For Prints, Cheaper Is Not As Good!

A friend of mine brought me some prints last week to look over, let's call it a test of print quality...



My friend is a trusted and talented guy in the photography business and he was recently asked to do a very large print project. He has excellent technical skills and works with me often. He is also a guy who likes to save a buck. Anyway he brought me three prints to look at, all printed from the same file but at three different places. All 8x12, one from Costco, one from a pro lab out of state and another at Buckeye Color Lab in Ohio. In fairness I will tell you that I referred him to Buckeye, they are a friend and client.

But as he presented these prints to me, I did not know which print was from which lab. And I am sure it was his plan to show me that the cheaper choice was just as good. Well it only took me a few moments to start picking two of them apart as compared to the third. Let me tell you that the photo was the interior of a room and very well shot.

First I quickly saw a lack of detail in the shadow areas on two of them, one worse than the other. There was also a lack of sharpness overall, they looked muddy. The lettering on the labels on some bottles in the background on the one print were much sharper than the other two. And the same went for the louvres in the blinds on a window as well as the scene through the window. But a very big point was the color and saturation on a table which was the centerpiece of the photo. It was a bright, very real, red in one print and a varying muted red in the other two. The difference was distinct.

Simply stated, the one good print could have very well been a page of a magazine and the other two were not the same quality. The one print would evoke a response of 'Wow' and the other two, well, you would just go on looking at the next page.

I am really happy to tell you that the winner was printed by Buckeye Color Lab. I am sure happy about that, otherwise I would not be blogging this, that's for sure! And yes it was more expensive than the other two. My friend asked me "Is it worth the difference?". Oh yes! If I want my photos to look good, I don't need a lesser quality print to handicap me. I would have gone back to my photo and wondered what I did wrong because it did not look as good as I would have remembered the scene when I shot it!

And finally this is an interesting point. The print from Costco and from the other lab were both slightly smaller on the long side from about 1/16 to 1/8 of an inch. They were both printed on Fuji Crystal Archive but slightly short. Is it a way to economize on paper? I don't know, but I sure would not like that especially if I were planning on them being in a designed book or album. The print from Buckeye was printed on a Fuji Pro paper that was not only full size but slightly heavier. It has a much better feel to it.

So that is my print test. I was not expecting it and the results were interesting and more obvious than I would have predicted. You do get what you pay for and you will never see me running in to Costco to get my "professional" work printed along with buying a big box of frozen chicken breasts and 200 rolls of toilet paper!

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Winner!

As part of a multi part assignment I am doing with one of my favorite fitness models, Ava Cowan, I was on hand to photograph her winning her latest figure competition in Los Angeles just last night...



After coming West from her win in Miami just two weeks ago, Ava has scored another big win. A great attitude, a knockout body and looking just beautiful, Ava took the Figure title at Figure Hollywood. And more than anyyone else by a long way, the crowd just loved her. No one came even close, not only in the judging, but also in the applause and and the fans chanting “AVA” “AVA” “AVA”. It was a big win for Ava Cowan…

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Free! Yeah Right!

As professional photographers one of the things we are constantly faced with is the myriad of people who want us to work for free for one reason or another. Now there might be times where I might actually do that, but simply stated it has to really mean something to me that actually means it really isn't free.

But for the most part we hear things like, "You will get photo credit" and "It is great exposure". Or sometimes we hear "We don't have much of a budget". Well I already have more "photo credits" then I could ever count and a few million people see my photos in any given month. And finally I am not responsible for your budgeting mistakes.

With that said the following video was recently posted on the Photo Business News and Forum Blog by John Harrington. John has one of the best photography business blogs you could ever want to read.

Anyway, it is a video by writer Harlan Ellison ("Outer Limits" "Star Trek") from his upcoming documentary "Dreams With Sharp Teeth". It is a few laughable minutes as he describes a major studio attempting to get something for free. You gotta watch this one!



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And Film...

My last most recent post discusses my different uses of cameras including film. So I thought I would post a couple of examples...


This was shot on the roof of the Marriott Hotel in Marina Del Rey, California. The camera was the Mamiya 645AFDII with the Mamiya 150mm f/3.5 lens. The film was 120 Kodak Porta 160nc. There is no "Photoshop" work other than resizing and slight sharpening for online display. This was from a 50 megabyte drumscan.



A simple man made pond, this was photographed on Ilford Delta 100 35mm black and white negative film. The camera was the Contax G1 with the 45mm f/2 lens. Again, there is no "Photoshop" work other than resizing and slight sharpening for online display. And this was from only a low resolution roll scan at 5 megabytes when processed.

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Cameras.... Action!

One of the things that I am asked very often is what camera I shoot with. Well it is not just one camera but a few. Which I shoot with is based primarily on the needs of the shoot or project.


The Canon 5D is working out to be my favorite "35mm" size camera. It is full frame and a very respectable 12.8 megapixels. But beyond that it produces what I think are much better images with superior color, contrast and sharpness. It is also a smaller and lighter camera than some, making it less tiresome to work with. The big bright viewfinder is complimented by a good size and sharp LCD on the back. I like using the 5D on advertising and commercial shoots where I need quick turnaround. And for events such as bodybuilding competitions, or weddings for that matter, it is just superior producing beautiful photos.


The Canon 30D works as my backup to the 5D. At 8.2 megapixels it also produces files of a size large enough to create very quality large format prints. It also has a hidden advantage; the 1.6x multiplier, because it is not a full frame sensor, gives you a longer reach. So a 200mm becomes effectively 320mm but at the same f-stop. There are times that is a serious advantage.


This will surprise most of you. This is the Contax G1 35mm rangefinder and it is a film camera. If I take a camera with me for a day excursion, this is the camera. Fast and compact I especially like shooting black and white film. My current choice is Ilford Delta 100. But I have some Kodak and Fuji color films waiting their turn. I would have no problem deciding to take this camera out for a casual portrait or even a candid type fashion shoot where I wanted something fairly fast operationally.



The Mamiya 645AFDII is by far my favorite camera for advertising, portfolio and editorial feature shoots. The huge bright viewfinder is an amazing pleasure to use. And I do seriously like using it with film. Those big images coming out of this camera seem to have a quality and feel that is much different than digital. Textures in clothing are alive, the smallest of details are as they should be and not pixelated in big enlargements. Skin qualities and color and so very perfect regardless of the type of lighting. Everytime I get a project back from this camera with film my mind is filled with wonder with the richness and beauty of the photos.


Despite my choice of film for the Mamiya, the Leaf Medium Format Digital Back is way up on my list of choices to use for advertising and commercial work where I need quick turnaround. I have been using a Leaf 65 which produces a 16 bit image file at 28 megapixels. Skin colors are beautiful, details exceptional and the file size is about as large as your might need. I think that there is no question that 16 bit imaging of the colors certainly makes a huge difference. It also has a huge LCD screen and it is very easy to operate.

Of course I have an assortment of lenses to go with each camera but probably not as many as others. I am not that much of an equipment geek and only really own what I really use and need.


This camera is my favorite fun camera of the moment. The Polaroid Spectra instant film camera. I had two of these stuck away in a box and happened to run acros them. So for laughs I bought a few packs of film (yes they still make it) and for the last few months have been shooting and buying more film packs and shooting. I am now thinking of putting up a display of these photos and also getting a scanner so I can put some online. There is something about that instant print I find very intriguing. So watch here on my blog for them. You might be surprised.

Thanks for visitng. If you have any questions send me an e-mail to SecondFocus@mac.com. And keep coming back if you "Wanna See More...?"

"...less opportunistic photos and become more thoughtful"

I am quoting my friend Hunter here because it very much fits much of my thinking in the last week and much longer. I had passed on an excellent book to Hunter who is an avid amateur photographer. The book is "Idos+Believers" by Jocelyn Bain Hogg and is an exhibit of some wonderful street photography as well as excellent and creative portraits and editorial work.

The advent of digital photographer has perhaps brought nothing more than mediocrity to the masses and we see much masqueraded as photography when it is not much more than button pushing. Point an expensive camera in the general direction and let fly, maybe there will be something good.

I hold that photography should be a much more thoughtful process. It is indeed thought of as an art. Even as journalism it is indeed an art. One only needs to consider the photograph of the raising of the flag on Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima by Joe Rosenthal to consider it as art. A man who knew what he was doing recognized the moment and took the photo.

So I believe Hunter is right, although opportunistic can be good, it must be thoughtful. By example this photograph of the horse, head following the person moving toward the stairs. An opportunity but thought out by watching. Only one frame...


And the opportunity of standing on a hotel patio looking out towards the Santa Monica Pier at night. One frame...


The greatest images in the history of photography are for the most part a product of vision and not an accident of thousands of frames shot on a digital camera. While I certainly shoot digital for much of my work, it is my intent too, to "become more thoughtful".

By the way, the two photos here were shot by me with a Contax G1 rangefinder camera with a 45mm lens. The film was 35mm Ilford Delta 100.

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And Thanks Hunter!

Back From Las Vegas And The Olympia...

It was a busy September and I am now back from 5 days in Las Vegas for the Olympia 2007 BodyBuilding, Figure and Fitness competitions on assignment for BodyBuilding.com. There was also a huge health and fitness expo in the Las Vegas Convention Center. The Mr. Olympia title was won for the second time in a row by Jay Cutler, who for years was always the runner up behind 8 time winner, Ronnie Coleman. This is Jay on stage at the Orleans Arena taking in his big win.



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