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08/26/2002 12:17:17 PM · #1 |
I've been looking at some of the out takes and it appears some of you actually spend money on buying props.
On an average (or high/low costs), how much do spend in preparation for a challenge shot?
To date (only 4 challenges) I have spent $0.00. A lot of time and energy, but no money.
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08/26/2002 12:23:01 PM · #2 |
If you filter in lost sleep to the expense of a challenge, I don't think I could put a price tag on my expenses :)
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08/26/2002 12:25:36 PM · #3 |
I've been sending a check every month to Best Buy to try and get my camera paid off. Does that count?
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08/26/2002 12:27:14 PM · #4 |
| rarely more than $10 (if that). i also don't usually use the prop in the final shot so now i have a lot of cheap useless stuff that i'm accumulating at home ;) |
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08/26/2002 12:49:32 PM · #5 |
| ... driving 40 miles one-way to the shoot location ... |
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08/26/2002 01:00:39 PM · #6 |
used a hundred dollar bill for one...but was still able to use it after it dried.
usally spend under $10.00...sometimes driving to a location shot is necessary.
I bought jacks, and $3.00 in candy for this challenge - but didnt use any of it..kids are now begging for the candy.
Dollar stores are good places to shop...nice and cheap!
As far a lighting...I hold a $10 desk lamp in one hand while shootin with the other!
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08/26/2002 01:06:13 PM · #7 |
I've found that my indoor shots need much more work than my outdoor shots so that's what I'm trying to work on. My biggest hurdle is lighting though so I'm really tempted to spend some money. I've ordered an external flash (420ex) so we'll see if it helps any. It wouldn't be just for the challenge though so I don't know if that counts.
I spent about $10 this time, but it's all stuff I would probably be buying soon anyway.
It does annoy me slightly when I spend some time getting everything together and setting it up only to see a ton of shots score higher when they obviously didn't put much thought or effort into it. |
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08/26/2002 01:23:19 PM · #8 |
with my budget i can't spend $ on props so i either borrow what i think i need or i think of something else to shoot or i just don't play ;o)
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08/26/2002 01:30:14 PM · #9 |
I spent a whopping $1.98 for 48 pencils to make "Pencil-vania." Too bad about half of the people didn't quite get the joke :)
Being a cheap skate, I'll do everything I can to avoid spending $$ for the challenges. Seems like there's almost always subject matter somewhere that doesn't cost anything. |
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08/26/2002 01:33:33 PM · #10 |
If I do spend money its either very small (Under $5) like my prop for C'est La Vie or something I can use like the pineapple for Aloha which was made into Pinacollada's later that week :-)
I have bought some material for backdrops but I take photos of our Persian cats for breeder magazines and needed them anyway :-) (my original purpose for buying a digital camera so many months ago...damn you DP Challenge!!
* This message has been edited by the author on 8/26/2002 1:38:19 PM. |
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08/26/2002 01:40:15 PM · #11 |
Originally posted by indigo997:
It does annoy me slightly when I spend some time getting everything together and setting it up only to see a ton of shots score higher when they obviously didn't put much thought or effort into it.
I know your frustration. I just noted how many photos scored considerably higher than my "Chip Off the Old Block" pix and yet even with an objective eye, I note they don't deserve to rate higher than mine. Then when I note that I got 20 votes under 4 for the shot, I have to conclude those 20 people have little understanding for what they were viewing. The 7 "1's" and "2's" I received I would, under normal circumstances, consider an insult. But then there may be very real reasons that have nothing to do with my photo or my ability. It may be their monitor, their eyes or their cruelty.
I enjoy the challenge, but I am learning to take the voting with a huge grain of salt.
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08/28/2002 08:41:46 AM · #12 |
I bought a 2nd hand book for the Something New challenge, but my idea didnt really work out, so I didnt enter and tossed the book into the recycling. Cost Two pounds. I also bought some art stuff for pencil (rubber cement to glue a pencil onto my hand to make it look like I'd impaled myself). Again, results were poor (One handed photography is HARD!), but I'll probably use the glue elsewhere.
I have spent about 75 pounds on a load of white LEDS + bits to make a pair of lightweight light sources for photographing nocturnal insects (Wildlife is my real hobby, dpc is a sideline). I've built the first one, but I'll photograph the second under construction and post it on my website. |
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08/28/2002 09:12:41 AM · #13 |
Challenge by challenge:
Amber (Transition): No expenses.
SEPTA: It's better than driving! (Advertisement): No expenses
Preakness (Games): Left my apartment at 5:15 AM and drove about 125 miles each way to Baltimore, MD. I got to see my best friend out of it. Expenses included gasoline ($12), tolls ($6.50) and parking ($4). Total expenses $22.50.
At the Beach (People): Again, I shot this one with my best friend, this time in Northern Virginia. Expenses were gas ($16) and tolls ($8.50). Total expenses $24.50.
Shofield Ford Covered Bridge (Black & White): No expenses.
Westbound Reader (On the Road): A friend of mine modeled for this shot. Expenses were gas ($5), tolls ($1.70), parking ($12), a bus ride ($4) and dinner for my model and myself ($30). Total expenses $52.70.
Crystal Shadows (Shadows): No expenses.
Public Transit? (City Life): No expenses. This trip was not taken with the intention of getting a photo for the challenge.
I Ain't Pitching to This Guy! (Fear): No expenses.
Capitol Dome (Free Study): No expenses. This trip was not taken with the intention of getting a photo for the challenge.
Sales Pitch (The Corporate World): No expenses. This trip was not taken with the intention of getting a photo for the challenge.
Tauri (Something New): No expenses.
Pencil-Necked Geek: 1 box Ticonderpga pencils, 1 box regular mechanical pencil refills, 1 box red mechanical pencil refills, glue gun, glue sticks, tape, Ken doll clothes. Total expenses $20.00.
My expenses for my entry to the Childhood Without Children challenge totaled $6.09.
-Terry
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08/28/2002 10:59:22 AM · #14 |
I've bought a couple of things for challenge attempts that didn't work out. I've borrowed some things from friends for other unsuccessful attempts. Everything in the photos I entered up until "Pencil" was something I already owned. I bought one five pack of pencils for "Pencil" and destroyed one for a shot that didn't work as well as the one for the shot I submitted. I tend to take my challenge photos around the house or in places I am going anyway.
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08/28/2002 11:08:47 AM · #15 |
Okay, I'll admit I did buy several packs of pencils for the pencil challenge, but as my daughter was starting school the next week it was easy to justify.
But I don't generally spend money on props. Don't see a need for it. I live with a pack rat and if I can't find something that "fills the bill" around here, then I just havn't looked hard enough ' - )
At least thats been my experience so far. |
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08/28/2002 03:22:53 PM · #16 |
mcmura, I loved your pencil shot btw!
uberfish, don't you own a tripod? One-handed shots are very difficult without one.
I recently bought a lot of different colored fabric to use as backdrops in my photos. Walmart has all sorts of colors and textures for $1/yard. It's all fairly useless without better lighting though. Anyone know of a good article on lighting? I can't afford professional, but I'd like some tips on setting up something better than I have. |
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08/28/2002 03:47:10 PM · #17 |
I spent $20 for 432 pencils last week, and it pulled me 90th place ;) The only other time I've spent money on a challenge was for my Anatomy of a Pepper shot... and the place was much more worth it!
Drew |
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08/28/2002 03:59:49 PM · #18 |
| I bought 1 box of (overpriced) Ticonderoga and 1 box of "American" pencils; the Mongols and soldiers I had already. Most of my other props have been stuff I already had -- I think the only other time I specifically bought something I spent a couple of dollars for the used mortarboard (hat) on Professor Airhead. |
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08/28/2002 06:36:21 PM · #19 |
Let's see. For shadows, I bought the metal cut out of the faires, that ran me about $20, then I gave it to my wife as a second hand gift (she liked the cutout, but didn't think much of me "giving" it to her). For checkers, I bought 8 sheets of black poster paper (for the checkerboard and got ripped because it didn't look "real" enough), then used the paper for black backdrops when needed. Bought a six filters to enhanse my photos, mostly for comments like "don't like the color". (O.K. I'll take back the filters, I bought them for me!) For all of you that don't spend for the challenge, you are not cheap, just wise. (or at least wiser than me!)
* This message has been edited by the author on 8/28/2002 6:36:20 PM. |
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08/28/2002 09:45:17 PM · #20 |
For the transparency challenge I bought $10 worth of balloons and cellophane wrapping paper but the balloons did not have enough transparency to make a decent photo and I ended up using my favorite suncatcher in front of a rose bush instead.
The only other expense I put out was the black cloth I have used as a standard background for many of my submissions. It is velour and it put me back about $5.00. |
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08/28/2002 10:01:15 PM · #21 |
| I wonder how much was spent on the live models. |
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09/03/2002 01:56:24 PM · #22 |
I try to keep expenses to a minimum but sometimes I'll spend as much as the stuff costs to get the shot...Lucky for me, I haven't had any great shots to spend a lot of money on :)
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09/03/2002 02:12:29 PM · #23 |
I spent $2.06 this week on fruits and veggies...
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09/06/2002 10:10:07 AM · #24 |
Originally posted by David Ey:
I wonder how much was spent on the live models.
My live model for the Pencil challenge was free -- and even better than that, volunteered to take her top off to make a better shot! (Tramp.)
Seriously, though... I spent $1.00 on a white plate and a couple of bucks on potatoes for the Something New challenge. I think other than that, I've not had to purchase anything prop-wise.
Of course, I have purchased stuff I couldn't live without....a monopod, some filters, a 2X zoom lens, a remote, etc... My sweet baboo thinks that for a "free" site, this is the most expensive place I hang out on the web. Probably true..... ;)
Rob |
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09/06/2002 10:16:49 AM · #25 |
I paid the kid in my Needful Things photo $10 to do the shot for me. The sunglasses were mine and I had this vision of what i wanted to do for the Something New challenge. I didn't have a model. I went down to Best Buy and waited.... I kept looking for people that looked right for the shot. I saw this kid come out with his dad and I just offered him $10 to let me shoot a few photos... His dad agreed so I made the shots...
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