Rangefinder Magazine
April 2006

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Bill Fredericks Studio Lorraine A. DarConte
Having the Time of Their Lives

There’s a great deal of exuberance and joy in the wedding photographs produced by the photographers of Bill Fredericks’ Manhattan studio. Everyone looks as if they’re at one big party having the time of their lives. And yet, at the same time, there are distinct moments of intimacy that distinguish one wedding from the next, showing what’s unique about the people, place, and event.

The studio’s half dozen photographers also skillfully utilize the often frenetic, but always romantic, New York cityscape as a backdrop. In a photo by Bill Fredericks, time appears to stand still for one newlywed couple in Times Square as cars and taxicabs race by. A champagne toast beneath the spires of St. Patrick’s Cathedral marks the occasion for another couple, while the usual suspects sitting on the great steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art serve as another duo’s witnesses. The less public moments and more detailed images— such as a row of buttons climbing steadily up the back of a bride’s dress—are equally engaging.

Bill Fredericks opened his studio in 1985 after working as a freelance photographer for about six years. At first, he focused more on corporate, editorial and advertising photography, though weddings were part of his business.

“For about 10 years I was shooting all the above,” states Fredericks, “and around 1994 I changed the studio’s direction to focus more on wedding and event photography.” Fredericks’ wedding work was garnering more and more attention and business was steadily increasing through referrals. “Once I decided to actively promote wedding photography it really took off. That’s when the need for a staff of photographers (whom he considers his collaborators) became obvious,” he states.

Additionally, notes Fredericks, the commercial work in New York was less than consistent, which is another reason he began concentrating more on weddings. “I’ve always kind of done it all,” says Fredericks, “and I still do commercial shoots, but now I’m focusing on wedding photography. It called out to me and I decided to go for it.”

The studio’s clients still tend to use the buzzword photojournalism when discussing their upcoming weddings. “Even though it’s an overused term,” states Fredericks, “it still communicates a basic desire from customers; they definitely still want that look. [Photojournalism] means different things to different people, but if there’s one thing it means, it’s inconspicuous, discreet. It conveys a lot—a style, a philosophy and an approach—that the photographer has. He’s cool, laid back, unobtrusive, not in your face. [Clients] want to be documented rather than directed.”

This photographic approach has always been the heart of the studio’s coverage. “But pure photojournalism without good portraiture and comprehensive coverage of important family members and friends,” says Fredericks, “leaves you dead in the water. What people want when they’re qualifying the photographer at the outset is very different from what’s important to them once they have their photos. No one is going to complain that there aren’t enough edgy blackand- white photos. But they will complain if there aren’t enough pictures of their aunt, sister, grandmother, etc.

“We usually spend an hour to an hour-and-a-half with each client so they can get a sense of our philosophy. Once they book us, there’s an additional consultation and shoot with the staff photographer they’ve chosen. It’s a casual ‘break the ice’ session that takes place two months before the wedding. They’re also asked a set of questions such as, ‘Who’s in the wedding party? ‘What’s important, what’s not important?’ And they provide us with a list of pictures they want. “That direct meeting with the photographer is very effective. The dynamic of that photo session improves the wedding day photography because it gives the photographer some insight into what the clients will be like to work with. I also feel a photographer’s personal skills in directing people and capturing natural looking photos that are flattering, done quickly, efficiently, and in an organized way, are very important. Everybody has a certain comfort level,” he notes. “And in the end, it adds up to better coverage and happier clients.”

A Stellar Staff

Each photographer at the studio has their own book that clients may view. “Potential clients usually look at our work online first. Our pricing varies according to the photographer,” says Fredericks. “The end product and service are pretty much the same, but the pricing is higher or lower depending on the overall experience of the photographer.” All of Fredericks’ photographers are well rounded in the fundamentals, and they all had thriving careers before joining forces with him.

Sam Lahoz, who had been assisting Fredericks on commercial shoots, counts himself among the first photographers to join the staff. He began photographing weddings in 1995. “I met Bill in 1991 while working on a few commercial shoots. We had lost touch, but one day in 1995, he called and asked if I would assist him at a wedding. Soon, he had me second shooting, and then I was working on my own.”

Lahoz describes his style as documentary. “Whether I’m shooting an entire event or taking a single portrait, I’m capturing images to be used in the future as a record of the past. I behave like an anthropologist.” he says, “and use my camera to document the intricacies of each family and their friends. I try to be low key, patient and positive. I think [this attitude] rubs off on people sometimes. I also try to understand the needs and limits of each subject. I want people to walk away with a positive experience and not thinking that it was a hassle to have a photographer there.”

Lahoz works exclusively with a Hasselblad 503cxi and 501cm with prism finders. He also utilizes a bevy of lenses, including, 50, 80, and 150mm lenses. “I have an assistant that loads my film backs, and I carry three or four backs with me. I carry two A12 backs with black-andwhite film and three A24 backs with color film for weddings. The film back system of the Hasselblad allows me to change film in the middle of a roll. I can go from black and white to color in seconds. It’s faster than having two 35mm cameras around my neck.

The only reason I would use a 35mm—which is lighter and self-loading— is if I did not have an assistant.” Lahoz feels there are clear advantages to working within the studio system. “Since I’m shooting 30–40 weddings a year, it would be very hard to do everything myself—handling sales, print and film processing, album design, etc. The studio team that handles those things allows me to do what I do best—shoot. It also allows me time during the week to work on other photography projects.”

Another staff photographer, Barbara Corella, considers herself to be a portrait photographer who is adept at incorporating her fashion and still life background into her wedding pictures (she once did catalog work for Macy’s). Indeed, her images have an uninhibited, real-life feel about them, as if a close friend of the family, who just happens to be a photographer, took them. Corella shoots with a Hasselblad 501, because she likes the square format. She uses Kodak Portra 400 as well as Tri-X and Portra CN.

Corella notes there are advantages and disadvantages to working in a studio environment. “Working with other photographers gives me the opportunity to bounce around ideas and get feedback. The drawback of working for a studio is that I don’t own my images,” she explains.

Gabriel Pintado freelanced as a wedding photographer during his college days, though he found the work boring and uncreative. “I knew I could do much better work, so I opened my own studio using a different approach—I tried to capture the moments that make every wedding unique.” Pintado also describes his style as documentary, and says he tries to be as unobtrusive as possible.

Pintado gave up his own studio because he prefers to let someone else deal with sales and other aspects of the business. “It also allows me to concentrate on making good images.” Unlike his fellow photographers, Pintado works with 35mm. He uses Contax cameras and Carl Zeiss lenses. “The quality of these optics is the best I’ve ever seen, and the light weight of 35mm cameras allow me to move and shoot quickly. I use fixed lenses with apertures of f/1.4 or f/2 so I can shoot in very low light situations with higher speeds.” He uses Kodak T-Max and Portra, at 400–1600 ISOs.

As already noted, all the photographers at Frederick’s studio shoot film, and then everything is scanned. The studio has two ordering systems in place—one for the couple and one for friends and family. This year alone, Fredericks’ studio posted 100–300 photos of each couple’s event on line (in time sequence) so their friends and family could view and order prints directly through a password-protected website. “Only orders from the online interface are made from the digital scans,” says Fredericks.

“The bride and groom’s proofs and enlargements are made from the original negatives (though the same photos are posted online). The online service is our way of reaching out to friends and family who otherwise may not get/order prints.”

Fredericks uses the two systems because he feels the scans aren’t quite as good as the negatives, which is also why the studio doesn’t shoot digital capture. “I feel, especially in the realm of black-and-white, that there are big differences. And we’ve always been known for our custom hand-developed, hand-printed, archival black-and-white images. It’s a selling point; people appreciate museum-quality prints.”

Seventy percent of Frederick’s business comes from referrals and about 30% from promotions, which include print, radio, web directory listings, and networking with other industry professionals.

“We do a lot of print advertising for a New York studio in terms of the different publications we’re in,” admits Fredericks. “And we’re always reassessing.” As with any form of advertising, the combination of marketing venues has the greatest impact on his business, as opposed to any one form of advertising. “I think it all has to work together,” notes Fredericks. “The work has to look good, but clients usually have to see us in multiple places— a magazine, online, at a hotel catering office, a friend’s album—before contacting us. I can’t say one single promotion works best. So we do it all, and we stay on top of what works.

“We also work with people who are higher up on the food chain than us, such as caterers, and venues where couples book their receptions. [Reception halls] are the biggest vendor, and the first to be booked,” notes Fredericks. “They’re in a position to refer business to us. We have informal and formal referral relationships with different caterers. But our biggest, number one source of business is happy, existing clients.

“We give a free studio shoot as a gift to our clients after we hand them their album and say goodbye. Most of our clients come back with their first child. We’ve switched to delivering those images online, eliminating paper proofs. If they want blowups they can order them through that interface (and pay for them).

“The digital distribution of the photos is going to continue. But I’m trying to maintain a good balance between the hand-printed images and high-tech benefits. There are some great benefits, such as the convenience. But we don’t want the convenience factor to be the most important thing,” concludes Fredericks. “Whether digital or traditional, it’s still about the quality of the photography, the craftsmanship and the artistry. And I don’t think that will ever change.”