The alarm is going off, it’s time to start the day. The number one thing that helps with this process? Coffee. That warm, wonderful wake-me-up-cup. Portland and Seattle are known for their hole-in-the-wall coffee shops along with their hand roasted coffee beans. If you’re more of a stay-at-home coffee drinker, Espresso Supply in Seattle, WA, has phenomenal products and tools to help anyone who’s interested in using, making, (AND TASTING), specialty coffee and coffee products.
With fall comes cold weather, which means an extra excuse to pile on the layers. Start this season looking F R E S H – outside AND on the inside, too. The cold weather brings more hours spent inside, and opportunities for a refreshing drink…water. Yes, water. Those florescent lights can be draining, so hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. PLUS, water is good for your brain. Really good, especially if it’s mineral infused water.
Ride to work in style. Biking is in, and it’s in big time. People do their part to save the environment, they exercise and look sleek while cool cruising to first period class or that 8am meeting. Finding the right bike for your lifestyle can be a bit time consuming. River City Bikes in Portland, OR, is a great place to start. They’ve been around the block for twenty years, and can help you with that first new (or used) bike purchase. Looking for a less “traditional” type of bike? Look no further.
Admit it. A phone is a good distraction for that afternoon slump. With the amount we use them these days, they’re always visible. People don’t just want their phone to be smart, they want them snazzy & sexy. There’s plenty of alternatives to all those Apple products, too.
Eating is an important component to a productive day at school and work. People say breakfast is the most important, but we say lunch! If you don’t have time to pack your PB&J in the morning and want to spice things up, try this pulled pork recipe. It’s fast and easy. Everyone around you will be oinkin’ at you for a taste.
Ready, set, GO! Give Studio 3, Inc., a call this fall season. We look forward to hearing from you.
Category: Lifestyle
17 Ways to Get Your Clients to Love You: A Studio 3 Guide
We’ve been in business a long time, working with some clients for a decade or more. To us, the client relationship is paramount, and we go above and beyond to nurture it. What would you experience if you were a client of ours? Here are some direct quotes from our Team Members about what we mean when we speak of “Studio 3 Customer Service:”
Client Relationship Manager Jessica Lynes:
We take the time to anticipate our clients’ needs, ensuring that they have exactly what they need/want before they even know that they need or want it!
We always have their “favorites” when they’re here: foods, drinks, music, etc. is met with a “Wow! Thank you so much, I can’t believe you remembered!”
Portland Producer Liz Swales:
We get the client’s job done: efficiently, flawlessly, and simply, while exceeding their their expectations.
We take care of them like royalty…AKA feeding them fun and amazing food!
Chaos Wrangler Niki Gillespie:
We streamline the behind-the-scenes details to ensure the smoothest client experience. Clients love our process but never are over-aware of it. No bottlenecks.
Seattle Producer Kaitlin McMillan:
We will do anything! If the client wants it done, we’ll get it done for them – no hesitation or questions. Any budget, any client, any person, any product… we have a solution for even the most difficult of requests.
We create an “atmosphere” while a client is on set: you can bring your laptop and do work, you can play ping pong when you’re just here tagging along for a shoot, you can watch the news and drink coffee with your feet up on a couch. We inspire creativity and hard work all while in great company.
Digital Artist Carl Beery:
Clients appreciate our experience in pre-media print and web production. Knowing how print collateral and websites are built helps me ask the right questions before problems arise.
Years of experience interpreting markup also helps us make the edits that clients want to see, ensuring a flawless final outcome for all.
Digital Artist Tom Radio:
We make the impossible POSSIBLE when it comes to post-production!
Video Director David King:
We care about building relationships throughout the creative process and we keep client satisfaction as our #1 goal.
Photographer David Bell:
Listen. Pay Attention. Make them the most important thing happening then and there. Make it fun.
Photographer Craig Wagner:
We always try to give our clients more than what they’re initially asking for (like different angles on the same setup), and we are ultimately flexible when working. We won’t consider the creative brief set in stone, and are bold enough to run with an idea, which clients appreciate on set.
Photographer and Studio 3 co-founder Henry Ngan:
By offering them any level of service they need to make their projects a success.
By thinking out of the box creatively to provide a unique vision and fresh look.
Photographer and Studio 3 co-founder Jim Felt:
We always follow through on our promises.
We care about the future relationship with every single client. We value their friendship and the ability to create fun images for them. We are proud of our relationship with each and every client, large or small.
Can’t wait to experience what it’s like to be a Studio 3 client? Reach out and bring us your next project. You’ll experience all of the above…and more.
This Photograph Inspired My Entire Career: 4 Professional Photographers Weigh In
At Studio 3 we have a number of talented professional photographers ready to take gorgeous, arresting images for any client need. But all photographers, even those at the pinnacle of their careers, got started somewhere. Often it was a single, iconic image that ignited the creative passion. For example:
Jim Felt, Photographer and Co-Founder of Studio 3, Inc.
For Studio 3, Inc. co-founder Jim Felt, the iconic photograph that inspired his love of the FUN side of photography was the album cover photo from The Doors’ Strange Days. Shot by Photographer Joel Brodsky (with much of it put together on the fly with minimal budget), this photo spoke to Jim’s love of the absurdity of life. Up until he saw this photo, Jim says that he shot mostly in black & white and didn’t like color photography that much, but this photo spoke to him with its moody monochromatic palette. As a photographer he was drawn to the idea of directing any scenario imaginable and shooting it, and thought it so much fun to see the details throughout the image that wrapped all the way around to the back of the CD (where the band’s portraits were relegated!) (Interesting story behind the photo here.) Radical for its time in that it was album cover art that didn’t depict the band, this photo captured Jim’s attitude to photography in genera;: that we shouldn’t take it so darn seriously because it’s so incredibly FUN.
Jim Felt specializes in portrait, large vehicle, and lifestyle photography. His photos often depict a lot of things happening that draw you into a picture with fun and interest.
Lifestyle photography by Jim Felt.
Henry Ngan, Photographer and Co-Founder of Studio 3, Inc.
For Henry Ngan, the other co-founder of Studio 3, the French master of candid photography Henri Cartier-Bresson proved most inspirational. This particular photograph, he notes, shows Cartier-Bresson’s ability to capture the moment as it happens. The photographer carried a small 35mm Leica camera in an age when the professional camera was huge – and he did this in order to be able to shoot spontaneity unobtrusively.
Of Cartier-Bresson, Henry says: “He inspired me to capture the decisive moment.”
No matter how big or complex the project, Henry embraces all challenges and always makes the cutting-edge look its very best. A master of texture, he specializes in product, large vehicle, and technology photography.
Vehicle photography by Henry Ngan. (Shot while sitting inside a large Caterpillar shovel and hoisted aloft to get an aerial view!)
Craig Wagner, Photographer
Craig Wagner originally started as a Photography Assistant at Studio 3 many years ago. For Craig the photograph that inspired him the most at the beginning of his career was Omega by Shedrick Williames (above, from Craig’s personal collection). After hearing a talk by Williames in his college class, Craig sought him out to apprentice for him. Williams (or “Shad” as he was known to friends) took young Craig under his wing and taught him high standards for black-and-white photography and his exacting methods for quality prints.
Craig says, “I still enjoy this image of his, the sense of isolation: a new beginning for Man. I feel that even today the statement he may have been making is still current.”
Craig’s photography exhibits a depth of tonal ranges, bright colors, and stellar lighting. He is known for large product, vehicle, beverage, and indoor/outdoor photography.
Vehicle photography by Craig Wagner.
David Bell, Photographer
Photographer David Bell has been with Studio 3 for over 10 years, and cites Bert Stern and his great pyramid shot for a Smirnoff ad as his inspiration. Shot on location and the pyramid reversed in the martini glass, all of his work at that time was very inspiring to the young photographer and provided a window into the world of advertising photography. The original bad boy photographer, Stern’s images redefined art and fashion in the 1950’s and 60’s. David was particularly drawn to the bold and graphic nature of this shot, one that changed the advertising world in its simplicity.
David says about this photo: “The light. Waiting for the right light. Beautiful.”
David Bell is known for his dedication to creating delectable food and beverage images and makes each item pop with his expert lighting. He specializes in product, food, drink, and vehicle photography.
Food photography by David Bell.
Lifestyle Photography – Skateboarder in Empty Pool
When choosing your lifestyle photography to show your products or services in action, we know you have many choices. But the world of commercial photography can be a desolate one when you’re looking for images that pack a punch and tell an arresting story. Studio 3, Inc. has ridden out the years by providing photos that, time and again, capture the viewer’s attention and draw you in to the action. You should choose Studio 3 to produce your visuals because WE make a statement with our imagery.
When it comes to lifestyle photography that captures the action as it happens, we pride ourselves on being urban archaeologists, selecting the best angle and composition to tell the story in the most pleasing manner. For this shoot Studio 3 co-founder Jim Felt traveled on location to the Salton Sea State Recreation Area in order to capture the “Mad Max” desolation and emotional poignancy to a once-thriving resort destination. In 1905 the Salton Sea was accidentally created when as engineering company cut a channel into the Colorado River that overflowed into the dry Salton Basin, filling it with fresh water that mixed with the salt beds. This created the largest lake in California: an inland lake saltier than the Pacific Ocean, around which a resort area sprung up in the 1950’s. For awhile the area was a tourist attraction, but as agricultural runoff and pesticides flowed into the sea, the water became too hostile to support any kind of life, areas of the surrounding towns flooded, and people abandoned the area. The goal for this shoot was to tell this story in a single image, and a lone kid skateboarding in one of the empty pools at the abandoned resort encompassed this perfectly. Jim set up for the best angle for lighting and composition, and had the child play as he snapped shots and adjusted the camera settings to create an otherworldly feel.
The intention was to impart the visual grittiness into actual noise in-camera, create a harsh contrast, and highlight the whole history of the Salton Sea in this single shot. How do you feel as you look at this photo?
Whatever your unique situation, Studio 3 can capture it in an instant to make that statement. We add the unexpected, we make it arresting, emotional, and fun. Call us at 503.238.1748 to see.
Lifestyle Photography – Darth Vader Ride
No matter what we do, if it involves visual imagery, WE love it. We just do. Studio 3 excels at answering any brief, any client need with rockstar photo and video that delights and amuses. We guarantee that you’ll love it too.
Shot by Studio 3 co-founder Jim Felt, this lifestyle photography shoot aimed to capture the giddy fun of an amusement park at dusk, with a dose of complete silliness. Produced on-location at Oaks Amusement Park in Portland, OR, it was an project that posed a number of technical challenges. Jim strove to specifically showcase the motion and movement of the carousel ride in-camera, without relying on any digital techniques. The car carousel ride was scouted to play up the “Star Wars” theme and create “a warp drive-ish effect” with motion and lighting. Jim utilized his expertise in motion photography to pan with the people riding the carousel, simultaneously shooting on a low shutter speed with a strobe on a low setting to light his foreground subjects. In this way he was still able to retain the brightness of the carousel lights and the vivid colorization in the frame without losing anything to washing out. Jim notes, “I love the nuttiness that it represents – almost like early Star Wars before everything was digital!”
The image that resulted was not Photoshopped or retouched in any way; it was, in Jim’s words, “100% pure photography. WHY? Because it’s great FUN!” His love of photography and the fun of the craft is embodied in every photo he takes – as is every project done at Studio 3 by our experts. You’ll see our love of images shine when you drop us a line to produce yours.
Lifestyle Photography – Ceramics Studio
Whether Studio 3 is on set or on-location, WE keep it fun. We take a concept or a creative brief, mold it, knead it, and shape it into a finished, eye-catching image. Every job we shoot is unique – much like hand-crafted pottery from an artisan’s studio.
For this lifestyle photography shoot on-location in a working ceramics studio, Photographer Henry Ngan utilized a combination of natural lighting augmented with a key light to bring out certain textures and details. The artisan’s deft hands as she shaped the raw ball of clay; wet spatters on the moving pottery wheel; the well-used instruments and tools of her trade…all were captured to tell a compelling story of her passion. As we do with all our clients, our Team created a rapport with the artist and made her feel at ease, creating a naturalness to the photos. “What I like about these [lifestyle] shoots,” said Henry, “is you always learn about whole new industries you’ve never dealt with before…I ended up learning so much from the artist about how a piece of pottery is made.” The piece above actually became a beautiful flower vase when dried and glazed!
Henry and the rest of our Photographers, Producers, Directors, and Digital Artists approach each job like a blank canvas or an unrefined hunk of clay…and have fun creating the masterpiece. Through precise lighting, the perfect angle, the best lens, the most fitting prop, and exact styling, the Studio 3 team are masters at creating photos and videos that capture your spirit of playfulness. Drop us a line to see how fun a shoot with us can be. Put your project in our hands and let us capture your one-of-a-kind story.
Product Photography – Garden Party Tabletop
Sometimes a photo shoot can be intimidating: it involves many moving parts and numerous details to coordinate. The Producers here at Studio 3 take care of everything involving the shoot, so you don’t ever have to worry about the coordination, prop shopping, set styling, model casting, direction, lighting, or post-production. We don’t just put it together, WE Produce It flawlessly so your product takes center stage.
For this Garden Party photo shoot, Producer Liz Swales pulled together all of the serving ware and styled it using her years of prop styling experience to create the perfect outdoor brunch setting. Focusing on bright yellows and blues to illustrate a Summer backyard get-together with the girls, she featured West Elm’s chic Gold Flatware, Textured Salad Plates, and Pad Printed Bowls as the main dinnerware on display. She styled the table with glasses and drinkware from World Market, as well as with numerous items from the extensive Studio 3 prop closet. Miss Liz’s expertise knows how to place each beautiful prop in the perfect location in order to keep the viewer’s eye moving throughout the photo to highlight the product being shot. It’s the placement and styling of each piece in the image that entices the viewer with a lifestyle they will want to buy – translating into direct sales of your product.
The tabletop set was lit expertly by photographer Craig Wagner to simulate bright morning light and make the juicy colors pop. By entrusting Studio 3 with your visual stories, you’ll find that it’s easier and less stressful than you ever imagined to produce a successful shoot from start to finish.
Want to see what we can produce for YOU? Reach out to our team in Portland at 503.238.1748 or in Seattle at 206.282.0939 today to get your product photography produced to a T.
That salad looked so good we couldn’t resist! Stop by for lunch with us anytime.
Lifestyle Photography – Floral Arrangement with Mouse
Working with Studio 3 is a unique and creative experience. Why? Because we don’t just make it look easy, we make it look good, whether your project is large or small, we pay attention to all the details.
Shot by Photographer David Bell, this lifestyle photography shoot added an element of playfulness rather than just sticking with a standard formula. The creative direction was to capture a tabletop arrangement in the style of the old Dutch Masters of still life painting during the Dutch Golden Age – and David’s techniques with lighting, contrast, styling, and framing brought the concept to life. The scattering of the flower petals and the broken pomegranates were arranged with an eye to their disheveled artfulness. By adding a live mouse (accompanied by a binder-ful of signed releases from the pet store!) he added a facet of fun and frivolity to an image that could have just been a beautiful shot of a simple floral arrangement.
Studio 3 goes the extra mile to bring that playfulness – not only within each shot, but also to our production style on-set. There’s a ton of laughter, the clink of dishware hosting delicious food for our clients, excellent jams on the playlist, and a relaxed Studio vibe that still gets the job done – and knocks it out of the park. We’re not ones to shy away from anything – even mouse-wrangling a rodent with stage fright – and will bring that FUN to every stage of the production.
We have what it takes: Give us a ring and capture the image you’re looking for on your next photography, video, or premedia project.
Lifestyle Photography – Urban Runner
No matter the shoot, no matter the location, no matter the challenges…WE Make It Happen.
An on-location lifestyle photography shoot is no small feat, but photographer Jonny Brandt and the Studio 3 Team accomplished this one through careful pre-production, efficient scouting, and expert planning to coordinate an urban shoot with a runner on his morning jog.
But it’s so much more than simply shooting someone in athletic apparel and trainers running through the city.
The monochromatic industrial SE Portland location was chosen to offset the hi-visibility performance apparel and shoes, creating a stark contrast for the bright running gear. The traffic in motion on the highway underscored the runner in motion. The shoot was coordinated on a cloudy day in order to flatten out the tones of cement and make the runner pop out, with no extra lighting involved. With a tight timeframe and a quick turnaround, our Team executed photography that stands out from the crowd and crafts the person in action as the highlight of each shot.
Casting, location scouting, stylist, wardrobe prep…we can make your life easier in the process. A shoot like this didn’t just happen by chance. Go ahead, be brave: Contact us. There’s a reason we have kept our clients.