Frequently Asked Questions

The space that frees photographers to create, makes clients feel like stars, and is the kind of edge corporate teams wish they’d found sooner.

One walkthrough and you’ll understand why everyone ends up here.

Location

We’re located at 137 Koonce Fork Rd, Unit F & G, Richlands, NC 28574

  • The studio is ground level and directly connected to the parking lot providing handicap accessible access. Parking is free.

  • We’re located in the busy commercial area of Richlands, NC. We are close to:

    • Waffle House (Within a Few Hundred Feet)

    • Starbucks (Across the Street)

    • Arby’s (Across the Street)

    • Dunkin Donuts (Across the Street)

    • Wendy’s (Across the Street)

    • Highway 55 (Across the Street)

    • Tractor Supply (Across the Street)

    • McDonalds (Adjacent)

    • Bojangles (1 Mile)

    • Piggly Wiggly (1 Mile)

    • Domino’s Pizza (1 Mile)

    • Walmart (2 Miles Away)

    • Taco Bell (2 Miles Away)

    • Pizza Hut (2 Miles Away)

    • Albert J Ellis Airport (6.6 Miles Away)

    With a population that is quickly growing, several upcoming projects are expected to break ground in 2026:

    • Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott (Will Have a Connected Parking Lot to Our Studio)

    • Cookout (In the Plaza Across the Street)

    • Sheetz (Under Construction, 1 Block Away)

  • While here, you are welcome to use the exterior of the building and the back area which is adjacent to a field. Entry into the field is not allowed, but can be used as a backdrop.

    We’re also located close to:

    • Richlands Steed Park (6 Minutes) This park has tall pines, an open field, and an incredible ivy formation in the early spring through late fall.

    • Mike’s Farm (8 Minutes)

    • Discovery Gardens of Onslow County (10 Minutes)

    • Big Branch Bike Park (12 Minutes)

    • New River Waterfront Park (19 Minutes)

    • Jacksonville Downtown (19 Minutes)

    • Riverwalk Park (20 Minutes)

    • Riverwalk Marina (21 Minutes)

    • Sturgeon City Park (21 Minutes)

    • Wilson Bay Park (22 Minutes)

    • Jacksonville Commons (22 Minutes)

  • There is! Our number one goal in creating this space was to provide a place for creatives to come together, so ultimately we chose this location as it is a centerpoint for the key metropolitan areas of Raleigh/Durham (1 hour, 40 minutes), Wilmington (1 hour, 15 minutes), Greenville (1 hour, 15 minutes), and New Bern (50 minutes).

    Our location provides:

    • Close proximiity to OAJ airport (12 Minutes) which provides flights from American Airlines connecting through Charlotte and Delta Air Lines connecting through Atlanta.

    • Accessibility to a variety of restaurant chains and local restaurants.

    • Easy access to large highways with low traffic volumes ensuring you have an easy drive without all of the stop and go.

  • Not at all! In fact, the vast majority of clients who do sessions with photographers in our studio are from areas like Raleigh, Goldsboro, and Wilmington. Combining a large selction of restaurants and easy access from highways with little traffic and beautiful scenery, we’ve found that clients not only don’t mind the commute, but also tend to appreciate the ease of getting here and the comforts close by.

  • We were very intentional in selecting the studio’s location to avoid a warehouse feel that’s common in studios. We choose this location to ensure your clients feel a sense of comfort and quiet luxury when visiting the space.

    If you haven’t been here before and are driving in from out of town, you’ll find the drive brings you through a pleasant combination of winding backroads with beautiful views and wide, easy highways with lighter traffic. The studio is situated in the main commercial district of Richlands, NC, nestled among a row of busy neighboring businesses that share common area maintenance to ensure a consistently well-kept, attractive business environment.

General Rental Details

  • More than just renting a blank space, we are a full-service rental studio that provides a comprehensive range of professional resources, equipment, and support to bring your creative vision to life. Our rentals include:

    • Inventory. The use of our inventory system is included with your rental, giving you access to more than 1,000 available items for your shoot. Please note that certain oversized, single-use, rare, fragile, or particularly dirt-prone items may incur an additional fee.

    • Setup. This includes pulling requested inventory items and preparing up to two backdrops for your session. For fabric backdrops, our staff will hang and carefully steam them so they are ready for you when you arrive.

    • Lighting. Our rentals include use of our continuous lights. Three smaller continuous lights are provided for use at the set areas and the seamless backdrop station, offering flexible, even illumination. For the cyclorama wall, two larger, more powerful stationary lights are supplied to deliver strong, consistent coverage.

    • Beverage Station & Refreshments. Our studio also provides complimentary refreshments, with a beverage station and a beverage cooler consistently stocked with bottled water, juice boxes, and a variety of sodas for you and your clients.

    • Clean Up. Skip the time needed to clean up — our staff handles all cleanup for you, including glitter, confetti, and cake smashes. Please note, however, that glitter and confetti are permitted only at our seamless paper station.

  • All of our rentals include exclusive use of the studio and you are welcome to use any areas of the studio (with exception of areas dedicated to our staff) — from installed sets, the cyclorama wall, and seamless paper station. While photographers are welcome to make a reservation together, we only take one rental per time slot.

  • Our studio was carefully designed to ease the transition from natural light to studio work. With two large front window/door units and complimentary continuous lighting that produces a more natural-feeling artificial light when needed, our space is ideal — not only for seasoned studio photographers, but also for those just beginning their journey into studio photography.

  • A lot! That’s something that makes our studio so unique and we cater to both natural light photographers and photographers with advance lighting skills.

    For natural light photographers with little to no lighting experience, our studio provides soft natural window light with available aide of continuous lighting to ensure images can be captured with ease.

    For photographers with advanced lighting experience, our studio has been designed to give creatives full lighting control and provides access to a wide range of lighting capabilities from blackout panels and curtains for the windows, V-Flats, gels/masks and so much more.

  • We do! With a collaborative atmosphere bringing together the resources of multiple photographers, our studio is able to provide creatives with the latest in technologies and photography tools, providing a place to learn and experiment with flagship products from companies like Godox, Nikon, V-Flat, Neewer, and MagMod.

  • Our studio is always fully staffed, and you and your clients are warmly greeted upon arrival so you immediately feel welcome, comfortable, and genuinely appreciated. This attention to hospitality ensures that even if your clients arrive before you, they will be met with open doors, personally welcomed by our attentive team, offered refreshments, and shown a comfortable place to relax while they wait.

    Throughout your session, our staff is in the break room or office attending to administrative tasks, but we are ready to assist whenever you need us. Customer service is our top priority, and our team is available to provide support at any time. Need help? Three easily accessible call buttons are installed in the studio to make it quick and simple to reach us during your rental.

  • Maintaining a clean and safe environment is super important to us. In addition to regular cleaning and availability to hand sanitizer provided in the studio, a 30-minute buffer is placed between each rental to allow time for our staff to vacumn and sanitize. For hard surface items, like table tops and touch props, items are cleaned with Clorox wipes. For fabric surfaces like couches, client closet items, and blankets, items are sprayed throughly with Lysol spray between each use.

  • No, we do not record any social media or video content during rentals unless a photographer requests it, as we know how important it is that you have full control of any content captured of your clients during your rental. The content shared on our IG pages is normally submitted directly from the photographers renting our studio or are clips from content we capture from studio-sponsored events.

  • You can! If paying by credit card or Apply Pay, our payment system requires a staff login to ensure gratuity left goes directly to the staff member who helped you during your rental.

  • If there is a chance you may go over your rental time, please let our staff know. As long as there is not an incoming rental, we are always happy to extend time as needed!

    The rate for time extensions is $20 + tax per 15-minutes and can be paid via credit card at the end of your rental.

  • We recommend planning to change in the restroom, which is equipped with a hanger on the back of the door to keep your clothing neat while you’re here. For added convenience, a full-length mirror is located just outside the restroom door to help with outfit checks and final adjustments.

  • Please let our staff know immediately and be understanding that we may ask for you to cover the original cost of the item that is broken before you leave, especially in cases of negligence or misuse where the cost of the item exceeds $25.

    How do we determine the cost? With every item within our inventory system, we maintain the receipt to ensure we know the original cost of every item.

    Why let us know? Most importantly, because other renters may need that item and being able to efficiently communicate with the person who has it reserved saves everyone a lot of stress and time. We are very diligent about cleaning and inventorying the space after every rental, so it usually doesn’t take us long to locate missing items and determine who last had them. We truly don’t mind when things get damaged because we understand accidents happen, but what disappoints us most is when people try to hide damage or fail to be honest with us. Clear, timely communication shows you respect the studio and the important role it plays for the local creative community. Breaking something won’t automatically end your access to the space, but hiding it or being untruthful will jeopardize future bookings and trust.

  • We do and any items found to be left behind are kept for up to 30 days in our lost and found. Please be sure to call or message us if you think you may have left something behind as soon as possible.

  • We do and we planned ahead! The studio has been outfitted with two independent HVAC units to ensure if one becomes inoperable, we have an additional unit to act as a backup.

  • Our cyclorama holds up to 24 people comfortably for photos. If you have a rental where you expect over 10 people, please be sure to send us an email before your rental to let us know.

  • 15 minutes prior to your rental start time.

  • We understand how important your relationship with your clients is and the pressure that can come from using a space that’s visibly branded with another photographer’s name. That’s why the studio is clearly identified as a co-working rental photography studio and intentionally contains no resident photographer. The only places you might see a photographer’s name on-site are the TV when it’s displaying upcoming studio-hosted events and in our employee-only breakroom, where frequent renters may, if they wish, display awards or personal items out of client view. All other collateral is checked for between rentals — yes, even business cards discreetly left in the baby changing station — and removed by our staff so you maintain complete control over the materials your clients encounter.

  • Your success is our success and we love to share! We're huge believers in getting your work out there, and we'd love to be part of that. Tag us when you share on social, and if you ever need to use images without credit, just shoot us a quick heads-up — that's all we ask.

    If image use ever feels a little fuzzy, we've put together a quick Image Use Guide with the basics and some deeper insights for when you're navigating it for the first time. We remember what it was like when we started navigating image use, and we want this to feel easy, not overwhelming.

    Instagram is our primary platform. Here's how to collaborate with us:

    • Collab: Tag us as a collaborator on your post so it shows up on our main feed.

    • Send us a gallery: We love featuring images from submitted galleries on our social media and website, always including proper tags and full photographer credits.

    • Tag or message us: Anytime we're tagged in a post, we reshare it. If you'd rather not tag us, just send the post via messenger so we don't miss it.

    Boudoir note: Your work is absolutely beautiful, but since we have a wide range of followers, we do limit the number of boudoir posts we share and collaborate on.

  • There are a few:

    • Aggressive, violent, or volatile behavior, especially toward our staff.

    • Failure to report broken, stained, or damaged items.

    • Theft.

    • Intentional disregard for the safety of your clients.

    • Repeated damage to the cyc wall due to a failure to communicate with your clients.

    • Blantant disregard for studio rules.

    • Outside boudoir or nudity within or outside of the studio.

    • Repeated attempts to leave branded material behind in the studio.

  • We do have lockers available for members in the break room under video monitoring, plus off-site storage options with advance notice. Height and weight restrictions apply, and a liability waiver is required.

    Click here to learn more.

  • The cyclorama wall can comfortably fit 24 people. With the extra foot traffic and additional clean up, an additional clean up fee of $100 applies for rentals where 8 or more people will be present.

Booking

  • Not at all! Studio rentals are open to all photographers.

  • Absolutely! Just send your client our booking link. Our rental questionnaire includes a box for clients to fill out the name of their photographer. If you have rented with us before and we have your information on file, we will automatically notify you that a booking has been made when you are mentioned in this box.

  • You can! All of our bookings have a flexible cancellation policy which allows, with advance notice, for you to receive a studio credit in the event you need to cancel.

  • Absolutely! Our studio is large enough for more than one photographer to work at a time. If there is a photographer that you love working with that may be having sessions at the same time and you would like to share the space/cost, you are more than welcome to.

  • Yes! If you are staging your own set, please be sure to include enough time in your rental before your session starts for setting up and after your session for tearing down. For simple setups we normally recommend adding a half hour at the beginning and end of your session, and for more complex ones, an hour to two hours before and after your session start and end times. While we have some buffer room inbetween rentals, this timeframe is used by our staff to tidy, vacuum, clean, and sanitize before the next rental, so please do your best to ensure you are fully done by the end of your rental time.

  • Of course! With ceremonies where only two people, the officiant and the photographer will be present, use our standard booking links. Anything larger — contact us.

  • We understand that flexibility is key.

    • Rental Fees Paid. To provide consideration for the time pulled from our calendar, rental fees paid will not be refunded, regardless of circumstance, but we do allow for flexible rescheduling or cancellation with issuance of a gift card when advance notice is provided.

    • Options. If you need to reschedule or cancel, you have the option to:

      • Reschedule

      • Cancel & Have a Gift Card Issued

      • These options are available as long as you are within the timeframes available for changes below.

    • Rescheduling & Canceling.

      • Studio Sessions: If you need to cancel, please notify us at least 48 hours before your session. The non-refundable retainer may be applied once to a rescheduled date within 60 days. Cancellations made less than 48 hours before the session forfeit the retainer.

      • Events & Gatherings: Cancellations made more than 14 days before the event forfeit the retainer. Cancellations made within 14 days of the event are non-refundable, and the full balance remains due.

    • Studio Discount Days. As these slots are so limited, reservations for studio discount days are fully non-refundable and are not eligible for rescheduling, regardless of circumstance.

    • Process for Canceling or Rescheduling. The studio provides self-service rescheduling and cancelling links within confirmation/reminder emails and on calendar invites. All reservation cancellation and rescheduling requests must be made using the links available within your reservation confirmation/reminder emails or under the ‘View Session Details’ link within your calendar invite. The studio receives, at times, over a hundred messages a day, so to mitigate the potential for error, requests made via email, Instagram, Facebook, text, phone call or other avenues of communication will not be accepted.

  • Absolutely! Head to our booking page and select "+15 Minutes" or "+30 Minutes" to add time to your current session. Our team manually reviews each request to make sure there are no scheduling hiccups with other creatives — because we want you to have all the space you need without any overlap stress. Once approved, we'll shoot you an email to finalize and process payment. Easy ✨

  • To ensure a quick and easy flow for cancellation and rescheduling requests, please always use the rescheduling and cancel links provided in your rental confirmation and reminder emails. Can’t find the email? This information is also included in your calendar invite for the rental, making it simple to review and make adjustments on your own. We do not accept rescheduling or cancellation requests via messaging platforms or regular email, as those channels make it very easy for requests to be missed.

  • To ensure we never make a mistake on changes made to a booking, self-management helps us maintain a consistently lower rate of error, preventing double bookings, timing mistakes, and the other small issues that can create confusion or inconvenience for you and your clients. This is why anytime we receive a message for changes, we’ll always direct you to your self service options.

  • To ensure fairness to all renters, we do not allow use of time that has not been booked or paid for. If you are scheduling two rentals back-to-back with a 30-minute buffer in-between, please plan to grab a coffee/take a short break in between.

    Want to remove the break between bookings? Use the “Need a different time? Submit a request” option on our booking pages to request to book directly before or after a rental you already have. For rental extensions under 30 minutes, please send us a message.

    What happens if I use that time anyways? Our goal always is to ensure a wonderful environment for not only you but your clients, so please be sure to pay attention to the clock. To ensure your clients have a wonderful experience, we limit as much as possible reminding you about timing, but you will have a balance due at the end of your rental for the difference.

  • There is! We offer a Studio Membership program for regular renters, plus a Creative Residency tier for our most active photographers. If you're booking with us frequently, it's worth asking about.

    Click here to learn more about memberships.

Pets & Session Types

  • Dogs and cats are always welcome. The only thing we require is an up-to-date rabies vaccination.

    The only exception? Dogs that have been deemed dangerous or have a history of biting other animals or humans.

  • Our studio is perfect for almost any type of indoor session, including senior photos, in-door lifestyle, bridal portraits, fashion photography, modeling, family portraits, cake smashes, couples, branding, and milestones.

  • We love a good celebration! 🎂 Just bring the cake — we've got everything else covered. Head to our Cake Smash Guide for everything you need to know about keeping the mess contained and the magic flowing.

  • You can! We do have a refrigerator in our breakroom to store a cake if needed. Just send us a message to let us know when to expect someone.

  • We do! The studio is outfitted with white curtains for the front doors to allow for more privacy while providing more natural light to filter through, but we do have a few restrictions:

    • Our studio is not a fit for boudoir sessions centered around full nudity. We recommend only booking the studio for sessions where your client will be wearing lingerie.

    • Under no circumstance do we allow for any photos to be taken outdoors in nudity or in lingerie.

    • We do not allow dangerous practices/techniques that have a potential to cause harm as we understand how crucial it is to have experts who are experienced in these techniques. As vetting renters for experience is outside our control, we do limit these practices to ensure a safe environment for everyone in the studio.

    • Rentals involving pornography or persons under the age of 18 is strictly prohibited. We reserve the right to confirm age prior to any rental for boudoir sessions.

Sets & Inventory System

  • Absolutely! In fact, we encourage it and we have a whole online system dedicated to make reserving and ensuring availability of items super easy for you!

    Some of our items are stored offsite or are currently used in sets, so this allows for you to know exactly what is available so you can have the items you need while you’re here. Based on availability, our staff will also pre-set items for you, like fabric backdrops, as much as possible to make it easier for you to focus on what you love!

    You can view our online inventory system by clicking here.

  • No, featured curated installed sets must stay in place, but there is always plenty of room in the studio to build your own set.

    With Featured Installed Sets, No
    While at times these sets can seem so simple, in actuality, these sets are intentionally intricate and often contain delicate stabilizing features that are very time consuming to cross reference and correct.

    With Quick Sets, Yes
    These sets are designed to provide you with full control while cutting down some of the time needed for a full setup.

    Why do you limit moving items out of sets?
    Because the experience that you and your clients have matters tremendously to us! We genuinely strive to always ensure you arrive at a space that is thoughtfully prepared and fully ready for your creative work, without the distraction or disruption of our staff scrambling to put things back in their proper place. What we have learned is that is very easily overlook things that are out of place, missing or even in an orientation that doesn’t make sense, creating circumstances where imagery is taken that cannot be easily corrected or fixed. Your help in keeping things where they are helps us to maintain an exceptional experience not only for you but also for every person who comes in after.

    Large Furniture Items
    For two person lifts, like couches or items that are part of a set structure, two people are scheduled ahead of rentals to ensure items are safely moved, so please be sure to use our inventory system and send us an email if you would like to use any larger items.

  • They do! Our inventory is constantly expanding and sets change out every two months. In addition to always having a minimum of three staged sets, we ensure that at least 12 feet of open wall space is available (either our cyclorama wall of our trimmed wall) for you to create your own. You view current sets available in the studio by clicking here.

  • Absolutely! In fact, we encourage it. Our inventory system is not only designed to help us manage stock, but it’s built as a unique creative tool to give you and your clients even more control over your shoots, streamlining choices while supporting imaginative decisions.

  • Absolutely! We love helping creatives with design sets and bringing ideas to life. When you send over inspiration pictures, we’ll provide a curated selection of recommended items to make reserving from our inventory system simple and efficient. For inspo photos that include specific lighting techniques, we’ll also preset the lighting so setup is quick and straightforward.

  • To help creatives save valuable time and work more efficiently, we provide the following services to renters free of charge:

    • Pulling of Inventory Items. Our staff will pull out items requested through our inventory system and have them ready for you before your arrival.

    • What We Setup For You. For fabric, seamless paper, and poly paper backdrops requested from our inventory system, our staff will pull and prepare up to two backdrops before your arrival. Just please be sure to submit these requests at least 24 hours before your rental.

    • Cake Smashes. Our staff will preset your cake smash setup and clean up after your departure. (Yes, you can leave the mess!)

  • You’re welcome to arrive 15 minutes before your scheduled rental, but please keep in mind that a lot is happening between bookings — pickup, vacuuming, sanitizing, cleaning, and presetting. Although it may feel like there’s ample time, those minutes pass quickly. If your set requires significant time to build or dismantle, we strongly recommend including both setup and tear-down within your reserved rental window.

Event Rentals

  • We've designed the studio to be incredibly versatile. From intimate baby showers and bridal showers to small corporate offsites, team strategy sessions, leadership retreats, and client appreciation events — if you can dream it, we can probably make it work. Our space is also a popular choice for micro-weddings, elopements, and intimate ceremonies.

  • Our cyclorama wall area holds up to 24 people comfortably for photos and 40 for seated gatherings. If you are planning an event or session with 8 or more guests, an additional $100 setup/cleanup fee will apply.

  • We do! We've created three tailored packages for businesses:

    • The Huddle — 3-hour rental, up to 10 guests, includes headshots for up to 8 team members

    • The Summit — 5-hour rental, up to 20 guests, includes headshots for up to 15 team members

    • The Retreat— 8-hour full-day rental, up to 40 guests, includes headshots for up to 25 team members

    Each package includes exclusive studio access, full beverage station, on-site concierge, and professional headshots delivered within a week.

    Click here to learn more.

  • All event rentals include:

    • Exclusive use of the full studio

    • On-site concierge staff throughout your event

    • Full beverage station with coffee, chilled drinks, and snacks

    • 1,000+ item inventory system for styling and setup

    • 65" OLED TV for presentations or slideshows

    • Dedicated high-speed fiber internet

    • Dual independent HVAC units for climate control

    • Cleanup handled by our staff after your event

  • We provide a 65" OLED TV that can be used for presentations, slideshows, or displaying a welcome message. We also have dedicated high-speed fiber internet throughout the studio. If you need specific AV equipment beyond what we have, you're welcome to bring your own.

  • Yes! You're welcome to bring in decorations, florals, and personal touches to make the space feel like yours — just be sure to include the time you need within your rental.

    We just ask that you keep our installed sets in place, and let us know ahead of time if you're planning anything that might require extra cleanup.

  • We understand that plans can change. For event bookings:

    • Cancellations made more than 14 days before your event: the non-refundable retainer is forfeited, but we can work with you on rescheduling.

    • Cancellations made within 14 days of your event: the full balance remains due.

  • Yes. The standard rental fee is required to book with added photography services and cleaning fee due one week before.

  • No, we’re an alcohol-free zone.

  • The studio is ground level with direct access to the parking lot, including handicap accessible spots. Parking is free. For larger events, there's plenty of additional parking in the shared commercial lot.

  • We'd love to show you the space! Reach out to us and we'll set up a time for you to come see the studio in person and start planning your event.

Studio Events & Photography-Led Workshops/Styled Session

  • Absolutely! Our goal in creating this space was not only to provide a place for photographers to rent, but to also provide a place for creatives in the community to connect, gain new friendships, and find the support they need. So whether you’re new to the area and looking to make some new friends who share your passion, a creative looking for some new content or education, or a current photography group looking for a place to hold your meetings, please know there is always a place for you here in our studio!

  • The studio is ground level and directly connected to the parking lot providing handicap accessible access. Parking is free.

  • It is! We have a strong community focus and provide our studio free of charge for events and gatherings designed to bring the creative community together. (i.e. Events where multiple photographers are involved or events where multiple models are involved.) These are normally events that are open to the local creative community and are targeted to involve no less than five creatives. While not every submission can be approved, please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have an idea of upcoming meeting in mind and are in need of a space!

    To ensure fairness to all of our renters, we don’t provide our space complimentary for sessions where only solo creatives will be involved.

  • You sure can! Have an idea in mind? Click here to learn more.

  • Absolutely! Education is at the core of what we do, and we have a fantastic workshop program that makes it incredibly easy for educators to host engaging sessions while ensuring that they are compensated for their valuable contributions. If you're interested, click here to learn more about our offerings and how you can get involved!

  • With the exception of studio content days, no. Anyone coming with you will also need a ticket, too.