Studio or No Studio?

[waves]

Okay I know some of you have a studio or a room set-up in your home to do formal wedding portraits of the Bride. But those of you that don't or didn't start out that way, what did you do or what are you doing now,(portable backgrounds, church, park ect.) Just thought it would be interesting to see how people got started. If you still use a portable set-up post some images for us to see.
Thanks waves :)

[jessiper]

I don't have a studio, and don't want one. I shoot everything on location (either outdoors somewhere, or a building (hotel, house, etc.).

[picturecrazy]

Studio? Quite honestly, I hardly know any wedding specialists who have a full studio and do bridals in it...

[islandphoto]

NO studio here but I do wish I had a place where I could have customers come and see my work. I just moved into a house a few months ago and I am debating making my office that place.

[liza]

I'm in the midst of setting up a studio in an under utilized room in my home for both bridals and senior portraits. This will be a temporary set up until we build a separate facility on my property next year. And most of the professional photographers in our area have studios for bridals. I think it just varies from location to location.

[tim]

I don't know any wedding photographer who has a studio for bridal portraits.

[mizuno]

We've just secured additional space in our building and will be setting up a full working studio in the next 3-6 months.

It won't get used for wedding work, though.

[motogeno]

Most photographers in my area do have studios, even those who shoot weddings. That being said, my plan is only to set up an office to meet clients and have my work hanging on the walls. Need more money first:cry:

[dpurslow]

I think the space you would have as a studio would be better spent as a meeting place and gallery of BIG photos to show clients. I had a studio for years but never used it for bridal once.

[Padawan Dad]

My wedding clients meet with me in my living room to talk business, and look at my work. I don't have a "studio," because I only shoot on location. If you are doing a lot of work with portraits as a business, it's probably a good idea to have a studio, whether it's a rental, or in home one.

[Grace]

i want a studio...and i want to do bridals in a studio (so I can offer both inside and out!) ...mainly- i think i just want a place to escape to, a place to hang my work, a place to work on my computer without interruptions, a place to have people come and meet with me and give me loads of money!!

[sblais]

i want a studio...and i want to do bridals in a studio (so I can offer both inside and out!) ...mainly- i think i just want a place to escape to, a place to hang my work, a place to work on my computer without interruptions, a place to have people come and meet with me and give me loads of money!!

I don't think you need a studio for that. A home office dedicated to your business seems more appropriate ;) Then, you can take as many shots of "reflections" from your monitor as you like! :lol:

Oh, and I'd like to have a studio. Not for wedding photo though, but for portrait, maternity shoots, etc. I recently get a bit more demand for photography other than weddings.

[AMeyer]

I'm with Chris & Kathy!

I just want a place to meet with prospective clients where they can be comfortable, browse through albums, see images on the walls, etc. I have to have a place to do my PS'ing in peace! I'd love something outside my home, but cost is a major factor, so I may be doing something with an extra room at my house.

And Chris, anytime you need a partner, let me know - I'm in your neighborhood! :lol:

[picturecrazy]

Most photographers in my area do have studios, even those who shoot weddings...

I think we're talking about wedding specialists. A lot of photographers are studio specialists, sports specialists, portrait specialists, whatever specialists. Then they see the cash you can get from wedding so they just say, "yeah, I do weddings too" so yes, a lot of them do weddings, but many of them do not specialize in them. I'm not counting those people.

It goes the other way too. a lot of wedding specialists seem to gravitate towards baby photography for some reason...

[waves]

Hey Great reponses!!! But if some of you have a bride who wants a formal portrait on a background and not just in front of the church alter or outside, do you try and bring a portable background and shoot before or after the ceramony or maybe go to their home and set-up there or possiblly rent a small confrerence room at a hotel. I normally shoot on location too, but sometimes it would be nice to have large studio to do the bridal formals.

[picturecrazy]

I have not met a single bride who wants a set up studio shot, and definitely not on her wedding day. There are beautiful backgrounds everywhere you go... the world around us provides that for us. Most brides nowadays want the more dynamic kind of look anyhow. And if she were to want something like that, she wouldn't be a good match for my style so it would be a good thing to not book her...

There is barely enough time as it is to get photos between the ceremony and reception. I can't imagine towing her to a studio to get some shots there!!

[litwinphotography]

I am a wedding photographer that DOES have a commercial studio. HOWEVER, that being said, it gets used for shooting about 5% of the time! We shoot outdoors and on location as much as possible, but with the canadian winters, we do need to have studio sessions now and then if the b&g don't have another location indoors to shoot at that is nice.

Oh, and when we DO shoot in the studio, it is on a beautiful oak hardwood floor with a faux finish wall in the background and we use dark mahogany colored leather furniture. It is calssy and elegant, not a typical "studio" look, no props, arches, fake benches, or any junk like that.

[Stan43]

Hey Great reponses!!! But if some of you have a bride who wants a formal portrait on a background and not just in front of the church alter or outside, do you try and bring a portable background and shoot before or after the ceramony or maybe go to their home and set-up there or possiblly rent a small confrerence room at a hotel. I normally shoot on location too, but sometimes it would be nice to have large studio to do the bridal formals.
I recently had a wedding coordinator at a church as me if I needed a room to set up studio lights for formals. I hadn't thought of it. This may have been an exception but it's worth looking into in the future.

[motogeno]

I pm'd you AMeyer!:)

[*Mike*]

We had and still do shoot on location. Some of our locations include gardens, churches, historic theaters, and Time Square. When you have options on places to go - our philosophy is, why not? It also sets you apart from everyone else if you figure out how to utilize your surroundings and the available light.

PS - We opened a physical location a couple of months ago - love it, but still am shooting on location as well.

[Eoseni]

Studios. It's just not my cup of tea even if I had the money. There's one up the road from me, actually two. Both do just about any photography, including weddings. I doubt they could survive just on weddings for their high overhead. I'm assuming all this, Sorry.