589: Photography Studio Special 2 – Buying and leasing advice for photographers looking at studio ownership

PhotoBizX The Ultimate Wedding and Portrait Photography Business Podcast

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Welcome to part two of a two-part series, where we dive into everything you need to know about buying or leasing a photography studio. Whether you're considering owning a space or working from one, this episode will guide you through the essential considerations before making that big decision of signing a lease and paying rent or taking out a loan to purchase your studio space.

I'm thrilled to have three incredible guests joining us today, all from different genres of photography.

We have Boston boudoir photographer Lindsay Hite of Show Your Spark in the USA. Lindsay started her photography business in 2009, transitioned from weddings to boudoir in 2016, and opened her newly renovated studio in 2019.

Lindsay was featured in Episode 392 of the podcast.

Melbourne dance photographer Leah Hoffman of Hoffa Studios will also join us. Not only is Leah's work incredible, but you need to check out what she shared about marketing from Episode 480 of the podcast. This is one switched-on photography studio operator when it comes to generating highly qualified leads.

And finally, also from the USA, and for the first time on the podcast, we have New Orleans Headshots, personal brand, and commercial photographer Noel Marcantel, who has a street front studio that looks like an incredible place to work — complete with a full-sized cyc wall.

Whether you're a seasoned photographer or just starting to consider your own studio space, this episode is packed with valuable insights from some of the best in the business. Let’s dive in with this photography-studio-special, focussed on buying and leasing advice for photographers.

Here's some more of what we covered in the interview:

Selecting the Perfect Studio Location: Lindsay, Leah, and Noel share their journeys in scoping out studio spaces, discussing how they navigated factors like accessibility, cost, and adaptability to secure the right fit.
Benefits of Collaborative Studio Sharing: Leah explores the rewards of sharing a studio with a fellow photographer. From splitting costs to dividing responsibilities, co-sharing brings many benefits, making studio life more affordable and collaborative.
Tailoring Your Studio Fit-Out: The photographers reveal how they approached renovations, detailing their mix of hands-on DIY projects and working with contractors to design studios that enhance their creative work.
Unseen Costs You Can’t Ignore: Setting up a studio involves more than rent. Unexpected expenses—like taxes, maintenance, and utilities—can add up quickly. Lindsay, Noel, and Leah share budgeting insights to help you avoid financial surprises and plan effectively.
Testing the Studio Waters: Thinking of leasing a studio? Start small with pop-up spaces or short-term rentals to gauge interest and profitability. The photographers suggest trying different pricing models and testing your market before fully committing to a long-term lease.
Navigating Lease Negotiations and Challenges: Securing a studio lease can be complex. Lindsay managed to lock in a flexible five-year lease, even taking on renovations herself with her husband. Leah and Noel faced unique hurdles, from council approvals to managing renovation projects, each experience offering lessons in resilience and adaptability.
Future Plans and Expansion Goals: While Lindsay is content with her current setup, she remains open to growth opportunities. On the other hand, Noel sees value in investing in studio ownership, while Leah looks forward to sharing more of her studio journey with her followers.

Lindsay Hite

I have two shooting spaces…a daylight studio and… the black box studio. I also have what I call my premiere room, which is the converted garage space.. and then I have some temporary little exhibition walls for the dressing room and then my workspace. – Lindsay Hite

We don't have parking here, which is a downside, and they rarely ticket. But when they do ticket, I always tell my clients and my staff, bring the ticket to me and I will pay it. So I like to say that's my parking fee. If I were leasing a garage space, or, you know, had to pay parking space rental in the city, it would be far more expensive than a random ticket here and there. – Lindsay Hite

You have to think of your cost of doing business differently because you have more overhead, especially if you're going to take on staff in addition to your studio space and the build out, so there's less wiggle room, so to speak for that, I have to make a certain minimum per day to stay profitable, and so that helps me enforce my pricing. – Lindsay Hite

I'm a big fan of trying things out, seeing how it works, tweaking from there, so that you can grow as you need to. – Lindsay Hite

Show Your Spark Website

Show Your Spark on Instagram

Lindsay Hite on Instagram

Show Your Spark by Lindsay Hite on Facebook

Episode 392: Lindsay Hite – How to successfully transition to a boudoir photography business

Noel Marcantel

If anything goes wrong, it's the building management's job to blame it on you, and it's their job, even if they accept responsibility, it's their job to delay the process until you get frustrated and fix it yourself. – Noel Marcantel

I'd like to get one more five year lease out of it, because we probably went overboard on the build-out. If anything's worth doing, it's worth overdoing. And we went all out on making the space high end luxurious, great for in person sales, great for video, great for all this kind of stuff. So, you know, we want to get our investments worth by probably another five year lease after this. – Noel Maraentel

You've really had to ask yourself two questions, what do you want to shoot? And what do you want to charge? And what do you want to charge if you want to shoot commercial jobs. If you want to shoot commercial clothing and products, you're going to have a team of people coming in and you probably want a studio for that. If you're only going to be shooting head shots and it's all you want to shoot, you could probably make do with a home space. – Noel Marcantel

If I'm going to be shooting at the level that I want to be in, charging what I want to charge, the prices make more sense to people whenever we're shooting in a space that makes more sense for people. – Noel Marcantel

If you want to charge more, then, when people show up to a built-out studio space with a couch and it looks really nice and everything is very meticulously designed, the price makes more sense to them. – Noel Marcantel

Noel Marcantel Website

Noel Marcantel Photography 3D Space

Noel Marcantel on Instagram

Noel Marcantel on Facebook

Leah Hoffman

I think because I'm stepping into, I call it my dream studio now, I can do whatever I want. So yeah, I'm excited to get in and sort of make it my own. – Leah Hoffman

I'll be installing a cyc wall which works really well for dancers. I know that's something I'll definitely do. I want to use paint textures on the wall, rather than having to digitally add the texture. And that's going to just speed things up. – Leah Hoffman

If you are considering sharing a space with a friend or another photographer, communicate that with them as well. – Leah Hoffman

Leah Hoffman Website

Leah Hoffman on Instagram

Leah Hoffman on Facebook

Episode 480: Leah Hoffman – Clients, sales and incredible images for a successful fine art dance photography business

Kelly Dwyer of Talking Portraits (who Leah shares her current studio space with): https://www.talkingportraits.com.au/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/talking_portraits_/

What’s on Offer for Premium Members

If you’re on the fence about becoming a premium member, join with the $1 trial today and get access to the FULL interviews each week, a fantastic back catalogue of interviews, and have ALL future interviews delivered automatically to your phone or tablet.

Plus, special member-only interviews.

You'll also receive access to the members-only Secret Facebook Group, where you can connect with other Premium Members and interview guests to help, support and motivate you to take ideas you hear in each episode and put them into action. The group also has FB live video tutorials, role-play, and special live interviews. You will not find more friendly, motivated, caring and sharing photographers online.

Seriously, that's not all.

If anyone is thinking about working in shared studio space, find somebody who you can share with, it definitely does cut costs. How we do it was week on, week off, which worked for us. – Leah Hoffman

In addition to everything above, you'll get access to instructions on forming or joining a MasterMind Group with other premium members. These groups are super motivating, make you accountable, and build friendships with other pro photographers with motives similar to yours – to build a more successful photography business.

What is your big takeaway?

Following this interview, I’d love to know if you're taking anything from what Lindsay, Noel and Leah shared. Is there something you heard that excited or motivated you to the point where you thought, yeah, I'm going to do that! If so, leave your thoughts in the comments below; let me know your takeaways and what you plan to implement in your business based on what you heard in today's episode.

We went in with research, because that's the most important thing you can have whenever you go into negotiation, is information. And information that we knew was that the space had been vacant for two years, and the building had just gone up for sale discreetly. – Noel Marcantel

If you have any questions I missed, a specific question you’d like to ask Lindsay, Noel and Leah or want to say thank you for coming on the show, feel free to add them in the comments area below.

iTunes Reviews and Shout-outs

I check for any new iTunes or Google reviews each week, and it's always a buzz to receive these… for several reasons.

Firstly, it's confirmation that I'm on the right track with the interviews and that they are helping you improve your photography business. That's awesome!

Secondly, iTunes and Google are the most significant podcast search engines, and your reviews and ratings help other photographers find PhotoBizX. More listeners mean more interviews and, ultimately, a better show.

If you have left a review in the past, thank you! If you haven't and you'd like to, head to https://photobizx.com/itunes or https://photobizx.com/google. You can leave some honest feedback and a rating, which will help both me and the show. I'll be sure to thank you on the show and add a link to your website or blog if you let me know the URL of your website and your name.

Alternatively, if you've left a review for PhotoBizX and are looking for more backlinks to help your SEO, leave a review for the new Photography Xperiment Podcast. Email me your keywords or phrases and where you'd like me to link them.

If I were to do it again, to answer your question, if there was something I'd do differently, save up a lot more, have more professionally done, because it would move quicker, and way less stressful. – Lindsay Hite

Another great way to get a backlink to your site is to send a video testimonial. It doesn't need to be fancy, and your phone will be perfect. Click record and tell me how PhotoBizX has impacted you and your photography business.​

Thank you!

Thank you again for tuning in, and a big thanks to Lindsay, Noel and Leah for sharing their valuable insights on building successful photography studios. From navigating the challenges of moving to a dedicated space to managing hidden costs and adapting to evolving client needs, their experiences offer invaluable guidance for anyone looking to take their studio business to the next level.

That’s it for me this week; I hope everything is going well for you in life and business!

Thanks, and speak soon
Andrew

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