Done!!!!

[LePetomane]

Last Friday was the final day of work for me. I had practiced Anesthesiology for the last 31 years and decided 1 year ago that 2018 would be my last year. I had to work 4 days into the new year, per my contract.

Work will no longer get in the way of my photography. I had been living out of a suitcase since August and that wasn't much fun.

We have our first grandchild due in June so I will need to develop baby photography skills.

I'm looking forward to posting more here.

[Manfred M]

Congratulations on joining the legions of retirees.

I certainly felt a sense of trepidation and relief when I retired just over 4 years ago, but it's nice to be in a position where no one (other than my wife) can tell me what to do with my time. People tell me my photography has improved over the past four years too...

[Shadowman]

Congrats all around.

[Urbanflyer]

Bravo! Life is good!

[tbob]

Good that you could stick to your timeline. (Plus or minus a margin of error)
Retirement, especially from a high stress job, was well earned

[dje]

Congrats Paul on what I hope has been a fufilling career. I was in your situation about 10 years ago and I can tell you that this retirement business is the best thing since sliced bread. Oh the freedom!

Kids present special challenges for photographers as I'm sure you'll find out. Best wishes

Dave

[DanK]

We have our first grandchild due in June so I will need to develop baby photography skills.

My schedule was reversed: the grandbabies started arriving about 4 years before my retirement date. Candids of them have been the bulk of my photography since. I never post here to protect their privacy, so you can't judge the level of competence or incompetence I have reached. But with that caveat, I'll give you some pointers from my experience.

1. Be prepared to have most of your candids be rejects. Shoot a lot.

2. Figure out what setup allows you to move quickly. I'll post below a picture of my standard setup, except that it shows a shoulder strap, which I no longer use indoors. it gets in the way. I use an op-tech hand strap instead.

2. One issue you may confront with the intermediate generation is flash. It is damned near impossible to get good candids in many situations without it. One of my kids initially thought a flash would be bothersome. It's impossible to tell whether it is bothersome at the beginning, I suppose, but neither of my grandkids has ever shown any negative reaction to the flash. The problem with the younger one is the reverse. He is absolutely fascinated by it, so I can't get shots of him smiling. As soon as the flash goes off the first time, he stares at me and the camera.

3. Direct flash is a non-no, both because that could bother the kids and because it produces awful pictures. I always bounce the flash. I have a bracket, but I never use it, in line with #2 above. it makes the rig bigger and bulkier. I find that I generally do fine with what is in the photo below: a flash mounted in the hot shoe, bounced off the ceiling, with a bounce card and a diffuser. (Mine are both Demb.) The bounce card is mounted on the side so that I can quickly move the flash 90 degrees if I want to shoot in portrait orientation.

4. Unless you are much more skilled than I, forget about the mantra that portraits should be shot at very wide apertures. First, it is very hard to nail focus exactly under those circumstances (kids move), so it is good to have some leeway. Second, a very wide aperture is often too wide to get the kid's whole head in focus. I usually end up shooting at f/5 or f/4 (full frame, so adjust accordingly). YMMV.

5. A big issue is what kind of pictures to take. I do mostly close-ups of the kids, but some people prefer group shots and the like.

6. white balance is a pain because you end up shooting under whatever lighting is present, which is often mixed. I don't use one as often as I should, but it's worth bringing a whiBal or the like and getting a few shots under the most common lighting.

7. As some people posted here recently, a lot of people don't care much about the quality of the photos; they just want mementos. The upside of that is that few of the people who receive my photos care about what I consider to be important flaws. The downside is that the photos they most enjoy are often ones I consider rejects.

8. From time to time, people will want prints. I have only done 8 x10s for this purpose.

Here's my standard rig. I use Op-Tech straps, etc., because they clip onto connectors that you can leave attached to the camera. when I do baby photos indoors, I take the strap off and attach this.

Good luck! It's a lot of fun.

[LePetomane]

Thanks for the well wishes and photography tips. The most stressful part of this job was the night work. Nothing good happened after midnight. I do feel I left at a good time and on a favorable note. I didn't want to be the SOB that people said should have retired 10 years ago.

Our home in Wyoming is in a rural area with no ground light. Monday I awoke at my usual time (3 AM mountain time) and went out on the porch. I could almost reach out and touch the stars. There is a one hour time difference between Minnesota and Wyoming so I have that to adjust to.

Life's good. Thanks again.

[DanK]

I didn't want to be the SOB that people said should have retired 10 years ago.

When I was a teenager, I played in a high school jazz band. the teacher who directed it told us, "Always stop when they are still asking for more." when I gave my retirement date, I said that I might have already missed that mark, but at the least, I wanted to get out before they started begging for less.

[Manfred M]

Unless you are much more skilled than I, forget about the mantra that portraits should be shot at very wide apertures. First, it is very hard to nail focus exactly under those circumstances (kids move), so it is good to have some leeway. Second, a very wide aperture is often too wide to get the kid's whole head in focus. I usually end up shooting at f/5 or f/4 (full frame, so adjust accordingly).

That's a new one on me, Dan.

I suspect it comes from the idea that the background should not distract from the image and a lot of people assume that shallow DoF will do that. This can work but simply softening a distracting background is no guarantee that it will not distract.

In situations where I can control the settings, whether that is in a studio or in a situation where I can pick the background, I shoot at f/8 or f/11 to get the subject sharp. In fact, with children, in my experience, a wider aperture is necessary as they tend to move. A lot!


1. Outdoors with off-camera flash at f/8






2. Indoors with natural light through two windows at f/8

[rpcrowe]

Congratulations on joining the legions of retirees.

I certainly felt a sense of trepidation and relief when I retired just over 4 years ago, but it's nice to be in a position where no one (other than my wife) can tell me what to do with my time. People tell me my photography has improved over the past four years too...

This brings up something I have thought about often... When after 32 years of Naval service, I retired from the Navy, the first day of retirement was mind boggling. I realized that this was the first day of my life that I had total and absolute control over what I could do. Before I joined the Navy, my parents decided where I was going to live and during my Naval career (although I had some input as to where I was stationed) it was the Navy that ultimately decided were I was going to live and what I was going to do. I was a widower then, and I had no family ties to my area.

Strangely enough, I did not do anything drastic. I had a couple of part-time consulting positions which I continued working at (one of which was with a Navy substance abuse program) and I had sent off some resumes for a full time position in substance abuse treatment. I was totally surprised that I was hired by a drug and alcohol abuse program which wanted me to start almost immediately...

I had "drifted" into Navy substance abuse treatment because I had been promoted to the point in which there was no longer any place for me to be stationed in the San Diego area as a Navy Photographer (there was only one billet available for shore duty and that billet was filled) and it was very important for me to remain here. My wife was undergoing cancer treatment at the Naval Hospital. I found out that I could remain in San Diego as a substance abuse counselor so, I cross trained into that field. I enjoyed it and it was not as physically taxing as professional motion picture or video work. I spent the last five years as a Navy Substance Abuse Counselor and instructor...

My total freedom was drastically curtailed when I accepted the first civilian position... However, everything else just flowed from there and I am very happy in the way it has turned out.

Good luck to you and I hope that retirement is as gratifying to you as it has been to me...

BTW: Dan's setup is just about a duplicate of what I shoot with. It works great and the lighting is very nice. The Joe Demb Flash Diffuser Pro is an excellent piece of gear and I have worked with a myriad of diffusers. I also have a Chinese knock off of the Joe Demb OEM item which provides every bit as good light but the build quality is way below the Demb unit and I have had to make frequent small repairs to keep it operational. No big problem, just a little annoying but nothing that some Gaffer's Tape and double sided Velcro material can't fix... However, if I were shooting professionally, I'd definitely opt for the Joe Demb Flash Diffuser Pro rather than a cheaper knock off...

[LePetomane]

Here is a picture of the gang at my retirement party. From left to right, my son Daniel, son-in-law Adam, daughter Jenny, yours truly and my wife Susan.



I'm enjoying not setting an alarm clock.

[Manfred M]

I'm enjoying not setting an alarm clock.

Enjoy the alarm clock free life!

[ST1]

I wish you a long, healthy and happy retirement. Not only is it great not to have to set an alarm clock. Eventually you’ll wonder how you ever found time to go to work, every day is a weekend for you now.


Sent from somewhere in Gods County using Tapatalk

[LePetomane]

Thanks for the kind words. I still get up at around 5:30 without the alarm clock but now it is on my terms. Because of the nature of my work I have always been an early riser. In watching the progression of my specialty I think I am getting out at the right time. The day work was enjoyable. Nights were a different story. There were many unreasonable expectations placed on our department. I was beginning to fell like an intern again.

Off to play tennis in a little while.

[Manfred M]

now it is on my terms.

That is the key!

No more having to get someone's approval to take time off. No getting called in to work at strange hours or have vacations cancelled because of an emergency. Being in control of one's time is just wonderful.

[Digital]

Paul David, congratulations.



Bruce ("also retired")

[LePetomane]

Bruce, thanks. It's been a good run.

[Cantab]

BTW: Dan's setup is just about a duplicate of what I shoot with. It works great and the lighting is very nice. The Joe Demb Flash Diffuser Pro is an excellent piece of gear and I have worked with a myriad of diffusers. I also have a Chinese knock off of the Joe Demb OEM item which provides every bit as good light but the build quality is way below the Demb unit and I have had to make frequent small repairs to keep it operational. No big problem, just a little annoying but nothing that some Gaffer's Tape and double sided Velcro material can't fix... However, if I were shooting professionally, I'd definitely opt for the Joe Demb Flash Diffuser Pro rather than a cheaper knock off...

Richard and Dan, I’m wondering whether you have any experience with the Joe Demb unit slightly smaller than the Flash Diffuser Pro. It would fit on my 420EX II but I’m hesitant about how much bounce light it would produce. I could get the Pro and use it on one of my 600EX-RT units. But I have a permanent shoulder issue and want to keep things as light as possible.

Paul, belated congratulations on joining those of us who are retired!