cautious, or have too many backup plans and different technologies available to use. A wedding photographer not only risks ruining someone's wedding memories, but their reputation as well. The close call cost you enjoying your mini-vacation because of the stress you endured. You made some wise decisions, up-graded to an internal DVD for more security, and finally, shared your experience with us. I also think that your idea of limiting how many shots go on a card (to eliminate loss) is a wise one. I had never thought of that. Thanks!!!

Lee Massey · June 8, 2006

Shay Stephens wrote:

I thought about this and slept on it and I don't think it effected the outcome of the day, only my enjoyment of it.

Thanks Shay... I was just curious. Hopefully you'll share some of the results here...

Shay Stephens wrote:

That was one of the big reasons I went with Nero for burning DVD's, it will do a data verification after the DVD is burned. I have caught a few bad burns that way over the years.

I was not aware of that... I will have to look into my software a little more closer. Thanks for this heads up.

:

Thanks again Shay...

Lee

Shay Stephens · June 11, 2006

Some photos
Here are some photos from the wedding day:

This wedding had a lot of low light environments, and I used my 50mm f/1.4 more than ever before. There is no love like the love for bright glass

Lee Massey · June 12, 2006

Wow Shay! Nice set.

I am sure that the client will be quite happy with these. I love the one of the wedding party at the front of the church and the last one is just magical. Well done.

How was the picture of the groom with the garter lit? I was trying to figure it out but it I couldn't satisfy myself with an answer?

Shay Stephens wrote:

Here are some photos from the wedding day:
This wedding had a lot of low light environments, and I used my 50mm f/1.4 more than ever before. There is no love like the love for bright glass

Ahhhh bright glass... You have to love it.

Can't always afford it, but I can always love it.

Thanks again for sharing...

Lee

Shay Stephens · June 12, 2006

Lee Massey wrote:

How was the picture of the groom with the garter lit? I was trying to figure it out but it I couldn't satisfy myself with an answer?

I was using four lights:

The diagram above is a top down view of the photo showing the dance floor and where the lights were placed and pointed. The groom and myself were located above the "b" in bounced.

Mike Lane · June 12, 2006

Man, that's good stuff! Thanks for the real-world tips Shay. Not that I shoot weddings, but maybe someday. Who knows?

Lee Massey · June 13, 2006

Wow... Thanks Shay. The picture with the diagram is really helpful. 4 lights? That is probably why I was a little lost.

:

Thanks for sharing...

Lee

Shay Stephens wrote:

I was using four lights:

Preventing disaster.

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