Date: Fri 24-Sep-1999

Publication: Bee

Author: SHANNO

Quick Words:

Laurie-Klein-photographer

Full Text:

"Hand Coloring Black & White Photography" Released-- Publishing Is A New Focus

For Laurie Klein

(with cuts)

BY SHANNON HICKS

BROOKFIELD -- When Laurie Klein decided to put the words An Introduction and

Step-By-Step Guide into the title of her brand-new book, Hand Coloring Black &

White Photography , she really meant it. The professional photographer's book

breaks down everything anyone can think of when it comes to putting personal,

colored touches on a black-and-white photograph. The best part is, hand

coloring can be done by amateur or professional photographers,

non-photographers who want to add color to someone else's images, and anyone

of any age with an itch to add a personal touch to a black and white

photograph.

"This is the book I've always wanted to do," Ms Klein said this week. "About

eight years ago I approached a different publisher, but that deal never

happened. This time I approached just one publisher, and I knew within a month

that the project was going to happen."

Ms Klein normally does hand coloring for a large number of her clients, so

putting together a book on this subject was a natural for her.

It's been an exciting month for the Brookfield-based professional

photographer. Her book was released less than a month ago, and local book

stores have reported strong customer interest already. She was at her studio

in Brookfield earlier this week and had just gotten off the phone with

producers from The Discovery Channel when it was time to sit for an interview

with The Newtown Bee . The cable station wants to do a program concerning Ms

Klein's new book and her hand coloring methods. Shooting will take place some

time in October.

The Lifetime network has already produced a show with Ms Klein demonstrating

her hand-coloring techniques. The European rights for the book have already

been sold by Quarry Books, the book's Massachusetts-based publishers, so a

European printing is imminent.

Sanford Corporation is featuring Ms Klein in its fall newsletter. The

Bellwood, Ill., company is also hoping to put together a colored pencil

companion set to be sold with Ms Klein's book in time for the holiday season.

Modern Bride has a two-page spread about Ms Klein and her talents in its

current fall issue, and a number of her photographs have recently been used by

Graphique de France for a line of greeting cards.

Released less than a month ago by Quarry Books (Rockport Publishers,

Gloucester, Mass.; 127 pages, soft cover, $21.99), Hand Coloring Black & White

Photography is absolutely stunning in its presentation and illuminating in its

step-by-step teachings.

Laurie Klein teaches students -- and now readers -- how to color photographs

using Sanford's Prismacolor colored pencils, a simple solution that can spread

color or erase it; and even how to use common household kitchen liquids --

coffee, tea, fruit punch or wine, depending on the color desired -- to stain a

photograph. Her ideas not only make hand coloring easy, but safe to do with

children.

Ms Klein's book begins by breaking down, in very non-complicated terms, the

materials that will be used, film types including optimal speeds, print

surfaces, mixing and choosing colors, setting up shots to be colored later,

setting up a work area, and even presenting images once they have been

colored.

The main section of the book is laid out like a series of how-to

demonstrations. It is this area Ms Klein is proudest of, because the publisher

worked with her, listening to exactly what she wanted to do in terms of

presentation.

"I really wanted a book that was very visual," she said. "Some of these how-to

books are so wordy. You need to see what you're being taught.

"The publisher really gave me a lot of guidelines, but they also listened to

what I had to say, too."

Ms Klein begins each section ("Hand Coloring For Realism," "Creating a

Romantic Atmosphere," "Working with Photographs of Places," "Hand Coloring an

Animal in Landscape," etc.) by presenting a photo as it originally appeared,

and then goes step-by-step in leading readers through her coloring process.

Every demonstration includes a palette showing the exact colors that were used

in coloring the photo. (Ninety percent of the 200 photos in the book are of Ms

Klein's family and friends or former clients, and all pencils that were used

are by the same maker, Sanford/Prismacolor, making color matching simple.)

Materials lists for each coloring style are offered as well. The book also

offers ideas in more advanced techniques like sepia toning, staining and

dyeing photographs. Many of the demonstrations offer "variations" sections,

giving readers ideas on how they might apply a number of different approaches

to the same image.

A specialist in commercial wedding and fine art photography, Laurie Klein has

been a fine art photographer for 25 years and a photographic educator for 18

years. She has taught hand coloring to people of all backgrounds, as young as

kindergarten students, and mentions in her book's introduction how easy it

would be to set aside time to spend with children to do some hand coloring

together. Hand coloring does not need to be relegated to professional

photographers, she points out.

"The technique I teach others is different from traditional hand coloring

styles, but it's much easier," she said. The photographer has been developing

and perfecting her hand coloring method for about 15 years. She isn't worried,

she said, about giving away her hand coloring secrets.

"People have already asked me about that, but I'm really not worried. I'd

rather let more people know how easy this can be and let them enjoy it

themselves," she said. "The strength is really in the photographs that you

begin with." She certainly isn't about to start talking about that aspect of

her business.

Once readers have the basic understanding of hand coloring and feel

comfortable with the materials used for the process, the book moves into

creating special effects. At this point, Ms Klein suggests mixing materials to

create different textures or even partially obscure an image.

Images made by Amy Jean Rowan, Bobi Eldridge, Kate and Geir Jordahl, Mary

McCarthy and Jane Page-Conway are featured in the "Creating Special Effects"

chapter. These photographers have excellent examples of photographs that have

been given multiple applications. Mrs Page-Conway, for instance, has one image

that has been fully toned and then hand colored.

A little more complicated, Ms Rowan's works are almost collage pieces that are

created with Polaroid transfers and photocopies that are colored with markers,

gesso, oil pastels, pastels, Conte crayons and/or paint pens. And Ms Eldridge

offers a few examples of Polaroid transfers that are colored with pencils and

tempera.

"I'm really pleased with this," said Ms Klein, who is already talking about

how much she would enjoy writing a second, more advanced book on the subject.

"People who feel they don't have any artistic talent should try this. This is

really geared to the amateur.

While a subsequent book would be a little more advanced, the focus right now

for Ms Klein is to continue to enjoy her finished product.

"This was totally a labor of love."

Laurie Klein will be at Borders Books in Danbury on Thursday, September 30, at

7:30 pm. She will be offering a free demonstration on hand coloring

photography and autographing copies of her book.