PORTLAND VENDOR GUIDE | CARLOS HERNANDEZ
We are happy to introduce our newest Portland Vendor Guide interview. Today we are interviewing Carlos Hernandez, a Portland wedding film photographer! We met Carlos through Kelsey Timberlake Events and had the pleasure of working with him and his wife, Athina. I could see why couples loved working with them. They are relaxed, professional, yet very kind and warm, great at asking others questions and actually hearing the answers, and on top of that, incredibly talented. Carlos has a keen eye for capturing gorgeous portraits, graceful movement and fleeting moments in an captivating and extraordinary way.
Can you tell us a bit about your life journey and what led you to start a business and pursue a career in photography?
I was always known in my family as "the camera guy". Since I can remember I have had a passion for photography. I remember buying my very first camera with several soda caps and just a few dollars. It was a 16mm film camera in the shape of a soda can. I was only 8 years old. I took pictures of everything, little bugs, sunsets, family, and anything that looked cool to me. However, I never thought about photography as a career, I thought it was only what a few cool people did. I went to engineering college and with some of my scholarships I bought my first DSLR. A friend of mine was getting married and asked me to photograph their wedding. I was very hesitant, but after some time he convinced me. Other friends got married and asked me to do their weddings also. I fell in love with wedding photography and took a photography class in college. Pretty soon I started charging a small fee for weddings. I took a couple of workshops and that is what set me on fire, and as they say, “the rest is history”. My wife Athina now works with me as my office manager and assistant on wedding days. I couldn’t do it without her.
What advice can you offer to newly engaged couples who want to find their ideal wedding photographer? Are there specific resources you'd suggest they use in their search and must-have qualities they should look for in a photographer?
Just like when you are looking for that new car or a contractor to remodel your kitchen, make sure you do your homework and understand what each one offers. There are many photographers out there these days, and many different styles and skill levels. The easiest way to find out about the photographer is by asking to see a full wedding gallery. This will give you a perfect idea of their photographic style and you will know what to expect from that photographer. We all show our very best work with that perfect golden hour light in our social media, so make sure you are seeing the whole picture (pun intended haha). Another important thing to look after, which most couples miss, is to make sure you know the personality of the photographer. This is the one person you will spend more time with the day of the wedding and you want to make sure you connect with that person. The best way to figure this out is to meet in person or at least over the phone and ask what a typical wedding day looks like for the photographer. Most of our couples do not live in the same town we reside in (Portland), so we offer video chat. This helps them to get to know us and to see if we are a good fit for them.
What values do you hold to the highest esteem in regards to being a photographer?
We think that integrity is the highest value one can have, being honest with everything you do goes a long way. I think the second one would be helpfulness. There is no job too low for us. During weddings we usually wear multiple hats. We do whatever we can to make sure that the couple has the best experience as possible on their special day.
What are some of your favorite wedding day moments to capture?
Oh man! That is a tough one. It is hard to pick just one, but we would have to say the first look. There is just something so special about that moment the bride and groom see each other for the first time. Both are nervous and anxious that when they lock eyes everything else get’s striped away and it is just the two of them. The reactions are priceless.
What aspects of your personality or photographic vision do you feel are unique to your brand of photography?
We are a high-end photo studio and therefore you can expect high-end products and customer service, however, what I think sets us apart is something we keep hearing from couples. They rave about how at ease we make them feel through the whole process. We have been shooting weddings for about ten years now and know what to expect in just about every situation so we are pretty calm even in the most stressful moments.
You have cited the Renaissance masters and their "timeless" creations as being particularly formative to your personal artistic vision. What do you feel makes a photograph timeless and how do you aim to achieve that timelessness in your artwork?
Yes, we love the renaissance and the fine art that was created in that era. You can look at all those masterpieces and they are still be relevant today. Artists used the best tools for the trade and they did not rush anything. We now live in the era of instant gratification, but we feel that the best things in life are still handcrafted and take time to create. Therefore, our primary source of imagery is film photography. We are forced to be intentional with the shots we take and be more precise. We also strive to capture colors just as everyone saw them that day. Therefore, we do not use the newest, yet fast-fading trends. We call ourselves fine-art photographers because we are trying to not only capture the beautiful moments of a wedding but to also tell a story and communicate emotions with our images. As someone once said “ fine-art photography is photography created in accordance with the vision of the artist as a photographer, using photography as a medium to bring something to life that only lives in the artist's mind. Simply capturing what one sees in an artistic way is the art of photography and not creating fine art”. To complement our photography style, we have found some of the best handcrafters in the industry to provide our couples with beautiful handcrafted products to showcase our work.
Digital technology has revolutionized photography. Everybody has a decent camera in their pocket, can capture an infinite amount of images, apply filters with a single button-click...yet you have opted to work with film. Do you find that the inherent restrictions and limitations of film can be leveraged advantageously for artistic expression?
Filters and cellphones have made it very easy for everyone to produce very beautiful images. However, this means that we have automated the process, which equals to the same, if not very similar results for everyone. Those results change with whatever the new trend is. There is nothing like a professional photographer who knows how to use every single button and lever of a camera to produce unique and beautiful images. Film is even more unique and gives you a much wider range of possibilities. Even within film photographers you will notice very different images, depending on how light is measured and what settings everyone uses. The ability to capture unique yet timeless images with film is what makes it my preferred medium. This medium will be relevant forever like a Renaissance painting is still beautiful and relevant.
I'm a fan of medium-format and have enjoyed shooting with 6x6 Yashica's and a 6x7 Mamiya RB67. The RB67 was a beast of a system and I found it was better suited for studio work rather than remote assignments. When working with medium-format, it seems that pairing the right camera to your workflow is crucial. How has your medium-format gear lineup morphed over the years based on your experience?
Wow that Mamiya is huge! Yeah it would be a little difficult carrying something like that to remote assignments, but it sure is a solid system. Funny you would say that, I have changed systems a few times and my bag has seen several different film cameras. As a professional photographer, I first started with 35mm cameras. I used the Canon EOS 1V only, then when I made the jump to medium format I bought the gold standard Contax 645 camera. I had several issues with it such a film flatness, and it needed repairs often. The camera and lenses are amazing but it just wasn’t working for me, so I tried the Pentax 645NII and I fell in love. The camera sure looks like something only a mother would love but it just worked for me. It is a workhorse and I am able to trust it a lot more. Then I found out that there was a guy in Europe converting Contax lenses for Pentax, I bought one as soon as I could and now I use that system a lot. At one point I used the Mamiya 645 and I liked it a lot, but I was already used to the Pentax and have just stuck with it. There are several medium format cameras out there and I feel that people are fixated with what the popular photographers are using, however I recommend photographers to try several systems and pick what best works for them.
In what ways must your workflow adapt when shooting an event with film rather than digital?
The workflow is very similar, with the difference that I have to send the film to the lab and it could take a few days to get the images back. I see it as a download that takes a few days. When I receive the film scans they are usually 90% ready so all I have to do is cull, slightly edit and create deliverables. I might be able to download images from digital cameras right after the wedding but the editing process is much longer. All in all, the process takes about the same time but with film, not only do I get better results, but I get more time to work in other aspects of my business or spend time with family.
Have you learned (perhaps the hard way) any useful lessons in regards to working specifically with film?
I like to think that I am always prepared for everything, and for the most part I am, however when I am shooting I tend to get in the zone and can sometimes forget about little details. I remember one day that I was working on a personal project with a friend in Seattle and we shot most of it indoors. The location was a little dark so there were a few ceiling lights on. We worked near the window all day, so I forgot about those lights in the back. When I got the scans back I realized that there was a strong orange glow on them. I immediately knew what was wrong. As you may already know, florescent light and film do not mix well, and though I knew this I completely forgot about it when I was shooting. I now take a step ack for a few minutes before a shoot and try to make sure that everything is how it should be. Having my wife with me in most shoot is so much help because two brains are always better than one, she is able to remind me if I miss something before or during the shoot. So my recommendation is to get yourself an Athina (haha).
Who are some of your favorite photographers or cinematographers and what qualities of their work do you appreciate?
Oh man, there are so many amazing photographers out there, that it is hard to pick just a few favorites, but I think I can narrow it down to a couple that are inspiring me right now, besides the obvious Jose Villa and Erich McVey. Annie Leibovitz has a way of giving enough direction where she is not changing the feeling of the whole scene. I think that as photographers we tend to have something in mind before we get to the shoot and try to force those scenarios, perhaps because they are familiar and we are used to them. I have been learning more and more to be able to capture the moment as it is happening with specific direction to the subject that doesn’t change the feeling of the scene. I have also been infatuated with the old masters such as street photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson who was able to capture candid moments that really spoke to that generation. I strive to take candid images in weddings to truly capture the day as it was. I could go on and on, but I will spare you and my geekiness.
What major obstacles have you run into while operating your business as a wedding photographer? How have you overcome them?
I think this applies to all business owners, but the biggest obstacle that I have faced is how to balance a healthy work/life schedule. We all seem to start our own business for many good reasons, one being the ability to have more time to ourselves and family. However, we all seem to work even more when we work for ourselves. This is something I still struggle with but seem to be doing much better at. I have set a schedule and office hours to force me to stop working and spend more time working out and with my family.
If you had a list of “best-kept secrets” (books, mentors/coaches, podcasts, blogs, etc) you’d recommend to other business owners, which would you include and why?
All of us start our business with a passion to create art or provide a service that we are good at. We spend so much time refining our skills that sometimes we forget about the business side of, well, our business. We seem to not be so good at actually making a profit. If there is one thing I would recommend to other business owners, it would be to not forget about the importance of the not so glamorous but equally important part of our business. I would recommend reading anything you can get your hands on regarding marketing and good business practices.
Reading is an important common denominator amongst many of the biggest names in business. It's a fast way to acquire new information, think creatively, and diversify your perspective. Warren Buffett, arguably the most skilled investor of our time, said reading 500 pages a day was the key to success. "That's how knowledge works. It builds up, like compound interest."
▲
