Our Process: From Start To Finish With Studio 3

Posted on October 1, 2018 by Studio 3 Inc

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When Studio 3 begins a photography or branding project, our first step is to sit down with the client and dream up ideas. Collaborating on a concept might involve a handful of approaches, depending on the project at hand – anything from examining examples of similar work, creative brainstorming with our in-house team, and establishing a shared visual language using Style Guides, Mood Boards, or Pinterest. Below you can see an example of what a typical brainstorming session looks like at Studio 3.
Once an idea is hatched, our Producer-Extraordinaire Eva Goldfarb kicks it into high-gear – scheduling stylists, organizing set builds, balancing budgets, and handling any propping/costuming as needed. This work frees up our clients and photographers to stay in a creative mindset, and not get caught up in the operational details of the project.
15611T_Tea Test Onto the shoot! Photographer Craig Wagner is among the best photographers in the Northwest – and has been with the studio since the early days. Forever perfecting his craft, Craig does what it takes to get the perfect shot – even if it means inventing a new piece of equipment specifically for the shoot at hand.

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We have a good time on set

_DSC0489 Lastly, our Digital Team steps in and works their magic. The processes of Color Grading and Digital Retouching are extremely intricate – just ask Sean Yates, one of our in-house Graphic Artists:

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“Color and clarity are of central importance when retouching images. …We always strive for and deliver accurate color.”

In reality, the Digital Team does a lot more than just retouching:
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Finished product:
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And that’s not the end! Studio 3 partners with the same clients year after year because they love the end result, and appreciate the creative relationships formed. We take the utmost pride in these collaborations and are always striving to bring something new and exciting to the table for the next shoot. Give us a call today, and find out how Studio 3 can help elevate your brand with the coolest+catchiest photography in the Pacific Northwest.

Studio 3 Rides Out On Ducati

Posted on July 22, 2014 by Studio 3 Inc

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Summertime is all about fast cars and even faster Ducati motorcycles. Studio 3 wanted to explore our dare devil side and kick up the dust to catch the sunset on a few of these bad boys of the road. While the rest of us had fun forming our very own Studio 3 Biker Gang, our talented Seattle Shooters David Bell and Chris Eltrich had the pleasure of capturing these beauties with a Hasselblad Medium Format camera system. Eltrich goes a little more in depth about this sexy shoot:
“The team was looking for a darker, dramatic look… I used Studio 3’s Speedotron lights for all the shots with various light modifiers, but generally each shot had a Beauty Dish as the key light with lights through diffusion panels for accents. A lot of the planning and conceptualizing for the shoot was done by our amazing Producer, Megan Nolan and our go to Digital Lead, Alex Gumina.”
Alex shares his inspiration behind his work here:
“There seems to be a trend in vehicle advertising lately of hyper-processed, super crisp images. I thought it would be fun to do something in this style but needed a subject. That’s where Ducati Seattle came in. I pitched the idea to Megan, our studio producer, and we made our way across Aurora to Ducati Seattle to look at some beautiful motorcycles. We met with the sales manager Mike MacConaghy and before we knew it we had a couple beautiful Italian made motorcycles in the studio.
The original plan was to do a couple composites using shots of the bikes in studio, and environmental shots for the backgrounds. We would blend the two together to make one perfect, seamless image. Since we had the bikes in studio though, we decided to take full advantage of our photographers capabilities and do some amazing detail shots as well. My only request was dark, moody, high contrast, and sexy. What you see here is the end result.”
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We had a blast having the Ducati Motorcycles for a few days. We couldn’t load up on our leather gear fast enough! At least we know we’ll be prepared for next summer! If you want in on the fun, give Studio 3 a call and we’ll bring an extra helmet.

1 Second Everyday

Posted on July 15, 2014 by Studio 3 Inc

“There are so many tiny, beautiful, funny, tragic moments in your life — how are you going to remember them all?”
Imagine a movie that includes everyday for the rest of your life… That’s the motto of the 1 Second Everyday app. As of this May, director, producer, video maker, animator, and app creator Cesar Kuriyama has been recording one second of his life everyday for three years. Kuriyama started creating this video diary on his 30th Birthday and claims that if he lives to see 80, family and friends will have a 5-hour-long accurate depiction of his life. The “1 Second Everyday” app does exactly what the name implies. It allows users to create a video diary of their lives by providing them with platform to record, edit, and store one unique moment a day for a year at a time in order to create an irreplaceable memoir. Kuriyama said that his driving force for this project was the fact that he would gain the ability to flashback through his memories and re-evaluate how he approached each day.
In spirit of this moving idea, David King, our director of video production compiled a 30 second video of what one month with the Studio 3 team looks like… and we’ve all come to realize how lucky we really are! Here’s a 30 second glance at our random, crazy, and beautiful lives:

So, if you’re feeling stressed, excited, discouraged, confused, wired, or tired, go ahead and start your very own video. You might be surprised with the outcome. And if you’re looking for a little extra sunshine in your day, give us a call or pop by the studio. We’ll do everything we can to ensure it’s an experience so grand you won’t need an app to remember it.

Pick Up The Phone!

Posted on July 8, 2014 by Studio 3 Inc

Stressed about your company’s visual needs? Would you rather spend time having fun in the sun? Let Studio 3 ease your mind this summer. We’ve been smashing out countless videos back to back, while continuously providing outstanding photography and flawless production. Oh, did we also mention that our digital team is amaze balls? Trust us, you don’t want to be the only tanless, overworked one at the company party because you didn’t know about Studio 3. Save the embarrassment of all the “are you kidding me?” looks. We’ll make sure you meet that crazy deadline. There’s no reason to miss out on all the perks of working with Studio 3. And no reason to keep on reading, you’re wasting precious beach time – make a Pina Colada, and start dialing!! Make that golden phone call!!!
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And to make it that much easier, if you didn’t have our number yet, here ya go:

Portland Studio 503.238.1748, ask for Dalcetta

Seattle Studio 206.282.0939, ask for Marcella

Studio 3's Photographer Craig Wagner & CMD's Art Director Lawrence Wolf collaborate!

Posted on September 10, 2013 by Studio 3 Inc

See below to view Craig Wagner’s in-studio Product Photography and his lifestyle images!

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We are excited at Studio 3 about our latest partnership with CMD in Portland. Craig Wagner (Photographer) and Lawrence Wolf (Art Director) talk about their thoughts around their latest creative venture. Read below to hear more about the collaboration between Studio 3 Inc. and CMD.
A few words from Lawrence Wolf at CMD.
“One of the great things about working at CMD is the way the company embraces the Rose City’s bike culture. Bike commuting is actively encouraged year round, with a lot of extra support for people who get into the saddle for the Bike Commute Challenge each September. And, as an art director, I get to spend my days crafting the visual language of all the things we make for our clients: websites, mobile apps, brochures, you name it. It’s a process where I’m fortunate to work with some really talented individuals. This brings me to Studio 3 Photography, and partnering on a creative project that reflects my personal passion for cycling as well as that embraced by Portland and CMD.
I first worked with Studio 3 in December 2010, shooting bird’s eye views of two Western Star trucks. It wasn’t an easy shoot, given the sheer size of the trucks. And thanks to the unpredictable nature of Pacific Northwest skies in winter, we were forced to shoot inside a warehouse. In that kind of situation, you can only get an angle so wide before running into problems with distortion.
But Craig was very methodical in overcoming these logistic issues. Over the two days we shot, we bonded over a mutual appreciation for all things on wheels, be it two, four or eighteen. That shoot was just the beginning of a strong professional relationship, and then this past spring, something got us talking about my old bike.

I’ve been customizing this vintage Trek touring bike since the birth of my son. It had sat in my garage, collecting dust for several years, because it’s so much heavier than my aluminum road bike and I tend to opt for speed. But it’s always been a great bike. The steel frame gives it a really comfortable ride. It reminds me of the matching, yellow Schwinns that my parents used to pedal me around on. When I started thinking about how to introduce my boy to cycling, I swapped out the drop bars for mustache bars (to accommodate a front-mounted child seat). This gave the bike a totally different look, and I suddenly developed a new appreciation for the bike’s classic styling.

Soon after, I added a Brooks leather saddle and matching bar tape. Then it kind of took on a life of its own. Since then, I continue to adjust little details like striped white tires, or black dice valve covers.

My latest addition was designing the “Slow Ride” aluminum head badge, which I had made at International Graphics. “Slow Ride” was influenced by a few things: My son’s 70s-era, Evel Knievel helmet, and the fact that the bike weighs upwards of 30 pounds. We won’t be winning any races on this thing, but that’s hardly the point of our rides.

I was thrilled that Craig was interested in collaborating on a “Slow Ride” shoot featuring the customized bike. As an art director, I really admire his attention to detail and the way he plans a shot. He’s keenly aware of potential challenges, and always has a good solution for telling a story through his lens. Half the fun of this shoot was working together on the idea, putting together moodboards, and scouting locations.”

A few words from Craig Wagner at Studio 3, Inc.
“Working with Lawrence’s “Slow Ride” concept was fun and allowed me plenty of creative freedom. The mood boards were coherent and well designed. With a clear understanding of the desired outcome and tone, we were ready to go. I look forward to many more future projects with Lawrence’s creative concept development and the CMD team. See below for some of the shots we got on-location!”

Get involved in the Bicycle Transportation Alliance’s Bike Commute Challenge by clicking here.To view CMD’s joint blog post click here.

Cycle Oregon 2013 with Photographer Henry Ngan!

Posted on July 26, 2013 by Studio 3 Inc

Once again this year’s Cycle Oregon 2013 weekend ride was an amazing experience both days! The weather could not be more perfect. My brother Ben, sister Betty, nephew Paul Schommer and his uncle Bob of Schommer & Sons were all along for the ride and encouraged me along the way. Ben and wife Julie did their ride on a tandem, Betty and husband Tom rode their own bikes. I personally rode on a custom no name frame outfitted with hand-me-down parts from Ben’s old bike parts.

Someday I may get a Specialized or a Cervelo or a Cannondale but for now this is the perfect bike.

I could have used one lower gear on Sunday’s climb to the north up to the Lewisburg Saddle Trailhead. The rest of the 42 mile ride through a series of rollers was palatable and actually fun. I learned a lot on how to attack the next hill.

Saturday was a picture perfect postcard day through beautiful country roads to the east of Corvallis. Except for a few headwinds, and a swarm of honey bees trying to get back to their hive, it was a blissful 51 miles of fun. Our host, Oregon State University provided really nice facilities and generous hospitality for camping, eating, and entertainment.

The folks from the Bike Gallery provided the technical expertise to make everyone’s bike a perfect riding machine. They adjusted the new chain I purchased at their Hollywood store in Portland. We had live entertainment from Funk Shui (Fri) and Madison Jones (Sat) and a beer garden at the Memorial Union Quad. Everyone came home to the finish line amongst a cheering crowd and ice cream from the Schwan’s catering truck.
For the Studio 3 blog, I captured all these images of the Cycle Oregon 2013 weekend ride using two cameras. Some of the images were captured using my Samsung Galaxy Note 2. The rest were captured using my Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5. These did a great job and kept the weight under control and storage manageable.