Rangefinder Magazine
April 2006

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Profile: Marie Labbancz Linda L. May
Capturing the Art of Love

“I am always honored when a couple chooses me to document this most important event in their lives. Many couples select their wedding photographer because they are touched by the images and share the artist’s vision. My nature is that of a romantic. I am inspired by not only the love of the couple, but the love of the family, friends and children as well. Couples often ask me, ‘Are you a photojournalist?’ I hesitate to answer.”

Marie continues, “My techniques are those of a photojournalist, but beyond that, there is art. I see myself as an artist, and photojournalism is my medium.

The wedding is the subject matter of my art. Beyond documenting the day as it unfolds, it is also how and what I see that touches the heart. I am often reminded of the line from the musical Man of La Mancha: ‘Some see life as it is… I see life as it ought to be.’ And the subject that is a wedding is how life ought to be for me.” This is how Marie Labbancz describes her philosophy on wedding photography on her website.

Marie Labbancz of Princeton, New Jersey, is one of the most sought-after wedding photographers in the New York and Philadelphia metro areas, where she photographs about 40 high-end events each year. Her unique romantic approach to fine art wedding photography has not only captured the attention of couples, but of bridal publications nationwide as well. Marie is a regular contributor to Modern Bride, The Knot, Weddingbells, Grace Ormonde and New Jersey Bride, to name a few. In the summer of 2005, Marie was chosen as one of Photo District News’s “Top Knots.”

For the past two years, Nikon has featured her work in their yearly advertising, which highlights today’s most innovative wedding photographers. Lexar also features her work. Marie holds WPPI’s prestigious Accolade of Photographic Mastery. In 2005, she was judged to be one of the Top Wedding Photojournalists of the Year by the Wedding Photojournalists Association.

One might think that Marie’s photographic accomplishments were the result of a lifelong career; however, this is not the case. Prior to opening Marie Labbancz Photography, she worked as a Certified Social Worker specializing in Alzheimer’s care for 18 years.

A regular speaker and support group facilitator for the Alzheimer’s Association, Marie managed a medical day center for patients. In the corporate world, she worked on designs for living environments for those with dementia. Despite her accomplishments, Marie was a bit of a “square peg” in the corporate healthcare field, she says. Always an artist at heart, Marie spent evenings and weekends involved in regional theater as an actress, singer and director.

In 1995 Marie wanted to explore a different creative outlet, so she signed up for a community college course in photography.

Immediately, she knew she had found a new passion. It was not uncommon for her to lose track of time while working for hours in the darkroom. Gifted with natural composition, Marie’s work was soon featured in Princeton-area gallery exhibitions and in art magazines. Marie decided to attend the School of Visual Arts in New York City and learn more about her chosen craft. While at the school, Marie says she got the best advice ever from her professor, Len De- Lessio, who told her, “everything you need to know about professional photography you will learn from working in the field.” Marie took his advice and never looked back.

While maintaining her day job as a social worker, Marie explored various fields of professional photography, from fine art to children’s portraiture. However, she was never able to generate sufficient income to make photography her full-time profession. This fine artist never considered wedding photography because it was too “formalized,” she says. In 1999, all that changed when her son got married and Marie began perusing bridal magazines, like Martha Stewart Weddings. She soon discovered that weddings can be very beautiful and creative, another art form. Marie never assisted anyone nor worked for other wedding photographers. She learned from reading wedding magazines. This may account for her popularity with photo editors. Marie began her career by shooting her first wedding for free and posting those images on the Internet.

With no budget for a web designer, she taught herself HTML and built her first website using Microsoft Front- Page. Within a year, she had so many weddings booked that she had to quit her social worker position just to keep up with the new business. “At the time, I did no other advertising, which is a real testimony to the power of the Internet,” Marie says.

Marie admits that giving up her secure day job to run her own business was quite a risk, but one well worth taking. “It was a scary switch because all my adult life I was used to working nine to five for someone else, with benefits, sick leave and job security.

Now, I had to depend on myself for all of that. But I soon realized that it’s the most rewarding position because now I am truly the master of my own destiny! I have complete freedom to go in any direction with my life and my art. No one is telling me what to do or when to do it. However, along with that freedom, I have to maintain passion for my business because I work seven days a week now. I’m happy to work those long hours though. Being self-employed requires that kind of time and dedication. My business is my baby, so I nurture it, tend to it, and give it my best!” Marie says.

Prospective couples meeting with Marie for the first time often commission her to photograph their wedding on the spot, citing that “no one does what you do.” Marie believes that if we all tap into what is unique about us as individuals, and bring that to our art, we will develop a style so distinctive that it sets us apart from the competition. “The only person I ever compete with is myself,” Marie says. “I bring to my wedding photography all that I am and all that I have been.”

Clients who hire Marie Labbancz not only get a photographic artist, but a social worker as well, who is trained to be sensitive, understanding and sympathetic to their needs on that tension-filled day. “Although weddings can be beautiful and romantic, they can also be one of the most stressful experiences in couples’ lives. Helping couples keep things in perspective contributes greatly towards capturing the romantic, relaxed images they envision,” Marie says.

Always the hopeless romantic, Marie still believes in love and happily-ever-afters! “I need to believe in love,” she explains, “if I am going to truly capture the love in my images. Weddings are a perfect subject matter for an artist with a romantic heart. Maybe I’m unrealistic, but it certainly makes me feel I found my niche in wedding photography.” Marie also believes her background in theater plays a role in her style. As a photojournalist, Marie does no classical posing. Couples hire her because they want her to capture the essence of who they are, which is not always easy on a wedding day. She equates her technique for romantic photojournalism to “method photography,” similar to method acting.

“I did acting for many years and ‘the method’ is part of most actors’ training. Like an actor, I immerse myself in the wedding. Moments are happening all around me, and I become part of it moment to moment. I look for the ‘beats’ of each couple’s emotion story and am elated with each little facet I find. During romantic portraiture, as a director, I guide my couples, rather than pose them. I place couples in beautiful environments and encourage them to interact. There is a beauty to the uniqueness of how each couple moves and relates to one another. It’s part of what made them fall in love in the first place, and I try to find that and capture that feeling!” To be “in the moment,” Marie relies heavily upon her equipment. “I can’t be distracted by worrying about technical details. I need to trust that my equipment will capture the image,” Marie says.

Marie began photographing weddings with a Contax 645 and Nikon F100 cameras. A little over three years ago, she purchased a Nikon D100, but was less than impressed with her initial results. Determined to master digital capture, Marie kept bringing her D100 to weddings and experimenting with it during the reception. She saw great potential in digital, so she kept practicing and learning from her mistakes. However, the real turning point in her digital mastery came from a Kevin Kubota Boot Camp.

“Kevin is a master teacher, and his class put me on the right track to produce great digital work. Over time, my digital work began to surpass my film. At that point, in 2005, I made the complete transition to digital,” Marie explains. Currently, she uses three Canon EOS 5Ds, which she describes as “a wonderful professional camera all packed in a nice lightweight package.” She uses Canon lenses ranging from the EF 15mm EF f/2.8 fisheye to the EF 70–200mm f/2.8L IS lens, but her favorites are the EF 85mm f/1.2L and the EF 24mm f/1.4L. These lenses, according to Marie, along with Canon’s ability to produce low noise files at high ISOs, make it possible for her to really push the envelope of how far she can go without the use of flash. When flash is needed, she uses the Canon 580 flash on camera with no bracket.

“I have a real passion for digital! It’s really brought my art of wedding photography to the next level. Unlike portrait or commercial work, weddings are uncontrollable events, especially for photojournalists. But I believe digital gives me more control. At my computer, I can correct the less-than-perfect. It’s still reality, but I can make it reality at its best digitally. The only real downside to digital is the time it takes,” Marie says.

Marie does all her own computer editing, color correcting, blackand- white conversions and artistic enhancements. “I can’t give up control to someone else because my clients expect nothing less than my best. I tell people, ‘if time is money, then top-quality digital is more expensive than film!’ It’s all about the final print to me. When digital is done right, it’s worth the extra time!” White House Custom Color lab in Minnesota does all her printing. “Consistency is what I most need from a digital lab. I know what I see on the computer screen is what WHCC will send back to me,” Marie says.

The first floor of her three-story home is devoted to the studio, which she decorated herself—interior design being another of her creative interests. Because she specializes in weddings, doing all her work on location, she has no need for a camera room. The décor is contemporary New York gallery style, with taupe walls that accent the images displayed there. She exhibits 8x10 photographs in 16x20 black frames with white mats. Clients enter Marie’s office, which contains a large desk, computer equipment and black-and-white pictures on the walls. The second room is the seating and consultation area, with a comfy red sofa where clients view her color images and albums. Marie offers a variety of album styles to her clients because she feels a wedding album should be a unique piece of art distinctive to every couple. Clients may choose between Leather Craftsmen, Queensberry, Jorgensen and Cypress albums, in both mounted and magazine styles. Marie uses Photojunction software to design and lay out her albums, which clients get to approve. “My clients are a big part of my album design. I see an album as our creation, not just mine,” Marie says.

Although Marie shoots digitally, she still gives clients photographs in two-volume proof albums sets, which they get to keep. Each color and black-andwhite print is arranged in archival pages in the order of the day’s happenings. She provides a minimum of eight hours of wedding coverage, for which she charges $5800. If clients want to return to Marie Labbancz Photography for albums and additional prints, they may do so. However, she offers no formal wedding packages.

Everything is purchased à la carte. “I have found that when clients are presented with over 1000 beautiful images of their day, it takes them over a year to choose prints for their albums. Packages with albums do not work with my style,” Marie says.

Referrals from former clients account for about 50% of Marie’s new business. Numerous featured stories in high-profile regional and national wedding publications serve as another lucrative source of new clients. The website is still a great marketing tool for attracting new business as well. Though her current website works well for her, she is now having a new one built in Flash. Networking with competitors is another innovative method that helped grow Marie’s studio operation. “A few years ago, a group of women photographers in the New York City/New Jersey area with similar shooting styles, prices and quality started meeting once a month.

Initially, the group was a back-up in case of emergency or illness. As sole proprietors we don’t have anyone to cover for us if something happens and we can’t make a wedding commitment. We meet once a month to share new products and albums, ideas or publications we were published in, and we refer within the group when we are booked for a particular day, and as a result, all our bookings and businesses increased.

Reaching out to peers can only help your business. I always encourage new photographers just starting out to form groups with others at their level, so they all benefit. There’s enough business out there for everyone to share,” Marie explains.

Another interesting trend that Marie discovered is the increasing number of people who come to her strictly because she is a woman. When she was meeting with potential clients, she began to notice many of them saying they were only looking at women wedding photographers. My clients want to know if I get sick and can’t shoot their wedding that I have a woman to replace me. There is a growing market of clients requesting the feminine approach or style.

“It’s important to understand your target market. For a long time, I did not know that couples who wanted only women wedding photographers were part of my target market. I’ve had a love for weddings since I was five years old and planning Barbie doll weddings. I am familiar with the gown designers and all the various types of flowers and speak the same language as brides. Women view life and weddings differently than men. Being a woman is a real marketing factor in my business. I am only taking advantage of who I am, by catering to clients who agree with my feminine style and approach,” Marie says.

The future for this East Coast imagemaker looks as prosperous and expansive as the metropolitan areas in which she works. She hopes to increase her market to include more destination weddings. However, Marie is always striving to perfect her work. “My primary focus is always on perfecting my craft and my art. I have found that as my abilities grow, so does my business,” Marie explains. Next year, she plans to bring in a second assistant devoted just to lighting techniques. Marie envisions a “flashless” wedding by using more tungsten and HMI video lights, reflectors and scrims. “I’m trying to really push the envelope of available light at weddings,” she says.

Writing is another art form that Marie has always enjoyed, so in the near future she hopes to write a book encouraging women photographers to get insights on the femininebased photojournalism. “Photography has always been a strongly male-dominated field. These days, however, more and more women are coming into the industry. I plan to do a book encouraging those women,” Marie says.

In parting, Marie offers these words of wisdom to readers: “You can’t ride the past success of your business year after year and expect to grow and expand your operation. It’s the striving to grow as an artist that makes the wonderful images. If I ever think I can shoot a perfect wedding, I’ll know it’s time to retire,” Marie concludes, smiling.

Readers may contact Marie Labbancz at Marie Labbancz Photography via e-mail at: marie@ artoflove.com; or view her website at: www. artoflove.com.