Studio 3 Inc, Author at Studio 3, Inc.

Chatting with Studio 3 Co-Founder, Jim Felt

Posted on October 25, 2016

Studio 3 has was established in 1978 by three high school buddies. We sat down with one of the founding members, Jim Felt, to learn a little more about his lengthy career in photography.

How long have you been a photographer?
I got my first camera in 8th grade but it didn’t occur to me then I would become a photographer and remain a photographer.

skater empty pool — Studio 3, Inc.

What was the biggest “uh oh” moment you can recall having on a set?
We forgot our light meter for a shoot in Oklahoma City. The shoot was during a sunset and we needed that light meter. We called every shop in town and of course nobody had anything for us to use. So I went ahead took the photo without a light meter and it turned out perfect anyway. The client never knew.

pilot sunset — Studio 3, Inc.

What was the most innovative “MacGyver moment” you’ve had on set?
I was at the Redstone Arsenal in Alabama getting ready to shoot a space shuttle. The shuttle flew in on a 747 and we were there to do a mid-operation shoot. The problem was, how was I going to light this thing? I realized that this military base was full of firemen, so I walked up to them and asked them, “Hey, can we use your spotlights to light up this space shuttle?” They agreed and we got the firemen to use the spotlights on their trucks to light up the shuttle.

spaceshuttle 747 — Studio 3, Inc.

What was the craziest thing you caught on camera that wasn’t for a shoot?
It was 1968 and rioting over the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr had begun in the Lloyd Center area of Portland. My buddy and I were cruising around and pulled up to the completely empty parking lot of the Lloyd Center Mall. Armed with our Nikons, we approached the mall and it looked abandoned, except for the cop cars that were parked inside of the mall. We proceeded to walk around taking photos of this creepy, empty mall when finally we hear a voice, “What the hell do you think you are doing here?” It was the police, with their guns. They were telling us to leave and even tried to take our film. We had cameras and they had tommy guns.

jim portrait — Studio 3, Inc.

There have been some unbelievable moments that I’ve captured over the course of my photography career (some planned, some un-planned) and I wouldn’t trade my experience for any other profession in the world. It’s been exciting to watch Studio 3 grow through the “film-days”, into digital, and I can’t wait to see what happens next as we move into virtual/ augmented reality!

Virtual Reality Check with Google Cardboard

Posted on October 17, 2016

Virtual Reality! The future! It’s finally here!
Google Cardboard — Studio 3, Inc.

After decades of empty SciFi promises, the age of virtual reality has finally arrived, in the form of cardboard. Google Cardboard is an at-home virtual reality platform that requires nothing more than your smart phone in order to use it. This low-cost fun machine had been on our minds for quite some time, so we decided to ship a few viewers to both the Portland and Seattle studios.

dscn5852 — Studio 3, Inc. So being the fun, inspirational studio that we are, we’re always up for something new and thought it would just be criminal if we didn’t capture the reactions of our employees playing around with VR for the first time. So, we set up our cameras and recorded people as they watched and explored the age of new media.

We’ll be posting even more reactions and reviews from our employees this week on our Facebook and Instagram pages, so check them out. The possibilities of virtual reality are just now being explored, and we intend on following its evolution intensely. Swing by one of our studios to try Virtual Reality for yourself.

googlevr 066 — Studio 3, Inc.

Stop, Prop and Roll!

Posted on October 10, 2016

How’d you make it look so GOOD? Well, my dears, it takes quite a bit of searching to find just the right prop. Ask our producers and stylists, they’ve got TONS of hilarious stories about finding the perfect prop for the job!

Everything including the kitchen sink.

Stepping into our prop library, you’ll see that we have multiple racks with bins filled with fabric, sport helmets, fruit, tech supplies, mortars and pestles, and pretty much any object you can fathom. We keep it so organized, Martha Stewart would cry with pride.

Oh haiiiii, welcome to the prop — Studio 3, Inc.

Oh haiiiii, welcome to the prop library =^.^=

We keep a hefty inventory of household items on hand to recreate life-like sets. Cups, picture frames, hand towels; we’ve got all the odds-and-ends to spruce up a set. Of course we have a plethora of other homestyle necessities too: luggage, bird cages, mannequins and a gas mask.

No prop library is complete without a gas mask.

The prop library in our Seattle studio even has a fully functional shop attached to it, for when we need to build things for a shoot. What kind of things do we build for shoots? Kitchens, bathrooms, tables, even this beautifully lush “front yard.”

You can almost smell the fresh cut grass.

Need fruit, flowers, pie, towels, perhaps a stethoscope? We’ve got it! All sorts of items are constantly being added to our prop library and we are happy to add more to meet your needs. Give us a call and let’s get started on your photoshoot today.

Spirit Week in the Studio

Posted on September 26, 2016

Ready? OKAY!

In the Studio with Dehen — Studio 3, Inc.

Our PDX location had its very own Spirit Week as Dehen Cheer paid us a visit. Dehen manufactures custom cheer and dance uniforms. Thusly our spacious, new northeast studio was overtaken by color, hairspray, pom poms and tons of pep!

Maekup time in Studio Dehen — Studio 3, Inc.

Glamourous photoshoots require glamourous setups. There was no shortage of makeup on hand. Our studio has lots natural light to get the models camera ready.

Dehen Studio homework — Studio 3, Inc.

Being a high schooler on the set doesn’t mean getting the day off. These young women were hard at work in between shots. We asked what their favorite part of being in the studio was:
“There are so many good snacks!”
“Getting to know others teams outside of the competition.”
“I can nap on the couch until it’s my turn to be in front of the camera!”

Emerson showing off her patented “Cheer-Rex” pose.

We love working with kids! Emerson, the youngest person at the photoshoot, had a lot to say regarding her first modeling gig: “It is exciting. I like when they did my hair. Everyone is kind here and it is fun” adding, “I hope to get into karate next year.”

Big, grand productions are a specialty of ours at both the Portland and Seattle locations! We are more than a photo studio; let us handle the model releases, food, and all other behind-the-scenes needs. Give us a call and take over our studio.

Packaging & Shelf-Appeal

Posted on September 20, 2016

package imagery: getting your product dressed for success

Girvin Chips — Studio 3, Inc.

Look at the picture of chips above. Clean, enticing, inviting. Seeing that image on a bag of chips would immediately draw a person in, which is a sign of effective, marketable packaging. Having quality packaging is just as important as the product itself: the packaging is sort of like the product’s fashion statement. Think of it as properly dressing the product you are trying to sell. You wouldn’t send yourself on a job interview dressed in a potato sack and expect positive results. You’d dress sharp and do everything in your power to make a good first impression. The exact same logic can be applied to a product and how it is displayed on its packaging.

9685 — Studio 3, Inc.

Packaging photography is something we’ve perfected here at Studio 3. We know that packaging can catch a consumer’s eye, giving them that crucial first impression of the product. This moment of visual impact is called “shelf-appeal” and it is attained using imagery that promotes the usability, importance and attractiveness of the product.

db 9957 sqi pr copy — Studio 3, Inc.

A perfect example of a company that utilizes the power of packaging is our long-time client, Costco. Visit any Costco store and you will be met with aisle upon aisle of visual feasting and mass appeal. It just so happens that our primary request from Costco is for packaging work. Why do they prefer us to handle this task? Because at Studio 3, we place a focus on appealing and strategic product photography. We are able to meet the demands of an ever evolving and highly competitive marketplace. Ultimately, the client’s end goal–directly enhancing the sale of the product–is a goal and vision we share together.

Packaging Shelf Appeal — Studio 3, Inc.

Getting the perfect image for packaging involves much more than snapping a pretty picture of the product. The image has to highlight the product! This calls for props, sets, and even more props! For example, getting ready for a shoot can require a whole day of prop shopping and set construction. Each set requires many small and large details that are crucial to making the featured product stand out. Any given set could need flowers, chairs, cabinets, lights, food, candles, towels, etc.; all to help achieve the client’s end goal, shelf-appeal.

We weren’t kidding about the props.

There’s an entire artform behind enhancing a product’s shelf-appeal. We pride ourselves in our expert packaging photography and would love to help your product stand out. Give us a call and let’s chat about getting your product looking good.

Post-Production, Robot-Construction

Posted on September 5, 2016

Android mannequins?! In high fashion? Heck yes we’re on board.

One of our favorite Portland agencies, Frank Creative, contacted us with a wild and ambitious digital art project. When Frank reaches out, it’s a sure bet that an over-the-top project is headed our way. We love how they challenge us, in fact, we find it invigorating. Bring it on.

Frank approached us with images featuring fashionable robots, along with their sizable vision. The goal of this project was to do such seamless post-production work that anyone looking at these images would be unable to detect which parts were photographed and which were digitally crafted. Production meetings were a must in order to nail down the details of each image and push them further to perfection.

Rapha Vest before and after post production — Studio 3, Inc.

Fun fact: in the coveted Tour of Italy, pink is the color of victory; hence the pink stripe seen on the vest.

The key to making the robots look more mechanical was allowing the background to come through the figure, as in the cyclist’s left elbow (seen above). An added challenge with the Brevet Insulated Gilet from Rapha® photo was having to separate the bicycle from the image, so we could retouch the figure easily. This required creating a path around the bike to make a clean-edged knockout.

With the DragonWear™ Elements™ Flak Jacket image, we had to be extra careful while re-shaping the figure, because the lines in the background needed to remain straight. If we weren’t careful, the straight lines in the background would become bent with our distortion of the figure. Also with this image, we had to a perform a high level of wrinkle reduction and smoothing, all to be done without ruining the integrity or fit of the jacket.

The Lone Peak NeoShell® 3.0 Mid from Altra® image required extra attention to the background. Frank wanted it to look less urban, so we used some photoshop trickery to remove the buildings. Also being exemplified in this photo is the most difficult post-production request we had: creating segmented digits on the hands. It took a lot of time and patience to do things like placing the knuckles correctly, forming the correct shape, all while ensuring that the voids were consistent within the image itself and the series of images.

Robot army or no robot army, we enjoy pushing ourselves to create fantastic, unbelievable-yet-believable images. Do you have a project that needs to be brought to life? We can handle it.

The specially designed robotic mannequins in these images were a part of this year’s Polartec’s APEX Awards; an award dedicated to recognizing brands and designers that best utilize Portlatec’s latest fabric technologies. The robotic images and scenes were all photographed by Chris Hornbecker.

How to Create a Serene Scene

Posted on August 29, 2016

(hint: it’s a lot of hard work)

Pure calm and relaxation. A peaceful soak in a Marquis Spa looking out into a quaint, zen-filled yard. Surely this shoot was as easy as it is on the eyes, yes? Well, no. Photographing a hot tub takes a lot more time, manpower, props, people and creativity than one could imagine. Let’s take a look at what it takes to really create this breathtaking picture.

Getting the hot tub into the studio requires forklifts and patience. Then we have to set up the background, fill the tub with gallons of water, place the props and book the models. It takes days of physical preparation before we can even take our first photo. All this intensive planning would become overwhelming for most people, but luckily we have secret advantage…

Our top boss, Liz Swales! She oversees and schedules the organized chaos and somehow (probably magic) is able to orchestrate the entire production seamlessly.

The client had provided us with a stock image to be used in conjunction with our studio photo; so even with the product and props perfectly set, we faced the deceptively tricky task of matching our lighting to that of the stock photo. That is where our lighting master, Senior Photographer Craig Wagner, flexed his expertise. Craig intensely studied the light direction of the stock photograph, noting its color temperature and level of diffusion, and was able to capture the lighting perfectly during our studio shoot.

With the shoot finished, it was time for some intense post production work. Merging two photos from different shoots is a delicate process that requires extreme attention to detail. To make the scene look believable, our Digital Artist extraordinaire Carl Beery was in charge of retouching and adjusting the images. In order to create the perfect image, he had to extend the flooring, add a few shadows, remove distracting elements, recover some detail and color in the stock image, and match the white and black points of the studio shot and the composite. Phew! That’s a lot of work.

The end result? That calming, dreamstate photo you saw at the very top of this blog. Meet the production pros who teamed up to create this image and then get in touch with us. With locations in both Seattle and Portland, we can make your production photography needs come true.

The picturesque scene in this post features a very special model of hot tub called “The Wish.” Marquis Spas makes a donation to the Make-A-Wish-Foundation for each one these models sold. Marquis Spas has worked with the foundation for 17 years and has donated their hot tubs, money and time to this incredibly important organization.

Same Friendly Faces, Great New Location

Posted on August 22, 2016

We’ve had a busy week here in the Studio 3 Portland branch. As is the norm in PDX, we’ve moved! Yes, after 40 years in the same location we decided it was time to shake things up a bit.

Ahh look at that open space! After months of waiting, we have finally moved into the heart of the bustling Kerns neighborhood in Northeast Portland. Creative, fun, vibes are inevitable here as our new location is surrounded by theaters, restaurants, parks, art galleries, few urban farms and our neighbors, Kamp Grizzly.

We loved our time in the Southeast, and we take with us the many years of memories. Memories that we sorted and packed into hundreds of boxes. Boxes that have now formed rising towers, reflecting our decades of innovative commercial photography.

A little change of scenery has proven invigorating. We are buzzing with new ideas and our studio is ready to handle whatever project your brand may have. We are all settled in, so now is the time to swing by either Portland or Seattle location, grab a cup of coffee and let’s chat about your photography needs.

The Sweet Change Of Seasons!!

Posted on February 4, 2014

darkwood4 — Studio 3, Inc.

In the change of seasons, we at Studio 3 like to capture the highlights of what each period has to offer. Here, we’ve highlighted the rustic winter feel with its bright beautiful contributions. Senior Shooter David Bell goes in depth about his inspiration behind the shoot:

“This is one of a series of 4 shots. The harvest season was coming to an end, winter was starting to set in. I wanted to show the beauty and pretty color of the season. The dark wood and lighting with longer shadows is indicative of winter. The sun is low and we have shortened days with more darkness. Within this is the pop of colors of the season. I am always so happy to see the Satsumas return to the market. They are so bright, sweet and refreshing. The bright green leaves contrasting against the bright orange is always a treat. The rich red color of local Tart Cranberries along with sweet earthy brown Chestnuts make for delicious feast to the taste and eyes.

Pretty dappled lighting created in studio with strobe light captured with a Hasselblad camera with a longer lens to compress the elements. Bringing all of this together.”

– David Bell

Below, are the rest of the series. These gorgeous shots embody everything David spoke of. What a great way to bring bold and beautiful color to a dark and cold season. The pop of color helps us prepare for what the upcoming seasons will bring! While we wait for the sunshine, it’s warmth, gardens of colorful flowers and bold greenery to make it’s comeback; we can thank David for reminding us to skip the hot chocolate and slices of pie every once in a while, and enjoy the sweet delicacies that nature has to offer during the winter season.

darkwood1 — Studio 3, Inc. darkwood3 — Studio 3, Inc. darkwood2 — Studio 3, Inc.

Happy sweet change of seasons!!!

The Colorway Explained

Posted on January 28, 2014

Our digital art department is well-versed in colorways. In recent months, we have completed up to over 1,000 colorways, and that’s just for one client! These colorways, are always accurate due to our in house proofing system, as well as our department’s expertise on matching color. Since this has become an essential need for our current clients, we thought we would share with you exactly how we go about changing color for catalogs, packaging, etc. Digital lead Alex Gumina gives you the dish on how he approaches these specific jobs.

When I approach any digital project I always ask myself three questions. “What needs to be done?”, “How much time are we working with?” and “What is the most efficient way to get from A to B?”. Once the first two questions are answered, I move on to developing my approach. Like most things, when it comes to something like changing the color of a product there are many ways to go about it. This particular shoe project was massive (reference below image), so we needed something that would get the job done, and also be interchangeable between our team of Digital Artists. With these things in mind we developed a two layer per color method. What this means is that for each color that needed to be changed, we used two layers in our photoshop document to adjust that color. If there were five colors that meant ten layers.

Once we got the color down, we were able to go back in and adjust things per the client. If we needed more highlights or more shadows we were able to go back in and add those on without disturbing the quality of the color. Or, if the color was slightly off, we were able to shift it into place with minimal effort. It was almost like a digital assembly line for touch up and color work. Given the scope of the project and our air tight deadline this was extremely invaluable.

To Check Out More of our Colorways, visit our Pre-Media section.

And to have the best catalog ever, give us a call, we would be happy to come up with a plan of action!

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Studio 3, Inc.

Studio 3 Inc

Chatting with Studio 3 Co-Founder, Jim Felt

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Virtual Reality Check with Google Cardboard

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Stop, Prop and Roll!

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Spirit Week in the Studio

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Packaging & Shelf-Appeal

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Post-Production, Robot-Construction

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How to Create a Serene Scene

(hint: it’s a lot of hard work)

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Same Friendly Faces, Great New Location

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The Sweet Change Of Seasons!!

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The Colorway Explained

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