Alex Labry Photographer

Buy an Eye

Japanese engineers have created very good algorithms allowing for nearly anyone with a "prosumer" camera or better to make photographs that are acceptably in focus with reasonably good exposure. Their mission is to sell a lot of expensive cameras to people who don't want to learn about F stops, to focus accurately, to use a light meter or understand flash. For the most part, the engineers have removed the technical learning required to make photographs. It's rare for me shooting an event not to have at least one, often two or more, unpaid "photographers" making pictures. These people are enthusiastic and eager but they usually don't have much knowledge or training. Most importantly, they frequently lack an eye. It is true that while it is possible for them make an outstanding image, chance heavily favors an experienced trained eye.

To have an eye for drawing with light (Photo Graph) is the same as having an eye for painting or sculpture or any visual creative expression. A photographer uses an electro-mechanical device to create instead of a brush or chisel.

When searching for someone to hire - buy an eye.

Stephanie & Omar Wedding

 
 Stephanie Edgington and Omar Ramos were married Friday evening at The Plantation House in Pflugerville. A beautiful afternoon wedding with a lovely sunset complimented the couple. As is always the case, Louana and the folks at the Plantation House were wonderful. To view all of Stephanie and Omar's wedding photographs go here.

 

  

The Best Man Tradition

Long ago the best man had to be somewhat more than a ring bearer and give a jocular toast!  

The tradition of a best man has its origins with the Germanic Goths around 200 AD. , when it was customary and preferable for a man to marry a woman from within his own community. However, when women came into short supply "locally," men who wished to marry had to seek out a "bride" from another village to capture and abduct. The liklihood of cooperation from non local villagers and the intended was, well, not always certain. Since abduction is often a multi-person operation, the future bridegroom would be accompanied by a trusted male companion who would assist him in obtaining his bride. Our custom of the best man is a throwback to this two-man, strong-armed tactic. The future groom wanted not just any man but he wanted the best man he knew to come along for assistance. 

After the kidnapping, the best man's task was still more than just raising a glass of bubbly. There remained a real threat that the bride's family would attempt to forcibly obtain her return, so the best man remained at the groom's side throughout the marriage ceremony, alert well-armed and with his hand on his sword. He continued his duties after the ceremony by standing guard as sentry outside the newlywed's home. Much of this is German folklore, but is not without written documentation and physical artifacts. There are records that indicate that beneath the altars of many churches of early peoples (the Huns, Goths, Visigoths, and Vandals) there lay an arsenal of clubs, knives, and spears. The indication is that these were there to protect the groom from possible attack by the bride's family in an attempt to recapture her. 

Why are good photographers so expensive?

Besides the considering the “deliverables” -- the prints, the album, the proof book and online viewing -- you are or should be paying for the power of the "E". There are three E's that are much more important in your decision making process than the deliverables.   

Experience - Education - Equipment

Experience is something that is only acquired by doing the job. It directly impacts the ability to foresee and solve problems. You are getting married once, it's one of the most important single events of your life. When it is all over, you will have eaten the cake and drunk the champagne but it is the photographs that will be with you for your life. In all likelihood you will not remember much from such an intense whirlwind day. Your photographs should be memory triggers.  The question for you is would you trust an inexperienced surgeon to cut open your heart?  I have over 24 years of experience. The power of the E¹

Education is wonderful and there is no substitute for school learning. We used to study film sensitometry, chemical components and light density responses to film and chemistry. Now days we study computer programs and raw converters. The problem with Education is that it is often conducted in ivory towers where the situations are controlled.  I have an undergraduate degree (B.A. St. Edward's University) in Photographic Communications and I also have a master's (M.F.A. University of Texas at Austin) in art photography. I have continuing education from Brooks Institute, Gary Fong, Seth Reznick, X-Rite, PPA, and NAPP.  However, it is Experience that profoundly enhances Education.  The power of the E².

Equipment is where a lot of "photographers" cut expenses. They think they can produce good images with less expensive equipment. Occasionally blind hogs find acorns too! The thing is, NOT all pixels are created equal. It's true that there are many wonderful point-and-shoot cameras out there that produce good-looking images. The camera manufacturers want you to buy cameras so they load them up with all sorts of whistles and bells to sell them. Some sound good but are of little value. Many of these features most people will never know how to use. A highly paid professional photographer made this statement to me once when I asked something technical about his camera. "I don't know, I just set it to program mode and shoot." Program mode is fine but what if it's not right for the situation? Does your photographer know how to use the equipment? Does your photographer even have the right equipment to do the job?  Let's face it, there is nothing good in this business that is cheap. I have some of the finest equipment money can buy manufactured by Leica, Canon, Hasselblad and Phase One.  This is where Equipment enhances Education and Experience.  The power of the E³ 

Pretty Good Cheap Prints

Good quality prints that aren't expensive is what this blog is about. Why are my prints more expensive than say Flicker, Wally World or places like that? Once you read this post you will know three things. 1) How to get good prints cheaply, 2) Why mine are more expensive and 3) When to choose one over the other.

The thing is today much of the "mystery" (in other words, skill) of making good prints has gone down the drain. Photo labs used to hire technicians and train them on how to make a good color print on an enlarger. The tech looked at a sample and said, "Hm-m well that's too red, so I'll add some green" or "it's too blue so I need to add some yellow" whatever - they made the decision by visual inspection using trial and error until, in their judgment, it looked good. This process was labor intensive, thus expensive. Additionally, lots of materials and chemistry went down the drain, which also contributed to expensive photographic prints.

Nowadays labs don't hire technicians, they buy computers that work 24-7 without benefits that don't need training. These computers read the color numbers in the digital file. Whatever color number is in the file is what the computer will output. No guesswork here. This makes good color file numbers the most important ingredient in modern color digital printing. The old adage, "Garbage in Garbage out" is absolutely true. I spend a lot of post production time making sure the digital image files you get from me contain good color/density numbers. To facilitate my work flow, I capture every thing "raw". For more information about this see The Raw Deal.

"So" you ask, "all I have to do is get you to fix my image files?" Well yes that would help, but there are some other variables in getting good prints as well. Photographic chemistry is critical. A lab needs to keep its chemistry fresh and to an exact temperature to make sure the color is accurate. Color chemistry is expensive and this is a place where many low-cost labs will cut corners. Have you ever seen a color print that has a peculiar color cast after a while? This is probably the reason. Another way to cut costs is for the lab to use cheap quality paper. Cheap paper usually causes fading after a period of time.

Here's a tip: Costco is a good place for pretty good cheap prints. I went through digital color printing training with Costco employees in 1998 and I learned that they are very conscious about the importance of chemistry in color printing. I don't know what sort of paper they use but I would imagine you have some choices.So for everyday use, go with the Pretty Good Cheap Print!

Okay that's helpful advice so what is it exactly that you make, Alex?  When you want a larger print eight by ten or greater, I make "art prints" called Giclée  (zhee-klay). I use a heavy weight 310 gsm, 100 percent cotton, paper by Hahnemuhle on my Epson 7900 professional printer.  Wilhelm Research says color prints made on this printer will last over 200 years under UV glass. It will no doubt outlast all of us and your great grand children will still be able to see you in full color. Furthermore I use a larger color gamut so that not only will your color last you will have more of it to last.

So for everyday use and small prints, get color and density corrected files from me and go with the Pretty Good Cheap Print, but when you want something for your wall go with my handmade Giclée prints.

Alex

Megan & Russell

Megan and Russell were married on a chilly and rainy afternoon at Hamilton Twelve Event Center. However cool the weather was, it was no match for the warm and wonderful ceremony. As they say a hot time was had by all with a fabulous band and loads of great food. As usual Annie and company of Hamilton Twelve did an outstanding job!  Congratulations Megan and Russell, good time was had by all. See all of Megan and Russell's' photographs here online! 

Sacred and Celebratory

"A wedding is a sacred and celebratory event! The two sides of the same coin." I said to a potential client a while back and they looked puzzled for a moment and then it dawned on them that I was right on target.

An American wedding is often very imbued with religious content and blessings. Over the years I have had ministers inform me that absolutely no wedding photos were allowed during the ceremony. I was okay with that because a wedding ceremony is a sacred covenant between two people. Consequently even when the ministers do allow photographs during a ceremony, I am always discreet and I avoid flash like a plague. It's just too annoying and distracting in a dimly lit church. What to do? Buy extremely fast - read expensive - lenses. With today's digital high end capture, it's much easier to get those special moments.

On the other hand, what is the reception if not a party to celebrate the couple's union?  It's not news that you are a couple, this is time to shout it out to the world and party with your friends and loved ones.

So, your photographer, has to understand these two very different types of events and be ready and able to capture your near opposite responses to each of these conjoined events. Check out our full weddings here to get an idea of how can capture your wedding day.

Jennifer & Matt's Wedding

On a beautiful spring afternoon in Kyle at the Winfield Inn, Jennifer Cecil and Matt Dumas were married outdoors. Weather was cool but the music and reception kept everyone moving.  RJ Johnson with Music for Life did a magnificent job keeping the tempo going. Any body can play music but only RJ can keep your party lively and interesting.  Click here to see all of Jennifer and Matt's photos!

Giclée Prints (zhee-klay)

 Giclée is a feminine French noun that means a spray or a spurt of liquid. The word may have been derived from the French verb "gicler" meaning "to squirt".  Okay so what is a giclée  print?

The Term : The term  "giclee print" is an elevation in photographic printmaking technology. Images are generated from high resolution digital capture or scans and printed with archival quality inks onto various substrates including canvas, fine art, and photo-base paper. The giclee printing process provides better color accuracy than other means of reproduction.

The Process : Giclee prints are created typically using professional 8-Color to 12-Color ink-jet printers. These modern technology printers are capable of producing incredibly detailed prints for both the fine art and photographic markets. Giclee prints are sometimes mistakenly referred to as Iris prints, which are 4-Color ink-jet prints from a printer pioneered in the late 1970s by Iris Graphics.

The Advantages : Giclee prints are advantageous to artists who do not find it feasible to mass produce their work, but want to reproduce high end art quality photographic prints. Digitally archived files will not deteriorate in quality as negatives and film inherently do.

The Quality : The quality of the giclee print rivals traditional silver-halide and gelatin printing processes and is commonly found in museums, art galleries, and photographic galleries. 

Alex and Giclée: I use this process to make all bridal portraits and prints that are larger than 8x10. I make them on my Epson 7900 printer using Hahnemuehle fine art photo paper.  I find the quality of this process really shines in larger format prints. When you are in my studio ask me to show you the difference giclée printing can make.

Sandra & Scott's Wedding

Sandra Crandall and Scott Sublett were married on Feburary 20 at the Villa Antonia near Jonestown, Texas. They were married in the chapel and held their reception and dinner in the Villa ballroom. Bride and groom were both University of Texas graduates. The groom's cake featured UT colors topped off with Bevo, the University's mascot. Click here to view their wedding image gallery.

As always, Michaja and the folks at Villa Antonia created a marvelous setting with impecable service and great food.

"Dear Alex,
Thank you for a job well done--your sweet smiles throughout the evening put all of us at ease and the photograpghs certainly reflect this--everyone from  the bride and groom to guests had natural, joyful faces.  The pictures are wonderful--my sincere thanks to you and your wife for your time, committment, and lovely artistry--it shows how much you love your profession. Doug and I  appreciate and adore looking at Scott and Sandra on their wedding day as you have captured each moment ---thank you very much--you have made 2 parents very happy"..........Lynn and Doug Crandall

Photo Wars: Film vs Digital

I used to spend many hours standing in my dark room. Light low, music high damaging my lungs from inhaling chemical fumes. Now days I spend many more hours sitting in my light room in front of my computer. Light low, music high damaging my lower back from too much sitting.

Other than the obvious posture changes, what are the differences between photographs from film and digital?  Is one "better" than the other? First and foremost photography is about light. It was Sir John Herschel the 19th British scientist and linguist who first "invented" the word, photography, to describe the ability to capture and preserve an image. He joined two Greek words, Photo meaning light and Graph meaning to draw. The way Herschel understood the new invention was that it was a light drawing. 

Both film and digital draw with light. It's still all about the light. However, the two processes go about their "drawing" in very different ways. It's extremely important that a photographer understand the different methodologies. The "art" hasn't changed but the method by which it's made has radically done so. Nevertheless many photographers, professional and serious amateurs still don't understand how digital and film are different. They continue to shoot digital cameras as if they were using film.

Without getting into too much technical information, the basic difference is scale, i.e. the range of tonal values. Digital capture has a shorter latitude scale than film. Film was very forgiving and could handle a variety of exposure errors where as digital is not and cannot stand overexposure. The old film saying of "expose for the shadows and develop for the highlights" is anathema to digital. In the darkroom one could adjust and "print through" a fairly serious overexposure problem. With digital, those highlights are cooked. This is extremely important with a white wedding dress. An overexposed wedding dress will lose all of it's detail and turn into grits. A man in a black tux next to a woman in a white dress wreaks havoc on a camera light meter. A photographer who trusts the in camera meter to make an exposure calculation is asking for a blown out dress of mush. Once that happens, no amount of Photo Shop or digital light room dancing will put white delicacy back into a wedding dress. Nothing there to print.

So why use digital capture? In the right hands it is better than film and produce a higher quality print than film ever could. For some additional information see my blog The Raw Deal.