FINALLY - Our New Studio - It's Been a LONG Road!

[MyKey]

Well today ended a long road of trying to get into a photography studio which we wanted. Of course with this door closing another one opens, on how to keep it but I will worry about that when the time comes :)


Over a year ago I started working on this location and right as we thought we had it back in Feb. 2011 it was purchased out from under us, well at least we thought it was. Friday the owners, who are in Mississippi, contacted us and asked if we were still interested and after saying yes, we had a signed, sealed and delivered contract this morning on our brand new studio location here in Lake Jackson, Texas.

So without more said say hello to our new studio location - 4500 sq. feet on the corner from our local High School which is our main source of High School Seniors and who we shoot all the Yearbook Photos.











Proposed Studio BluePrint (Always subject to change of course)



I will update here on this thread as the process happens. Right now we are drawing up blueprints, then get building permits and go from there. So moving slowly right now in the visual part but still lots going on.

Of course when done (hopefully by the time School starts this late Summer) there will be a Grand opening so everyone plan on coming down to Lake Jackson if you get want too!

[Steelsun]

Awesome!

[Sheldon]

Congrats......

[BeccaJ]

Really cool!

[Joe_Lorenzini]

Oh man! Where do I send my resume! "Assistant to the assistant grunt" ready to go!!

[LANCE B.]

Congratulations! Any chance that will increase the number of local workshops...hint, hint?

[Bruce M. Morris]

And how high will the ceiling be in the studio area? I see what looks like an access door to the outside. That is for the large props for the studio?

Congratulations. It looks like it was well worth the wait.

[ThePhotoBinder]

Congrats..

I hope you let us that won't commit again in a studio to rent from time to time.

Let me know if you need help!

[tukaniray]

Wow, sweet location and sweet size for a studio.

-Ray-

[MyKey]

Originally Posted by Steelsun

Awesome!

Thank you Brian - your welcome here anytime!

Originally Posted by Sheldon

Congrats......

Thanks old friend - I hope to see you down here sometime - first drink (heck all the drinks) are on me!

Originally Posted by BeccaJ

Really cool!

Thank you very much! We hope it will be "really cool" by the time we get done with the build out and decor, which hopefully will be by summer is over.

Originally Posted by Joe_Lorenzini

Oh man! Where do I send my resume! "Assistant to the assistant grunt" ready to go!!

HA! Well with any business one must take a leap of faith and this is truly mine. We shall see how or where we land soon I am sure!

Originally Posted by LANCE B.

Congratulations! Any chance that will increase the number of local workshops...hint, hint?

YEP YEP YEP!!! We will have more workshops with real models and on more subjects very soon - so start looking for them once we move in! Hope to see you at them! Plus they will be cheaper since the cost or overhead for the workshop will be cheaper.

Originally Posted by Bruce M. Morris

And how high will the ceiling be in the studio area? I see what looks like an access door to the outside. That is for the large props for the studio?

Congratulations. It looks like it was well worth the wait.

Thanks Bruce - the ceiling as is right now is 10feet, we plan on raising it some in the shooting areas since the roof is around 15 feet high (5 feet of AC vents and return vents as well as insulation.
And yes your correct it is an access door on the outside to Shooting Bay #2. Its not there now we will be installing that in the build out process. Most likely a double door of 8 feet wide and 7 feet high. It is the easiest to install and cheapest yet still allow us to move props in and out of the building without having to go through the lobby area.

Originally Posted by ThePhotoBinder

Congrats..

I hope you let us that won't commit again in a studio to rent from time to time.

Let me know if you need help!

I am sure in time we will rent it out - we will need to see how our business goes first but yes I am surely not against the idea. We have enough gear for 8 studio bays so filling two of them wont be a problem, especially with our 50+ Denny Mfg. Freedom Clothes :)

Originally Posted by tukaniray

Wow, sweet location and sweet size for a studio.

-Ray-

Thanks Ray, we think so too. We had the chance at several other buildings but this was our first choice due to the size and location. While one other building really held our interest and is close by (as well as larger) we felt this building was perfect for us and what we wanted to do with TriCoast and our Volume Business Coastline. We are excited to say the least. Being close to the school opens up a lot for us so hopefully we will continue to grow and be a foundation in our community for years to come.

[Redneck]

Wow, congrats! You're making everyone jealous. :)

[LANCE B.]

Great! Looking forward to it.

[MyKey]

Well looking over the blueprint and getting advise from other photographers around the country after asking them what they would have done different if they built their studio over, I have redrawn our blueprints up allowing for several more small but important changes which should help in our business.

1) Moved the opening into the main storage area off to the side by the new double doors on the outside of the building. This not only allows for quicker and easier removal of large props, but also opens up a long wall in our studio which we can develop a set on or use for shelf's for storage if needed.

2) Added a door to the Bathroom #1 from the hallway. This way clients would not need to go through the orig. door in the "Bathroom Hallway" to get to the baby changing room/cleaning/dressing room. This area (Network, bathroom #1 & #2 is the orig. part of the building and we are working around it so it wont look as nice as the newer part). We can now put an "Employee's Only" sign on the door leading to the hallway and keep normal clients out of that area.

3) Added a 3' walk around window display area. This will not only allow us to display images in large side with lots of area but also give us 3D displays if wanted for all events. Christmas, Easter Photos, Graduation Time, etc. can all be display much like a Department Store Window is. Plus this will cut off much of the sunlight from hitting inside our building helping with electricity costs and keeping the building cooler.

4) Added a 10' wall in the main lobby for large wall "impact" portraits. This is always nice controlling the first thing the client see's when entering the studio and will allow a flat screen or other large wall portrait on the other side to be displayed.

5) Moved the Investment Room up front which will do several things. One the client no longer needs to walk down the long hallway to go to their Investment Session. Making it right off the lobby not only gives the Lobby a larger feel when the doors are opened but also makes it easier for the client to come into the studio and directly into their Investment Session or whatever.

I think thats about it for now I am sure this will continue to be fine tuned so if you have any input throw it at me I am listening with both ears wide open now!

Thanks again for the nice words.

[revjvegas]

Congratulations!
Looking forward to seeing the grand opening pictures. Heck, you'll need to post a video tour :-)

[boomerd35]

Congrats on the new locale! I still come out to Lake Jackson for lunch every once in awhile. And now that there's a free standing Wells Fargo, I'll probably be out that way much more (I hate the Angleton branch). I'll try to drop by sometime when you get things set up.