Thierry Constant. Picto.

Every professional print lab has its own hero, this hero ensures the highest possible quality to be delivered to the customer. They are photo enthusiasts and experts in their field. In our opinion these heroes deserve a spotlight, therefore we will regularly ask one of these heroes to tell their story.

This time we have interviewed Thierry Constant of Picto in France.

He is passionate about images since he was a child and loves the magic – capturing a moment and preserving it for life.

 

https://www.picto.fr

https://www.instagram.com/pictofr/

 

Who are you ?
I’m Thierry Constant.

At what photo lab are you working ?
I’ve been working at Picto since 1997.

Can you please tell us about your professional background ?
I started with black and white film development, C41 (color negatives), and E6 (slide film), in all formats : 135, 120, 4×5, and 20×25. We also made contact sheets and learned filtration techniques. Naturally, I then moved on to printing.

What has inspired you to enter into the photographic printing business ?
I’ve been passionate about images since I was a child. I was the youngest member of the photo club in my hometown, Pomponne. I had the keys to the darkroom and loved going there alone to experiment with chemistry and photography.

Can you tell us about your passion within the imaging business ?
The magic—capturing a moment and preserving it for life ! Discovering my developed rolls and producing prints from them.

How do you think digitization has influenced the photographic printing business ?
Lambda printers have existed for over 30 years, but access to digital files for largeformat printing used to be reserved for professionals with advanced technical skills.
Today, digital technology is accessible to a wide audience, thanks to lower prices, improved performance, and the rise of mid-range cameras and smartphones.
Everything has become easier, including post-production. As for the impact on my profession : very few people understand how the digital workflow functions. Few even know what a Lambda printer is, and many lack experience with editing software — so we often need to guide them a lot.

What do you like most about Fujifilm’s original photographic paper?
In general, silver halide paper production has declined, but Fujifilm has continued to innovate and provide us with papers that are perfectly balanced, stable, and longlasting.

Do you have a favorite Fujifilm original photographic paper ?
Without a doubt, the Super Glossy HR (High Reflection). It’s the most beautiful paper ever made. The rendering, contrast, colors, and especially the material itself – just incredible !

What advice would you give to emerging photographers ?
There are a thousand ways to approach image-making. It’s more accessible now, but also more complex—because you still need to learn the fundamentals of exposure, depth of field, and composition. On top of that, you need patience to learn how to use the new digital editing and creative tools. Artificial Intelligence is progressively arriving to help us, but you still need to understand it.

How do you challenge the photographer to go to print ?
Working in a lab, I don’t need to convince clients to print. What I do is encourage photographers I meet to try out our lab—not because I work there, but because we have deep expertise in both analog printing and the entire digital workflow. I’m here to advise them on choosing the right process and steps to get the result they want.
On a screen, an image can appear in any size—but with a print, it’s real and fixed.