Need help convincing wife!

[davideglasgow]

I assume many of you have been in the same position with your spouse before. I recently purchased a Rebel XS with kit lens. Needless to say, I'm not really that impressed with the kit lens, as it simply is not fast enough for indoor photography of a hyperactive 21-month old. I want the 50mm f/1.4 badly.However, this takes a bit of convincing of my wife, who is not "into" photography, only sees the fact that I just dropped $500 on the camera not too long ago, and desperately wants a new house (which is going to happen regardless of this $325 lens). Anyway, what are some strategies you have used in these types of situations?

[Dallasphotog]

This is an area I can provide expert advice. There are four strategies.


1) Shoot a lot of pictures of the 21-month old and start sending enlargements to Adorama in say in 16 x 20. Once you've proved you can decorate her house with portraiture and provide her with pictures of her offspring, half the battle is won. Oh, and make the case you need the lensto improve your pictures before you start spendingthat enlargement dough.


2) Shoot for her friends or family. Pick an anniversary or a baby shower andstart producing images forher sphere of influence. When the friends and family start bragging on you,start explaining how you need just one more lens to get that perfect shot.


3) Get her interested in scrap booking; electronic or using the beautifulleather books. I have a folder on my external drive for family pictures that contains 24,000 images. Whatever she needs,I can provide.


4) Finally, develop a paying customer base. My very first commercial jobs were sporting events for friends children. I got my EF70-200mm F/2.8, strictly to shoot soccer and baseball. When I started selling images to the newspaper and then to more publications, I was careful to seperate the business finances from the personal ones. Now I provide my own funding stream for all the cool toys.

[Joel Bookhammer]

Well the first things that pops into mind is to not tell her....but that doesnt support a healthy relationship even if she doesnt find out. Umm If you dont already try to make some money off the photography to help pay for it. Umm explain how you could take better pictures to remember these moments in time. The last "strategy" I have to suggest is let her know how nice of pictures you could take on your second honeymoon this summer to some exotic location. []


Cheers!

[mark]

my wife and i have a deal ... she doesnt look in my camera or golf bag and i dont look in her shoe racks or closet ...works out just fine

[Steve Eisenberg]

You need to earn some "Husband Capital". There should be nothing that you know needs to be done around the house left undone. That means paint touch-ups, fixing the leaky faucet, stop the door from squeaking, etc. If there is anything she asks you to do, just do it without complaint. Especially do chores if there is a ball game on that you would normally watch. Because the needs of the family outweigh what your personal needs. That is step one.


Step two. Meet her needs. Don't give her a hard time. Be sympathetic. Listen without judging or trying to fix everything. And of course, buy her stuff.


Step three. I hadn't thought too much about this one. You'll need to fill in the blank. Every wife is slightly different than the next. For example, maybe help more with the baby. Do something to meet the peculiar traits of your particular model! []


Step four. Finally, bring your camera to a place where it would be inappropriate to use a flash. Especially a place that involves children. Print the photos, and let her come to the conclusion that those will just not do. Tell her it's a limitation of the bargain lens that came with the camera. And lenses are made that allow you to take quality photos without using the flash. Tell her about the 50mm f1.2 and it's high price, but fortunately, Canon has been good enough to make a 50mm f1.4 for those with budget concerns.


Step five. Be subtle, commit all to memory. Do not write down your devious little plans or you will be in deep trouble. Remember, women have the built-in ability to manipulate you without note cards. You are going to have to act outside of your caveman nature to get what you want.


Step six. You get the things you want. But because of your hard work, end up being a better spouse. Leading to cookies and sex. Amen brother!

[Erich Anderson]

What happened to Step #3?

[davideglasgow]

BTW, speaking of prints...


What is the largest I can print with the XS set at 10.1 MP? Adorama says optimally 8X10, but I would think at 10.1 I could go larger than that?

[Steve Eisenberg]

Egads! I forgot to add it!!!

[Steve Eisenberg]

BTW, speaking of prints...


What is the largest I can print with the XS set at 10.1 MP? Adorama says optimally 8X10, but I would think at 10.1 I could go larger than that?
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At 3888x2592 pixels, divide the dimensions by the resolution you want. By Canon's standard (at least in my manual) that would be about 235 DPI. So, with 235 DPI, 16.5x11. Or if you want 300 DPI, about 13x8.5, etc. At least, that's how I do it...You can find LOTS of discussion regarding this issue...

[QNeX]

Why not get Canon 50mm f/1.8 II instead?


It is almost 4 times cheaper, so it will be waaay easier to convince your wife. The pros and cons:


1) you loose 2/3 of F-stop and build quality.


2) you gain a tool to convince wife 'see, how much difference there is with f/1.8 lens? Imagine how better it would be to have a good quality f/1.4 lens!


3) even if you don't succeed convincing your wife to get more expensive one, you still have f/1.8 lens!


4) ...and you may decide later on, that you would rather get Sigma 30mm f/1.4