PUBLICATION CENTER

In a small town like Okeechobee, Fla., pro photographer Sandra Pearce has found the right combination for success: Do everything, do it right, and give back as much as possible.

A professional career in photography often begins in the most unlikely of places. For Sandra Pearce, it began in the offices of a local circuit court judge.

She was working as a judicial assistant at the time, and when the judge retired, Pearce decided it was high time to turn one of her favorite hobbies and pastimes into a profession. Besides, everyone she worked with was always asking her to take photos for them.

“I wasn’t working after the judge retired so I went to the junior college and got certified because I didn’t want to just pick up a camera and say, ‘I’m a professional photographer.’ From there I joined PPA and my state group, the FPP, but I did not compete in anything until recently. I also figured out very quickly that you can’t make a living specializing in a small town, so my typical day is anything but typical,” says Pearce.

Pearce went full-time professionally about 15 years ago and has since built a solid business based in large part on her involvement in the community.

Though Pearce has honed her craft over the years, and has won a number of national and international awards for her work, perhaps the most crucial element of her studio’s success has been in its dedication to people on a personal level.

Though it seems a simple concept at first blush, in practice it is often overlooked in the day-to-day grind of developing and maintaining the business. Pearce stresses this aspect of her work above all else, giving freely to charity, helping those in need, and making an appearance at just about every event in town.

“As long as you sit at home or in the studio then you may be sitting out of business. I get involved, and if you get involved people will see you; that’s the best marketing you can have, and that’s with a camera in your hand,” says Pearce. “When I go to football games on Friday night I give people a 4x6 I took of them at the game. It makes their heart warm to know that I’m giving something, and I’m not always asking for something.”

Additionally, Pearce does work for the March of Dimes, provides free printing for people who have lost a loved one and would like something for the funeral, and has helped people affected by the economy with lower prices and free additional photo products and prints.

Moreover, since her photography is focused on the subject, she won’t put her name on the front of it in any way. “The photograph is not about me,” she says. “It’s a kind of reverse name branding. I don’t brand my things; they can tell it’s mine by looking at it. My name shouldn’t distract from the person who was photographed.”

“I might run my business differently, but it’s very successful. I owe nothing, and I have a lot of equipment. When you let money take over, you won’t have near as much if you let it rule your life,” she adds. “My husband once said I give too much away, but it has never hurt me before. Now he’s just like me, and he realizes that he can’t out-give. It all comes back from the families you help.”

Print Production and Paint

Another ingredient in Pearce’s success has been control. About six years ago, Pearce started printing in-house, which provided the means to produce work quickly and with the quality she demands. Pearce has three Epson printers – a 3800, 4800 and 7600 – and prefers Hahnemuhle and Sunset fine-art papers, Ilford Galerie Smooth Pearl, and Sunset Select Gloss Canvas for her work.

“People don’t think of photographs as emergencies, but they can be, and if I can’t print it then they don’t get it in time for whatever they need it for. It gives me the option of saying I can get it done regardless of the deadline, and I can give them quality images. It has allowed me to be more efficient. My reputation is that if you want it, you can get it,” says Pearce.

For high-volume, smaller-format work, Pearce uses a lab and she has someone at the studio who handles print production. Almost all of her large-format work over 8x10 is handled in-house, particularly since these tend to be higher-profit, custom orders.

Though Pearce’s studio has gone 100 percent digital, and she incorporates painting effects in Photoshop and Corel liberally, she is careful to draw a line between digital and reality. The trick is to maintain the character of the person being photographed, and that character must show through, even in a digitally-manipulated painting, she says.

“You had to get it right in the film days, because if you didn’t there wasn’t really anything there to make it right. There wasn’t nik filters, for instance. You had to get the lighting right. Even now, you have a duty to your clients to learn how to do it right and understand the basics of photography,” says Pearce. “Ultimately, emotion sells an image. Photographers are very proficient with Photoshop, but sometimes the perfection takes out the quality of their life. When you take the wrinkles out of a 70 year old and made them look 20, you’ve taken the integrity out of that person.”

Still, customers are savvy enough in the digital age to know that the image can be manipulated and that just about anything can be fixed in Photoshop. The important lesson Pearce has learned from this relatively new customer preconception is not make your own assumptions about the subject.

Say the client’s child has an outstanding birthmark; don’t assume they want you to Photoshop it out of the image. The key is to be cognizant of the client’s needs by asking the right questions, developing the relationship, and being clear about your intentions.

Pearce also does traditional painting on the side, but relishes the opportunity for digital painting. Though she cautions against the overuse and abuse of digital processing, she is not an analog purist by any means. Each method, both traditional and digital, has its applications and is merely a tool used toward an artistic end.

“My hero is Norman Rockwell, who used the camera to make his paintings. He set it up, took photos of them, and from there he used graphite paper and projected it to his canvas. It wasn’t that he couldn’t draw; it wasted his precious time. I could draw it, but it’s a waste of time. It’s the finished piece that makes the difference,” she says. “I’m going to paint digitally whether or not someone buys something or not. I’ve been doing digital art for about ten years, and finally decided I would compete about three years ago. I was so busy making a living that I never competed.”

Pearce recently won prestigious awards for her digital painting from the Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers (SWPP), and international organization located in Great Britain, and the Sports Photographers Association of America. She traveled to England and Las Vegas to receive her awards.

Now she shares her expertise in this area through a number of seminars she regularly presents through her state photography association. Pearce covers both Corel Painter and Photoshop, but focuses primarily on Photoshop.

“You find very few photographers who are not proficient in Photoshop, so if I can teach them to paint in Photoshop they’re not afraid of it. It’s really no different in Corel now because they’ve made it so user friendly. Painter 6 was really tough, because it wasn’t compatible with Photoshop like it is now with the consistent palette,” she says.

Meanwhile, Pearce continues her hectic daily schedule, which could vary from a sports banquet to a livestock show or an aerial photo session for a local rancher. But that’s the way Pearce likes it, and that’s why her clients like and know her so well. “If somebody’s wondering who can take a photo for them, whatever it is, they’ll say Sandra Pearce can,” says Pearce.