While many choose photography as a career, photography chose Lauren Grabelle: When she was a young woman exploring the world, she found her camera was documenting her life. While working on a cruise ship in the Caribbean, she would wake each day on a different island—seemingly another world—and she captured these seductive glimpses of new places on film. Her subjects ranged from young Mexican girls in the Yucatan to abstract designs patterns of banana leaves on a sun-drenched afternoon. Themes of exploration dominated her work from early on.
You can’t underestimate the fact that for many pro photographers these days it’s like learning a whole new profession. The fact is, the camera is now a computer. The move to digital’s scary enough for many people, and that’s what makes it so important for photo software to be rugged and reliable. Technology is constantly changing, and photographers don’t have an IT department to rely on like people do in corporations.
While working in TV, photography and art directing film and video projects, Grabelle continued searching for an elusive subject that would characterize her work. While art directing an independent film, Grabelle was invited to photograph a friend’s wedding on Martha’s Vineyard. Not only did she love the photographs of the wedding, but so did the bride, the groom, their family and their friends: She had found her subject.
Rather than producing the traditional "fixed pose" wedding photos, Grabelle’s approach is closer to journalism, which makes sense when you considers her perspective is about telling a story, that she wants to capture people "as they really are." She talks about what a joy it is to photograph the real, confident and loving couples whose celebrations she now documents. Viewed through her eyes, Grabelle’s subjects are multifaceted, because she evokes not just their physical appearance but also their spirits at a moment in time. Grabelle’s interest in human celebration and keen empathy for her subjects shines in each image.
She doesn’t distinguish her wedding work from her other fine art photography, which is represented by Millennium Images in London.
Recently, iView Multimedia had the opportunity to speak with Grabelle about her work style and how she’s using iView MediaPro to help manage her growing library of images.
"The thing about MediaPro is that it can be used by so many different people in so many different ways. I know a lot of wedding photographers who are shooting digitally, but storing all their images in various folders. I tell them about MediaPro and they’re amazed. You can’t underestimate the fact that for many pro photographers these days it’s like learning a whole new profession. The fact is, the camera is now a computer. The move to digital’s scary enough for many people, and that’s what makes it so important for photo software to be rugged and reliable. Technology is constantly changing, and photographers don’t have an IT department to rely on like people do in corporations."
Over time, I’ve found that using MediaPro has not only saved me time, but it’s helped me differentiate my photography services. For example, MediaPro has the ability to create QuickTime movies with a chapter track. That is extremely useful in offering 'beyond the usual' options to my clients – and no other photo management application does this.
"I first read about MediaPro on a photo forum and downloaded a trial version. I had no clue how to use it at first. It was so open, so available – just waiting for me to tell it what to do! Over time, I’ve found that using MediaPro has not only saved me time, but it’s helped me differentiate my photography services. For example, MediaPro has the ability to create QuickTime movies with a chapter track. That is extremely useful in offering "beyond the usual" options to my clients – and no other photo management application does this."
"While I’ve chosen to continue to shoot with film, I offer my clients digital advantages. I get my images scanned, and can then deliver the images to clients in a variety of formats.
However, like a lot of photographers, I’m a control freak: I want to treat a photo exactly the way I want to, get exactly the result I want. I feel more confident shooting with film. For example, I have no worries about degradation of data, because I still have my negatives. But I realize I gain flexibility and time by offering my clients their images digitally for review."
While I’ve chosen to continue to shoot with film, I offer my clients digital advantages… I realize I gain flexibility and time by offering my clients their images digitally for review.
Workflow
"I send my rolls of film to a lab which puts them onto CDs or DVDs. When I get them back, the first thing I do is create a separate catalog for each wedding. Then I batch process all images and since not all labs assign color profiles to the photos, for those that don’t, I assign the correct color profile using the Manage Color Profiles option in MediaPro. That ensures that when I open the image in Adobe Photoshop or another program it will be rendered properly. Next, I sequence images into the order of the day. Say I have 36 images each on 20 different rolls on the CD, I sort them first roll by roll, then I batch rename them – give each roll a letter and put that on the sleeve of the negative. Next I go through an editing process, using the Slide Show mode and assign Labels to each image, indicating whether it’s "in," "out" or "needs adjusting." Then those images go into their respective folders."
"I take advantage of MediaPro’s Chapter Tracks to create a QuickTime movie in place of the traditional proof sheet. Clients feel more confident investing in wedding albums–these images are the beginning of their family archive–if they can clearly see the details and know what they’ll look like before they make final choices. An image onscreen is much more appealing than a traditional proof print. This way of presenting the images to clients also protects them from being overwhelmed by the sheer number of images."
"iView MediaPro allows me to create a movie from a slide show very quickly. I’ll include a title slide with the client’s name, the date of the wedding and licensed music to set the stage. MediaPro gives me so many different options in creating a QuickTime movie, determining exactly how I want it to function–how long the music should play or how long the slide should be onscreen. You can constantly tweak what you’re doing based on customer feedback."
When I submit images to a magazine, I use the MediaPro to export images to an HTML gallery for each wedding (Make Menu> HTML Gallery). Then I send the editors a link to the appropriate wedding. The ability to use catalog sets is priceless, because it allows me to keep track of online sales and know exactly which images couples are buying.
"Other things I like about MediaPro include how it lets you create references to the photos instead of replicating the actual photo. Organizing images into catalog sets eliminates complexity and allows you to quickly access your photos in the order that you’ve determined for them –no matter where they’re located on your hard drive or on removable media like CDs or DVDs.
"When I submit images to a magazine, I use the MediaPro to export images to an HTML gallery for each wedding (Make Menu > HTML Gallery). Then I send the editors a link to the appropriate wedding. The ability to use catalog sets is priceless, because it allows me to keep track of online sales and know exactly which images couples are buying.
"I find assigning metadata is useful for associating details with each of my rolls of film without having to go back and refer to the negatives. For example, I use metadata to record the kind of film I’m using on a particular shoot.
iView is clearly involved in the state of the art of digital photography. I’d say it’s helping take photography into the future–to how people will use digital in the future.
"I believe that iView engineers are the most closely tuned in to how pro photographers really work and what they really need. I have noticed too that they are willing to adapt to new formats–like, for example, the recent news that MediaPro supports the DNG format. iView is clearly involved in the state of the art of digital photography. I’d say it’s helping take photography into the future–to how people will use digital in the future.
"It also gives me confidence that when I do start shooting digitally iView will be there for me because they’re at the forefront. MediaPro has helped me learn the post-production end of the digital world. I feel now that I’ve really got that down. It also saves space and keeps me organized. The time for digital is now because iView MediaPro exists."
