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Interviews-English
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The Business of Photography
My advice to young people interested
in making a career out of photography is go to college and major in business
with a minor in photography.
As a photojournalist, I take photographs for the purpose of publishing
them in the media like newspapers, magazines, brochures, film, or video
unlike the photographs taken by the Art photographer whose purpose is
quite different. The MMPublishing Galeria is a different kind of media,
the photographs on display have been previously published and the content
of these is timeless. So, it is appropriate for them to be published again.
My goal is to make a living from something that I enjoy, whether it be
from portrait photography or wedding photography. These types of photography
are not necessarily published but are a source of income that cannot be
ignored.
I’m used to carrying 2 cameras, 5 or 6 lenses and up to 100 roles
of film. I will often carry studio equipment in a van and can set up a
whole studio in half an hour. However, I don’t arrive at a location
and immediately begin to unload. I first use whatever light exists, when
that runs out and feel that I need to enhance the shot with light, I unload
the reflectors. When that source of light runs out and I need more light
then, I unload the lights.
Lets talk about digital cameras. Small point and shoot digital camera
placed into the hands of a non-professional may produce adequate results
for casual shots but the digital camera by itself cannot compensate for
experience, proper lighting, and dependability. Let me first talk about
dependability; a digital camera requires an external computer, if something
goes wrong with the hardware or software it cannot be fixed as easily
as replacing a bulb on an enlarger for example. About proper lighting;
the flash may be inadequate or even detrimental to the shot, most built
in flashes are limited to 10 ft. and consider the problem with taking
an image of a work of art behind a piece of glass. About experience; the
computer in the camera cannot compete with your brain. When you manually
focus, you know exactly the result that you want to achieve, the computer
in the camera would have to read your mind to achieve the same result.
The use of a digital camera in capturing pictures is called digital imaging,
photography is itself a process that term can only be applied when film
is used.
The benefits of digital imaging cannot be overlooked for business reasons
alone. Film processing, usually outsourced to a lab, is a business expense
charged to the customer. In digital imaging, I can do all of the "image
processing" on the computer making it business income charged to
the customer. In film processing, I do not have control over the time
it takes to print the pictures. In image processing, I have complete control
over the time it takes to print the pictures. These and other benefits
have forced me to embrace this technology, however, the customer must
understand that there is an esthetic difference between the two mediums
and capturing the image is just the beginning, the end result could be
quite different than the image captured even unrecognizable.
If you as a customer arrange for a portrait to be taken and a digital
camera is being used, there are a couple of the things of which you must
be aware. The number of pixels that the camera is capable processing and
the "archival quality." of the printer used to print the final
portrait. A camera with 5 megapixals per image captures more information
than a camera with 2 to 2.5 megapixals so that the image is sharper because
it contains more detail. The capture rate of the camera is important because
with a slow capture rate would have you freeze a pose in front of the
camera, with a fast capture rate a more natural expression can be captured.
Often times the very next expression is the best and the camera has to
be able to respond by taking that image as well. However, with less expensive
digital cameras, a 4 to 5 second download time can be expected before
the camera will allow you to capture another image. In more expensive
digital cameras a buffer is provided so that one image can be captured
immediately after another. To keep a portrait from fading or changing
color, in either medium, archival quality photographic paper must be used
and with digital imaging, archival quality inks must be used in conjunction
with an archival quality printer. Archival quality means that the print
should last 200 years. You should expect a portrait to last at least for
your lifetime. Currently the Epson Stylus Photo 2000P is the only printer
that boasts a 200 year archive capability.
I was an engineering major at a community college before going into the
Air Force in 1966. I was trained as an Aircraft mechanic specializing
in air conditioning and pressurization. This experience instilled a work
ethic in me that later became a discipline in everything else that I tried
to accomplish. While I was in Japan a photography teacher at a Hobby Center,
set up for military personnel, encouraged me to pursue a career in photography.
I value the time spent at that Center. In 1970 I finished my last tour
of duty and I enrolled at the Fresno Community College. I impressed my
instructors with a 3.8 GPA and was encouraged by them to pursue a career
in journalism. I then transferred to San Jose State and decided that I
would pursue a career in photojournalism. There were only two Latinos
in that department so we were very well known on campus. I met another
San Jose State student, Sonny Madrid, he was a bit of an activist on campus.
One day Sonny approached me to see if I would be interested in taking
photographs for a magazine that he wanted to promote. I asked him what
kind of magazine, he answered that it was a magazine for and about low
riders. At some point I accepted his proposition and "Low Rider"
Magazine was born. We traveled all over California taking pictures of
car clubs. Initially I had a preconceived notion of low riders but all
that changed, I found that this was a family activity and that there were
no car rallies but rather car parties. They were very hungry for recognition
so we were given the star treatment just as if we were from Rolling
Stone Magazine. Since no distribution for Latino publications existed,
Sony did it all. Only 3 or 4 issues were published and distributed that
first year. As the magazine attracted more advertising, it finally became
a monthly publication. Low Rider Magazine has been called the most successful
Latino publication in the country. I heard that it recently sold for about
20 million dollars. I parted with Sonny and Low Rider Magazine to finish
my education. While I have never regretted receiving my degree from the
Journalism department I have always wondered what if I had stayed with
Sonny. What I learned from the experience was that for newspapers, magazines,
and other media to sell advertising they need to have a large circulation
and the larger the circulation, the more that they can charge for the
advertising. A new publication with no circulation cannot attract advertising
from large companies, so you have to do everything yourself and you must
define a segment of the population that will support and embrace it.
I later worked for another magazine Latino Stereotypes and learned
printing and graphics by working for companies in either field. In 1991,
I began a five year involvement with MACLA (Movimiento Artista y Cultura
Latino Americano) as a member of the Board of Directors. The organization
produced different Latino programs and was the force behind the construction
of the Center for Latino Arts in San José. For more information
about this organization go to www.maclaweb.org. During this time I participated
in a program titled "Mentors". Established Latino artists would
recommend an artist they had mentored for this particular show. I took
portraits of each of the entrants and their mentors together while showing
some type of relationship between the two. The portraits were very prominently
displayed at the show and in the promotions for the show.
I also participated in another program, the Low Rider Bike show. Bikes
as Art was the theme and I took portraits of each participant with their
bike. These portraits were then placed on 4’ by 6’ banners and
suspended vertically from the ceiling in the exhibit hall.
My advice to young
people interested in making a career out of photography: Study every artist
and photographer’s work that you can and if possible talk to them;
avoid photographic clichés; remember that the camera is just a
tool for the professional photographer; go to college with a major in
business and minor in photography.
Dennis Gaxiola has
been invited to exhibit his Low Rider Bike portraits in the Galeria, in
March 2002. He has graciously accepted and MMPublishing invites you to
revisit the Galeria and view this exciting exhibit with your family.
END
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