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Rangefinder
Magazine The Making of a World Class Wedding Album by Charles Maring Creating a world class wedding album in this day and age requires not only the perfect blend of photojournalism and portraiture, but also a print quality and design factor only achievable through the use of digital technology. I came to this realization approximately six years ago and began a personal search for a concept that would exude quality and create a demand for our work.
Print quality has been a time-honored tradition in the Maring family. Today, my wife Jennifer and I take on as much work as we can handle and print the jobs ourselves. Photography is in a period of revolution where print quality, artist interpretation and graphic arts are blended together into true art. A photograph is not just a photograph anymore. Now a photograph is a vision that goes beyond the capture of a raw moment. Whether you are a proactive or reactive photographer, photographic quality and presentation in the new millennium will reach new heights.
What separates me from other photographers is not only the photography, but also the print quality and imagination, which can be created in entirely new ways, thanks to digital. For example, you can sample colors in a photograph so that every image in an album has page components that compliment the print. You can take the time to burn or dodge, blur or soften, impressionize or desaturate, color blend or color wash, and ultimately come up with a more personal and artistic interpretation of a real moment.
Today, every image that leaves our studio is digital. We take all of our photographs with Nikon D1x digital cameras and there is never a sacrifice for print quality. More than anything else, I watch clients leave our studio feeling like they received the product and service other studios simply failed to offer. Our clients are happier with the level of quality and service we provide, and so am I. About eight years ago our studio made the leap to digital on the portrait side. Everyone said it was a mistake, but determination prevailed. Utilizing Kodak’s 460 digital camera, I found I could produce images that were far superior to any I got from pro labs or even my own darkroom with film. New capabilities for self-promotion came to life, and I was able to add an artist’s interpretation to our work. I could detail my product above and beyond standard retouching and offer creative new products for my clients. There was only one problem—workflow! I was doing all of the work myself, and to top it off, I had to pay a higher price for digital printing than for analog. As thrilled as I was with
my newfound detail and creativity, I found it took time to sit down and
work with each image personally. It took
more time to organize the images for the pro-lab. Then I had to burn
a CD and wait four to six weeks At that point I began researching digital printing. My first purchase was a CRT printer that printed up to 12x18s with remarkable quality, but with speed deficiencies. Two years later, we made the purchase of a Polielectronica Laser Lab, maintained in the U.S. by Colex Imaging. I wanted the best of the best and felt that nothing compared for quality or speed. I can now have my order printed and packaged in less time than it took to burn a CD. The raw speed of laser technology allowed us the luxury of employing people, and starting a new company that my family owns and operates called resolutionlab.com. Rlab works with a limited number of digital photographers needing output with a higher standard of digital printing and quality. In my case, the speed of getting images done fast leaves me more time to be creative. I do not consider myself a high-production photographer. However, my personal lab bill alone covers the costs associated with owning a $200,000 printer. I have noticed other well-known photographers making the same leap around the country.
I am not sure which is more fun. I never liked the darkroom for hours on end. However, because of digital technology, I am now an enthusiastic graphic artist, photographer, designer and print artist. A digital lab has little maintenance. I can hold my tolerances to higher standards than a pro-lab that is rushing to get orders out. I can take pride and hold my head high because I know my clients received the best I could give them. I don’t have to worry about the client being disappointed because we have top-notch print quality and quick turnaround times.
Charles Maring was the winner of the 2001 WPPI Awards of Excellence Album of the Year. Charles and Jennifer will be presenting a program at WPPI 2004 at BALLY’s Las Vegas on Monday, Feb. 23. The program is entitled, “Artfully Mastered.” Visit the Maring’s web site at: www.maringphoto.com.
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As a second-generation photographer,
I learned first and foremost that behind every great photographer is
an incredible print artist. As far
back as I can remember, I have had a darkroom. And like many lifelong
photographers, the darkroom is where the magic happened for me as a child—in
seeing a print transform from a blank piece of paper into a work of art
in mere seconds.
I am a wedding photojournalist,
meaning I focus on the nonfictional aspects of the wedding story. When
it comes down to it, I believe in being a
patient, reactive photographer, recording moments as they unfold rather
than dreaming up an idea and acting upon it. I know every photographer
has to please the families of the couple, so we spend 15–30 minutes
of the wedding day on family and couples portraiture. Still, I believe
in real moments of truth, so I do my best to stay quiet and observant,
even during this segment of our coverage. 
Portrait-quality
candids will be the new standard of excellence for future years of album
and print competition. 
to get the results back. 
My wife,
Jennifer and I photograph approximately 25–30 weddings
annually. We also take on a limited amount of portrait work, and most
recently, we have been shooting events for an upcoming book by a celebrity
party planner. Our studio opened a second office in Manhattan in December
to allow us to begin work on other interesting assignments. We do not
put all of our eggs in one basket at our studio, gallery or lab. One
side of the business allows us to grow on the other, and vice versa.
Most importantly, we enjoy all aspects of our business, and there is
never a dull moment.
Don’t
go digital to produce a lower quality image. Go digital and set your
standards higher than film. Digital can be bad or good. The
best advice I can give is never settle, always think for yourself, and
follow your heart. I have seen many great digital concepts and many poor
ones over the past few years. As much as your eyes separate you from
everyone else, digital printing and imagination will unveil a new part
of you that you never knew existed. My concept comes from the heart.
It is my brain child. There is nothing better than artistic album design
and creating something different for every client. To me, that is the
fun of it. 