And Portrait Innovations, a national chain, opened a new 1590 Bechtle Ave. location on Tuesday. Manager Schuyler Ruhe could not disclose many details about the business but confirmed the opening and said the business will hire some additional part-time workers.
According to the president of Professional Photographers of Ohio, Montgomery and Clark counties have around 500 studios and part-time photographers, making it difficult for full-time photo studios to carve out a niche.
“The industry as a whole has changed in the advent of digital. There’s a lot of not professional photographers trying to make a living, which is fine, but its changed the dynamic of the marketplace,” said Rich Newell, PPO president and owner of Photography by Eicher’s in Springboro for 20 years.
“We have to work harder to separate ourselves and educate our clients about why we’re professionals,” he said.
Fischink has grown by focusing on senior portraits — it started with four seniors the first year and now does about 200 senior portrait shoots a year between two stores, the one in Springfield and another in London.
Most of the studios in the area are operated out of homes; some are in big box stores. Fischink, however, has its own retail store. The Fischers focus mainly on senior portraits but do pet photography for King Kennels and holiday pictures with Santa and the Easter bunny.
“We’ve seen a definite increase in business” since opening the retail store, said Ty Fischer, the main photographer. Their London studio has another photographer.
“We’ve seen a lot of local support, but we have about a 90-mile radius,” Fischer said. He said Springfield accounts for about half of their business. “The last two years we’ve had people from West Virginia and kids from Cincinnati.”
While the economy hurt many photo studios, businesses such as Fischink have done better because of specialization.
“Some studios are broadening what they’re doing, but the studios that are doing well are focusing on one area and marketing harder,” Newell said.
Newell said that in some parts of the country, photography is picking up, but not necessarily in this state.
“Ohio is a little bit behind the curve on the recovery part of the industry,” he said. “There are areas picking up, but … People don’t have to buy photography. We’re an option, a luxury option.”
Fischink differentiates itself by focusing on the experience, said Shannon Fischer.
“Here we get opportunities to know each senior and get to see what they like while out on location and make sure it’s good,” she said. “And if it’s not, we fix it.”
After the shoot, the client comes back into the studio for a presentation of their photos and can choose from a variety of products — from traditional pictures to iPhone cases and mouse pads.
In the future, the Fischers are considering getting more into team sports photography and growing their two Springfield and London businesses.
“We have four boys in school here,” Ty Fischer said. “We want to invest in this community and provide something that’s not there.”
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