Footwear Photography Archives

HOW DO YOU HUE? Three Ways Studio 3 Makes It Pop

Posted on July 30, 2018May 22, 2019 by Studio 3 Inc

When is the last time you were blown away by an image? Why was that? Perhaps you noticed a vivid background, strategically hued font, or impressively monochromatic scheme. You noticed color. Color impacts product integrity, branding, and consumer reactions.
A lot of components go into creating “the shot,” and Studio 3, Inc. handles them all from styling to post production. Our colorful team is here to make your visual dreams pop off the screen.
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1. On-Set Color Matching
Royal blue textured paper, the precise shade of orange gel, and Craig Wagner’s masterful lighting will get you out of any pickle. Our stylists and photographers address the details on set to ensure color is spot on from project start to finish.
Leatherman Color Up - Three Hues

2. Add a Little Retouching Magic
In addition to phenomenal photography – we have a top-of-the-line digital team equipped with the tools to save you time and money, making your technicolor dreams come true. They are our color wizards: flawlessly color matching, and coloring up your product photography.
Colorful Instagram triptic - Three Hues

3. Set Your Social Scene
It is important to be visible, impactful, and purposeful with social media posts so that potential clients can easily find what they might be looking for. Let us help you content create.
We like to use Instagram as a social portfolio. Our audience can then see that beyond our stellar images, we have an eye for style, beauty, and purpose. It’s important to keep content fresh, colorful, and trendy for your followers and future followers.
Phone Photography in varying Red Hues - Monochrome
Color psychology plays an important role in your marketing goals. Research has shown that color branding influences 90% of shopping decisions. That is a number opportunity we definitely would not want to miss.

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?

Show Don't Tell: How Commercial Photography Changes the Game

Posted on May 18, 2018May 22, 2019 by Studio 3 Inc

We have a mantra here at Studio 3 Inc: Beautiful Photography Sells Product.

Yes, stock photos are easy to get in today’s culture of immediacy.
Yes, it’s also easy to take your own photos due to the evolution of smartphone cameras. What’s not easy is making the decision to invest in advertising photography for your company. But let’s face it – you will absolutely use ALL those professional photos. Commercial photography – complete with a photography studio, lighting, styling, and retouching- legitimizes your business and propels your online exposure. Here’s why…
Nike Features
YOU GET AND KEEP THEIR ATTENTION: Did you know that posts with featured images are 120%-180% more visible online? That means simply having a photo available TRIPLES your clientele and sales. If you are trying to hook clients without photos, you’re doing it wrong. And if you’re trying to hook buyers with amateaur photos, again – you’re doing it wrong. You want your photos to reflect your kick-ass products, right? Well then it might be time to turn to a kick-ass studio – shameless plug.
We are all subject to the algorithm. Social media platforms measure how long visitors stay on a website, and if it’s less than a minute, your links drop to the bottom of the feed. Make sure you’re fostering customer relationships and enticing shoppers to click “add to cart.” Having stellar product photography drives sales up by 60%, and allowing shoppers to see a life sized image of the product – or at least zoomed in – again DOUBLES the purchase potential of the client. The more they know the more they buy. A great photography studio like Studio 3 can tell the story of your product from beginning to end.
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YOU’RE EDUCATIONAL: SHOW your clients, and then TELL them what they’re seeing. Process photos are all the rage. To be honest, it’s probably because reading is NOT all the rage. We don’t want to follow instructions, we want to follow a picture. We don’t want to read a menu, we want to see a picture of what could shortly be on steaming plates in front of us. Well give the people what they want! Create a video of your product in use or a photo menu for your restaurant with killer food photography. Photo stories allow people to envision themselves using your product, visiting your location, eating your food, or feeling the emotion of your models. Clients need the reassurance that you are supporting their need to understand the process. Seeing a product “in-action” solidifies client trust and increases purchase percentage. Building your customer’s confidence in their ability to utilize your product is a necessary step in brand evangelism. SHOW them it’s not too good to be true.
YOUR IMAGES ARE VARIED AND INTERESTING – YET CONSISTENT.
E-commerce and Instagram business accounts are looking more and more like twins these days. Have you noticed? Both are feeds of new products with a consistent tone, lighting, colors – Brand Identity. If a product image looks out of place in the feed, it stands out as a flaw. Clients view branding inconsistencies as a lack of quality and could lose trust in the website. ONE IN FOUR clients are lost because of brand inconsistency. Having consistent and quality branding practices make companies 20% more successful than companies who make their clients unsure or untrusting of their brand.
Danner What does this mean for you? In order to consistently provide impactful branding and quality content for your clients you must be consistent in the look of your products. Working with Studio 3 Inc means working with photographers and designers who are dedicated to your brand identity and consistency, ensuring that your products always look amazing. Because Beautiful Photography Sells Product – and Consistent Quality Builds a Brand Empire, my friends. It’s as simple as that.

Let's Unpack This: A Look Inside Studio 3's Location Lighting Kit

Posted on November 16, 2017May 22, 2019 by Studio 3 Inc

When shooting lifestyle or product photography on location in the Pacific Northwest you rarely know what you’re going to get. The rain gods in our home states of Oregon and Washington are prevalent and powerful. Deluge or mist, the Studio 3 team arrives on location prepared for anything.
How do we juggle variously lit environments, keep a tight timetable and budget, and still exceed our client expectations? Experience. We have perfected our method in the madness that is this glorious industry. Now, thanks to the Internet and the power of social media marketing, we are able to share some of that wisdom with you.

What does the Studio 3, Inc. team need to create beautiful photography on location, you ask?

Be it a location shoot for Danner Boots, ShedRain Umbrellas, Amazon, or Kaiser Permenante our fail-safe location lighting kit includes;

3 Canon Speedlites

Radio Slaves

3 Lighting Stands

3 ft. Soft box

Medium Umbrella

AA Batteries

CTB Gel

CTO Gel

Light Meter

PRO Bar

This minimalistic kit is best used for atmospheric, lifestyle, and commercial work.
“[This lighting kit] is best used in situations where your key light is the light already available. When working on location you’re supplementing available light with the strobes you bring with you. An important part of that is to match the color temperature of that available light—we do this using gels [CTB or CTO]. This allows you to separate your subject from the background and really focus the viewer’s attention on the product. ” – Joshua Romberg, Photographer
In need new lifestyle photography for your next campaign? Give us a shout; we’ll get the gear.

Brand Identity; Telling YOUR Story Through Photography and Video

Posted on August 11, 2017May 22, 2019 by Studio 3 Inc

In an era of constant online noise, brand identity becomes quintessential. Customers are seeking not only quality, but also an authentic buying experience; the real people behind the business. They are seeking companies with similar values and lifestyles as their own.
How do you build an unmistakable brand identity? How do you tell your story? Whether you are creating a new ad campaign, or updating your catalogue’s product photography, every image should speak to your customers.
Once you have defined your brand, you can begin to effectively market it. That’s where we come in. Studio 3, Inc. works with you to create personal visual solutions. We show the world how awesome you are.
Let’s take a closer look at how different photos craft different emotional responses. In other words, what your photography is saying about your brand.
1. Your Colorways; Cool vs. Warm

Colors evoke emotion. Cool colors calm, while warm colors educe action—like this photo for Nike that encourages me to get out of this chair and go for a run.

2. Your Lighting; Studio vs. Natural
Whether your image is sun-soaked or sleekly structured, the quality can’t be compromised.

This beautiful cocktail shot for Seattle Magazine is captured with a splash! Inspiring thought on what a customer should do next (hint: buy some whiskey). Need help deciding? Here are Five new Washington Whiskeys to Try.

Embracing the brand identity of Coca-Cola, natural lighting was used to flood the scene with a sense of summer. Now that’s affective lifestyle photography.
3. Your Audience; Outdoor vs. Luxury
Who is your target market? What do they value? Creating environments for your product takes target market research.

What better way to appeal to Danner Boot’s outdoor customer, while staying true to the Brand’s value of craftsmanship, than to put their boots to the test in the Pacific Northwest.

“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.

Stepping On-Location with Studio 3, Inc.

Posted on April 10, 2017May 22, 2019 by Studio 3 Inc

Three weeks into the job and it was time for my first on-location shoot with Studio 3, Inc. I boarded Bolt Bus, a company favorite, and set off for Seattle, eager to see Studio 3, Inc.’s cool studio space in the shadow of the Space Needle.

The day started with Chanel Everett, the studio’s Princess of Production, hand selecting an Adidas wardrobe that interpreted the clients’ art direction. With a mood board compiled of different lifestyle, apparel and shoe photography, we set off for the previously scouted Seattle setting.

Two vintage cars, a cooler, breakfast, lunch, snacks, racks of athletic apparel, dope enough to make any rapper weep, and the slaying photography skills of Studio 3, Inc.’s Trevor Boone—all the ingredients needed for success. I loved the Seattle cityscape, lifestyle photography theme and getting to assist with production stills.

The location was picked to compliment the Seattle rapper’s song “Hometown.” Bringing the urban background of the city into portrait photography, Trevor Boone was able to capture stunning duality that showcased not only his professional talent, but the personality of Raz Simone and an edge to Adidas footwear photography.

Images just came through the Studio 3, Inc. digital team, and we are stoked! Our in-house digital department works closely with our photographers and marketing team—removing power lines, clearing alleyway undesirables, and bringing the client’s vision to life every time. Check out a few of our favorite shots from the day.

We will be dropping more images from the shoot, so be sure to follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. When you decide to become a part of the fun, give us a call or stop by one of our studios to talk photography, video and serious retouching skills.

Written by: Eva Goldfarb, Marketing Coordinator @ Studio 3, Inc.

Before & After: Put Your Best Foot Forward with Studio 3's Shoe Photography Retouching

Posted on July 18, 2015May 22, 2019 by Studio 3 Inc

before-and-after-brooks-sneakers-retouching-shoe-photography-studio-3 Shooting modern athletic sneakers is actually a complex art. Studio 3, Inc. has shot a variety of footwear over the many decades we’ve been in business – in fact, shoe photography is one of our specialties!
The colors in modern sneakers pose many issues for post-processing and retouching work. Why? Because the 80’s are back to stay – and the eye-searing bright neons, pops of complimentary color, and swaths of new textures can fight for dominance in the photograph. Placed side-by-side the different colors and textures are a major selling point for the discerning consumer…but for the photographer they can be a real challenge to shoot in a way so they appear true-to-life and inviting. Also, the product itself may have certain areas that are less than perfect as-is. Enter the essential Digital Artist, who in post-processing gives all those design details the Studio 3 treatment to make them cohesive and the product a total stand-out.
Brooks Macros

The Before photo: color looks a little “flat” in areas; adjacent color bleeds; seams need smoothing; small surface imperfections; reflective areas too reflective; logo appears not to as a solid color.

Even with our photography professionals’ extensive lighting and shooting experience, straight out of camera the sneaker presents some issues that a skilled retoucher must address before the photo can truly be called “finished.”
First the minor surface imperfections need to be addressed, including glue in the seams, divots in plastic areas, seams not appearing smooth, stitches being askew, and texture not “reading” when on a reflective part. Then the major color-correction work begins: blacks are darkened to appear “true;” color is mixed with complementary colors to tone down the brightness in some areas. Colors bleeding into areas they shouldn’t are smoothed out and toned down. Any colors that appear washed-out or with other underlying color tones are saturated more to appear more vivid. Brooks Macros

The After: the sneaker appears bright and perfect, just as the brand envisioned.

Then finally the entire sneaker was “knocked-out” (i.e., isolated from its surroundings) in order to be placed onto a clean black background for the client.
Do you see the difference? Which sneaker looks nicer, more vibrant, cooler? Which one do you think a shopper would be more drawn to? Don’t let your images fall prey to the “oh, it looks good enough” syndrome…make sure they POP with Studio 3’s retouching capabilities. Give us a ring to see how we can make your footwear FLY.
Brooks running sneakers shot by Jonny Brandt. Post-processing retouching work by Digital Artist Carl Beery.

Footwear Photography – Jimmy Choo x Voodoo Donuts

Posted on June 30, 2015May 22, 2019 by Studio 3 Inc

Open box of Voodoo Doughnuts with crumbling half-eaten donuts and silver snakeskin Jimmy Choo heels on the table
Sometimes a concept has to take a number of disparate elements and meld them together into a cohesive whole. It can be a challenge when dealing with tiny details that can make or break your vignette. When it comes to taking care of all the elements that appear in the photo, WE style it so everything appears at its best.
Take this Voodoo Doughnuts and Jimmy Choo heels project: a footwear photography meets food photography mashup with a Studio 3 spin. Voodoo Doughnuts, an iconic Portland mainstay for quirky and delicious donuts, mixes with Jimmy Choo, an iconic upscale shoe brand exemplifying everything that is luxury. Our Team has years of experience in staging props in a way that feels consistent within a single image. Captured by Photographer Matt Jebbia in a studio-designed environment with a studio lighting setup mimicking early morning sunshine, every element in the frame was artfully arranged to keep the viewer’s eye moving through the photo. Every crumb, every morsel, every donut, every prop: angles, shadows, colors, textures, and sizes were chosen specifically to show each piece at its best and tell a story.
What story do you see when you look at this photo?
And, more importantly, how can we style YOUR images to create an unforgettable iconic story? Reach out and see. We’ll have the donuts ready.

Footwear Photography – Nike Running Sneakers

Posted on June 23, 2015May 22, 2019 by Studio 3 Inc

Close up of runner's feet wearing orange and blue Nike running sneakers, running down urban walkway
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.

Shoe Photography – Danner Boots

Posted on March 10, 2015May 22, 2019 by Studio 3 Inc

Men's Danner Williams Boots shoe photography shot by Studio 3
No matter the subject, Studio 3 shines a light on great photography and lifestyle setups that put the WOW in the everyday.
These Danner 6″ Oiled Black Boots just begged to be shot in an environment with moody lighting that reflected their rugged toughness, and Photographer Craig Wagner styled an entire garage set around them for that specific purpose. Placing our Video Director David King‘s Suzuki TU250X motorcycle in the background, he created a monochromatic set filled with blacks and browns to bring out the colors in the shoes. With overhead Speedotrons, Craig focused spotlight-style lighting on the boots in the foreground. The profile and oiled leather grain of the boots required a treatment as if photographing a high-end car, he noted, which he accomplished by choosing the ideal amount of reflectors and kickers to highlight those curves and wood grain heels. A vintage shoe-shine tote with buffs and waxes completes the story: a guy tinkering on his bike in his garage stops to give his favorite Danner boots a polish before setting out for a ride on the open country.
What resulted is a shoe photography shot where the gloss of these boots highlights their shape, workmanship, and durability…stopping anyone in their tracks, wanting to try those boots on and head out for an adventure. Studio 3 Shoe Photography Danner Boots
Ready for YOUR next adventure? Call Studio 3: WE Light It, WE make it look great, WE showcase YOUR product in the best light. Give us a call at (503) 238-1748 in Portland, or (206) 282-0939 in Seattle to experience it.