I love shooting studio now. Normally I would be a on location guy, but now I love studio days.

All I can say is WOW !!!
I am exited my new Profoto Acute set is on the way to our home studio, now I see I have a lot of upgrades to budget

Looks like some fun playing room there

I can't say I would mind working there... let me know if you need someone to 'clean the studio' after hours Yuri

The studio really looks great. In fact, it looks like a castle!  
Cool moving rack too, does it stay stable when you jank the pentographs?

The rack stays stable. It can lift 1000KG (a ton) so we sometimes attach models to it and lift them up for shots that need to look like the model is "flying"! Good fun.

Great idea having color balanced lights in the wardrobe / setup room !

I thought that was really cool too!  Great for optimizing the model's makeup and wardrobe to look best when photographed.

The rack stays stable. It can lift 1000KG (a ton) so we sometimes attach models to it and lift them up for shots that need to look like the model is "flying"! Good fun.

Amazing!  Sounds like a lot of fun.

Have to say, I am in awe.  Looks like it is good to be Yuri

Quote from: louoates on February 22, 2011, 17:37

Others,
(�)My forecast is that half the replies here will be negative, human nature being what it is.

That's a self fulfilling statement. It has nothing to do with being less successful, unless you want to challenge Mr. Arcurs' throne as dominating player in stock photography. It all depends on the business model you adopt for yourself.

@Yuri_Arcurs: Awesome setup, and from what I managed to read behind the lines, I appreciate providing the insight in the key motivators behind your choices. What happened to your old studio?

The main thing I wonder about the is the styling of the studio rooms and the props, How do you determine their life-span before they're getting out-dated? With the ever-changing trends and fashion styles, it seems to me, that any wardrobe has a rather short shelf-life, before it needs to be replaced with something newer, and basically, the same applies to the interior design.  (The boarding on the studio walls sure looks stylish now, but I remember yanking them out when I moved houses, a few years ago)

Good Question. We change wardrobe a lot. Some items stay and some get packed away.
The studio building is located in Aarhus Centrum and is 300 years old. The roof and "boarding" are antiques and are listed so I am not allowed to change them in any way by government rules. We had to build the whole studio around the antique elements. Quite difficult actually.

....... 300k EUR in lights!

All ProFoto lighting, with the video sure to mention each and give model numbers.

I'll bet he didn't pay a dime for any of it. If he did ... somebody should kick him.

This video above will cause hundreds of photographers to the ProFoto web site to research and order enough ProFoto lighting over the next few months to more than makeup for giving Yuir a few lights for his studio.

Endorsements of someone leading a field can be the best advertising available. 

geeze thats alot of equipment to shoot some carrots isolated on white

Indeed, it's just hidden advertising. Well not that hidden. But sure, I understand Yuri, getting all this toys for free just for making a 5 min video sure is a great deal.

Did I miss something, where did he say he got all the equipment for free?

This video above will cause hundreds of photographers to the ProFoto web site to research and order enough ProFoto lighting over the next few months to more than makeup for giving Yuir a few lights for his studio.

Absolutely, up until now loads of photographers had been using candles to light their stuff whilst they sat on huge piles of money, at last now they'll be able to buy some decent gear 

I'm sure he'll step in to let us know but my guess is that he got a good deal because of the amount of kit he bought, but then again so could anybody if they were buying that quantity. Profoto is well known in the industry and I doubt any photographer is suddenly going to rush out and buy their stuff just because they found out Yuri uses it. If they can afford it they'll already know about it.

I wanted to share my choices with you guys. That is what I would want to watch myself. I don't like the "show-off" music-video cutting style photography blogs that are out there. They provide no information and are actually just boring in that sense. I wanted to make a video that had information in it.

Happy watching. And help me out. SHARE IT because i need another 5k view in the first 24hours to make it to the youtube front page.

Photographers honestly wanting to learn something about the business of photography from that video stop looking at the gear. That's really not what's impressive about it at all. What's truly impressive about that video is all the wood molding, beautiful floors, columns and ceiling tiles. A successful photography studio is primarily based on marketing. Which doesn't just mean forms of advertising media. A big portion of that is atmosphere. Your environment reflects on your work even if the environment is completely invisible in your work. If people see your studio atmosphere as rich, elegant and valuable then the services and products you supply are obviously valuable .. regardless of if they are or not.

If somebody told you they would give you $100K in equipment or only $10K to invest in your appearance as a professional which would you choose? Only a fool would take the gear. So if it's a tossup between another lens and hardwood flooring .. go with the flooring.

Awesome studio space and a big improvement over the greenhouse idea. If you really want to start posting videos regarding educational information though I think you should focus on psychology and marketing. That's where you would honestly shine best and make an impact on photographers striving to succeed. Kudos

Photographers honestly wanting to learn something about the business of photography from that video stop looking at the gear. That's really not what's impressive about it at all. What's truly impressive about that video is all the wood molding, beautiful floors, columns and ceiling tiles.

Sounds like all that stuff was there:
"The roof and "boarding" are antiques and are listed so I am not allowed to change them in any way by government rules. We had to build the whole studio around the antique elements."

Quote from: Yuri_Arcurs on February 23, 2011, 09:23

I wanted to share my choices with you guys. That is what I would want to watch myself. I don't like the "show-off" music-video cutting style photography blogs that are out there. They provide no information and are actually just boring in that sense. I wanted to make a video that had information in it.

Happy watching. And help me out. SHARE IT because i need another 5k view in the first 24hours to make it to the youtube front page.

There ya go. So much for sharing just because Yuri's a great guy who loves to share.  There's always some benefit to the sharer.

And yes, count me as one of the negative posters. Bill Gates doesn't give away millions of $$ ONLY because he's charitable and a good guy...his accountant tells him he has to. 

Seldom are things done for 'only' one reason no matter how nice the are.  That said, I think there are quite a few tax loops that Bill Gates could have found that don't involve giving money away (Corbis comes to mind .  I believe he is giving immense wealth away because he simply feels that is what is right - and enjoys the benefits that come with it.  Also the amount is in the billions, not millions.

i, for one, have no problem how he got the equipment; what does it matter if was free or discounted.  Yuri is the top microstocker and sets the bar for all of us to achieve.  I am proud of him; happy to be trying to achieve some success similar to his; and delighted to see that this industry is not all doom and gloom-there is success for those that work hard.  Judging by his numbers, even if there was no discount, he has sufficient capital to afford all this stuff.

Disclosure:  I have not seen the video; even though I am in Russia-my internet signal comes from China and they block all video sites.

U didn't miss too much - he is just showing off his toys and his new space. I too don't understand why anyone would have a problem with any of this - it's nice to see someone enjoying this business as much as Yuri is.

i, for one, have no problem how he got the equipment; what does it matter if was free or discounted.  Yuri is the top microstocker and sets the bar for all of us to achieve.  I am proud of him; happy to be trying to achieve some success similar to his; and delighted to see that this industry is not all doom and gloom-there is success for those that work hard.  Judging by his numbers, even if there was no discount, he has sufficient capital to afford all this stuff.

Actually to some degree I do find such wholesale expenditure obscene, unnecessary and ultimately damaging to the industry. Success is being �bought� through sheer weight of resources rather than simply earned and grown organically through talent and skill (like SJL and many others for example).

It reminds me of over-fishing or the plundering of any natural resource way beyond the level at which it can be sustained. Stock sales are finite, the market is only so big and to throw money at it in a vain bid to grab the biggest possible slice of the pie is just being plain greedy and inconsiderate to others.

Yuri complains about an ever-reducing RPI but he and the other �photo factories� are doing far more than anyone else to flood the market with excessive numbers of new images and thereby reduce the earning potential for all images. Why do you need to produce up to 1000 new images per month? So that you can buy even more equipment, an even bigger studio, hire even more staff ... and produce even more images? What�s the point? Is there never a point at which you actually have 'enough' and can be content with a comfortable life?

An awesome insight. Thanks for that. First time I've seen you, I never realised that you were using a photo of one of your models in your profile pic.

Yuri, congrats on a wonderful studio in an awesome old building. Wish you lots of success and loads of fun
Oh...and saw your advert regarding looking for people in your Cape Town office....welcome to our shores

What's truly impressive about that video is all the wood molding, beautiful floors, columns and ceiling tiles. A successful photography studio is primarily based on marketing. Which doesn't just mean forms of advertising media. A big portion of that is atmosphere. Your environment reflects on your work even if the environment is completely invisible in your work. If people see your studio atmosphere as rich, elegant and valuable then the services and products you supply are obviously valuable .. regardless of if they are or not.

That might apply in the family portrait business but certainly not in the commercial world, quality of work aside, easy access, free parking, wifi and a good coffee machine will beat "rich, elegant and valuable" every single day of the week. As for stock images apart from the obvious fact of being able to use the settings in your image what your studio looks like won't make a single difference.

It's a lovely studio with lots of lovely kit which would be a joy to work in, but the one and only thing that matters about a studio is what comes out of it.

If somebody told you they would give you $100K in equipment or only $10K to invest in your appearance as a professional which would you choose? Only a fool would take the gear. So if it's a tossup between another lens and hardwood flooring .. go with the flooring.

One of the funniest things you're written so far  

Congrats to Yuri, that is a palace!!!!!

It looks much more luxurious than iStock's corporate office, IMHO. 

What a wonderful studio!  I just love the wood molding, beautiful floors, columns and ceiling tiles!  Yummy!  The lighting is very nice and impressive as well.  Oooh, so have that much space and not trip over a prop, or the cat, or my grandson.... !

That might apply in the family portrait business but certainly not in the commercial world, quality of work aside, easy access, free parking, wifi and a good coffee machine will beat "rich, elegant and valuable" every single day of the week. As for stock images apart from the obvious fact of being able to use the settings in your image what your studio looks like won't make a single difference.

It's a lovely studio with lots of lovely kit which would be a joy to work in, but the one and only thing that matters about a studio is what comes out of it.

Doesn't apply to the commercial world??? It applies to all worlds. It doesn't matter if you're selling photography services or toasters for peoples kitchens. I can go to Wal-Mart and buy a plain white cotton tshirt off the clearance rack for $3 or I can go to a store in the country club plaza and buy the same shirt for $50. Either way it's a plain white cotton shirt. So, what makes the difference? Wal-Mart has a 90 yr old woman wearing a blue smock with a yellow happy face on it greeting me when I walk in the door. The store at the plaza has atmospheric lighting, designer dressed 20 yr old girls behind the counter, hardwood floors, trendy music, pleasant fragrances in the air, art on the walls, modern decor that isn't for sale and serves no purpose only to take up space and make the place look good and when I leave they don't throw my items in a thin plastic bag that rips before I get to my car. They neatly fold my shirt and place it in a designer bag with their branding graphics on it and a little thank you note stuck inside. Appearance of the business directly effects the value of the services and products for more industries than I can count .. photography included.

In terms of microstock photography, if Yuri would have invested in that studio and not shown it then no it wouldn't have any effect on his business. That's not the case though. He did show it and now that concept of luxury is associated with his name. Even if people dont realize it consciously it's still in the back of their minds. That is far more powerful than having 4 beauty dishes and however many lights there was in that video.

WOW. I' really really impressed with your insights. Thanks for not being plain and average. Good post indeed

I have a business themed workshop coming up in a couple weeks for the Professional Photographers of America. I'm down for speaking 9 hours in one day so I'm thinking I might kill some extra time by throwing in a section on defining value through atmosphere .. maybe project a couple video clips from your old bright white studio and the new elegant one as an example and discuss the differences in terms of consumer perception of value. So thanks for posting .. it'll give me a few extra minutes to rest my voice and sit back while they watch the clips for comparison. LOL

Quote from: RT on February 24, 2011, 07:13

That might apply in the family portrait business but certainly not in the commercial world, quality of work aside, easy access, free parking, wifi and a good coffee machine will beat "rich, elegant and valuable" every single day of the week. As for stock images apart from the obvious fact of being able to use the settings in your image what your studio looks like won't make a single difference.

It's a lovely studio with lots of lovely kit which would be a joy to work in, but the one and only thing that matters about a studio is what comes out of it.

Doesn't apply to the commercial world??? It applies to all worlds. It doesn't matter if you're selling photography services or toasters for peoples kitchens. I can go to Wal-Mart and buy a plain white cotton tshirt off the clearance rack for $3 or I can go to a store in the country club plaza and buy the same shirt for $50. Either way it's a plain white cotton shirt. So, what makes the difference? Wal-Mart has a 90 yr old woman wearing a blue smock with a yellow happy face on it greeting me when I walk in the door. The store at the plaza has atmospheric lighting, designer dressed 20 yr old girls behind the counter, hardwood floors, trendy music, pleasant fragrances in the air, art on the walls, modern decor that isn't for sale and serves no purpose only to take up space and make the place look good and when I leave they don't throw my items in a thin plastic bag that rips before I get to my car. They neatly fold my shirt and place it in a designer bag with their branding graphics on it and a little thank you note stuck inside. Appearance of the business directly effects the value of the services and products for more industries than I can count .. photography included.

In terms of microstock photography, if Yuri would have invested in that studio and not shown it then no it wouldn't have any effect on his business. That's not the case though. He did show it and now that concept of luxury is associated with his name. Even if people dont realize it consciously it's still in the back of their minds. That is far more powerful than having 4 beauty dishes and however many lights there was in that video.

As you run a portrait studio, I can see your point. Very valid for direct business to consumer sales, which you show perfectly well in your wall-mart example. IMHO, your line of thinking is less valid for numerous other business models. In marketing for manufacturing - for example - , appearance and a fine studio don't mean that much. It's performance (in terms of output, working safely, and within time provided), as well as references, that count. In my experience, most business to business shoots are also predominantly organized on location.

In that respect, I tend to perceive stock photography as "business to business". Selling images online through agents, I have very little  - if any - interaction with clients, so what would they care what my setup looks like, nor do they care about the fanciness of my studio. All that matters is they can use the images I provide, at a price-license point they're willing to commit to.

The speculative thing that triggers me in Yuri's investment is not so much the  capacities of his gear, nor the stunning styling of his studio, but the business plan behind it. Of course, Yuri won't share that much. To me, the sole thing of the awesome set-up and facilities he had (has?) in his green house are two worlds apart from his - equally awe-inspiring  - current setup. Speculative, it could imply he's diverting his business setup to target his market share more directly - such rumors have been around for a while, and are also frequently addressed in the ktools thread. I can only presume it's stock related, but even that could be a stretch - and good for him! . 100k in gear or 10k in marketing? all fine, as long as you stay ahead of your competition. And Yuri seems to have a plan, and the cash flow to put it together. Good for him.

Time for us to stop telling how business is to be run, and start thinking how it should be run in the future.

Hi Randy,

 Great observation and hats off for your work with the PPA we need more people like yourself around.

Best,
Jonathan

Thanks Jonathan. I don't even belong to the PPA but I'm a big believer in professional photographers helping one another to improve the industry as a whole.

In that respect, I tend to perceive stock photography as "business to business". Selling images online through agents, I have very little  - if any - interaction with clients,

which gives even more reason for the need to establish a greater sense of value and over the top recognition in any way you possibly can ... who do you want to impress people with big budgets or people with low budgets? Do you want to sell to the people that just stumble across you by chance or do you want to sell to the people who make the effort to track you down?

So cool to see this--thanks for sharing! I would love to see a link to a couple of your photos showing the effect of the octagon or the soft lightbox so I could see the "product" that was produced using a particular tool and better understand what these things do.

I can see why you would love to work in this studio but hope you won't totally abandon the beaches.



[email protected]

I'd make a video of my studio, but I don't want to be sued if anyone hurts themselves laughing!

Quote from: Yuri_Arcurs on February 22, 2011, 17:19

I love shooting studio now. Normally I would be a on location guy, but now I love studio days.

Yuri. What to say. Its quite nice 
I think I have to make video with my new studio also


D.

Thanks Dash. Appreciated coming from you! Much respect!

So you hung up the skateboard for ping pong? 

Awesome studio. Thanks for sharing

OX

Awesome studio! You are going to make a killing renting this place to other photographers. 

Yup I wonder how much is per day of shooting:)