Interview
The American Society of Picture Professionals
1) Where did you go to school? Did you study photography? Did you set out
to be a retoucher extraordinaire, or did that evolve?
Yes, moving into digital imaging and retouching was an evolution; I started my career as a commercial photographer.
I have a degree in photography from RIT (Rochester Institute of Technology). I set out to be a photographer. Right after graduation, I landed a job with Hallmark Cards in Kansas City as a staff photographer.
The move to Photoshop and digital imaging came in the early 1990s when Photoshop was beginning to transform the way retouching and prepress was done.
With my strong technical background, the progression was a natural one for me. I love magazines—one of the reasons I was drawn to photography in the first place—and always envisioned working at a magazine at some point in my career. Photoshop was my entrée into magazine publishing and then book publishing.
2) You have had some interesting jobs in your career: staff photographer for Hallmark Cards, Digital Imaging Specialist at The New Yorker magazine, Color Specialist for Houghton Mifflin and Imaging/Production Director for Wedding Style magazine. How did one job lead to another?
My career evolved as technology evolved. From shooting commercially, I made the transition into magazine production when I landed a 6-month project position with People magazine as a Digital Imaging Specialist. It was right at the time when retouching was moving from the multi-million dollar Scitex systems to Mac computers and Photoshop.
Then timing and luck were on my side. Just as the People project was wrapping up, there was an opportunity at The New Yorker. The magazine was bringing prepress and digital photography in-house. They were building a staff from scratch. I was the first person hired for the new department. I was charged with leading the digital photography studio that was part of the new in-house imaging department.
When I moved back to New England, Cahner’s, the largest B-to-B magazine publisher at that time, was bringing prepress in-house. They were doing what The New Yorker had done. I was hired to establish and manage the new department.
From there, I moved into educational book publishing at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. And finally, while starting my own retouching business, I became the Production/Imaging Director at Elegant Publishing, where I was charged with producing 3 yearly editions of Wedding Style magazine.
But, to give you a more concise answer to your question of how one job lead to another, technology was transforming the production and design process. As a result, the newly created positions at all these companies required a new blend of skills. I had the right mix. Strong technical skills in prepress, production, and printing that complemented a background in design, visual communication, and photography.
3) Portrait retouching and color casting to craft tonal ranges in a photograph all look like magic. What is your most frequently used Photoshop tool? What changes in Photoshop and Adobe Creative Suite do you see the most value in?
By far, curves is my most frequently used tool in Photoshop. I think it would be accurate to say, no image passes under my mouse—or tablet pen—without having at least one curves adjustment layer applied. Some images have up to 10 or 20 depending on the complexity of the work.
I’d be hard pressed to single out specific changes as the most valuable. With each new update to Photoshop there are always improvements that make me wonder how I ever managed without them.
4) How do you manage to keep up with technical developments?
Constant education is key. My subscription to LinkedIn Learning (formerly Lynda.com) is invaluable. I’m also a webinar queen—I love lunch-hour webinars! There are so many good ones available that discuss the latest technical developments. And of course, to keep on top of any fast-changing industry, you have to read incessantly.
5) Has your work changed as more and more marketing communications and advertising moves away from print media to digital media?
Yes, you’re right, I used to work exclusively on print projects. Now, seldom is a given photo used exclusively in print. Interesting though—or rather I should say, fortunately—photos for digital media have very similar retouching requirements as photos used in print.
Color accuracy is still very important. Red faces, and images with severe color-casts don’t work in any media. Portraits and products still need to be retouched. Hero images, no matter the subject matter, should definitely be given the care and attention of a retoucher.
The kind of photo editing/ photo manipulation I do for print media— image extensions, moving or removing elements within the photo, improving tonal range and lighting, is necessary for digital media as well.
6) What do you most enjoy about your work? What advice would you give someone who wants to enter your field?
I love that I get to work with photographs every day. Even when the retouching tasks are routine, I still get jazzed to see the results. The smallest edits can make such a huge difference.
Often it’s the small edits—thoughtful consideration and attention to details—that can make or break the overall success of the final piece. I love that, contributing my piece of the puzzle to the making of the whole.
The advice I often give to someone wanting to work in this field—or any field—is to find a mentor and seek out people doing the type of work you’re interested in pursuing. Interview them; ask them about their education and career path; ask permission to shadow them for a day or two. It’s a great way to learn about different careers and to see what the day-to-day of the job is really like.
7) Tell us about winning the grand prize in Adobe/Layers Magazine Photoshop contest.
It was terrific to have my efforts recognized—there were some really great prizes too!
The premise of the contest was to show how Photoshop “Saved The Day”. In magazine production, Photoshop saves the day almost every day! The image that garnered the grand prize was used as a cover for Wedding Style magazine. The backstory is really what’s important.
We were on a very tight deadline when the art director and editor selected a grossly under-exposed photo as their first pick for the cover of the magazine. At first glance, it could have seemed hopeless without knowing the potential hidden within the RAW file.
It’s worth noting for those who don’t remember the pre-digital era, had this been in the days of film, the chrome would have tossed in the trash bin and a re-shoot scheduled…just to put things in perspective how Photoshop has changed everything.
Getting back to the story, because of Photoshop—and with a good dose of know-how—I transformed an otherwise unusable color photograph into a beautiful four-color B&W magazine cover. I saved the day, we now had a cover and, we made our press deadline!
8) Now that you are running your own business how do you solicit clients?
Relationships are everything. When I first launched ChromaQueen, my first projects came from former colleagues. Now, client referrals, meeting people at industry events, and social media are the primary avenues for new business. And of course, my website is a critical component for new business leads—it brings people to my “door” from around the world.
That’s the best, when ChromaQueen is found through a Google search and the person searching visits the site and feels I’m a perfect match for their project.
9) What has been your most satisfying or memorable project?
The most satisfying work is when there is a synergy between myself and the art director. Nothing is better than collaborating to produce a beautifully executed piece—be it a print layout, the hero photos for a website, photos for a book, or working with an artist to accurately reproduce every color and brushstroke in their masterpiece.
I also have to say, I get pretty jazzed when I can take a photo that looks like a lost cause and turn it into something that saves the day.
10) Who or what inspires you?
I’m inspired by everything I see. I’m always looking for a new perspective.