Brian

Well, it's not as amazing as it sounds. You don't get your all money back, the government isn't that nice. What these deductions do is lower the amount you have to pay. When you are on-the-books, you have to figure in ALL of the taxes, not just the personal portion, but the business side of things, so you end up paying twice. My rule of thumb is to plan on paying 40% of every dollar you make goes towards some sort of taxes. Don’t forget about sales tax either or quarter taxes. Taxes, taxes and taxes. It's just not Federal and State, but Local (If applicable) and Social Security. Yes, I know people will say it's closer to 33%, but I like having a bit of a cushion, just-in-case. So by purchasing gear and being in business, buying stuff lowers the amount you have to pay...and you'll always have to pay. If you do this officially on the side, you can kiss your tax refund good-bye. Depending on the year and how many weddings I've done, I usually owe $200-$500 every year since I have a full-time job. If I didn't buy anything, I'd pay more. To clarify, since I’m not “In Business” anymore and work as a subcontractor for someone else, I get a 1099 each year, so my taxes are pretty straightforward. That’s why it’s so cheap. If you are diving in with your own studio, you will be paying much-much more. Which leads me to my next piece of advice: Find a Good CPA if you are going full throttle on these things. Photography isn't all that it's cracked up to be...and don't believe for one second those stupid "Make a Six-Figure Income in less than 6 Months..." schemes. If they worked, they wouldn't be offering their "Secrets" for sale.

Here is the thing with cheap laptops, models that are $500 or less: They last 18-24 months. Your more expensive models last longer.

As for which Profoto? Hmm...I'm still deciding...and saving. Since I do a lot of Weddings and Events, this Profoto A1 looks interesting. I'd love to have a couple of Profoto B1X lights or with the Air System, but they are expensive. Then there is the new kid on the block, the Profoto B10 and will probably be my next major purchase. Oh, one of these Octas will be on my short-list if I ever get a Profoto Light. The problem with Weddings and Events, is lack of time; you just don't stop during a wedding and I'm not some fancy Photographer rockSTAR who has 10 assistants at their disposal during a gig. Oh, before forking out thousands on gear, spend some money on education. Zack Arias One Light 2.0 creativeLIVE usually has a 50%-60% Sale on Black Friday. But right now this class is on sale for $29 and I would BUY IT!!! The video you watched about the aperture to flash power relationship is in this class. Day Two he talks modifiers and goes over all of them. Since you are looking at opening a studio, that $29 will be a wise investment.

My Gear List for Events: I use this Flash Bracket: ProMediaGear Boomerang Flash Bracket Version 2 Use a Nikon SB-910 or a Nikon SB-5000 (Just bought the SB-5000 so I can have tax-deductions for 2018. Haven't used it yet.) Vello 1.5' Off Camera Flash Cord ExpoImaging Rogue FlashBender Softbox Kit, Large I shoot Weddings with a Nikon D4s that I bought refurbished from Nikon. PS: Flash is set to manual zoom @ 50mm when using the FlashBender.

Cool Beans! It's nice when a person "gets it." Enjoy your purchase. PS: Put the PS Scratch Disk on that 1TB Drive.

Now before someone starts thinking or saying, "I don't use any of that." You actually do...you just don't know it. I have a friend who I shoot weddings with. She couldn't tell you what she was doing or why something works vs. something else. To her it's, "I'll put my light here, use this thingy and put the power to ______." How did she get there? Lots and lots of practice. This is very similar to how a musician can play by ear, but not know a damn bit of music theory. To that person, the music just "sounds good." So my point to this comment is to not get inside your head with all this technical mumbo-jumbo. There is a balance between Art and Craft. The Mumbo-Jumbo and flash power and gear and equipment is CRAFT, not Art.

My Gawd Man...you love jumping into the deep end of the pool! Profoto B1X lights are really nice lights. Why do they put two lights of the same power? Because if you are shooting Profoto, you should already know why. What's missing from your thinking is education & experience, not gear. You need to know lighting ratios, lighting methods, how the inverse square law plays a role. How the whole Aperture to Flash relationship works along with the Shutter Speed and how it relates to ambient light. Plus, how lighting modifiers work, which modifiers to use, what size modifier do you need and when, how they affect the light falling on your subject how they eat light and how to compensate for that, etc. The holiday's are right around the corner and in my humble opinion you aren't giving yourself a chance. I foresee frustration in your future and no amount of fancy gear will help that. As far as gear, if you want to add something to your pile, it would be a hand-held meter and a large 8-in-1 reflector. Like a Sekonic L-358. Why do you need a light meter? Because your camera's built in meter is COMPLETELY WORTHLESS if you are shooting with Off Camera flash that is Non-TTL. TTL Metering, or "Through The Lens" metering is your camera's voodoo taking a reading from the ambient light and using pre-determined algorithms to set the flash power just before you take the photo. Most of the time it works well, other times...it completely misses. So if you are using your camera's meter thinking it will help you with Profoto OCF, think again. It's not. How do you use a Light Meter? What you do is set the ISO and Shutter Speed, let's say 1/200th and you put the meter just in front of the subject's face and point the white dome towards your key light, fire the flash, and take a reading. The L-358 will tell you what Aperture to be at. Let's say you put Profoto Key Light to 8.0 and it reads f/11 on the meter. You then set your second light to 7.0 and you fire off that flash and it reads f/8. That is a one-stop difference or a 2:1 Lighting Ratio. Since your Key Light is reading f/11, if you set your camera to f/11, it should create a proper exposure based on your Key Light. The second light, or fill light will create a little more depth and shadow since it's at a lower power. If you set your camera to f/8, your fill light would be properly exposed, but your main light would blow out your shot by one stop. (Lot's of blinkies on the histogram review screen.) Make sense? Some Common Lighting Ratios: 1:1 2:1 3:1 4:1 8:1 There are more, but those you learn first. 2:1 & 3:1 works well for most women, and that's the Classic 2 Light Portrait Setup. 2:1 works well if you want a softer look, 4:1 is for when you want more detail emphasized, like a portrait of a old guy with a crazy awesome looking beard or wrinkles on his face. 8:1 is when you turn day into night for those really dramatic portraits. Generally 2:1 (One Stop) or 3:1 (One and a Half Stops) works well for the majority of people. That's why when you look at lighting diagrams, you'll see aperture values for each light. Some might be the same, others might be different and that tells you the lighting ratio that's used. In addition, the most flattering lighting pattern that works for the majority of people is known as "Loop Lighting," as the shadow that extends from the nose looks like a solid little loop. Here is the list of the 6 Most Common Lighting Patterns. Google "Loop Lighting" and study-study-study. Master Loop Lighting first. Then work on the others. Oh, here is an old tip that I was taught years ago: Never broad-light a broad. Broad-Light is meant for skinny people only as it adds pounds to your subject. Oh, one side-affect to using a hand-held meter, is that it will show you if your camera's built in meter is correct or not. If you find that your camera consistently under/overexposes, a hand-held meter is a good way to check. For example, my Nikon D700 when using Matrix Mode always seemed to over-expose things. So I took out my L-358 and did a few test shots. It turns out I was right and I found a menu to tweak the Matrix Metering. I set my D700 to -2/6 (1/3rd of a stop lower) and my exposures while using the Matrix Meter were spot on. The other two modes, Center and Spot didn't need to be adjusted. That said, we are getting a head of ourselves. I think your D750 is fine in this dept. I'd skip using the beauty dish for now. Softboxes and Umbrellas are where you start. Since you already rented a Octa, I'd use with the Octa and a large reflector. Start with ONE LIGHT. You can do A LOT with just one light and a reflector. I know of several headshot photographers who have built careers on one light and a reflector. Heck, Zack Arias started with a Sunpak Flash and a pack of AA Batteries. After you figure out how to shoot with one light, THEN add a 2nd light. Then a third, then a fourth, etc. If you are serious about taking a sharp portrait, a tripod is in order. If you do use a tripod and the lens has VR (Vibration Reduction) turn VR OFF. I can recommend a couple of tripods, depending on budget if you don't have one. At this point, I think you need to practice before lugging all that "un-compromised gear" and shooting away. So start reading, you have a lot to cram in the next few weeks. Enjoy the ride!

Party halls are tough. I shoot wedding receptions. It takes practice and technique. And having realistic expectations. I think you are putting way too much emphasis on gear and fancy lights. What do I use? SB-910 and a a Rogue Flashbender modifier thing. Or the diffuser cap that came with the flash. I also use a “Rig” from ProMediaGear to get my flash a little higher.

What you are seeing is normal. That’s sensor grain. It’s not noise. I really need to pull out my D200 at ISO 1600. Noise, I can show you noise.

My bad. I was looking at this on my phone. Didn’t realize that you had to click stuff. Anyway, my remarks stand with the 256GB SSD drive. You will need to be ANAL on what is put on that HD. Because after formatting and Windows being installed, plus any other bloatware that is installed, you probably only have 175GB or so to play with.

I’ve been shooting since 1986. Started with film. It takes years and lots of blown shots. Heck, I blew my youngest son’s graduation photo because I stood in the wrong spot. Good thing there was an “official” one.

What are you expecting? This is normal noise or “sensor grain.” ISO 2500 is still ISO 2500. #realisticexpectations. I’m thinking the only way you are going to be happy is if you purchase a D5 for $6500. LOL. Im thinking the next step is to use a tripod and remote / cable release. Let’s take your technique out of the equation in case it needs work. Were you using VR? What Mode was it in? Oh, the more MP you have, the better technique you need to have. Maybe you are jamming on the shutter and not squeezing the button? Elbows locked against your body? Plus this is a photo with glasses...glasses are tough. It takes LOTS of practice. If you aren’t positioned correctly and the glasses are at any sort of angle, as they are here, that eyeball isn’t going to be 100% in focus. This is due to distortion created by the glass lenses in the frame. She is also moving. I would be at 1/500th for this shot.

The only thing that concerns me about that ROG for $1199 is the size of the 256GB Hard Drive. It’s small. So for general computing and installing a program or two, it’s fine. A dumping ground for your 75 photos of your lunch from 5 years ago...notsomuch. :)

I like Asus ROG laptops. Several friends of mine have (and love) them, and even Damien owns one. The new chicklet keyboards seem to be all the rage. They are even on desktop computers. You’ll have to adapt. :/

I'm not a fan of Seagate Hard Drives. I've had multiple Seagate Hard Drives fail on me over the years. Personally, I like the Western Digital Caviar Black Line. It is important to get the "Black." Don't get a "Green" drive or other eco-friendly hard drives as they tend to fail. The other thing that concerns me is the 250GB SSD Drive. I know SSD Drives are fast, but I deal with threads of full SSD Drives all the time and a full SSD drive won't do you a damn bit of good. You want at least a 500GB Drive, and honestly, I'd get a 1TB SSD drive. Otherwise you will have to be ANAL on what is installed on the C Drive. You won't be able to just click, next-next-next, yes, ok, ok...next-next-next, finish. Sure let me import all my photos on the Main Drive, etc. You will have to only install Windows and some programs and put everything else on the 2TB or 4TB drive. So it will be custom installs for you. Otherwise, everything looks fine.

5D3 has already been replaced with the 5DM4. What I would do is see if you can find a Best Buy Flagship Store that’s near you. They have all sorts of bodies on display. Even the big bodies like a Nikon D850 or Canon 5DM4. Hold the cameras, go into the menus and fiddle with them. Right now everything is on the table. Budget-wise, sticking with Canon will be the cheapest route. I still would upgrade to Full Frame, but that’s just me.

I just had another thought: What about buying a used body and a new lens? You could start with a Nikon D700 and purchase something like a new Nikon 24-120 f/4 VR or How about buying a used Canon 5D Mark III and using your 24-105? I know you don't want to go crazy, but getting a camera that you could grow into, might be the best option for you. It would help with your Noise problem.

Since you are coming from a Rebel T4i / 650D, to keep your budget low, I'd look at a Canon 6D Mark II if looking to jump to full frame. You could use your 24-105 f/4 lens on it and your 50mm f/1.8. The good news is that you'll get your "wide" back with your 24-105, so it's similar to your 18-55, well, more like 15-66mm...meaning you will have more reach and have a wider angle of view with your 24-105 on a Full Frame Body vs. a crop. The 24-105 is really meant for full frame cameras. It seems the 7D Mark II is discontinued at B&H and I can only seem to find them in "kits" with battery-grips and a bunch of other stuff. That tells me either a Mark III version is coming or Canon is not paying attention to this class of camera. Unfortunately, all the current buzz is about the recently released mirrorless camera bodies, on both Canon and Nikon. So for us DSLR folks, our choices are a bit long in the tooth. If you do decide to jump ship and head over to Nikon or another brand, I could point you in the direction to the same class camera that you currently have, or recommend something like a Nikon D7500 and 16-80 lens...but that puts your budget over $1500. You could also get a model that is one step up from yours, is equivalent to a 80D, and that is the Nikon D5600 with a 18-55 and 70-300 lens. Or if going full frame with Nikon, there is a heck of a deal on a D750 w/ battery-grip and 24-120 lens. Edit: The Nikon 750 is a fine camera and I love the sensor in that thing. In fact, if they could put that sensor in a D810 body, it would be a dream camera. The downside to the D750 is it' not very rugged, so if you are hard on your gear, this could pose a problem. It has also suffered from multiple recalls, but Nikon has seemed to have gotten past that, so while now would be the time to purchase this camera, it's a bit old in the line-up and is overdue for a replacement. Still, if looking to switch to Nikon, personally, I'd start with this camera. Especially since it's such a good price with the current instant-rebates. The toughest part about switching brands is the up-front cost. It's not only the camera body, but lenses. Long term, if I were to invest in camera gear, it would be upgrading to full-frame, regardless of brand. Not only for the lens choices, but if you were to switch to Mirrorless at some point, you have a greater chance of full frame lenses working with the Mirrorless Adapter mount. Plus, it seems that there has been a push more towards full frame and there just doesn't seem to be any real development with Crop Bodies. It's just refreshes on the current stuff and crop lenses seem to be not a priority either.

OK, so you have two kit lenses for a crop body and two full frame lenses (the 50 and 24-105). Which direction were you planning to go? Stay on a Crop Body or upgrade to Full Frame?

Well, lets talk budget and what lenses you currently have.

Not "Less Usable," but as things get upgraded, patched, etc. there is more being drawn from the same pool of RAM. Think of your computer as a library. You are the CPU chip, the bookcases are the hard drives, the shelves are partitions and the programs are the books. Are you with me so far? Inside this library are tables and chairs in addition to the books. The Table is the RAM. So say you want to use a program, lets use Photoshop for this example, so you go over to the bookcase and pull out the very large book called Photoshop. You then place it on the table. Now the "rules" state that none of the edges of the book can go over the sides and there needs to be a 1/4" gap between other items (such as other books) and Photoshop. It all needs to be neat and tidy. The problem is, that the Photoshop Book gets larger and larger. There are also other things on this table. A laptop, a bag of some sort, a lamp, a drink...all sorts of various things. These "things" are background processes/drivers and other programs, that are all competing for space on the table. Since you have told PS to use 85% of the table, the CPU chip (You) needs to spend lots of time shuffling things around, because you need to keep that 1/4" gap between things at all times AND you can't go over the edges of the table. This is the "slowness" that you are experiencing, all that shuffling around since PS is so massive these days. The other thing is that PS and the operating system uses portions of the HD to supplement RAM. As our cameras get more Megapixels and Dynamic Range improves, the larger our Raw files become. Since you have 4GB of RAM, the extra horsepower to meet that request has to come from somewhere, and that's the PS Scratch Disk. So if you have a full HD, in addition to a small pool of RAM, things are going to get slow. Why all of a sudden? It could be that last Mac OS Update that you did now requires more RAM and processing power, or the latest PS CC Update is doing the same thing. Honestly, there is a big difference in performance between 4GB and 8GB. Not as dramatic going from 8 to 16GB, though 16GB these days is a good thing to have. Now for the good news... You have a Mid 2012 MBP. You can upgrade the RAM yourself!!! It also seems that you can go to 16GB though Apple says 8GB. I'm confident that 16GB will work fine, though some users did report problems so I will link to a 8GB Configuration. What you will need to do is pull the existing RAM, which is made up of two 2GB sticks and then replace them with two 4GB sticks. It's pretty straightforward, just remove some screws from the bottom of the laptop, disconnect the battery cable and then remove the existing RAM. It only comes out / goes in a certain way and should take you no more than 15 min total to do this. Here is the 8GB RAM Kit from Amazon. Here is a YouTube Video Demonstrating the Installation Process. Just be sure to have a small screwdriver and to touch something metal before handling the RAM / taking things apart. Electronics do not like to be zapped by static electricity. Oh, yes...you can do this. Even if you don't think you "know enough about computers." If you can follow directions and assemble a Lego Set meant for a 12 year old, you can upgrade your RAM yourself. Now for the "Bad" News. Once you install 3rd Party RAM, Apple will blame ANY PROBLEM that you have on the Crucial / 3rd-Party RAM. Keyboard Batteries are dead and you can't type? Oh, that's the Crucial RAM. The Magic Mouse's Power Switch is turned to the Off position and it won't work? It's the Crucial RAM's fault. You accidentally deleted that file? It's the Crucial RAM's fault. Screen is flickering? Oh the Crucial RAM damaged the computer, blah-blah-blah. It's complete BS. The truth is, Apple Memory is insanely over-priced and is no better than other memory out there. In fact, I remember reading that the New iMac Pros use Micron Memory, and Crucial is a division of Micron. LOL!! The other hard truth is the Apple Genius Bar isn't made up of Geniuses. Sure, they have access to tech bulletins and have special diagnostic tools, but they are usually made up of regular users that have just been put through a few training courses. They also have to be very careful on what they say and tow the Apple Company Line at all times. That's why they were thinking of replacing the hard drive cable because they had no idea of why it was running so slow. I hope you didn't pay for that HD cable. Now don't get me wrong, I have used the Genius Bar in the past and they are usually quite helpful and I've had my issues resolved quickly. I also am a Professional Computer Technician for the last 25 years and am Apple Certified. So I know what to expect and what to look for. It's kinda like being a Auto Mechanic shopping for a car. Now for more good news, if you were planning on nuking the HD and starting all over, why not upgrade it to a SSD Drive? I will say, that there is a lot more steps involved with that and that's a topic for another thread. Let's start with the RAM first.

I just looked at the specs of your machine again from the Apple Repair order. 4GB RAM 500GB HD *SIGH* I should have paid more attention. Of course it’s going to run slow. YOU ONLY HAVE 4GB OF RAM!! You do not need a HD cable, you need more friggin’ RAM!!! 4GB is bare minimum for general use and then you tell PS to use 85% of it? 4096MB is 4GB, so you have left your poor MBP only 615MB-ish to work from!! MBPs are funny, some can be upgraded, others stay at what you purchase. See if Apple can get it to at least 8GB, or if it can go to 16GB do it.

Well, such is life when it comes to laptops. You really only get 4-5 years or so out of MBPs. I think it's planned obsolescence. I know my iPhone 6s is running a lot slower with the new iOS update.

No. You use them like you always have. Just pay attention to the amount of "stuff" you have on them. The reason that I say 75% - 80% is based on my own personal experience with Macs since the 1990's. I have found that once you cross the 80% threshold, performance becomes an issue. Technically, you can go a bit higher, like 85% full...but I like to keep things conservative. Hard Drives that are 90% Full and above, is definitely not a good thing. As a test, why not try removing your externals that are really full and see if your performance improves? If it does, no sense paying Apple to replace the HD cable (and charge you) if it's not going to fix things.

Yep. They are just taking a guess and you are paying for it. I personally don't think it's the HD cable. I would purchase and run CleanMyMac X first and see what happens. Keep this in mind: With Macs, Hard Drives are not dumping grounds. I have found that if you attach externals that are almost full, it will kill performance. The Mac OS treats external drives just as if they were built into the computer, so try not to go above 75% - 80% Full on any hard drive.