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Rangefinder
Magazine Profile: Brian King by Lou Jacobs
Jr.
Brian King was born in Columbus, OH, the youngest of six children. His father was a commercial illustrator and had his own design firm where his oldest son (“a brilliant artist,” according to Brian) followed in dad’s footsteps. “Art was kind of our family business,” Brian says. In elementary school he spent Saturday mornings at Columbus College of Art and Design, learning and working with all sorts of art media while his friends were watching cartoons. He held his own as an artist but realized he didn’t have what it takes to make a career as an illustrator.
After graduation he dabbled at two different colleges, worked for a clothing store, wasn’t much interested in school and moved out of Columbus for a management position in cloth-ing. In less than a year he was offered a promotion to the corporate offices in Dallas but realized he didn’t want to move to Texas. He quit his job and enrolled at the Ohio Institute of Photography in Dayton (about 90 miles from Columbus). He majored in general photography, learned a lot more and began assisting a wedding photographer. On graduation he still lacked direction so he took his first job offer, at Cubberly Studios in Delaware, OH. Though he “didn’t have much interest in portraiture,” he confesses, he was hired to photograph seniors during the studio’s peak season.
“ Once it was decided I would stay on as a full time staffer,” Brian states, “I began learning more about family and children photography from Scott and his sister Monica Cubberly-Early who is one of the most incredible photographers of youngsters I know. Then Scott asked an old friend, Rich Vorhees, if I could hang out for a few days at his studio in Indiana, and I realized it was okay to be creative and artistic in your approach to seniors. I started to mix techniques using different light sources, ratios and angles. ”Brian says he was also exposed to Joe Craig in Dexter, MO, who “is one of the most tuned-in photographers I know. He taught me that it’s okay to lead with my heart! To me that means doing whatever my instinct feels is right.” Things clicked and Brian began to develop a style of his own. “As my confidence grew,” he adds, “I started to question the studio’s image in the eyes of typical seniors. Our studio had been creating quality portraits for decades, but teens could be equating some pictures as old and boring. In the transition to contemporary, our quality never dropped but we elevated our studio image through a clean photography style, working toward less propping and more focus on the subject. Along with the fresh look came a new logo and contemporary marketing pieces that speak to the kids. The number of seniors we photographed grew and kids expressed their enthusiasm.
”High school seniors now make up a large portion of Cubberly Studios’ business, though they also photograph families and children. They are official photographers at several high schools in the central Ohio area, and Cubberly’s four studios cover school events all year long. Some children have known them since kinder-garten. At his first time in one school Brian met “a really funny seventh grader, and I photographed him at various occasions for five years. His coming to our studio for senior portraits was a natural, and we laughed during the entire session about things that happened over the years.
”As for photographing families and children, Brian admits, “It wasn’t until my own children were born did I really start understanding and developing a style with kids. I get it now! When Johnny won’t sit still, it’s because he’s three, not because his parents have no control, which is what I once thought. Now I approach every child with a 50/50 philosophy, either they’ll cooperate or they won’t, and at ‘won’t’ sessions I go with the flow. I let the child set the tone, so when I get beautiful images, parents are amazed. I know the odds are I’ll get a few really good fractions of a second even during the most unbearable sessions. ”Brian King has won numerous awards from PPA, he’s a Master of Photography, and at Senior Photographers International (SPI), Cubberly Studios marketing won first place in 1999, as well as their first ever web site award that same year. In 2002 they won “Marketer of the Year” award, which Brian says is “sort of an overall grand champion in SPI’s marketing competition.
“ We’ve begun shooting digital with the Kodak DCS 760 and a Tamron 28–105mm (IF) f/2.8 lens that accommodates the same style of shooting I’m accustomed to with my Mamiya. Since October 2002 I’ve been using digital for all seniors and plan to implement it into all my work as I grow more comfortable with the process.
Near the end of our interview I asked Brian what kind of pictures he takes for himself, to which he retorted, “That’s funny! What makes you think I have time for myself? When a friend approached me to ask my in-terest in putting together a show for her gallery, I toyed with the idea, and did a little personal shooting, but the project fell by the wayside, due to lack of time. The truth is that my one true passion, that was once a hobby, now consumes my life. So honestly, I don’t do much personal shooting.
Until then Brian is a specialist with a camera who takes outstanding pictures, and who managed to get married before he signed on at Cubberly Studios. Now he has three “beautiful children and a yellow lab pup,” all of whom I’m guessing he photographs occasionally. Brian’s whole career has been probably been aided by his small town roots. How would his life and career have been different in
Los Angeles or Dallas? Maybe about the same if he worked in the suburbs—and
his creative pleasure was the same—indulging in photography. |
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Have you wondered how photographers who mature in a
small city environment may differ in their approach to portraiture, for
instance, from those who grow up in large metropolitan areas? I realize
that generalizations are risky, so maybe it’s all in one’s
genes, though environment does make its mark. Perhaps just the pace is
different.
“
During this time,” he notes, “I became the resident shutterbug
of the family.” He played with an old Brownie and graduated to
a manual 35mm camera and was soon developing and printing his own pictures.
In sixth grade his science fair project was to demonstrate those skills.
His art teacher from elementary school be-came a big influence and he
worked on projects at her house after school and during vacations. As
a high school senior Brian took the only two photography classes offered
and had four photographs accepted into a state governor’s Youth
Art Exhibition.
Here’s
where environment was evidently a positive influence, because Brian thrived,
saying, “At the end of three months I was hooked.
I knew this was something I could do every day, happily. When Scott Cubberly
asked what I wanted do next, I said I wanted to stay and learn all that
I could about portrait photography. I’ve practiced being observant
of portrait work I admire, without remembering the names of most photograpers.” That
was only nine years ago. Today, his former Ohio Institute of Photography
instructors are also his friends and colleagues and for the past two
years Brian has served on an advisory panel for the school. Camaraderie
among people in similar professions promotes good fortune, and Brian’s
career benefited from proximity.
“
The relationships that we develop with our seniors are invaluable,” Brian
continues. “We promote the studio at the school level as well as
by direct mail throughout the season. When possible, we run ads in the
school newspapers, programs and yearbooks. We get the studio name out
there wherever it will pay.
”Brian favors the Mamiya 645 Pro with a 120
macro lens “that allows
me to do tight close portraits that I love. We use Kodak Portra films,
and I have the studio metered out to use 400-speed film that allows for
easy transition from studio light to window light during a session without
breaking the flow to change film backs. I use Photogenic Powerlights
in the studio, and fill light is modified using a silver-lined umbrella.
My main light comes through a six-foot octagon Aurora Light Bank.
”The Columbus,
OH area has roughly a million people, and Cubberly Studios’ four
locations are all in outlying spots. The original is still in Delaware,
the second is in Marion, the third is in Westerville and Hilliard is
their fourth location. It’s population is about 27,000 including
two high schools, with 8–10 schools within a fifteen-mile radius.
Scott and Monica Cubberly’s grandfather started it all in 1938
and his son Wayne and wife Joann ran the business until the 1990s when
Scott took over. Staff in the four locations numbers more than 50 during
peak season, and the core staff includes a head photographer and head
sales manager at each location. The school division has its own director,
head photographer and support staff. There’s also a centralized
department that handles print finishing and general production, plus
a newly created digital department to handle retouching and related tasks.
”He paused and added, “Don’t
get me wrong, I’m not chained
to the studio. I’m trying to be more objective about my priorities,
but first comes my family and that keeps me hopping. I often forget that
photography is what I do—not who I am. My personality makes me
obsess over whatever it is I’m doing. Maybe it’s a curse!
Someday I hope to be just a guy with a camera that takes pictures.”