How did you get your first book deal?
© George Schaub
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George Schaub:
After doing alot of magazine work, writing and illustration, I got to know other writers in the photo trade and some of them had done books with a company called Amphoto, which was and is one of the largest publishers of books that get distributed in camera stores. I queried the editor and asked them what they were looking for and they said, at the time, that they needed a book on wedding photography. I had been doing weddings as well for about four years at that time and I decided to just write what I knew was true about the trade.
At the time I was writing freelance for a magazine called Studio Photography and I had gotten to meet a number of wedding photographers through that work, and decided to illustrate the book with a number of different photographers' work. One photographer, Ken Sklute, contributed alot of the images for that book and we also worked together on the second edition done years later.
© George Schaub
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You have been the Editorial Director of Shutterbug for a number of years. In what ways has the magazine changed during this time? Despite these changes, do you see Shutterbug's basic goals remaining the same?
George Schaub:
A lot of changes have taken place since I became editor in 2000. Of course, there is the whole digital change, which has rocked the entire photo world. In the magazine, we have gone through a number of style and format changes, which is something you do in this business to keep things fresh. But throughout our aim has been to provide information for photo enthusiasts.
It's a magazine for everyone passionate about their photography and who see it as a way to express themselves, and perhaps make a living or some income from it as well. It's about achieving image quality in every aspect of creating an image, from capture through printing and sharing.
As to tests and gear reviews, we see ourselves as stand-ins for the reader, and try to make a review an experience that we might all share, not a lab test or just shooting color charts and fake setups. Our watchwords are tools techniques and creativity, and that pretty much sums up the constant theme of the magazine, whatever its look or style.
Your career has spanned the transition from film to digital. What do you consider the biggest advantages of shooting with a digital camera over a film camera?
George Schaub:
Probably what you can do with the image after you take it. I am no slouch when it comes to "traditional" darkroom technique or understanding the tools and techniques of film photography, but digital allows for so much more control and creativity than film ever did. And now that printers and papers are so varied and of such high quality the transition, for me, is pretty much complete. I recently tested some new Fujifilm slide film for the magazine, and it was excellent, no doubt, but I just looked at the slide and it kind of stopped me in my tracks, as I felt I had little space around it to be creative. With digital the picture just starts the whole creative process; with film you can stretch it but certainly not as far and not in as many directions, and with such ease.
© George Schaub
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When it comes to black-and-white photography, what are some of the best things about the digital darkroom as opposed to the "old" wet darkroom?
George Schaub:
Number one, lack of exposure to nasty chemcials, and I do not say that lightly. The traditional darkroom for me was a very creative space and I still admire silver prints, but once I got a handle on Photoshop I basically closed the darkroom door. The control, nuance and ability for local contrast control is so much superior in the digital realm. And now we have printers, inks and papers that rival darkroom print longevity, and quality. I couldn't have said that five years ago but am sure of it now. And we also have so many different paper surfaces on which to print, and silver paper choices get slimmer every day.
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