• 
• 

Friday, June 8, 2007

Douglas Dubler - Inspiration, Execution, Observation

Douglas Dubler is the kind of pro who likes to have complete control over his work. He operates in an environment of tight schedules and highly demanding results.

While the plan looked good on paper, Nicole, the Summer girl and the first scheduled shot of the day, was sitting in a doctor's office after having had an allergic reaction to something she ate the night before. Once healed and fortified, she managed to hit the set 40 minutes into the day and got straight down to business.

White functioned as the creative counterpart for seeing the project through. “I work with Douglas as the other half of the art direction team. He came up with the project and we sat down over a few days, throwing ideas back and forth until we found one we felt we could really take to another place. I helped with casting next, suggesting girls that I had either worked with or knew so that Douglas could see them.”

White also served as a creative sounding board for Dubler during the various stages of production. “Douglas relied on me to help keep the team streamlined in clarity of direction and vision so that he could focus on the rest of the technical team. I built the sets, gave the hairstylist for Summer and Spring the launching pad for what I felt was needed for the shots, while Douglas more than surpassed expectations with his creativity. Peter Lennon, the costume designer, took our ideas and ran with them. Overall, we've all worked together before, so the only issue was in making sure the makeup and hair crew knew exactly what was expected of them so we could work under tight time constraints.”

Any intense job like this one is apt to have special challenges. Considering the time constraints and the client's needs, Epson had people at the studio during the entire day. Anytime the client is watching over you, there's an added amount of stress involved. Plus, today's high-tech-savvy art directors are likely to be diving into the process right there in the studio if they can.

Keeping control over the whole shoot is the job of the photographer. Dubler says the trick is to get the client involved and give them a feeling of control without actually letting them gain control of the shoot. It's a fine line, but in an age when images can be pumped directly into a terminal where the client can start making changes, it's a line the photographer must walk. Communicating with and educating the client kept the Epson shoot moving forward throughout the day.

Being so heavily digital also clearly was key to completing the job. Dubler provided a one-stop shop for Epson, from the logistics of the shoot through the retouched and matched images. Says Epson's Mark Radogna, “There are a lot of photographers who could pull off this shoot for Epson, but Douglas makes our life so easy during the process that he stands apart.”

To see more of Douglas Dubler's photography, visit www.douglasdubler3.com.