Today we’d like to introduce you to Susan Centineo.
Hi Susan, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I’m a Real Estate agent and have been for quite a while. In 2007 – 2009 when the market crashed, I had some time to pursue other interests. I decided to use my spare time to flex my creative muscle in the area of photography. I bought a midrange Nikon and tagged along with some wedding and fashion photographers for about a year, and very quickly became quite adept and loved it. Within 3 years, I was doing fashion shoots in New York at the former Calumet Photographic upstairs studio. I trained under Claudio Basso, and wrote articles about him in various industry magazines in exchange for attending his seminars. About a year later, I was conducting my own seminars for established photographers who wanted to create or enrich their fashion portfolios, aptly called ‘Portfolio-In-A-Day.’ My studio provided models, most from Icon Model Management where Cynthia Saldana was amazing and generous with the models she provided; and some line of designer clothing at each seminar, like Goldspun, Joseph Ribkoff, Bebe and Tribal. Calumet provided the equipment, the lighting, and the backdrops. We had superior hair, makeup and wardrobe stylists, and we continued these high energy shoots several times a year. Meanwhile, more and more I was shooting weddings, and that just grew itself, literally. Well, within about 5 years Real Estate made a comeback, and that is indeed my main career. But with flexible, self-made schedules, I still shoot weddings from April through October, and will be offering Portfolio-In-A-Day again in November of this year, in Baltimore. Stay tuned for details. 🙂
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Honestly, it came so naturally that it barely even felt like work. I went to a private high school in Cleveland and took college prep, with a second focus in art. In college I added art classes to my schedule but ony as a minor, if I could even call it that. Three college degrees later, Real Estate was the calling and I loved it. Business, yes, but I could sneak in some creativity ithrough staging and creating my own advertising pieces. Then, when I got into photography, I was always in the right place at the right time and never hesitated to pursue and capitalize on any opportunities. It’s fun. It’s exciting. It’s high energy and I am high energy, and truly you have to be in wedding and fashion photography. You have to be a wild multi-tasker and able to go with the flow, but conversely you have to control it. In my case I had to juggle two lines of work, a family, and all the zillions of other things, but I thrive on challenges. And photography really never felt like work. That was certainly helpful.
We’ve been impressed with Studio C Photography, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Studio C has been doing business since 2007. We’ve shot hundreds and hundres of weddings, and our style can be considered ‘controlled candid.’ We capture the moments and activity and all of the nuances, but still get the posed shots, the families, the bridal party, the things the parents want while focusing on the style and personalities of the bride and groom. From highly reserved to highly anything-goes, and everything in between, we are there. Our wedding packages start at $2800, with an hourly option as well for smaller or more budget-conscious weddings. We always have two photographers at every wedding, full editing, and we make sure we meet the bride and groom to learn how best to cpature their big day. We don’t go on and on about how we wanted to do this since we were little, or any other sort of dreamy statements. We just cut to the chase and shoot weddings, we make everyone happy and we deliver outstanding photos. We make it fun.
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
Word of mouth has served Studio C well. Clients who like you and your work will refer you to their friends, and so on. For any wanna-be wedding photographers, you should tag along on some weddings and see what it’s all about. That’s how I got started. Weddings can be long and stressful days, so being able to embrace and handle that is key. You need to relax and help everyone else to do the same.
Pricing:
- $2800 Wedding Package – 6 hours, two photographers, full editing, digital images, online viewing gallery to share.
- $3600 Wedding package – Same as above with 8 hours, custom album
- $5000 Two-day Ultimate Package – By personal design, up to 8 hours per day, prints package and incredible album
- Hourly and a la carte options available.
