What colors are consumers loving this month? Season? Year?

What does this mean for you? How can we help?

The most exciting part of the rainbow world in which we work is getting to put our skills to good use. Our commitment to client satisfaction and beautiful photography is unmatched in our field. From styling – to shooting – to retouching – to bragging about our clients – we love keeping life colorful. DO HUE?
 
 

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During the holiday season we understand you would rather be at home with a book and warm cup of Stash Tea, so we have done what we can to bring the cozy here.
Cue the elves (aka Studio 3, Inc.’s production team,) sit back, relax, and let us make your photographic dreams come true.

We have decked the halls, strung the ornaments, and lit the client area with holiday cheer.
The Studio 3 Inc. creative team not only does whatever it takes to make your project a success, we do it while feeding you cookies and telling you jokes.
…We have even been known to have Fashion Santa drop by every now and then (We know him!)

Our studio is equipped with ample snacks, coffee as strong as our wifi connection, tea, any magazine you could dream of, and a crazy amount of crayons for the kid in you.
There are multiple conference rooms available for those times when you just need to be alone. Client meeting, business call, or impromptu dance party; We’ve got you covered.

We pride ourselves in providing a comprehensive client experience. Not only can you expect top of the line photography but also a welcoming work environment, great food, and even better company.
Drop us a line, let’s talk photography! We’re here 24 hours a day, it feels like, but let’s say 9-5. We can’t wait to work with you.
Happy Holidays!!

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“Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.”
― Mark Twain

The million dollar question: What sets us apart from all of the other photography studios in the PNW? Well, quite a few things. But it’s hard to talk about them all in 500 words, so I am going to focus on our in-house digital department.
Not only are our digital artists pixel-perfect, they have the ability to turn photos around faster than I can type this sentence. No, we’re not a marketing agency, but we love working with them. We are photography pioneers. We look past the norm and find answers to questions you have yet to ask. How? Magic. Or Intuition, as they call it nowadays.

Our award-winning photographers work closely with clients and the digital artists who render our images flawless. Communication is our biggest secret for success.

“Without each other, the quality standards we achieve here would not be possible.” -Craig Wagner, Photographer

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“Having an in-house [digital department] allows me to have face-to-face conversation before, during, and after a shoot. Whether we’re discussing how we should approach a job, or what my intention was in how I shot it, I have the asset of having a digital team that feels like an extension of myself.”
–Craig Wagner, Photographer

Our digital team not only makes photos look better in post, they help the photographers shoot more efficiently. It’s photography plus.

“I have the opportunity to talk directly with clients, nipping problems in the bud, saving everyone time and money. We remove a step for the client without compromising the photos.” –Michelle Smith, Lead Digital Artist

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Working with a vast array of clients, we have shot some behemoths over the years; trains, planes, and automobiles to name a few. That’s a lot of surface area to make drop-dead gorgeous, which is why we keep stylists on the ready to spot check, scrub out smudges, and make sure each vehicle’s best side is showing. But we don’t have favorites. Whether it be a fleet for Freightliner, or a detailed shot of a Leatherman tool, each job gets the same level of attentiveness and digital mastery.

“It all breaks down to textures and tones. Fifteen minutes of proper styling and lighting prep during a shoot can save an hour of digital retouching.” –Michelle Smith

So what’s next? We are dreaming up bigger and better ways to make you look fabulous. Stay tuned, we’re 40 years young and constantly evolving.
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“Our top boss, Liz Swales! She oversees and schedules the organized chaos and somehow (probably magic) is able to orchestrate the entire production seamlessly.”

What is one difficulty in your current role that you did not expect?
“I have an eye for design and how things should be placed and layered, so when I was told I would be doing a lot of propping and styling, I thought, cool this will be fun and easy! But it’s not. Propping for the camera is completely different than interior propping. Things look like they are touching when they aren’t, colors don’t look good together, and balance can sometimes be hard to accomplish. Oh, and prop shopping is whole different kind of shopping. Let’s just say get 5-6 options of each item that you think you will need. Over shop, because you never know what the perfect item will be for the perfect image.”
What Studio 3, Inc. Image are you the most proud of this year?
“The top-down drink photography shot of GT’s Kombucha that I made with [Photographer] David Bell. Its something I would see in a magazine and think, “That’s beautiful.”

What is your favorite problem-solving tool?
“There’s a lot to be said for just a note pad and pen. I write things out, make diagrams. Before I do estimates I draw out how the job would go to make sure it makes sense or see if there is another way that would be better.”
How do you unwind?
“At the beginning of this year I realized I work a lot. At all hours of the day and night. All I was doing was working.
Don’t get me wrong, I love my work, but I needed to catch up on all the movies and TV shows my friends were watching. Just kidding, but I decided to make a change.
So at the beginning of the year I started doing yoga and Nia. It relieves stress and provides a physical break in my day. I go every day after work and afterwards I do not work any more. ”

What do you predict will be the biggest change in photography over the next 10 years?
“Virtual reality. People will want to interact with a product virtually before buying it. I think it will become a role within the studio, like our in-house digital team.”
Evolving with the photography, videography, and retouching business over the past 40 years we have picked up a few tricks. Possessing studios in Seattle, WA and Portland, OR, our ability to meet the needs of our clientele is second to none, especially when you factor in our in-house digital team, producers, stylists and assistants at the ready. We take care of it all, so you can kick back, relax, and watch as we make your creative ambitions come to life.
 

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“Hold a Danner boot in your hand and you’ll notice the hand crafted precision. Try it on and you’ll feel the difference. Test it against the elements and you’ll appreciate the value of a product that is built to last.”   -Danner, Since 1932

However, when your marketing luxury like Jimmy Choo, the environment changes with the contrasting brand identity.

“A 21^st Century Luxury Accessories Brand, with shoes at its heart, offering an empowered sense of glamour and a playfully daring Spirit.”   – Jimmy Choo

4.   Your Appearance; Organic vs. Styled

Are you showing a process or presenting it’s end result? As brands and agencies move towards targeting the holistic customer, we see the shift manifest in an increase of lifestyle photography… And that’s in addition to the perfect product shot, 360-degree spin, and detail so good you can almost feel it. It’s a comprehensive marketing approach. You are your brand, and we are your people for all things photography, videography, and retouching.

5.   Your Quality; iPhone vs. Professional Photographer
If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional, just wait until you hire an amateur… said a brilliant person. After meeting with a client, and doing a little research on their product, we stumbled upon this brilliant blog post that couldn’t say it any better.

“It’s amazing how big of a difference having really nice pictures of your space can make. A few months ago I ran an informal experiment (as research for another project) where I listed my apartment for rent on craigslist. They were both the same price, in the same area. One listing had really nice pictures taken with a high quality dslr and wide angel lens and the other had badly lit pictures taken with my iPhone. The listing with the nice pictures got 10x the emails.”   – Jon Wheatley of Need/Want

Maybe it’s obvious, but maybe not. In today’s digital age everyone has a camera in their pocket, and iPhone 7s are promoted as so good they can be used for magazine covers and advertising (We won’t name names). We are bombarded with mediocre images… like this production still that I took versus Craig Wagner’s beautiful image masterfully finished by digital artist Michelle Smith. See the difference?
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Regardless of the project or scope, Studio 3, Inc. works with our clients, building relationships and crafting the perfect image for their brand. If you have yet to work with us, what are you waiting for? Drop us a line, let’s put our heads together to create something beautiful.

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What Warm Sunny Lighting?

• Apply heavy warming gels on the lights
• Overexpose the lighting on the backdrop by a couple stops while still holding detail in the highlights
• For the key light: Set up a strobe head with a large reflector (16″-21″) and soften by placing some Diffusion over it
• Bring up the fill light to show detail in the deeper shadows
• Control the amount of lens flare using a soft silver card placed just out of frame and hit with a diffused light, bouncing it back into the lens
• Hire Craig!

Producer: Liz Swales
Prop Styling: Liz Swales
Photographer: Craig Wagner
Photography Assistant: Jonny Brandt
Digital Artist: Alex Gumina
Camera: Hasselblad H4D, 80 mm lens
Lighting: Black Line Speedotron strobes
If you want to differentiate yourself and your clients check out more of our photography and see our advanced lighting techniques in action. Take a gander at our Portfolio (and see if you can spot where our lights were placed!)
And if you’re following us on Twitter, you’ll see much more of our lifestyle photography, product shoots, inspiration, and tips on professional lighting and photography. Check out Studio 3 on Twitter for the lowdown!
 

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Prop Styling Behind the Scenes

Henry bought toy grenades for the shoot, and had to disassemble the parts to imprint each carefully into the chosen background powder. The team carefully addressed the placement of the grenades, first trying out a full-scale pattern (which looked too busy), and then settling on one where the glove would appear to be “holding” a single grenade. Other imprints were made selectively in the powder order to balance out the initial top-heavy feel.
The gloves appeared too flat in the first test shots; in order to give them body and allow the fingers to be bent the team created an internal wire structure all the way into the fingertips. Henry wanted the feel of hard light in the image so the scene was lit by a single Fresnel key light and incorporating mirrors and bounce cards to enhance and fill the scene. In post-processing, our Digital Artist Ciaran Green removed stray fibers and increased the contrast in areas that appeared too blown-out under the hard lighting. With a little tweaking, the image turned into what you see above: a beautiful color pop of green and orange, with saturated blacks. All in all, it was a fun couple-day shoot for the team, resulting in art and photography merging on a bed of green.

Poll: Identify that Prop Styling Material!

**Poll is now CLOSED**

Find out the answer on Twitter!

And if you’re not following us there yet – go ahead and sign up; we don’t bite. And we won’t lob grenades at you. We just showcase amazing, inspiring photography that you’ll definitely want to see.
Go ahead – take a peek.
 

The post Product Photography Shoot – Grenade Gloves appeared first on Studio 3, Inc.®.

When Studio 3 Lead Photographer, Craig Wagner, was asked to shoot this product – he was excited to the moon and back. Keep in mind, this ad was done in the early ’80s during the pre-digital days.

“We worked with Wieden & Kennedy quite a bit when they first started out. It was great to collaborate again on this project and compile an image together before the era of digital technology. Wieden & Kennedy provided the idea and the stock image of NASAs Columbia Space Shuttle. I shot this on a Sinar 4×5. This was actually my first time taking an image and lighting the product to match.”

Taking a flight back in time with this ad shows that our capabilities and imagination are beyond the world of digital art and computer technology. A little bit of old fashion simplicity and creativity, in this day in age and in the future, can still do the trick. Call us to find out how we can provide you with a stellar production.
 
 

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