Stuck in the creative process? Need a visual partner that really gets your brand and your customers? You can bring any brief to us, and we’ll collaborate with you to create the best imagery yet. You want to choose Studio 3, Inc. because no matter the idea, WE run with it.
One of our main areas of focus is footwear photography – and being located in the footwear capital of the U.S. is no accident. (Headquartered in Portland, Oregon we have Nike, Adidas, Columbia, and KEEN, just to name a few of the giants…not to mention Bogs, Skora, and On.) Studio 3 shoots all brands of footwear, big and little (and right and left), from rugged outdoor boots to sleek stiletto heels to high-performance sneakers. These Nike running sneakers, photographed by Matt Jebbia, were shot to showcase the product in action, creating in-camera motion blur to make the image lively and energetic. Do you feel how the Nikes energize the photo – and how your eye is instinctively drawn to them as a moth to a flame?
You can get your product photography done by just anyone, or you can get it shot by a company that lights your brand on fire. Call Studio 3, Inc. We’ll help you cross the finish line with our sizzling images.
Category: Photography
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.
Food Photography – Steak Dinner
You don’t want any photography studio to produce your images. You want someone who not only captures beautiful images, but who also makes YOU look good. Answers the brief, provides a solution, takes care of the details, and turns commercial photography into mouthwatering, jaw-dropping images. Studio 3, Inc. is the solution to any visual challenge – because we not only make images that look fantastic, WE make YOU look good to your clients and customers.
What could look better than a fresh-cooked, hot-from-the-oven dinner, plated and ready for consumption? Shot by David Bell, this photo was styled to elicit the VIP’s restaurant rustic steakhouse feel. David is a pro at dealing with the different temperatures of food and drink and photographing each at its most delicious. The steam coming off the baked potato is natural and was captured in-camera. The steak was cooked to perfection and juice added in artistic splashes by our Production Team. The ice cube in the drink was cast in a spherical mold with a spotlight on it to give it that extra sparkle and hint of cool, chilled deliciousness. The focus on creating Real and Fresh in the scene (rather than digitally altered in post-production) makes each element look natural – and utterly delectable.
Give your visuals the appetizing makeover they deserve. Call Studio 3, you’re always a VIP with us!
Portrait Photography – Business Skydiver
Entrusting your visuals to Studio 3 is forging a partnership with us where we plan and execute your project down to the smallest detail. We prepare for every possible contingency and never drop the ball. Every piece of the puzzle fits, because WE Check It multiple times before takeoff.
Just like this fun portrait shoot of an employee with an adrenaline-inducing hobby, Studio 3 takes care of every step, every prop, every piece of equipment, every model, every production logistic along the way. Skydivers check their life-saving gear religiously and pack the parachutes in the exact same way each time before the final jump, all in order to ensure perfect expansion once in the air. Studio 3 checks the shot list, scheduling, prop list, lighting, and equipment as many times as is necessary to ensure smooth execution. Once set up, on set we check the photo multiple times in-camera and on a larger screen to make sure every wrinkle, every line, every highlight, and every shadow is aesthetically pleasing and fits with the overall story. In this case, photographer Jonny Brandt worked with the model extensively to create just the right tangle of parachute cords and billows of fabric (which is quite difficult to do with a parachute that is meant to NEVER tangle!) and the exact angle of his arm checking his altimeter as if checking the time.
So what time is it? It’s time to call Studio 3, Inc. – and see how much effort we put into checking, and RE-checking, all aspects of your shoot to make sure it is smooth, stays on budget, and is executed on time. Check us out here.
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.
Digital Art – Stages Cycling Stationary Bike
Studio 3, Inc. is THE choice for photography, video, or digital work – because WE make it easy for everyone involved. There’s no guessing around here: we involve the client every step of the way and make the process truly collaborative. We make it easy for agencies, art directors, and brands to get exactly what they want – and consistently delight with what we produce.
Frank Creative always has brilliant idea that we love to run with – and in this case, cycle with. Stages Cycling was just about to launch an innovative new indoor cycling bike, and they partnered up with Frank to approach the Studio 3 Team. The brief was to create some cutting-edge indoor cycling bike shots by merging dark, moody cyclist shots with Iron Man-meets-TRON-inspired digital art backgrounds to explode that coolness factor of the Stages brand. The Digital Artists here first created some mockups of composites, and we made the client and agency welcome at the Portland studio to give feedback directly.
Studio 3 also took care of the casting call, and reached out to multiple cycling clubs and local bike stores to find the perfect athletes to fit the bill. Photographer Craig Wagner utilized his expertise in lighting and shooting to capture that dynamic image of the cyclists on the bikes, setting up Stages Cycling and the SC studio bikes series as the stars of the show. Digital Lead Alex Gumina worked closely with the Team in post-processing to produce a futuristic CGI background with both Frank Creative and Stages cycling in the studio giving feedback during live digital compositing sessions. The timeframe was a tight turnaround of a week – and by the end of the week the Team had knocked this one out of the park with multiple digital composites and indoor cycling bike detail shots for the updated Stages website. (Check them all out here.)
Tired of worrying about your creative projects, or figuring out a way to coordinate all those moving parts? Take a load off. Do it the EASY way – and call the Studio 3 Team. We’ll make it so easy to get mind-blowing visual assets done and in front of your audience, you’ll forget that you’re actually at work.
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.