I've used this space in the past when it was under different ownership, and didn't have a great experience then. However, hearing that the new owner was making great changes, I decided to book the studio for a day and see how it went.
The process of booking was fast and smooth compared to last time. Rasheed is very responsive on availability, and sent my invoice quickly, which I really appreciated.
I had a little trouble getting into the studio because I'd previously set up an account with the lock app (probably my fault for turning off the notifications for it), and within moments of asking Rasheed about it, he had taken care of it.
Inside the space, I found it cleaner and clearer than ever before. One thing to be aware of is that, because of the rollup door, the floor will always be at least a little dirty (so if you're having barefoot clients, I recommend shoes in between shots and/or putting down a rug or something). Rasheed also put out a folding table for me, which was incredibly useful throughout the day.
In general, some great things to know about the space:
- It's super versatile. There's a brick wall, a wood wall, a white wall, a dark grey wall, and the wall facing the street which is comprised of windows and the rollup door. So there are legitimately 6 different backgrounds in this small space. In addition to being able to shoot on the brick, there is a mural of a yellow classic car a little higher up, so if shooting high or wide, that'll end up in your shot. I actually wasn't digging it for the family sessions I did here a while back and just retouched it out of the photos, but for my boudoir shoots, all the girls have pretty much loved it, and I'm planning another fun thing that'll be awesome with it, too.
- It *is* small, but it's not too small. Yesterday, I had a hair an makeup artist, me, and an assistant, plus a girl in makeup, a girl in session, and a girl waiting, and it wasn't too tight. There's plenty of room to move around.
- The light is great. If you can shoot with the door up, you get tons of natural light. The door and windows are translucent, so light comes through consistently. There's a skylight as well, which is also translucent, so the light is nice and soft.
- There is a brown leather sofa in the space. When the studio was full yesterday, it was great to have a comfy place for people to sit. Normally, I'm only shooting one session per day and doing my in-person sales immediately afterward, so this is the perfect setup to be able to accomplish that by bringing my projector and showing photos on the white wall after the session.
All in all, I couldn't have been happier with the space or my experience, and I'll be booking a lot more stuff here in the future. My only hesitation with writing a review is that it'll become a go-to spot for other photographers and I'll have a harder time booking it as much as I'd like to! read more