My photography studio has been open for 15 years this month!
I distinctly remember the day I opened the studio. It was late February of 2009. At the time, my landlord's office was around the corner in an old former train depot in downtown Tifton, GA. After signing the papers and handing over my deposit, I received a key. I walked back to the studio from my landlord's office and used the key to open the back door by myself for the very first time... Voila, I have a studio.
Granted, I had no studio lights, no backdrops or very many clients. Only a single mediocre DSLR circa 2006 with a mediocre kit lens. I didn't even have internet for the first couple of years. I would mooch wifi from the apartments surrounding my studio. When I couldn't find an open network, I would carry my laptop outside to the back parking lot so I could use the neighboring library's wifi. This is how I operated for a good while. It was very humble beginnings.
I was 23 years old.
The photos above were taken shortly after I opened the studio in 2009.
I would go to my studio and sit on one of the old vintage sofas and think to myself, "What have I done?" And then came a rush of internal questions about myself and the career path I was going down. I questioned whether I was truly a professional photographer or not. I asked myself if this was indeed a viable career choice. I wondered if people genuinely liked my work enough to pay for it. Mostly I asked myself, "How can I make this work?" I still frequently ask myself that same question. It's an endless stream of doing what I love mixed with the challenges of being a full-time, creative photographer and small business owner. These challenges help keep me humble yet sharp still today.
I had already been doing photography professionally for about five years when I opened the studio. And I use the term “professional” very loosely to define what level of skill and ability I was at between the ages of 17 and 23. In spite of those being formative years, I do consider that time period to be very important to my photography journey.
Opening the studio changed everything for me, though. Having the studio made me a business owner. Whether I understood what it took to own a business or not, I had officially opened one. I did not have any formal training on marketing, finances, websites or even photography. I had to learn those things on my own for the most part. I had to readjust my approach to pricing in order to pay for the studio's bills. My standards for work and how I handle clients changed, too. My portfolio became more cohesive as my style continued to develop.
I still believe in pushing the equipment you have to max because I was unable to afford very much of it early on. On my film cameras, every shot had to count. No freebies or looking at the back of my camera to decide if it turned out okay or not. I like to think I took that same mentality into the studio with my digital cameras. A lot can be accomplished even with minimal gear.
When I did finally get some lights and backdrops I started to experiment. I loved to incorporate tricks and techniques that I had learned on my film cameras. Long exposures and multiple exposures have always been fun for me on film and I didn’t want to leave those techniques behind after I switched to a DSLR. When I opened the studio I had only been using a digital camera for about 3 years. 📸
The photos above were taken between 2009-2014 at my studio - The first five years.
It was great to suddenly have access to clients outside of my friend group. My name, website and business number were on the windows of a building in downtown. In addition to the calls and emails, people would occasionally walk into my studio from off the street and book a photoshoot. It was sort of astounding to me at first. 😂 It’s just the memory of some random person walking through the door and me standing there not knowing how to talk to them. Somehow it worked out and I booked my first walk-in photoshoot.
Since then I have photographed bands, actors, athletes, models, lawyers, real estate agents, doctors, babies, families, products and more at the studio. Creative Portraits and Headshots are my favorite things to photograph at my studio.
The studio has meant a lot to me over the years. I still personally enjoy spending my mornings and afternoons listening to music while editing at my desk. The old building has been my personal haven and home-away-from-home. I like being there. The way the afternoon light hits the molded tin ceiling to cast long shadows is something I always look up to see. The ceiling is one of the first things many people notice about the studio when they walk in. It is certainly very old if not original to the building. The wood floors appear to be original as well. It’s an interesting old building.
I will never forget the first time someone told me the studio was haunted… 👻
One day I was editing in my office just after lunch when I heard the front door open. Little bells on a ribbon tied ‘round my door handle jingled and a woman introduced herself. I cannot remember her name today but she was interested in local history and wanted to see the building. She told me to research old fire insurance maps to see if I could figure out when the building was built. I looked into it and discovered that the studio was built sometime between 1904 and 1907. I found a map from 1904 and it wasn't on the map but it appeared in the 1907 map. The only words providing any information about the building was the word "music" written within the outlines of the structure on the map.
The woman was walking around the studio commenting on the old tin ceiling design as she walked through the threshold of the door leading into the back room. This room is the largest in the studio and is where I do most of my photoshoots. When she entered this room her entire mood changed. She stopped talking and looked a little stunned. She said she was suddenly cold and then looked at me and said, "You have a presence here.”
Take that for whatever you will. Over the years, I have had multiple people tell me stories about what they have experienced in the studio. Visitors have claimed to sense a presence in the studio, particularly in the back two rooms. I have had clients pause during sessions to tell me they felt a rush of cool wind next to them. The most unusual tale involves two separate sightings of the ghost of a little girl wearing a white dress. Two people who do not know each other both told me they had seen the figure of a girl move quickly from right to left across the threshold of the back room. This is the same room where the lady had first told me she sensed a presence.
Yes, I do think about these stories often when I am at the studio alone late at night. The building has been sufficiently prayed over countless times by myself as well as others. I personally have never seen nor experienced anything at the studio that could not be explained.
However, one of the strangest experiences that I have ever had in my 120 year old building did occur while I was editing photos late at night. So, it is an old structure and the reality is old buildings sometimes have critters. Well, one time I had a massive rat take up residence between my ceiling and the upstairs apartment floorboards. Ever so often I would hear its feet tapping as it scurried across the tin ceiling panels. It was particularly awkward whenever I had a client in the studio for a shoot and they would ask what that funny noise was. I would usually brush it off and say something like, “The upstairs neighbors have a cat.” All the while I knew it was a rat!
On this particular night, I heard the rat take off running and then suddenly there was a loud whoosh noise as a sand, nails and wood fell through a hole in my ceiling… And down with it all came the rat! I ran into the room and saw a huge rat on the ground, motionless but still breathing. From the tip of its snout to the end of its tail, this rat was at least 18 inches long. I scooped it up with a snow shovel (no clue why I have a snow shovel in South Georgia). Then I placed the rat into a big plastic garbage bag and walked to a dumpster behind the library to dispose of it. I wonder if it died there or if it was only stunned from the fall and came to life to find itself in a smorgasbord of dumpster delight. Either way, I was happy it was no longer in my studio.
The photos above are from early Acoustic/Art Shows between 2009-2014.
I remember the first Acoustic/Art show I hosted at my studio. Booking shows and events was something I had never considered until I opened my own business. At the time I was doing promotional and tour photography for several bands from Tallahassee, Jacksonville and Atlanta and decided it would be cool to host acoustic shows that featured them.
I hosted these so-called Acoustic/Art shows at my studio from 2009-2018. A few times a year I would host a night of original music and artwork. Most of the bands that played were people I worked with. Bands like Stages and Stereos, Hello Danger and Select Start. Many locals also played these shows including Derrick Dove, Kade Williamson and Hagin Henderson. The bands would play music in the back room in front of the exposed brick wall while the crowd sat on sofas and the floor or stood. Visual artists would display their work in the front rooms of the studio. Painters, wire wrap artist and other photographers all displayed their creations and sold them.
The last show I hosted was in February of 2018. Derek Sanders from Mayday Parade was the headliner. It was the largest show I ever hosted. Roughly 200 people purchased tickets in addition to the artists, bands and friends I let in for free. We had to turn away people at the door because it was so cramped and crowded in the studio. I was so full of joy yet also overwhelmed by the season of change. It was a night of mixed emotions for me.
The photos above were taken by Matt Zagorski and Scott Strickland on February 24, 2018. It was the last show at my studio before I moved to Tennessee. Pictured: Daniel Shippey, Daniel Lancaster, Derek Sanders, Erica Bitting, Kade Williamson and Derrick Dove.
That same year I moved away to Nashville, Tennessee and thought that a chapter had closed and another one opened… I thought the show would be the last one I would ever host and no more photoshoots in the studio were to be. I was about to close my studio for good. My hometown newspaper even ran a story on the front page about my last show and studio closure. I had been wrestling with the decision for months leading up to and after the last Acoustic/Art show. That’s when an idea popped into my head.
I had become accustomed to renting studios for shoots whenever I would travel to cities like Nashville, Atlanta and New York. And the thought occurred to me, I can give photographers in my area access to what I can offer.
Today, my studio is rented several times a month by other local photographers. They have access to my lights, backdrops and entire space for their own shoots. I also encourage them to bring in their own lighting and gear. I hope it has been a good thing for the local photography community. I would love to see a few other photographers make use of my space. No matter what skill level, shooting in a studio is a good, fun challenge. I encourage people to reach out to me about renting my studio.
Eventually, I returned from Tennessee, bought a house in Tifton and continued my work at the studio. I still travel constantly to places like Tennessee, West Virginia, New York and Florida for photoshoots. I relish the days I am able to do a photoshoot in my hometown from the comfort of my very own studio space.
The studio has allowed me to grow in so many ways as a person and a photographer. The excitement of a creative process to the mundane business work of writing checks and doing taxes has provided a broad spectrum of experience for me. I’m so glad I took a chance and opened a photo studio 15 years ago. Photography has truly only been part of owning the studio for me.
These photos of my studio were taken in February of 2024.
Thank you Tifton, GA and everyone from my hometown who has ever given me the opportunity to photograph them. Also, thanks to everyone from out of town who has ever driven to my studio because they liked my work. It means a lot. Truly. I couldn’t do what I do without the support of others.
I would also like to thank my parents, Herbert and Sue Shippey, for always standing by me in my endeavors. They have helped me and encouraged me throughout the highs and lows. Their support has been tremendous. Mom once told me, “If you can make it through the first five years you can make it through anything.”
Saying thank you to my girlfriend Olivia Richardson wouldn’t be enough for all of her support and understanding with this weird, unpredictable career of mine. Olivia once told me something along these lines: “Dating you is like watching a TV series but starting cold turkey mid-way through the show’s 7th season all while trying to understand the previous seasons.” Haha There’s just a lot to get caught up on, I guess. And I have to say thanks to Olivia for being the best test subject for new ideas and for-fun photos. I enjoy making the memories. Thank you for loving me!
There are no plans to close the studio. I might have it another 15 years, I might not. Only time will tell. The hourglass ensures us all that time is just on loan. Until the end, I hope my favorite photoshoots and memories at the studio are still yet to come.
-Daniel C. Shippey