The Premier Event Planning Company in Phillipines

Lead Events is a full service event planning and marketing firm based in Manila, Philippines.

If you are looking for professionals to coordinate your event, you can entrust all your concerns to Lead Events and we'll make sure you and your guest will enjoy a most memorable moment.

Book your event today! Call us at (+63906)512-9418 or (+632)779-8690

Lead Events PH
16C Blue Sapphire Building
2nd Avenue Corner 30th Street,
Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, Metro Manila

Lead Events PH specializes in:

• Conferences • Conventions • Special On-Site & Off-Site Events • VIP Grand Openings, VIP Dinners • Company Parties • Product Launches • Golf Outings • Corporate Events • Sporting Events

Also check out Lead Events Facebook Page for past event pictures

Still on the fence?

This is why you should consult with Lead Events:
Events and entertainment need careful execution in order to run smoothly and seamlessly
We will work within any budget
We have an extended network of contacts & a huge array of locations to offer
We have experience doing everything from bringing in celebrity hosts, creating event props from scratch, and doing a live broadcast of an event.

10 Basic Steps to Successfully Planning an Event

We've all been an event planner at one point in our lives-- from planning a birthday party to organizing a company outing. Indeed, planning an event can be tiring and stressful, yet can also be as rewarding as any other profession, especially if you are able to lay out your plans very well. The secret of a successful activity or event does not lie on how big the budget is or where the venue is. Everything is all about proper and careful planning.

So, if you are tasked to spearhead an upcoming social or corporate event, you need to familiarize yourself first with the basic steps to successfully planning it. Read on and find out more about them:

STEP 1: Know the type of event/activity you're planning.
It can be a wedding, a birthday party, a corporate event, etc. Remember, different events call for different approaches and preparations. What can be done at a birthday party may not be possible in a corporate event; wedding materials are not the same as with outings and meetings. Don't go into the deep waters without knowing what you're facing.

STEP 2: Have specific goals and objectives for the event.
Nothing beats setting clear and specific goals right at the onset of an event planning. Try to identify what you want to achieve at the end of a particular activity. When you have a solid idea as to what you're supposed to accomplish, you'll save huge amounts of time planning because ideas will come easy.

STEP 3: Decide on the time and date of the activity.
Some people tend to take for granted the time and date of the activity. But picking the best time and date to hold you activity is also as necessary as choosing the venue. Most venues are already fully booked in advance, so you need to decide on the time and date as soon as possible. Otherwise, you would have no choice but to settle someplace else or worst, postpone the event.

STEP 4: Determine the venue and the facilities to be used.
You would also need to choose the most suitable venue for your event. This includes looking into the available facilities, location as well as the space that it offers. Make sure that the venue's space is enough to accommodate all the guests and that there's nought room to hold your activities.

STEP 5: Contact suppliers and partners to help you with the event.
Don't try to take it all by yourself. Ask other people and organizations to assist you in properly executing the event. Just make sure that you determine their responsibilities beforehand and see to it that you check on them once in a while.

STEP 6: Create a budget.
Create realistic and necessary budget for your event.Make a list of your possible expenses and identify your sources of money. Be practical and try your best to work within the budget range. You wouldn't want to throw a party just to end up with a burned pocket.

STEP 7: Make a schedule of tasks that needs to be accomplished.
Create an event timeline to help you determine the aspects that's already accomplished as well as the things that still needs to be done. Make a schedule of the tasks and assign people who will be responsible for each of them. Be ready to discuss this with everyone involved in the event planning.

STEP 8: Finalize all the necessary materials for the event.
Make sure to finalize the following things that you would need for the event:

• PROGRAM: Know the flow of activities and who will perform them. Decide whether a program print out is necessary.

• HOST/PRESENTER: Decide whether you would need hosts or presenters during the event. If you do, identify who exactly you would want to contact. Also, know the type of communication you want him to do.

• EQUIPMENT: Make a note of all the materials that you would need. Assign someone to be responsible in picking up and collecting the equipment for the event.

• AWARDS: If you are going to give out awards and prizes, decide on what you need to buy or make.

• PROMOTIONS / INVITATIONS: Identify the type of approach you want to use to promote or publicize an event (e.g. giving out invites, flyers, press releases, emails, etc.). Decide who will be responsible for the information dissemination.

STEP 9: Take note of additional items needed.
Depending on the type of event, there are some additional items that you would need to consider. These include:

• food/ catering services
• flowers/ floral arrangement
• music/ singers/ musicians
• decorations
• photo and video coverage

STEP 10: Take a deep breath, relax and enjoy the event!
You worked hard to make it happen. Erase the stress on your face and just enjoy the event!

Planning need not be as hard as you think. Whatever activity you may be required to organize, keep in mind that everything is about being well prepared and ever ready.It's always up to you whether you want your event to be memorable or forgettable. Remember, poor and hasty planning can lead to disaster; well thought of activities pave the way to success. Choose to follow these ten basic steps when you plan an event and see how they can make things a lot easier for you.

When To Call Yourself A Pro Photographer?

Nowadays it seems that people who purchase a $500.00 camera learn to shoot a few hundred images and then start charging for their service. I say “Good” for them, they are trying to move forward. I also see so many photographers get upset when they run across one of these people and in some way feel angry and even threatened.

The reality is there are no shortcuts to becoming a good photographer; and even less in becoming a great photographer, everyone finds this out eventually despite the corners they try to cut out of the process. Today someone with a camera can take a less than mediocre photograph throw it into Photoshop and polish that turd till it shines. Then post it to Instagram and get thousands of likes and feel like they have made it. Most clients of the new photographer don’t know the difference between one of those photographs and a truly great photograph unless they see them side-by-side.

So when should you call yourself a professional photographer? It seems like people are in a huge rush to move from the purchase of their crop sensor camera and a nifty fifty to being called a “Professional Photographer”. I think it is very straight forward, when the BIR looks at your tax return and it is very clear that the majority of your income comes from taking and making photographs you should be able to reference yourself as a Professional and not before.

So if you just purchased your DSLR and are itching to be the next ProTog there are a few things you should really consider.
• How well do you understand the relationship between shadow, light and specular highlights.
• How well do you know your camera, do you shoot in Manual mode?
• Do you understand how to fill the frame and what that means?
• Do you know and understand why, when and how to compress the background?

These are but a few of the very basic elements of photography you will need to understand before you can move into more advanced areas of photography. There is so much that can and should be covered but that is all outside the focus of this post.

The best advice I can give is to slow down and don’t rush trying to make money off your photography just yet. Learn the craft and maybe even get yourself an older film camera to learn how to pay more attention to each photo you take. Experiment with shadow, light and learn how to transition from one to the other in a graduated fashion. If you are including people in your photos learn how to capture a mood or feeling and not just record how they look. Most importantly don’t listen to the everyday person's comments. This includes those that feed your ego by telling you how great your photos are, as well as those that tell you how you are doing everything wrong. Believe me when I tell you if they were worth listening to it would have cost you something.

If you think you’re ready to become a pro then invest in hiring a photo editor to sit with you and go over your portfolio. You will learn more in one session with a good photo editor than you ever will from someone that wants to tell you how you missed the shot or didn’t have your camera settings right in the first place, or how your model looks too posed. In most cities you can hire a good photo editor for an hour or so for less than $100 and if you are serious about becoming a professional photographer that is money worth spending. Best of luck, and keep taking & making photographs.

Tripod recommendations

Q: I'm looking for a good tripod but the prices are outrageous. I'm not a professional and $300+ is just not economically sound. There has to be some really good solid tripods that are affordable. I'm using a DLSR with battery grip for still photos, no video. I have an old school Velbon and it's really solid. It's also heavy and hard to travel with. I've been looking a generic branded models but I just don't know if they are solid.

A: So what's your actual budget? Does that budget need to include a head? What is the biggest setup (camera and lens) you plan to shoot with on this rig? Do you want to be able to get the camera to eye level (or at least close) without raising the center column, or are you ok with compromising by either stooping down a bit or raising the center column (which reduces stiffness)?

If you want light and strong. Of course the better ones are going to be expensive, I spent more than $300 on the legs alone for mine but it will last me forever and I give thanks I splurged every time I put it over my shoulder. For me it was economically sound because I consider the work it saves me a value as well as the fact that cheaper ones will not last as long so the cost is lower in the long run.

There are store brands out there like Promaster that make reasonably priced carbon fiber legs, but the hardware is a bit cheap and can be difficult to work in the field. You can also check ebay, and see what the Chinese sellers are offering. Again, be careful of the cheaper ones because a small bit of broken plastic hardware can render it useless.

Hate to say it but you get what you pay for. Might get lucky and find a used decent one on but, solid, light and cheap are self canceling traits when it comes to a trip-pod.

Are people still doing candy buffets during events?

My friend is very excited about having a candy bar, but she was worried that they were "trendy" and that maybe some of her less kind and more judgmental relatives would snicker that it was an out of date trend. I tried to assure her that it was now becoming a classic, and so adorable, who cares? I am excited to help her build the candy bar with various jars and candies in her wedding colors and make gift bags and such. Are people still doing candy buffets during events or are those passé? Or are they now just part of the reception?

The candy bar is still popular as a mix your own wedding favor type of thing. For those who don't love candy, there's the optional sundae bar which is definitely a crowd favorite in this hot weather. Also do look at Oriental Trading, they sometimes have specials on the bags which work out cheaper than buying them and stamping them etc. Another thing to remember that if the reception is outdoors any chocolate needs to be kept in the shade. I'd be happy with gummy bears, jelly beans etc. Just MHO but unless you get a really good deal I wouldn't bother with M&Ms with the initials on, the initials are so small you can't read them.

I think everyone likes it, even if it's trendy or "passe". People dig it so screw what's trending.
We're not going all matchy-matchy with colors though - we're going for "old time" candies with a mix of more current. (nothing in there that's just there for the theme but rather things people want to eat)

Everyone is a good photographer

YaY for software !

Anyone is more able to capture a poor image and transform it into a good image.

Anyone is more able to "save" an image or make a usable image from a poor or useless one.

Anyone can take a picture of anything ( the ground, any wall, the sky, any person, object,etc) and edit it and/or combine it with other images,etc.

Recently saw a photo of a woman. It was an outdoor shot and she was wearing a wide brimmed black hat. The hat had a pattern of weaved straw. However, when the photographer released the shutter, into the frame walks another person. It was a on shot photo as the subject moved on. His description of the original was she obscured the side of the ladies face and 1/3 of the straw hat, never mind the background. Through PP he was able to reconstruct the photo, including the face and hat. Some really great cloning. I think he took a second shot to capture the background. It really was an amazing image. You would never have been able to tell unless he told the story.

I want a Canon 6D

I'm upgrading from my D7000 to full frame. The camera I really want is the D810, but I can buy the D750 body (which is really a very nice camera) plus a $1200.00 lens for less than what the D810 body alone sells for. Now the question to me is .... are the few features that the 810 offers really worth the extra $$? After all, as the old saying goes..... invest in glass and not bodies...right?

During the decision process before upgrading to my D7000 from my D40x, I was looking at the Canon 7D and the 5D Mark II. I really wanted the 5D, but that was a huge amount of money for me. Not getting the 5D, left me wishing I had went the full frame option ever since my last upgrade. So was saving the money then actually worth it in the long run....probably not. So...here I am again in the same situation.

So with this new purchase, either option gives me what I really want...Full Frame. That is the point of this upgrade...so why do I have such a dilemma on my hands? It certainly isn't the 36MP that the 810 offers. I actually prefer the 24MP the 750 offers. But...there are three things the 810 offers in my mind, I feel are worth the difference.

1) No AA filter over the sensor. I know...in side by side comparisons, you really have to get to the pixel level to tell any difference here...and not always then. Just the knowledge that the sensor is in some way distorting the image will always be in the back of my mind.

2) Shutter speed up to 1/8000 second. The 810 offers this. The 750 tops out at 1/4000 sec. Really not sure what Nikon was thinking here. That is one full stop.

3) Native ISO down to 64. That's actually a pretty big deal. (for me anyways)

and of course a few other things that are nice about the 810 over the 750, but are more of a personal preference over function.

So this time, I'm going in the opposite direction from my previous buying decision. I'm spending the money on the body....and will add glass over time when I can afford it.

Of course, I'll be heartbroken when the D900 is released....but right now...I thinking this is the route I need to take.

Fuji Finepix Z70 firmware question

I'm on my 2nd camera of this model, both bought used. Today I was trying to take some pics and the thing started bouncing around different menus without input from me. I replaced the battery on principle and it gave me a message "Firmware Update: Battery Should Be Fully Charged" The next message said something about "Update Failed". I can't replicate the problem but am afraid it will appear again at a bad time; ie any time I'm trying to take pics. I haven't been to Fuji's website yet. I'm afraid the camera is no longer supported. Is there some kind of internal timer that gives the update message? Does anybody have any experience with this, or advice about what I should do? I am hesitant to connect my camera to my computer to the internet for the obvious reason. My camera, desktop computer, and phone are discrete devices and never connected more than 2 at a time. I never connect my camera through my computer to the internet and don't want to.

Both the age of the film and the storage conditions you describe will almost certainly result in degraded quality. Most film from disposable cameras is also underexposed as well. The process used to develop the film will be the same regardless of who processes it, the key is to find a lab that uses "good" chemistry. Your local drugstore likely does not receive enough film each day to keep their chemistry healthy. Your best bet (in my opinion) is to "send it out" to a large wholesale or professional lab where they still run control tests and the pool of film they receive maintains their chemistry. Most likely the resulting film will produce prints with a magenta/blue color shift. Depending on the severity, some of that can be corrected in the scanning/printing process.

Photo Booth Rental Service for Debuts, Kiddie Birthday Parties and Weddings in Metro Manila

Photo Booth Rental Service for Debuts, Kiddie Birthday Parties and Weddings in Metro Manila
Lead Events PH
Landline: (+632)779-8690
Globe: (+63906)512-9418
leadeventsph@gmail.com
http://www.leadeventsph.com/services

HELP unbootable Mac Pro with crazy Fan!

I recently upgraded my Mac Pro with 24 GB RAM and have filled each bay with 1TB drives. Everything was working great and then all of a sudden it won't boot, had never heard the fan at all prior to this and now it's very loud. There were no warning signs, poor performance or error messages. I tried a different graphics card and discovered I had the latest and had to put the original back in. A tiny piece of plastic that held the prongs in place broke off. I was surprised it still worked in spite of that missing piece of plastic.

Would anyone know if it's a software or hardware problem? Is the problem on my computer or Apple Display? There is no Mac repair near me and I will have to mail it to the nearest one in Makati I suppose. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

The heat sensor to the Processor tend to go out on the earlier mac pros that will prevent it from booting and that is why your fan will speed up and get louder. Also the heat sensor to the ram will do the same thing, you may have broken one off with the plastic piece you are talking about pull all your ram out and try adding two gig at a time to see if one is bad and don't use the one that is broken. it's worth looking at.

You obviously know more about the hardware than I do. What you say makes sense and I will try your recommendations. Is the heat sensor to the Processor a replaceable item? Or is it part of the motherboard? The piece of plastic that broke off is connected to the graphics card on the motherboard and is nowhere near the RAM storage area.

I came across an application that regulates the Fan called SMC FanControl. app I put it on my iMac and hoped it might help the MacPro too should I ever get it operational again.

I've always found tons of stuff online relating to booting issues on a Mac. One thing you can try is to remove the most recent drive you installed. You didn't say, but the machine will default to another drive if it has another hard drive with an OS on it suitable for booting. You can also try starting up holding down the option key, and choices might appear if the board and ROM is good and it spots a boot alternative. I wouldn't worry about the tiny piece of plastic. As long as the card stays in place to maintain the electrical connections, you will be OK.

Seeking inspiration for a event party menu

DH and I along with SIL and her BF will be hosting an anniversary party for my MIL and FIL (wow, that was a lot of abbreviating!). It's their 40th anniversary and we'll be serving appetizers, dinner and dessert to approximately 40-50 guests. I'm looking for some inspiration for a dinner that is not terribly complicated but will look impressive for the guests. For some reason, when I think of feeding a crowd, I can only think of lasagna and while I make great lasagna, I don't feel excited about serving it for this occasion.

So, we had considered recreating the meal that was served at their wedding reception. My FIL's father catered their reception and after talking with them last night, apparently neither of them looked back fondly on that meal and I don't think a re-do would be well received. They did love their cake and I plan to make a copy of the wedding cake for dessert.

So, I'm looking for your best ideas. We can work with: 5 burner stove with oven, 2 propane grills, charcoal grill, smoker, electric roaster oven, 2 propane burners (the type used for turkey frying) crockpots and two neighbors kitchens. We have plenty of people to help with preparation. We'd like something not-too-casual since it will be an evening event and while it will be in our backyard, we are planning to rent the big round tables with real linens and lots of elegant lighting, etc.

It sounded like the back in the day meal was a mishmash of stuff set up as a buffet. I know there was roast beef, some kind of meatballs, potato salad, mashed potatoes and, "some other stuff". I wouldn't rule out something like roast beef and I don't think they'd mind that either. I just don't think going for a total re-do of that meal would wow them.

Not too casual to me means the kind of meal one might get in a nicer restaurant. I'm not looking to do cold cut trays or a spaghetti feed or a huge pot of chili kind of dinner.

We haven't made a decision yet about plating or buffet. We're still looking for ideas to throw around.

We really don't have any kind of food restrictions for this event (whew!!!). No need to avoid any kind of meat, wheat, etc. I guess the only real exception would be that DH and I are not big fans of fish (we eat shrimp, crab, lobster but not stuff with fins) so while the guests would probably love that, we wouldn't get much pleasure from preparing it.

Newbie Advice on a DSLR camera

So I'm trying to jump into the photography/DSLR world and was hoping you guys would have some suggestions or advice on what camera to start with. I've had a regular canon point and shoot for years now. I'm now debating between the Nikon D3200 and Nikon D7100. Is it better to start off with the D3200 and upgrade in the future if necessary?

I'm most likely gonna be photographing more landscapes, scenery, outdoors, travel photography etc. Of course, I'll also be using the camera for everyday photography as well.

Any recommendations for lenses? I was thinking to just start off with 18-55mm and 55-200mm which I'm assuming are the kit lenses you mentioned?

Be sure to budget for lenses

The kit lenses can produce passable images, but you will get far more mileage with quality lenses, which cost quite a bit more. I often recommend to new photographers this: buy a used body, and upgrade later as your skills start to surpass what the camera can offer. Or when the body starts to fail, which it will eventually. Use as much of your budget as you can for a good lens or two. Exactly what lens? That depends on what you'd like to shoot.

The body, if functioning properly, could easily be used. It will, however, be well served by a good lens that fits your needs. I bought a D3200 a year ago and love the simplicity, versatility and the price. But I don't love the Kit lens. Actually, the D3200 is now upgraded to a D3300 retail. It have a few more bells and whistles, more focus points, etc. But I am working towards some better glass.

Wedding Photography: Overpowering the Sun

One situation where this has come up in the past while I was doing a wedding is when the bride and groom come out of the Church and are just stepping into the sun light. There is no controlling where the sun will fall on their face and if it is a harsh sun it can blow out (be really bright almost to the point of white) an area of the subjects face while keeping the other areas properly exposed. The camera is limited in its metering ability and struggles with very light/dark area contrasts. If you try to properly exposed the blown out area the other areas will become too dark and lose detail. Either way you lose detail in either the blown out area or the too dark areas.

One thing you can do is properly expose the blown out part (making the other areas dark) and use a speedlight to expose the dark area and bring back out the details. On camera flashes will not be powerful enough to do this especially considering you might not be able to get right up close to the subject. Additionally, I believe the D3200 is menu driven and this can be slow to work with when shooting in rapidly changing environments. While your outside waiting for the couple to exit set your camera on center weighted metering (as opposed to matrix metering) and use a small focus area. When the couple comes out you can focus/meter on the blown out area and the camera will adjust for that area only. Then you can quickly re-frame the shot and snap away.

With a little bit of practice this is very easy and will allow you to work with varying blown out areas (dress, hair, skin, etc.) very quickly. When using this technique you will usually be outside with strong sun light and already be using a high F-stop but make sure not to go to low on the F-stop as you want a large depth of field area. Sometimes when you focus/meter on an area it might not be their face. You want to make sure that the face is in proper focus and a shallow depth of field will make this very difficult. Everyone wants soft backgrounds but proper exposure is way more important.

Pentax Lens Recommendations?

I currently have a Pentax K20 - and the only lens I currently have (2nd hand) is a Tamron 18-200mm. I haven't been all that impressed with it's focus (or often lack of focus). Because it's the only digital I've used, I don't really have much to compare to aside from other photographers works.

I'd like to focus on more close range work - portraits mostly, but also birds and wildlife so I will likely need a variety of lenses including a decent telephoto.

What recommendations do you have to help me get started on the right path? Not looking to make the switch to Canon or Nikon. There must be lenses available for Pentax that will give me the results I'm hoping to achieve!

Let's see. You have different needs - most wildlife will not let you get very close for the "close range work" unless you have a remote system that triggers when its motion sensor is tripped. That said...

The 50-135mm f2.8 is nice and fast. The focus can be a little soft at the extreme end, but not to the point where it bugs me. Con? AF motor is a titch slower than I'd like for action shots, but that might be PEBKAC - I don't do a lot of action photography in general. Paid about $1000 USD, but the price has gone up since.

Sigma 18-55mm f2.8: it's a very nice wide lens - definitely a big step up from the kit lens. Fast, AF is pretty good. I like this for landscapes and some portraits. I don't remember what I paid...around $600 or so? It's my go-to lens when I want to capture that vast, sweeping landscape.

The plastic 50mm f1.4 lens: I really like it. Fast as hell and it's a good, solid portrait lens. $400-ish?

I also have the 43mm f1.9, and I use this when I shoot portraits in small spaces. Definitely a good portrait lens.

The 35mm f2.4 is also recommended, but I've not tried it myself, but it might be a good starter portrait lens - about $200. Don't let the low price deter you; it's due to its plastic body and lack of manual aperture control (you set it via camera dials).

On my wish list is the 300mm f4 ($1400) or new 560mm f5.6 ($7000) AND the new 2x teleconverter ($600-$700) for wildlife photography. I have a crappy 30yo Solignor that works out to be about 460mm on my K5, and I just adore having that big of a zoom. But the IQ is horrible; I'm keeping my eye out for inexpensive alternatives while I save up.

If you'd like thorough, in-depth reviews of these lens or any other pentax lens, hit Pentaxforums.com. Great resource for when you're shopping, and the community is growing.

Is the DSLR fad over?

Of course camera manufacturers appreciate that convenience matters to consumers. Convenience has driven the consumer market for decades and everyone knew it. All of the periods of boom in the industry coincided with advancements in convenience.

The digital revolution is all about expedience. It's the people who are just seeing it now who are behind the curve. An old friend who is a Canon sales rep predicted the decline of the point-and-shoot digital market caused by phones about a decade ago. I doubt he was the first. Roughly 70 million interchangeable lens cameras were sold globally over the last 5 years. I'm sure I'm not making any unwarranted assumptions in stating that working professionals are only a small proportion of those buyers - the BLS estimates 136,000 professional photographers in the US. Worldwide, maybe it's a million or two?

I'm sure all of us know quite a few amateur SLR owners. Most of them bought the camera because they wanted better quality and were told what equipment could provide it and was within their budget, but were never willing to learn how to use the camera to get that quality. Instead, they quickly tired of carrying around a larger camera that when used on auto-mode produces photos that are only slightly better than what the better mobile phones are producing these days.

A very large proportion of the SLR owners I know almost never use them any more. Since after an initial period of enthusiasm with the new device, they now mostly sit shelves, these buyers probably won't be returning to push those sales numbers back up in the future. These are the people I'm referring to as following a fad.

Obviously, not the professionals. They buy what they need for their job, and will continue to do so. Nor for a fairly sizable number of hobbyists like myself, willing to make at least some extra effort and investment in pursuit of quality rather than settling for convenience.

Event Photography Tips for Newbies

Before shooting Manila events with an SLR, there's more to than just bringing your camera there and clicking away. I'm assuming you know how to change the ISO on the camera, but you are having difficulty deciding what ISO to choose?

There are three factors that determine exposure; shutter speed, aperture and ISO. These are referred to as the exposure triangle. Each one has a different effect on your final image and you need to visualize what you are trying to accomplish and then make your exposure choices based on those decisions. Here is an excellent book that will teach you almost everything you need to know about the exposure triangle, I recommend it highly.

http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Exposure-Photographs-Digital-Updated/dp/0817463003/

Basically this is the deal with ISO. The ISO is essentially the sensitivity of your camera's sensor to light. At the lowest setting (usually 100) there will generally be the least amount of noise. The higher the setting, the worse the noise. The reasons you want to use a high ISO is when the light is low, and you need to keep the shutter speed fast to avoid blurring images. Since noisy is preferable to blurry, this is a trade-off you will sometimes accept. Reasons to use a low ISO, when you want the cleanest image possible and shutter speed is not necessarily an issue...like bright sunny days in Philippines or when shooting on a tripod. As you use your camera during the event, you will learn at what point ISO noise becomes an issue. As technology has progressed, we can push cameras much farther now than in the past. There are just too many scenarios to list here, but this gives you an idea what kind of things to take in consideration. Trust me, get the book and read it.

Next, the 75-300 is heavy? Hardly, it's actually quite a lightweight to carry around during the event. As far as stabilization, none of the Canon bodies have it. Stabilization is built into the lenses on Canon equipment, not the body...so I'm not sure what you're referring to there.

As far as editing, I don't think flickr has that capability...picasa does, you may want to try that one...it's tied in with Google+ nowadays.

Mac Pro intro of new models coming?

I understand Apple has about a 3 year cycle for introducing "new & improved" for proven good products. As I see it, a three year cycle is a little too long; probably more like six months. But the thing is, you should not expect that what you buy now will be obsolete or dead or unsupported in three years. That's not what will happen.

Apple has typically upgraded the tech about every six months in their current models; the processors get a little faster (not really much of an issue, any more); they have more cores and more pipelines and more ram and they're moving from mechanical drives with moving parts that eventually wear out and break down and are heavy to solid state drives with no moving parts and don't get so hot and graphics processors with more memory and better heat dissipation and different and faster connectors and brighter and higher resolute displays and it's never going to stop. These things will always be in evolutionary mode.

You get something now or whenever and know that it will be surpassed in six months in some way. Also know that, with prudent care and maintenance, it will have a lifespan of at least five years and probably much longer and will still be working as it did when new with little degradation. And yes, there will also be a new and improved model coming right around the corner. But that's what you want, isn't it?

You say, you're 'tired of Windows'. That's the OS that was the primary motivator that made me buy a Mac; a 17" MacBook Pro in 2006 with Intel Core Duo processor and Apple Mac OS X 10.4.x, the first OS X version. It now runs OS X 10.6.8, the last OS X version the Core Duo can handle. But the Core Duo was replaced after about six months with Core2 Duo, along with all new, upgraded hardware to match the processor and to optimize its speed and performance. And it's been that way at every step. I hope it never changes.

All the other PCs offer about the same kinds of upgraded hardware but what they can't offer is the proprietary OS belonging to Apple. You either accept it or you stay with the same old Windows OS and all the problems that accompany it. That's all I have to say about that.

What's up with Photobucket?

Wow, Photobucket sent me an email saying my free 10GB was almost used up and I need to upgrade to the paid version. So I went into my library and deleted over half my old images. Was 613, now 357 images. Two days later they say I've exceeded my 10GB and stopped displaying images I've posted. All is says is this: It's like pay us for free advertising. You advertize for them for free by linking to your photos, in return you get a free account, but you provide too much advertizing so you need to pay them so they can account for all the traffic you bring in. Makes complete sense to me.... I wonder if I can set up a new photobucket account using a different email address or will I need to learn to use flickr or another service.

Advice on Carribean themed social hour?

For next month's wedding, the client is requesting to make the social hour Caribbean themed. Would that be weird switching themes and then going back to the original theme for the reception? Even if we emphasized the honeymoon being in the Caribbean? Other ideas we thought about is making a Caribbean themed bridal shower or rehearsal dinner, etc. if the social hour did not work.

Maybe switching back and forth will just undermine both themes, and they are so different--elegant roses theme, playful caribbean theme--too jarring. I am not a fan of brides planning their showers since it is a party for them, thrown by other people, not their event. However, the caribbean theme would be fine for the shower and/or rehearsal dinner. 

It's easy to sink into a mixed-up muddle -- a formal ceremony, a casual Caribbean social hour, and then back to a formal reception? Unless there was an overriding style that could be incorporated into all three segments, I think the Caribbean jaunt in the middle of two formal settings would be a little too jarring. 

It looks like the photographer left room

It looks like the photographer left room for the groom on the left side of the photo. If he'd shot it as a vertical, he wouldn't have had to cut off part of her head and arm. At the very least, I think he should have put her in the left third of the frame rather than the right.

The effect consists mainly in exposing for her face, which is in open shade, overexposing the background and using shallow depth of field. This style can be shot in an actual outdoor location or in front of a painted drop in the studio, although this was pretty clearly shot outdoor.

The style is consistent with the pose, and except for the composition, it's a pretty nice example of that style. I don't particularly like that style, but then I almost never worked that market.

If I were working the wedding/portrait market, I would want to have some of this style, along with some of the more traditional approaches, in my portfolio. Hopefully all of it well composed.

A varied portfolio shows the possibilities to the client and lets her/him choose the style.

I have to confess, I don't know what you mean by "the pp," so I just responded to what I saw. I don't think that asking more than one question a day offends anyone.

I am with you on the top of the head and the arm at the bottom of the photo. Bad move. As one poster notes, she spent a lot of time and effort on the hair so a photographer should take note. Also, cropping body parts has rules. Partial appendages are not usually a good idea. This one falls into that category.

Ah the rule of thirds. Not centering a subject and how to do it right. This rule is one that can be rethought. Typically, when the subject includes movement, like a car or plane, there should always be space in front of that object to let the mind perceive forward movement. But not always. A plane may be towards the leading edge of the photo if you wish to show a particularly spectacular contrail, lets say.

When I first looked at this photo the idea that popped into my head is that she id focused on the bouquet, not for what lies ahead, but for where she came from or what brought her to this time and place. So really, its a matter of what you want to portrait. That part of this photo was to me, interesting.

As for the tone, colors, exposure, etc. I am not a good critic. But I agree that could be what the bride wants. So as many of us know, a happy bride is a good thing.