Dzikan stories and fresh spicy update of MAGGI The Hatter!

Hello my Sweethearts!

How was your day? What’s new happened to you this week? I hope it is a wonderful thing and affected positively your life and of your loved ones. )

Today Dzikan is educational.
When I’ve been looking through MAGGI backstage I finally formed an image of classic photo studio that you may find almost everywhere on post-soviet space. Actually there are three types.
You can make a small experiment and pick a random big city (in CIS region) and search photo studios. After 3rd city you’ll see the pattern. )

The first type.
I call it “All in one” or “all included”. These types of studios are very common in smaller cities. You can still find them in big cities too, but in a more evolved state. I’ll describe a classic “all in one” and will talk a little about evolved.
Imagine a 40m2 room with very big windows. Now divide all this space in several zones and decorate them according to chosen style.
For example, zone closer to the window will be painted in white, there will be flowers, small stepladder to the window and some other romantic attributes. The zone closer to the exit will be painted and styled like a loft, decorated with a bunch of random appliances from different era (as long as it looks old it’s enough)  and books.
And one left wall will be painted in pink color. You decorate it with children toys (probably left from your grown kids), balloons and comfy cushions.
Voila! Now you have three photo zones: one for wedding or romantic shoots, one for more stylish themed shoots and last one for family portrait shoots.
Since it’s a photo studio, there will be probably two 200-400W impulse light sources and one constant light source. Or will be none. Or something very cheap. This is a classic case.
No space to work properly, but if the design of one of the zones is unique, it’s worth it.
And the most strange thing is that you can mix and combine different styles.
About evolved “all in one”.
Sometimes, when the studio owners have money, there are several rooms like that with only two zones. For example I once worked in a studio divided in black and white sides. White was for light, family and romantic shoots. Black side was for more mature stylish ideas. Like cocktail dress, fashion etc. These studios also have a better equipment. Let’s call them medium “all in one”.
In very rare but lucky occasions when owners also have a DESIRE and want to have bigger and more diverse clients, there will be several rooms in each of their own individual styles. Huge 1000m2 space with many room. The last one I love the most, because you have more options to choose from and which will be the best for your project. This kind of photo studios usually can be found in big cities and majority of them are located in industrial zones in old factory buildings. These photo studios usually have all professional equipment needed or are constantly trying to upgrade it. Let’s call them large “all in one”.
Most of our photoshoots were shot in various “all in one” studios.

The second type.
I call it “Fashion only” or “Easy money style”. You’ll probably find these types of studios everywhere. The classic interior will consist of fully white walls, maybe concrete or wooden floor. Rare modern looking (and very uncomfortable) furniture and maybe greens put here and there. Basic very minimalistic style. One wall might be a white cyclorama.
Aaand that’s all.
Perfect for any magazine photoshoot, because you have a lot of space to move around and nothing distracts from the model and the product. Perfect for fashion photoshoots.Most of the instagram modeling photos you’ve seen were probably shot in such studios.
If the owners have money and desire, they might have several rooms with the same minimalistic design, but with slight changes. Like the color of walls and type of floor. Or if they feel extra creative, there might be some interesting decore elements. For example glass wall which you’ve seen in Subverse Lily photoshoot or in Dota 2 Lina.
The good side is equipment. They’ll probably have everything you need, but for the additional pay.
I can’t say much about this kind of photo studio, except the fact that they are pretty popular. If you don’t have enough photoshoot reservations you can offer the space for various photo or fashion schools. That’s why I call it “Easy money style”.

And the third type.
Very rare ones. Usually created by photographers for themselves. You may also call it “workshop”. The design may be anything. From totally distasteful to very unique. Equipment also varies and depends on the owner.
In my opinion, it’s very hard to shoot in such studios. It feels like coming to another person's house. The studio itself might look like the place where you can pull many great ideas, but in reality there’s not much. I don’t know how to describe that feel. )
MAGGI photoshoot was shot in such studio. It was a very strange place, even so it can be considered as a professional studio. You have many props, but too little place to utilize them effectively. You have equipment, but it was too powerful for the room, so we mostly used our own equipment. You have elements of different styles, but you can’t combine them together.
Strange, but very unique. )

In terms of staff members and overall service, the best experience we got in medium sized “All in one” type studios. They are usually run by people enthusiastic about photography in general and might be themselves photographers. You have options to choose and they don’t interfere in the shoot process. Also they may give you a little bit of extra time to finish everything properly and clean after ourselves.
The worst experience came from “fashion” type studios and large “all in one” (in 7 time out of 10 it was good). I don’t know what’s wrong with people who work in the fashion industry, but they are very snobby and rude. It would be bad to say that they are all the same, it’s just that I had a bad experience. The second close might be only cosplayers. )
In the case of studios, staff members don’t treat you as their client and you need to be more “forward” in handling situations. I really don’t understand why is that so. And according to reviews I find on “fashion” studios, many people have the same experience.

That’s all for today. I hope it was an interesting read. Sorry if my writing was a bit confusing to read, I tried my best to summarize my thoughts. )
I also hope it might help to choose a studio for your own photoshoot.
If you’re a photographer, please share your thoughts. It would be also interesting to know how it is in your country. )

To end this post on a high note I also want to present to you fresh “semi-erotic” look of our Hatter. Ain’t she gorgeous? )
Also in this shot you can see the former theater stage zone I talked about in my previous post.

I need to get back to work. Hope you are having a proper rest after work or studies.
Have a great day!