Previous: (Page 2) Lisa's Favorite Film Format & Wedding Photojournalism
Question: When shooting weddings, do you develop your own photographs, or prefer to use a digital minilab to process your images?
Lisa Berry: I use one optical lab, and one digital lab to process my images. I obtain high quality scans from my digital lab, and they look fabulous on the screen. I shoot a fairly large quantity of photographs at every wedding, and I am grateful for my labs every time I get back a stack of beautiful proofs. The optical black and white lab in town has just shut down, and I am beginning to develop my own black and white film again. I hope someday to set up a full darkroom of my own.
Question: Do you consider shooting with traditional photography more expensive than digital, due to film development cost?
Lisa Berry: Traditional photography is more expensive than digital photography due to film and development costs. But there are large expenses on both sides. Because the technology is still being developed, digital photographers often spend a large sum of money on new equipment. In order to achieve digital photographs of high quality, thousands of dollars must be invested into a market that is in constant flux. Namely, the early digital cameras are now worth very little. Early traditional cameras, on the other hand, could be used to shoot my weddings!
Question: Do you think photography equipment manufacturers will cease developing, researching, and improving future traditional camera products due to digital demand? How do you think this will affect you and other film photographers in the near future?
Lisa Berry: Film is alive and vibrant as a medium; it has matured to an accomplished height of performance, but it appears that it is being economically strangled! One day it may be too expensive to purchase and process.
Kodak has recently improved their Portra professional films to have an even finer grain. I was happily surprised to see that efforts are still being put forth to advance the best films. Hasselblad is making extremely sophisticated cameras that allow for a choice of a film back and a digital back on the same camera body. I don't think anyone wants to close the door entirely on film. I hear many digital photographers talk wistfully about their film cameras and the latitude that film offers in high contrast situations. You will find detail in the highlights, and detail in the shadows in a properly exposed piece of film that may not be present in a digital file.
The main benefit to digital photography is economy and efficiency. If photography buried traditional film once and for all, it would be doing so for a myriad of secondary reasons that I suspect photographers and camera makers will later regret.
Question: Do you envision in 10 to 20 years, the new blood of the professional photography industry will no longer know how to develop film? Are you concerned with the increasing demand and exposure of digital photography, which could affect scholastic budgets supporting traditional film photography?
Lisa Berry: I sincerely hope that schools continue to teach traditional photographic techniques for years to come. Many high schools under financial pressure have already begun to abandon their darkrooms as an easy budget cut, so only the lucky schools will be able to sustain this tradition. Many of the best photographers I know were drawn into the profession because of the magic of the darkroom. We literally make pictures out of light, and that sense may be lost if students begin their learning with the digital format.
Most painters go through years of figure drawing in the studio before going on to make their best work. Photographers also benefit from having the basics under their belt before they branch out. Photo 1 class tends to focus on black and white photography, and this provides a key foundation for understanding light as your medium before the seduction of color comes into play. The darkroom may not be the only place to start, but it's certainly the best place.
Question: What are some of your pet peeves when shooting weddings?
Lisa Berry: Camera phones!! It's becoming quite difficult to get a clear shot of the bride and groom coming down the aisle. And let's face it; photographers have to wear ugly shoes to stay on their toes all day.
Question: Do you have any tips for the aspiring film photographer?
If you have been trained as a film photographer, and if you're going to commit to being one, I would recommend investing in medium format equipment. You can find excellent used cameras at a good price. Don't feel pressured to go digital just yet if you're entirely happy and comfortable with film.
However, you can only support a film business if you are working in mid to high range weddings. If you charge $1000 for your services, you may quickly find that your film and processing bills equal that amount.
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