To print, or not to print? – that is the question

Nigel McNaught of PPLA offers members some thoughts on printing your output.

Just as many amateur photographers are turning away from home printing due to time, cost and quality issues, so too are professional photographers rethinking their approach to the processing and printing aspects of their work.

To print, or not to print, that is the question

This is a good time for photographers to be thinking about image processing. The initial hullabaloo and ‘new gadget’ novelty attached to digital photography having abated somewhat, it has simply become an alternative medium to film. Similarly, the hype about photographers managing their own processing – be that digital or film – has now settled down, and the concept can be considered pragmatically.

For many photographers, the idea of printing out their images via a digital printer behind the studio appealed more because they were suddenly able to do so, than because there was any real benefit to it. The only argument which has any real merit in favour of using an in-house printer is that it is immediate, though even that aspect can be detrimental to the business. How often do tutors and seminar leaders point out the benefits of having the client return to the studio on a separate occasion to view proofs under conditions of the photographer’s setting and choosing?

Some photographers may argue that they prefer the degree of control which they can exercise by handling their own output. Well, that is fine if they have all the knowledge and expertise usually only found in a specialist technician or printer working for a professional lab. If they do not have that degree of ability, even if certain desired aspects are achieved, the overall quality is surely going to suffer.

Then again, if the photographer achieves the perfect print, how long has it taken to produce? How long has been spent in front of a computer applying the multitudinous aspects of Photoshop or other imaging software to reach the final product?

Is it not better to allow that professional lab with the specialist technician to produce the print, allowing the photographer to get on with what he or she does best, viz: capturing the images in the first place? That is, after all, why the photographer is in business, applying those talents and skills in creating wonderful pictorial results.

Successful collaboration

For most photographers, establishing a relationship with a lab covers more than just having their images printed. It creates another aspect to the business – another avenue from which to gain insight into the market, and ideas for promoting new services to clients.

That is certainly a benefit well recognised – and much valued – by SWPP member Gary Walsh of Gary Walsh Photography, Teeside. “Apart from all the other benefits, my close relationship with the lab I use keeps me in touch with the market,” he says. “They are able to inform me of local trends, which aspects of the market are buoyant at any particular time, and keep me updated on the latest styles and presentation ideas which are proving popular so that I can incorporate them into my own offerings to my clients.”

It is an aspect echoed by Debbie Wilkinson of Debbie Wilkinson Lifestyle Photography, which has two studios in Hull. “We are an extremely busy company,” she says, “handling around 100 weddings a year, along with studio portraiture and other work, so I just do not have the time to be looking out for new presentation ideas and styles.”

“I use Leach Colour for all my processing, which is regularly bringing out new ideas for displaying portraits in the home or in clients’ businesses, which directly tie into the services the lab provides. That is not something I could develop myself, but the lab has tremendous resources and experience, all of which I can tap into as a regular customer.”

Being able to utilise a lab’s extensive facilities is a point appreciated by Professional Photographer of the Year Mike Roper of Ballymoney, Co Antrim, Northern Ireland. “The quality obtained from labs with their modern equipment and levels of expertise just could not be achieved by a photographer working in the studio,” he says. “The beauty of it is that I have a close working relationship with the lab I use, the people there know my preferences and how I want things done – such as having 4 x 4in proof images centred on 6 x 6in paper, with my logo in the corner. This is taken into account when they are handling my work, so the results are just what I would want to produce myself, if I had the capability. “More than just the lab’s quality of output, though, I know I can depend on them to support me in achieving the best possible results in the shortest possible time. If I have a rush job on, or need some special finish, I am confident that they will always pull out all the stops to help me as much as possible. That confidence is worth its weight in gold.”

Flexible facilities By using his lab’s widespread facilities, Mike Roper is able to take advantage of both analogue and digital technology. He shoots his weddings on film – “I believe the quality and depth of a shot captured with film just cannot be reproduced via digital photography.” – but has the negs scanned and digitally adjusted by the lab as required. The lab then holds the negs and can fulfil Roper’s orders as he calls them.

Debbie Wilkinson is another dedicated film user who takes advantage of her lab’s digital facilities. “They scan my images and send me back a CD which I use for viewing,” she says. “It is often these small but helpful elements which confirm the correctness of my decision to use a prolab for everything on the processing and printing front rather than having to concern myself with it. I can just concentrate on taking the pictures.”

Wilkinson has been running her own business for 15 years, and has developed it to a very successful stage by being able to focus on what she does best – providing wonderful images, which her clients will treasure. “Given its use of the most up-to-date equipment and techniques, there is no way I could compete with the quality of the lab’s output,” she says, “Quite apart from not having the time.”

Andrea Barrett, a Fellow of the SWPP, only crossed the analogue/digital divide this summer. Following years of working with film covering around 100 weddings a year, it was at her own wedding in June to business partner Richard Baker, who concentrates on studio portraiture, that she decided to make the change. What prompted her decision was the ease with which Nigel Harper, who shot her wedding, was able to move around so easily to capture all the impromptu shots as well as the set pieces.

“The lab provided total support when I made the switch,” she says. “They simply adjusted how they initially handle my input, and are able to continue producing prints to my style and preferences as previously, along with reprints from old negs as the need for these arises. It was certainly a great help as I was adjusting to using a digital camera to know that the processing and printing side would be taken care of for me.”

Barrett also cites the fact that the lab is able to provide work which she would not be able to manage herself, even if she had the wish so to do. A recent job involved printing 2.5 x 1m panels for display. “The lab just took it totally in their stride and ran it through as they do everything else – easy,” she says.

Dedicated service

Given he used to manage a prolab, Gary Walsh is fully aware of the experience, expertise and investment which goes into enabling a lab to provide the best of all types of services. “Knowing, from the lab’s side of the relationship, how much effort is put into making sure that a regular photographer client is fully serviced and supported in his work, I can appreciate now from the photographer’s angle just what a difference having a good lab in support – part of the team – can make,” he says.

Winner of Fujifilm Distinctions Merit among other awards, including Fujifilm Portrait Photographer of the Year, Walsh says that having moved to full-time professional photography, there is no way that he would want to go back to handling his own processing and printing.

“I am aware that today’s clients are a new generation of people, with different ideas and needs from photography, which is why I give an alternative to the styles that have been around for decades,” s a y s Walsh. “To a c h i e v e this, I n e e d professional support from my lab to ensure that the results meet my own standards and the clients’ dreams. I am rarely disappointed.”

Finding a prolab which reflects a photographer’s outlook and attitudes towards his work, and, most importantly, the end results, is obviously an art in itself, for while there are many labs offering a range of services, how can the photographer be sure that any particular lab will provided the best of services. After all, if a client’s wedding, portrait session or other work is at stake, no risks can be taken which could detrimentally affect the outcome. Certainly, word of mouth is a good guide – speak to other photographers in the area to find out which labs have reputations for good work and caring attitudes. Another option is to go to a lab which is a member of the Professional Photographic Laboratories Association (PPLA). Businesses which belong to this organisation have had to qualify for membership by way of regularly meeting strict criteria in their working practices, so photographers can be confident that labs displaying PPLA membership certification will always meet the highest levels of quality and service. The PPLA office (Tel: 0870 240 45 42) can provide details of member labs around the country.

Whatever route is used, the message from those who know is clear: it is easy to become insular when running your own business, for best support as well as quality results, utilising the facilities, expertise and market awareness of a professional lab is the path to a successful future.

Photo Quote: What I feel is that the picture-taking process, anyway a greater part of it, is an intuitive thing. You can't go out and logically plan a picture, but when you come back, reason then takes over and verifies or rejects whatever you've done. So that's why I say that reason and intuition are not in conflict--they strengthen each other. - Wynn Bullock