23.07.10
American Wedding Sensation Jules Bianchi Interviewed
Jules Bianchi is a wedding photographer based in Oakland, California. Wedding photographer Crash Taylor is a big fan of her work, so when he got a chance to catch up with her, he took advantage of the opportunity to ask her all of the questions he’d been saving up for quite some time.
Tell me a something about yourself I may not already know.
I live with a dog, Olive, a cat, Abigail, and my boyfriend, Marty, on the lower level of a 1930s Spanish-style duplex. Every wall in my house is painted a different colour.
I work from home, so one of the rooms has been converted into an office, and the front room has been converted into a meeting space for clients. I love photography and the movies. I’m also addicted to American Idol and Battlestar Galactica. I have a twin sister, Joy, who is my business partner. She lives 400 miles away in the San Francisco Bay Area, so most of the time we have to ‘meet’ virtually over our computers.
I shoot half of my weddings in the Bay Area, so when I’m there, Joy is my assistant. She is also in charge of working with my clients on album designs, and is the one who runs most of the portrait side of the business. She also helps me with all of my talks and seminars and is a great person to bounce ideas off. She keeps me informed about what is going on in the photography community.
My boyfriend, Marty, is responsible for the design of Jules Café, my website. The internet is an enormous part of my marketing, and Marty is really good with everything internet related.
Where is home?
West Hollywood.
Did you go to college to study photography?
No. I mean, I did study photography at school, but not at college. I started in 7th grade and learned how to develop film and print black and white prints. I was pretty much hooked immediately. I took classes all through school, but when I went to college, I took film studies.
How long have you been a photographer?
Since I was 12 years old. I have been a wedding photographer since 2001.
What or who got you started in wedding photography?
I worked in the film industry for seven years before I became a professional photographer. I wanted to make dramatic changes, so I made a list called ‘The 10 Terrible Things’ – scary things to do that I felt would help me grow. One of the things on the list was ‘shoot a wedding or an event’ since photography was a passion of mine, but at that point it was still a hobby.
My ex-boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend was getting married to her girlfriend. As it was a lesbian wedding, it was more ceremony than legal, and for some reason I thought that would make it less scary. It turns out it was just as scary. Even though it was a low-key wedding, it was every bit as serious and filled with moments that were every bit as important as a huge, high-budget wedding. I was pretty much hooked after that.
How would you describe your style?
I shoot from a nostalgic place. I love weddings because they are so significant in terms of the family – not just the bride and groom. I love catching real moments that are going to be meaningful for years to come, but my goal at every wedding is to also create dramatic images that make the bride and groom look gorgeous. I have coined the phrase ‘fashionjournalistic’ to describe my style.
How many weddings do you average per year?
Between 24 and 30.What type of cameras do you shoot with? I still love the Canon EOS 5D. I am liking the 5D MkII more and more, but I don’t see why they had to change the buttons around so much.
If you had to choose one lens, which one would it be and why?
A 50mm 1.2. This is the lens I grab most often because I like how easy it is to include more of a story when shooting with it. I know some photographers who are so interested in getting expressions that they zoom in to faces and miss the story of what’s happening in the moment. I love how quickly the lens focuses and how sharp the images are, even when it’s open all the way.
What lighting equipment do you take on a shoot?
I take three 580 EX flashes (I almost always just use one, though, so I guess the others serve as back-ups) and an old Quantum Q-flash. I bought the Q-flash when I used to shoot medium format, and I would have it on a bracket on the top of my Contax 645. When I sold the Contax, the Q went into the closet for years until I suddenly became obsessed with off-camera lighting.
Can you describe how and when you use flash, video light, reflectors and natural light during a wedding?
I used to take reflectors to every wedding, but we moved around so much and so fast, it never seemed to work to pull them out, but I stopped taking them after a while. I own a video light, but it’s not terribly bright. I tend to use it during the cake cutting so that the light is constant and I don’t have to document that with a flash. This way I can shoot really fast and if any cake-smashing happens, I won’t miss anything waiting for my flash to recycle.
During family formals in a dark church, I position my Q-flash on a light stand as high as possible and off to a 45-degree angle to my group. This creates a more ‘studioesque’ look than can be obtained with an on-camera flash, plus it allows me to shoot larger groups with a portrait lens from further away rather than having to use a wide angle, as I would have to do if depending on the on-camera flash to light my subjects.
During wedding receptions, my Q-flash is on a light stand pointing toward the dance floor and being triggered with a PocketWizard. I will usually use it in tandem with an on-camera flash. In other words, I might bounce the on-camera flash to make my exposure while using the Q as a hair light, or I might turn my on-camera flash off and use the Q as dramatic side lighting.
How important is Photoshop in your final images?
I use Bridge and custom presets to convert all my files from RAW to JPEG. I choose my favourites from the wedding and will spend more time on those, but even then a lot of our tweaks happen in Bridge. I created a whole slew of custom presets to quickly convert my RAW files, and I usually like where they are once that conversion is done.
Having said that, I use Photoshop to fine tune important photographs, but as a rule, I’m not too heavy on it. I come from a film background and processed my images in the darkroom for years.
I learned the value of getting my exposure correct in-camera a long time ago, so now Photoshop is more about tweaking colours or bringing more detail into the wedding dress if need be.
What is your most used Photoshop tool, plug-in, action set etc?
I use my own set of presets the most. I have various black and whites and vintage-colour settings to get creative, and more practical presets such as ‘Burn edges ON’ and ‘Burn edges OFF’. Once the files are converted into JPEGS, they are very close to how I want them to look.
Are you a Mac or PC lover?
I’ve been working on Mac since my first Mac Plus! I’ve never used a PC.
Do you plan on buying any new equipment and if so, what do you have your eye on?
I own a lot of lenses, so it’s getting harder and harder to justify buying new ones. I love the 50mm+ 1.2, so I wonder if I would love the 85mm 1.2 as much. I’ve shot with it before, and it was great. Maybe that’s next.
Can you briefly describe your photographic workflow after a wedding?
We download cards as we shoot them onto an Epson P-4000. Sometimes, using the P-4000, a laptop and iView, we select our favourite images from the day and have a slideshow at the wedding reception. Anything in the slideshow goes into the ‘highlights’ folder.
At home, I copy the files from the P-4000 to my computer and pull the highlights into their own folder. Using Bridge and ACR, I tweak my favourites while my assistant is categorising, editing and colour-correcting the rest of the wedding images. I upload the highlights to Pictage and select 60-80 for the wedding album. Pictage has a free album design service that I use for every wedding. I have a set of specific notes as to what I want to see in the design. The design comes back after about four days, and I make any changes I need to, but usually it’s very few. Once my assistant has finished with her edits and colour-corrections, I look over her work and batch process the files into JPEGS. We upload those to Pictage and release the event, along with the pre-designed album, to the bride and groom.
What wedding albums do you supply your clients with and do you design them yourself or outsource the design?
I use Leather Craftsmen. The quality of their product and customer service is excellent. Pictage has a relationship with Leather Craftsmen, so I can send designs straight to them from my Pictage site. If I want to see the pages first, I have the designs sent to my house and Leather Craftsmen picks them up from me.
What gives you ideas and inspires you to create such amazing imagery?
I study other photographers whose work I admire.
However, I am a real fan of personal projects to keep photography fun. I finished one that started as a personal project and ended up winning second place in the WPPI. You can see the whole album at www.julesbianchi.com/theweek.
I am also crazy about my dog. She’s getting on in her years (she will be 11 next month) so I worry about her. Being nostalgic, I want to keep every second I have with her and I photograph her a lot. I need to photograph things other than weddings, so I created a new challenge for myself called An Olive a Day, where I post one image of Olive each day. (You can see the results of this ongoing project at www.anoliveaday.com.)
If you could shoot a wedding with someone, who would it be and why?
This is an interesting question. I have been lucky and had the opportunity to shoot with a lot of well-known people, but I really just like shooting with people I have fun with. If I had to pick a stranger whose work I like, I would pick Elizabeth Messina. She is famous for her film work, and I would love to see how she runs her wedding day and get the beautiful shots she does.
Do you have an assistant who accompanies you on wedding assignments?
Yes. In Los Angeles, I use a woman named Shannon Lott – you can see her work on my site because she is also my associate shooter and takes jobs that have slightly more modest budgets than my clients. In the Bay Area I shoot with my sister, Joy. I love both of these women because they are so easy-going, and having them along makes the day much more fun. They put my couples at ease and know exactly what to do, having shot with me for so long. Having one of them with me makes me better at my job because I can concentrate on what I’m doing, knowing with confidence that they are getting what I need them to get.
How many images do you average per wedding and how many do you present to your clients?
The average per wedding is 3,000 and I give between 800 and 1,000 to the client.
How do you make the bride and groom and bridal party feel relaxed?
Because so much of my personality has been infused into my websites, blog and home studio, the clients who hire me are people who are very similar to me. They are fun, love photographs and love their family. Most agree with my schedule to see each other before the ceremony so we have time to get creative and shoot a lot of portraits.
I start the day with the bride and groom alone, and I think this helps get the jitters out.
Often my couples do an engagement session before their wedding, so that helps them feel more comfortable with me on their wedding day. Whether at the engagement session or wedding day, I chat with my couples and gauge how comfortable they are with me interacting with them. I’ve discovered that many times, grooms just need ‘permission’ to be snugly and cute with their brides, so as soon as I’ve given a groom instructions to chew an ear or tell his girl his favourite thing about her, he starts to loosen up.
Occasionally, I will make up ‘scenes’ for them to act out, which has been fun. For example, I’ll tell them to pretend it’s their first date and he’s trying to convince her to kiss him, but she’s not sure she’s into him. They start to get really sweet and coy and it usually gets them cracking up.
Have you ever had anything go wrong at a wedding, and if so, how did you handle it?
Nothing really specific comes immediately to mind, but I’ve certainly had my share of emotions flaring up on the wedding day. Sometimes it’s a bride who is upset because someone important is running late, or it’s the bride’s mother who is upset because she feels the groom’s family is getting more shots than her family (as strange as that sounds, it has happened).
Whenever a situation arises where someone becomes anxious or upset, I am very good about letting them know I hear their concerns.
Even though weddings fill me with energy, and I get quite bubbly on the wedding day, I never get ruffled or anxious (at least never in front of my clients!). I let them see that I’m calm, and confident that we will get all the shots we need, even if we need to change the schedule on the fly. I think my confidence about my ability to capture everything they want really helps to calm people.
What do you feel is the most challenging thing about photographing weddings?
Dealing with the emotions that can crop up between parents. There are so many broken families nowadays, and weddings are events where step parents and exes will all be present.
What do you think of the wedding photography industry at the moment and where do you see it in five years?
I have noticed a great deal of newer photographers flooding the industry in the past five years. Digital photography has really opened up a lot of doors for people by making the photography learning curve a lot smaller. I think this is great for those photographers who are selling workshops and lessons to newbies, but I wonder if a good chunk of new photographers who are in business now will have trouble staying in business for the long haul.
Being a mentor, I have seen photographers who really don’t understand the very basics of photography getting a website and a blog and selling their services. I know from experience that running a business is difficult, and I have a feeling that five years from now things will level off again in terms of the number of new photographers coming onto the market, and I have a feeling that many of the newer photographers who are trying to maintain a business now will be forced to try something new within five years. I totally get the desire to be a photographer – most of what we do is really fun – but there are aspects of running a business that are just plain difficult and expensive.
Who’s the first photographer that comes to your mind and why?
Annie Leibovitz…I love how she conceptualises a shoot in her mind, then has the resources to make it happen. I took my pug to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art recently and saw the Vanity Fair exhibition. There was a video that showed the creation of one of her images, and it was such an enormous production! It was very exciting.Name a wedding photographer who inspires you. There are so many amazing photographers, and because I know so many of them, I don’t want to list any for fear of forgetting someone and hurting that person’s feelings! Suffice it to say that I look at many blogs and sites on a regular basis for inspiration. Not only that, but many of my friends are photographers, so I spend a lot of time with them, too. Just hanging out with like-minded people I respect inspires me.
What websites or blogs do you visit often?
Facebook and Twitter. These are undeniably the easiest way to keep up with what’s going on.
How do you market Jules Bianchi Photography?
I make albums and give them to venues I like shooting at. This gives them a book of a wedding recently shot in their space and provides me with more targeted marketing to brides who are considering having their wedding in that space.
Do you advertise? If so, where?
Not in any magazines or directory websites (except the Pictage directory which comes with my membership. It’s my image they are using on the front, too!)
How important is a good website for business?
It’s important to find a way to get your site to project you and your style, because unfortunately, it’s getting harder and harder to create a website that really stands out. Templates are easy to customise, but they all start to resemble each other. I often think photographers mask less-than-stellar photography by having really exciting, well-designed websites. Having said all of this, because of the number of beautiful sites out there, yours has to be equally gorgeous just to compete. The web is the first place a newly engaged bride is going to look.
What importance do you place on social media?
Personally, I think it’s important to keep up with technology and social media has become a very important part of marketing my business. The job of a wedding and family photographer is extremely personal. Social media allows you to let your personality come through and will further allow the right clients to find you. All of my clients are on
Facebook, so it’s an easy way to promote their weddings or portraits to all of their friends. It’s the electronic version of word of mouth. Social media is an easy way tocommunicate with your clients and get them and their friends talking about you.The icing on the cake is that it is free!
Why do you think you have succeeded when others have failed?
A lot of photographers struggle to find time in their day to work on their business, and I think a real problem for many new photographers is that they try to grow their businesses alone. There is certainly a Catch-22 situation for many people: they aren’t making enough money to outsource things such as book keeping, editing, accounting, product fulfilment etc, but they don’t have time to grow their business because they’re so caught up doing book keeping, editing, accounting, product fulfilment etc.
One of the first things I did was add to my team by joining Pictage. Pictage takes care of all print fulfilment and album design, which takes a lot off my plate. I also added to my in-house team by getting an editor, a studio manager, and bringing my sister, Joy, on board as a part-owner. She encouraged me to open a physical studio and has come up with many innovative ways for us to use the new space. Joy handles all of my ordering sessions and has brought in a lot of extra revenue with them.
I still do a lot of hands-on work in terms of artist’s edits and album design tweaks, but having a team in place allows me to concentrate on being where I need to be – shooting, networking and marketing – while the business is still being run.
Where next for your brand?
Now that I have a physical studio in Montclair, Oakland, I want to concentrate on serving that community more. For instance, we recently had an event called the ‘Mutt Mugshots’ where we shot 15 dogs in the studio in one day and had part of the proceeds benefit the Animal Rescue Foundation. Joy was able to have all of the client ordering sessions right there as well.
I am also interested in changing from Jules Bianchi Photography to Jules Bianchi Photographers and adding a few great shooters to my team. I still love shooting weddings, but I would like to do more destination weddings and have talented photographers under the Jules Bianchi umbrella be able to serve a wider variety of clients closer to home.
When I was assisting I was picking everybody’s brain, I still am actually. That’s why I love these interviews so much. Every interview I learn something that makes me a better photographer.
What advice do you have for somebody who wants to pursue wedding photography?
Be sure that you are up for the challenge! I truly believe that shooting a wedding is an enormous responsibility, and you need to have your technical abilities down cold. A person who is outgoing and likes working with people would do well as a wedding photographer, but you shouldn’t let other people’s emotions get in the way of you doing your job. You should not be easily ruffled by unexpected changes.What are you still learning? I’m learning all the time.
Most recently, Joy, Marty and I launched a site called Jules’ Café which is a place for photographers to discover places to learn and share. It has been a learning experience in terms of what is available on the internet and how we can learn from each other and help each other grow.
What would you like to be doing in five years?
I would love to still be shooting, but more personal projects and only jobs I really want to shoot.If you had one wish… I would be independently wealthy so I could travel whenever I felt like it and only shoot what I felt like shooting. (And I’d probably still shoot weddings.)
www.julesbianchi.com www.julescafe.com
www.julesbianchi.com/blog
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