Rangefinder Magazine
March 2005

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Profile: Sherri Ebert by Peter Skinner
With a Flair for Photo Essays

Judging by two wonderful photo essays that she completed as “pet projects,” Jacksonville, FL, wedding and portrait specialist Sherri Ebert could easily make the transition into editorial magazine work should the whim ever take her. On the other hand, her distinctive and stylistic approach to her chosen line of image making has won her such acclaim and success—and a growing following of very happy clients—why would she want to make the switch? In truth, she probably won’t, but she definitely could.

Before going any further, it should be mentioned that Sherri Ebert is well known far beyond her home locale. At writing she had just finished a national 15-city U.S. tour with colleagues Curt Littlecott and Tony Corbell—sponsored by Albums Inc. And she’s casting her eyes even further afield: Among her future goals are to speak internationally and shoot weddings overseas.

As is so often the case with creative and productive photographers, Ebert firmly believes that self-assignments, or “pet projects” as she calls them, are vitally important in keeping the passion of photography alive. “No matter how much work I have piling up around me, I always allow myself to have a little fun and do the things I just simply want to do,” she says. As it happened, luck, or fate, presented her with a great opportunity to undertake such a project and one that has, in many ways, become a signature work. It also tested virtually every photographic, creative and photojournalistic talent she possesses.

In brief, an expectant mother looking for contemporary photographs of her pregnancy was referred to Sherri. During the course of their discussions, the woman said she would also like to have Sherri photograph the baby after he was born. “In visualizing the session we were doing and then starting to think about the baby, I half jokingly said, ‘You know, I do these really neat documentary-style wedding albums; it would be kind of cool to do a baby one the same way! The only problem is that we’re missing a chapter—the actual birth of the baby. We looked at each other, and each of us said ‘I’m game if you are,’” explains Sherri. And so the poignant and emotional photo essay The Miracle of a Baby—Joshua Gabriel had its genesis. Incidentally, Sherri has no children, so childbirth and its attendant “logistics” were indeed groundbreaking subjects. In fact, she had never photographed a pregnant woman before.

That the parents were planning a home birth with a midwife was a key factor in Ebert’s decision to tackle the self-assignment. Also, because they were a military family and no other relatives would be present, documenting the birth became significantly more important. But, as with most well laid plans, those for the home birth went awry when problems arose and the midwife suggested the mother be taken to hospital. “I cannot tell you how difficult it was to see someone in so much pain and not be able to do anything to help,” says Sherri. However, she stayed with the couple throughout an emotional and difficult 20-plus hours, doing everything she could to be unobtrusive, using long lenses, no flash and not speaking to them unless they spoke to her.

“I made a conscious decision to be a ‘fly on the wall’—I wanted them to forget I was there. There were times that I couldn’t believe they would let a stranger be a part of such intimate moments, and that they allowed me to stay,” she says. Finally, after about 20 hours, the mother delivered by cesarean section: Ebert was not allowed to be there for the surgery. “Overall, I spent about 26 hours with them—no food, no sleep, no shower, and I had to cancel all other appointments. But it was certainly worth the effort,” she says.

Sherri’s summation—“It was worth the effort”—is an understatement. The resulting photo essay is powerful and tender, comprising a collection of revealing and candid moments of the parents alone and together, complemented by wonderful close-up detail of delicate subjects such as the baby’s hands and feet. Harnessing only available light, Sherri has extracted the most evocative and sensitive focal points from an emotion-filled environment. When the baby was about three days old, Sherri went to the home, using only window light to photograph little Joshua on a white terrycloth towel laid on the kitchen table.

The album of Joshua Gabriel’s arrival, which has won universal acclaim and virtually every award for which it was entered, was essentially a creative project for Sherri herself. “I designed the album with no input from the client and created it the way I envisioned it. The whole project, from start to finish, was a fantastic and emotional experience that I will never forget. I certainly bonded with the family, and this little baby will definitely hold a special place in my heart—I feel like Aunt Sherri! I can never thank this family enough for allowing me to share this most amazing time in their life,” she says.

In contrast with the “sweet and tender” baby album, Ebert’s other acclaimed photo essay, Portrait of a Poet, is almost exactly the opposite: dark and edgy. By her own admission, she broke all the rules in creating this thought-provoking portrait of a close, personal friend who is brilliant and eccentric with a humorous personality to match his talent. Even though she had photographed him before, using film, Ebert wanted to shoot this whole project with digital equipment. In 2002, Ebert’s friend had been badly affected by the tragic loss of his mother and, like most of the U.S., was still coming to grips with the harsh reality of a changed, post-9/11 world. It was time when many people re-prioritized their lives, and Ebert, conscious of this shift in personal perspectives, wanted the essay to reflect that. Also, while she had initially planned to encompass all her friend’s talents in music, art and poetry, she soon realized it was just too much. So, she decided to keep it simple and focus only on his poetry, adhering to the time-tested adage that “less is more”—a theory she applies to all her other work and album design.

She studied—“devoured” probably is more apt—volumes of her friend’s poetry, eliciting from him the meanings to each work and then visualizing images the words evoked. Specific images were planned and shot, and even though some were similar to those previously photographed on film, new digital images were made. “The book was designed to be a poetry book, and was intended to be ‘dark and edgy’ with minimal retouching—it is not supposed to be ‘pretty.’ I wanted to create something very simple that showcased the poetry and the photographs, and I believe the success of this album lies in its consistency and simplicity.

“This project was extremely rewarding to both of us, and I feel good about helping someone else leave a legacy, something tangible that will be here long after he is gone. It was a very fulfilling personal project—something that I encourage everyone to try with someone special in your life,” says Sherri.

The dedication and commitment to these personal works epitomizes Sherri Ebert’s energetic and enthusiastic effort on behalf of her commercial clients. As with most professional photographers, she has had a passion for the medium for as long as she can remember, photographing her first wedding—albeit a small, family affair—when only 16. Born and raised in the Cleveland, Ohio, area, she moved to Florida in 1996, and today her business, Sherri Ebert Photography, is based in Jacksonville. Until recently she worked out of her home, but, at writing, a 2200-square-foot house she bought is being transformed into a studio.

Initially, Sherri resisted the digital revolution and confesses to being adamant that she would never convert from film. To that end she immersed herself in traditional silver-halide processes, embracing techniques such as Polaroid transfer and manipulation and platinum palladium printing, really digging in her heels against the avalanche of digital technology. And then came the day of her “one hell of an epiphany!” She borrowed a friend’s digital camera, just to play with. The rest is history. Sherri Ebert Photography is now 100 percent digital, using Canon cameras and accessories for capture with lenses ranging from an 8mm fisheye to a 70–200mm zoom.

Fortuitously, Sherri had a significant head start on most digital converts: Her education and professional experience in fine art and graphic design specializing in photography (Bowling Green State University, Ohio, and the University of North Florida, Jacksonville). This background was invaluable when she made the leap from silver halide to digital imaging. “I had no idea how valuable my experience with Photoshop and other graphic programs would be to me in the future. But when I ‘discovered’ digital photography, I soon realized that with my training in fine art, my experience in graphic design and my passion for photography, I could create freely and for the first time have total control over my vision. My imagination was my only limitation,” she says.

And that imagination is taking Sherri Ebert Photography down a path of remarkable success. Not surprisingly, her technique and style is a combination of the traditional infused with her own fresh approach that results in contemporary, cutting-edge images. However, before getting too adventurous in her own style, she learned the rules of lighting and other technical things through formal education and by attending numerous seminars offered through the professional associations of which she is a member. “You have to know the rules before you can break them,” she points out.

Essentially, Ebert’s style is photojournalistic, and she emphatically points out that her goal is to capture the events of a wedding as they happen, not shoot to a formula or list. But this is no haphazard, grab-it-on-the-run, shoot-from-the-hip approach. Prior to the big day she has “researched” the subject thoroughly, getting to know the people involved, especially the bride, to such an extent that she becomes virtually family. “At the wedding I am ‘Sherri’ not ‘the photographer.’ The first thing I get when I show up at a wedding is a hug,” she explains. This very personal approach allows her the freedom to suggest zany, often hilarious shots—such as of the couple jumping out of a limo with Sherri chasing them, paparazzi-style.

On the other hand, she is no “drill sergeant” and uses subtle hand signals, not a booming voice, to direct people. “I am there to capture the events as they happen, not to create them. I will not accept a shot list and do not guarantee any image, but will take suggestions to guide me. If it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen. I will, however, gently guide the couple into a few posed situations, because I feel it is necessary to capture the images I want,” she says.

She attributes having a good grasp on the “psychology of wedding photography” to learning from Australian photographer Tony Hewitt when he toured the U.S. a few years ago. “He had a huge influence on not only my style of photography and what I strive to achieve, but also my approach to dealing with brides, grooms and the whole wedding in general,” she says.

From a technical aspect, Sherri likes to keep it simple, using ambient light and shunning artificial illumination as much as possible. “I am very much an available light photographer,” she says. Her principal concession to this is using fill flash on groups to avoid “raccoon” eyes, if she can’t move the subjects to a better location. Her favorite source of illumination is window lighting. Outside she looks for shade, and said perfect light for her is usually diffused, perhaps slightly overcast, just before sunset—universally referred to as “sweet light.” The one thing she doesn’t spare is the volume of photographs—usually 1500 to 3000 images at an average wedding, more for a larger event, such as a recent wedding in Mexico where she shot 8000 images. “My philosophy is to get it all and sort it out later,” she says. Digital proofing, 28 images per page, is done in-house and print orders are channeled through her lab (Millers—www.millerslab.com). Working with either one or two second photographers, she photographs 25 to 30 higher-end weddings a year.

One area in which Sherri Ebert Photography has really excelled is album presentation, perhaps not surprisingly, given her experience in graphic design. As mentioned previously, Sherri is an adherent of the “less is more” philosophy and, having made a conscious effort to simplify her albums, designs them for her clients accordingly. “I am including fewer photographs in the albums, concentrating on the most effective images themselves and not so much on all the cool stuff that can be done with Photoshop. I want my albums to be coffee table books that are classic and timeless, not looking like scrapbooks,” she says. (She uses Albums Inc.—Jorgensen and Renaissance The Book, flushmount.)

The albums are making an impact. They have won wide acclaim from her peers and awards in prestigious competitions. These include first place for portrait album at both the 2002 and 2003 Florida Professional Photographers conventions, and first place in the WPPI portrait album in the same consecutive years. In 2004 she claimed WPPI’s Grand Album award (The Portrait of a Poet). “Winning anything at WPPI is an accomplishment, considering the volume and quality of entries, so to win two first places and then the Grand Album award—over all those gorgeous Australian albums—blew me away. I really believe the success of my albums is because of their simplicity and consistency,” she says. Added to her growing list of professional accomplishments was the acceptance of four of her entries into PPA’s loan collection.

As is the case with most successful professional photographers, Sherri stresses the importance of being involved with professional associations and entering their competitions, not just to win awards but because of the educational benefits. “For years, before joining these professional associations, I struggled financially and artistically. Being part of these organizations has catapulted me and my business into success,” she says. And so it is no surprise that Sherri strongly advises any aspiring wedding or portrait photographers to join organizations, get involved, find mentors, attend as many seminars as possible, and “for heaven’s sake, turn off that flash!”

For more information, and to see her images: www.ebert images.com/; email sherriebert@bellsouth.net.

Sherri Ebert will be presenting a program at WPPI 2005 on Tuesday March 22, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The title of her program is “Secrets to Success: Album Design.”

Freelance writer/photographer and author Peter Skinner has more than 22 years experience in the photo industry in public relations, media liaison, corporate communications and workshop production and coordination. His magazine articles and photography have been published internationally and he has co-authored or edited numerous publications and books. He recently collaborated with the late Don Blair on The Art of Seeing Light (Amherst Media). He can be reached at: prsskinner@bigpond.com.