Knoxville Photography Studio Renovation
May Studio Renovations at HighLight
In May, we took 6 days to make some big changes to our space. Throughout the past 5 months since opening our rentable Knoxville photography studio, we have been listening to our local photographers’ feedback & paying attention to how people have been utilizing the space for their photoshoots.
Our main goals for the renovation were to:
increase the size of the space by the front windows where all of the beautiful natural light is
create more depth for photoshoots to better accommodate photographing groups of people
brighten the space
overall, give our photographers more creative flexibility to customize the space & make it their own
We achieved these goals by:
taking down most of the front wall to open up the front room
painting the floor white
adding a wall of bright white curtains across from our large store front windows
re-wiring our electric and lighting to adjust symmetry and add more lighting for evening rentals
Check out this reel from our HighLight Studio Instagram to see a video tour of the space.
I’m so proud of all that we were able to accomplish in such a short amount of time. It felt to good to have the studio back up and running less than one week later!
The Nitty Gritty
Sometimes when you see before-and-after photos & videos online, it can make the process look so simple & easy. It’s always far from it! Our beautiful space is located in an old industrial building. We LOVE it for it’s character and charm and texture, but along with an old building like this comes speed bumps you might not come across with new construction. We wouldn’t trade it though! We are so thankful for this space and thanks to these renovations, we feel like we are really squeezing the good out of it and using it to its fullest potential.
Things that often don’t get shown in the before-and-after process include tedious sweat equity like carrying drywall back and forth to the dumpster, pulling nails & staples out of the rafters, scraping old linoleum off the floors, and sweeping, sweeping, SWEEPING.
This project was made not just made possible by me, the studio owner, but by loving family members who gave their time to the renovation, preschool teachers & babysitters who cared for young children while the work was happening, and to all of our local photographers who have given us helpful feedback when we’ve asked for it.
This photo shows a good wide view of the studio from the perspective of standing by our large front windows. If you’re familiar with our space, you’ll see how we removed most of the front wall, leaving a little nook across from the entry with the chair, plants, and table. The floor is freshly painted white and there is a new wall of white curtains that can be used as an additional backdrop and added texture for photo sessions.
A Blank Canvas
Our goal at HighLight Studio still remains to provide a blank canvas for local photographers to have flexible creativity. We want to create a simple & accommodating space. When you rent our photography studio, you can always move things around and use any of the styling props or backdrops we have available including our backdrop stand/wall brackets and seamless backdrops, any of our plants & flowers, chairs, couch, inflatable bed, & other items.
Thankful
We are so thankful for this studio and we love getting to share it with our Knoxville community. If you haven’t yet booked the space for a photoshoot or content day, we hope to have you soon. You can inquire here or email us directly at highlightstudioknox@gmail.com with any questions you might have.
Thank you for coming along for this creative journey with us!
xo, Suzy & the HighLight Studio team