Mastin Labs: Ask us anything about photography

From how to shoot film to getting the perfect film look for your digital photos, we are here to help. Ask us anything.
Anonymous asks:
Hi, will you release Pentax presets/profile? Please, you're a Pentax shooter after all:)

That’s not in the cards at the moment. Each camera company takes a lot of time when creating a calibrated preset pack, and the market share for Pentax is quite small in comparison to Canon, Nikon, Fuji, Sony etc.

We may get there at some point, but our priority is to serve the largest amount of photographers first.

Anonymous asks:
What should I know about refrigerating film? When should I put it in the fridge? How long past the expiration date is it usable if it's been stored in the fridge? Etc.

You can store film in the fridge for years without any ill effects. The cold stops the film from aging (to a point.)

I keep film I am not shooting in the next few months in s a mini fridge in my home.

Anonymous asks:
Hi Kirk! When mentioned when shooting digital you stick with Daylight not AWB, as a Nikon shooter, we have direct sunlight as an option. Is this pretty much similar to the Daylight option on a Canon? Many thanks!

You can pick any starting WB you want, as it makes no difference when shooting RAW (you can change it to whatever WB you like in LR.)

I personally shoot all day in Daylight WB because it makes it easier to batch edit photos later in LR, rather than have the WB jump all over the place in Auto WB mode. It is a workflow thing.

Hey Kirk! Love all your work! I just had a quick question about getting seriously into medium format film for school. Ive been looking at some cameras like the Hasselblad 500 Series and some of the Fuji point and shoots along with one of my favorites the Fuji GF670....if you had any recommendations for cameras under 1k that are good to go with (picture quality and durability wise) that would be awesome to hear from you! Thanks Kirk!

For medium format?

I would say the Pentax 645N or Pentax 645 NII.

If you want a medium format rangefinder, then try to find a Fuji GS645.

Anonymous asks:
Hello! I purchased the FUJI pack last night (and just went for broke paying full price) and used them on a shoot I did yesterday. Because of you, I have now found "my style." I have been struggling to figure out what my style was until now, using all different types of presets and actions, and wasting hundreds of dollars in the process. If I had known about Mastin Labs from the very start, I could have saved lots of money. My question is, which pack is best to use for indoor photography?

Thanks for your kind words! I would say that in general, Portra is much more suited to bad indoor lighting, especially Tungsten lighting.

Can you help me understand what it means to rate a film? For example, what does it mean when someone says, "This image is Fuji 400h rated at 200". Does this simply mean they shot it 1-stop overexposed? If I were working with 35mm on my EOS3, would I just use my in-camera meter? Thank you, in advance! ^_^

Rating a film means shooting a film as if it were a different speed than what it is supposed to be shot (the speed it says on the box.)

Some films work much better if intentionally overexposed, such as Fuji 400H, which can be shot at ISO and look amazing.

Anonymous asks:
Hi Kirk, I would like to purchase all three presets. Do you offer a discount if purchasing all three at once? Thank you!!

Sorry, we don’t at this time.

I recently upgraded to the latest Lightroom CC. I'm noticing that my photos look dramatically desaturated, grainy, and have a faded green film on them. Have you experienced the same thing and is the solution found in Lightroom or with an update to the presets? Thanks so much!

Can you send us an example raw file that you are seeing this with? Send a Dropbox link to contact@mastinlabs.com I we will take a look at it for you.

Mastin Labs requires Lightroom 4 and above, including CC. So it should work flawlessly. I’m thinking that maybe you have something else applied before using the presets, maybe from another preset company?

Anonymous asks:
Hello Kirk. I love your Vimeo videos! What camera did you use to shoot them? Thank you! Talia

My friends at SHEP Films did the video work. I’m not sure what they used but they are masters at what they do!

Hey Kirk, what were a few of the vital steps and transitions that got you from shooting 10 weddings a year and being somewhat successful to shooting 40+ weddings a year and booking your year full. What gets you there and how did you achieve it? (Getting featured, practice, refining your style, consistency..?)

In a nutshell:

1. Posting only my best work even if that means NOT showing anything from a shoot. Your blog is just like a portfolio and you should never feel obligated to post every shoot on your blog.

2. Making it happen rather than hoping/wishing it would happen. If you are not shooting the kind of events you want, then style it yourself and use a real engaged couple. You will get published, shoot the photos you want to shoot, make the couple happy, and beef up your portfolio with your best work. Then follow step one above and repeat. Eventually you will mostly get inquiries from couples that want what you have in your portfolio. It’s a great cycle to be in!

Hi Kirk. I'm shooting a 5d3 and loving all 3 of your packs, especially for weddings. I was wondering if you notice much difference between Canon and Nikon 'looks' post preset? I love my Canon but I'm curious about the possibility of extra dynamic range from the Nikon sensors (current or future) as I still find clipped highlights the big downfall/giveaway of digital...

The looks will be the same whether you use a Canon or Nikon camera. You may have more wiggle room with problematic exposures with the newer Nikon camera. So that could be an advantage.

Anonymous asks:
Hey there, Mastin! I love your work and adore your presets! Currently, I'm matching with Contax 645 scans, but unfortunately the Contax has become unreliable. What medium format kit do you recommend? I've been considering either a Pentax 645n with adapted 105mm 2.4 or a Mamiya Pro with 80mm 1.9. Which camera (or other) do you recommend for the Contax "look"? Which medium format kit do you recommend for reliability?

Either of those options would work great. I think that the Pentax is leagues easier to focus and so I would go that route if given the choice.

Anonymous asks:
When shooting digital images do you mostly shoot f/2.0 or f/2.8 or do you ever shoot wider?

I shoot at whatever f-stop suits the purpose of that photo. Your f-stop is an artistic choice and also a practical choice. For example: for family photos I would use f 5.6 to make sure everyone is in focus. For a detail shot I would choose f2 to make the detail stand out from the background.