Category Archives: Cameras, Gear and Photography Tips

Calculating credit card processing fees with Javascript when charging fees back to a client through a form


March 12th, 2013

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Once in a while I like to write a geeky post with something new that I’ve learned. I’ve always charged my credit card processing fees to the client if they choose to use a credit card. For Google Checkout, and other processors like stripe.com that actually helped me out with this, they charge a flat 2.9% plus $.30 per transaction in fees. This might seem like a simple calculation, but to charge this to a client it gets more complicated. You could just multiply the amount by .029 and add $.30 to find the fees which would be easy. But then you have to add that fee back into the amount, then when you process the transaction the original amount plus the fee have to go through the payment processor, so there is a fee on the fee.  While this extra is minimal, it causes a problem with Quickbooks because it’s nice to take in the exact amount of the invoice.  I knew there had to be a way to calculate this exactly, even though I was always good at math I’ve forgotten everything I learned in school.  The support at Stripe.com gave me a formula that will take into account the small extra fee added when charging the fee back to the client.  So here is the Javascript that can be added to a html form to calculate this.

The first part would go in your form where the user inputs the amount, or however you want to do this. I just let the client enter in the amount on their invoice I give them separately. You can see this complete form on the ‘all’ menu of my website if you want to view the full source.

$<input type="text" name="amount" value="0.00" onblur="Calculate()" />

This is the formula to calculate the amount to charge the client for the fees and the fee on the fees. I hope this make sense.

function Calculate()
{
var price = document.form.amount.value;
price = price * 100
var fee = Math.round(((price + 30) / .971)) - price;
price = price + fee;
var total = price / 100;
document.form.amount.value=total;
}
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After reception trash the dress with the bride and groom – Ocean Isle Beach


May 22nd, 2012

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I had a lot of fun after the wedding reception with this couple.  They planned it so that they could go to the reception for a couple of hours, then do a trash the dress session at sunset before leaving for the evening.  I’ve never had a bride and groom get completely in the ocean like they did.  The only problem we had, we were getting eaten alive by mosquitoes, but I don’t let anything stop me when I shooting.  The poor bride in the first picture below had scratches that I had to Photoshop out on her arms because of getting bitten.  I think the results were worth the bit of suffering, I really love all of these, it was hard to pick just a few for the blog.

I’ve thought recently about selling my Nikon 70-200mm f2.8 lens because I never use it anymore.  It’s really heavy and bulky to keep in my bag all the time.  However, I’m glad I had it.  You might notice if you look closely, about half way through the pictures I switch lenses from my 85mm f1.4 to the 70-200 f2.8.  Using the 70-200 is how I get those really close up shots when the couple are deep in the ocean.  It looks like I’m on top of them even though I’m back on the beach.  Even if it’s heavy, I realize it’s good to carry around everything because you never know what you will need.  I hope you enjoy the pictures below, let me know in the comments if you like them!

Bride standing in front of the sunset - Ocean Isle

Bride standing in front of the sunset - Ocean Isle

Couple standing in front of the sunset - Ocean Isle

Couple standing in front of the sunset - Ocean Isle

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Some random things from April and how to shoot backlit subjects.


April 24th, 2012

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I always have trouble making blog posts when things start to get busier.  So I just wanted to post a few random pictures from this month. I decided to talk mostly about the first picture I highlighted below.  This was a very difficult situation, as soon as I saw where they were having the ceremony I knew it was going to be a problem.  The sun was very bright outside, almost fully up in the sky.  The ceremony was held under a beach shelter right on the edge of the bright sunlight.  If you have ever tried to photograph something like this before, you might know what would happen.  If you let the camera make the decisions, the couple would be almost completely dark because it’s trying to adjust for the bright background light.

I long ago started shooting on manual, so I would expose for the couple and not the background.  This way the camera’s own adjustments would not cause the subject to come out really dark.  However, there is still a problem.  If you just expose the couple properly, the background would then be completely blown out, it would just be a very bright glow behind the couple.  The couple would have kind of a flat, lifeless light on them with an annoyingly glowing background.

So how do you fix this? Well it really comes down to having the proper equipment.  I have these things called Pocket Wizards, they allow me to have a flash on the camera and also another flash off of the camera that is controlled by radio.  You can control another flash through  the built in infrared in the Nikon flashes, but it never works very well.  The Pocket Wizards work the same way, but they are much more reliable especially in sunlight.  Although you can let the flashes decide how much power they need to put out on their own, under this difficult lighting, I thought manual would be better.  I set my on camera flash (that had a tiny Lumiquest softbox on it) and my external flash both to 1/2 power, that seem to be a pretty good compensation for the outside ambient light without overdoing it.  If you notice in this picture, there is a nice light coming from the side of the couple that makes them look more three dimensional.  You can see some shadows from his hand and her arm, these are not from the sun but are from my external flash.

If this sounds too complicated, to make it more simple.  If you are trying to photograph a backlit subject in the shade, use whatever flash you have available, even just the little one on the camera.  Set your camera to manual and keep taking shots until you see the couple is as bright as they need to be.  I hope you enjoy some of the pictures below.

First kiss - Myrtle Beach State Park

First kiss - Myrtle Beach State Park

That's a lot of groomsmen -

That's a lot of groomsmen

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Quick review of the Sigma 85mm f1.4 lens with Bridal and Engagement pictures


March 2nd, 2012

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As I mentioned in my last blog post, I purchased a new lens, the Sigma 85mm EX DG HSM f1.4.  This quick review is from using a full frame Nikon D700 camera with this lens. I typically only buy Nikon lenses, so I have some top of the line lenses to compare the Sigma too, such as the latest Nikon 24-70 f2.8.  Nikon’s high end lenses have incredible optics and lens coatings that really control typical problems like chromatic aberration and lens flare.  My main concern is taking the highest quality pictures possible, currently Nikon’s 85mm f1.4 lens is $1700 vs $1000 for the Sigma which is a nice difference, but the big problem is you just can’t buy Nikon’s version.  I checked all of Nikon’s authorized dealers and I just can’t find it in stock.  I had read really good reviews of the Sigma lens from photographers such as Ryan Brenizer that I really respect, so I decided I would give it a try.

First of all, the lens has beautiful Bokeh, or the nice smooth out of focus areas in the background and foreground.  At f1.4, you are going to get a very shallow depth of field, a very small area of the picture that is in focus.  However, different lenses even at the same aperture, can vary a lot in the quality of the out of focus area or Bokeh. The out of focus areas of a picture can be as important as the in focus areas. I included the first shot below, not as an example of a really good picture, but because I wanted to show the quality of the Bokeh.  If you notice there is very little flare from the sun, even in the harsh lighting conditions.  The spots of light coming through the trees have turned into beautiful rounded discs, this means there is a high quality rounded aperture.  Of course I knew the Bokeh would be nice from the reviews I had read.

Focus and handling of the lens is really something you need hands on time with to know if it works for you.  My Nikon lenses such as the 24-70 and 70-200 focus extremely fast on the Nikon D700 body.  I knew the Sigma would not be that fast, but I’m pleasantly surprised with how quickly and spot on it locks the focus.  I occasionally miss focus on a shot, but it always seems to be my fault. When you are shooting wide open at f1.4 you have to be really careful to keep your subject in focus, it’s almost impossible if they are moving.  I actually was more afraid of shooting at f1.4 than I should have been, almost all my shots had almost perfect focus, or at least close enough it looked good.

To sum up my quick review, so far I’ve found the Sigma to have excellent focus, beautiful Bokeh, and fast performance.  I haven’t tried it in low light yet such as at a wedding reception, so I will see how it goes.  But so far I’m more than happy with the results I’ve been getting.  I hope you enjoy some of the shots below, they were all shot with the Sigma 85mm wide open at f1.4.  I’ll update this after using the lens more this summer, so far it seems like an excellent addition to my always growing bag of gear.

Note: If the things I talked about in the post sound confusing, there are lots of links that explain everything.  You will learn a lot if you check them out.

Update to this article: A few days after I wrote this I actually found the Nikon version of this lens in stock at the Nikon store for $1699.  I ordered this and will likely be returning the Sigma.  Everything I said about the Sigma is true, it’s a fantastic lens.  So why did I get the Nikon?  It’s all about build quality.  I was getting frustrated at my recent wedding because it was raining and I knew the Sigma is not weather sealed.  While the picture quality is fantastic, I use my lenses so much and in such harsh conditions I decided I should go with the Nikon.  Nikon builds their high end lenses like a tank, and while the build quality of the Sigma is fine, I decided I would prefer the weather sealing of the Nikon.  But if you aren’t a pro, get the Sigma.  It’s great for normal use.

Example of Bokeh from Tamron Lens

This image is just here to show the quality of the Bokeh

Sunlight hitting the veil - Bridal Portrait - Myrtle Beach

Sunlight hitting the veil - Bridal Portrait - Myrtle Beach

Continue reading 'Quick review of the Sigma 85mm f1.4 lens with Bridal and Engagement pictures'→