XrayArtist

Is the official photographer a professional. If so then make sure they’ll allow you to make photos while they are. Most pros will not allow it. I was a commercial photographer and didn’t do weddings or work for the public but I can tell you from 55 years of experience that having other people hovering around especially with a camera or phone camera competing for your subjects attention is a HUGE PROBLEM. There can only be one photographer meaning only one director and one person demanding the subjects attention otherwise you have eyes turned, heads turned and bad photos just because someone wanted to make a few pix. I shot a huge amount of retail fashion for ads and catalogs and have used many many models from babies to o e foot in the grave. I instructed parents if they were going to be in the studio they had to stay back in the shadows, stay out of sight and no photos and especially no coaching the models. And yes I’ve had to run people out of the studio because the can’t resist “say cheese”, “look here” and “smile”. It’s impossible to get the models attention and get their focus on what you want with distractions going on. If the primary photographer is a professional be prepared to be told, no pictures and out of the room. A second reason is this is their profession and how they make their living. They don’t want or need uncle Bob or cousin Betty giving their work away bumping them out of sales. I only did commercial work and none for the public but have met people who went to their kids soccer or sports games that shot pictures for fun during the game and then took tons of prints to the next game snd gave them away. Some of the teams hired pros to shoot them and one parent destroyed their sales from that game. Most professionals require a contract and generally say absolutely no photos during their shooting. They work as though the bride and groom belong to them and demand their undecided attention. Don’t be offended if you’re told no photos and consider the person they hired is trying to make a living.

I was a commercial photographer for 55 years and have seen some pretty large bubbles in view camera lenses. I’ve owned several that the bubbles were quite visible but even those there was absolutely no impact on images As to used value, knowing what the photo world is like today, it may reduce the resale value. The thing to do is simply keep it. I own one and it’s a tremendous lens so just make some great images with it and forget about the bubble.

I was a commercial photographer for 55 years and shot several thousand oil painting, acrylics and drawings on 8x10 transparency film to digital. I would not recommend a light tent. For drawings The best method is two equal intensity lights at 45 degrees to the axis of the lens. You could use 2 high wattage diffused LED reflector floods in simple clamp sockets you can pick up at a hardware store for cheap. It does t matter whether they’re daylight or 3200k as long as they’re both the same color temperature. Without a macro lens I’d use the 18-55. Use a tripod if you have one and shoot around f8-12 and do a custom white balance I’d also suggest shooting raw so you can easily balance color and adjust contrast. Your meter is going to read a white sheet of paper as though it’s 18% reflectance and will cause you to under expose. Bracket your exposures in 1/3 stops on the plus side. You can also use your shutter speed and ISO. Use your histogram to refine your exposure. You do not want a tent and do not want to use a single flash on axis of the lens. Drawings are a breeze, it’s oils and acrylics that are tough. Good luck! The attached oils are huge paintings.

If I read your post correctly just press the Q button, go to film simulations and pick the standard simulation or whatever you desire.

Just turn the shutter speed dial to 1/250 and manually set an aperture setting. In A your camera is trying to use the flash for fill light balancing it with the ambient light. Your ambient light becomes the primary light source and the flas becomes fill light.