Meet Grey Darrah of Darrah Photo Fine Portraiture

Today we’d like to introduce you to Grey Darrah.

Grey, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I am my mother’s child. My mother is an artist but was also a Scientist at NASA. We are both blessed with a strong right and left brain function. As a result, I have always been a creative thinker and very skilled with my hands, whether sculpting, woodworking, or photography, but at the same time, I’m able to code software, build Android apps, and master Photoshop.

I began fashion photography while in the Marine Corps as a young man but put it aside to pursue a “grown-up” career once I started a family. The rise of digital cameras drew me back into photography and by the middle of 2004, I knew I wanted to by a photographer again, only this time, I wanted to make beautiful art for peoples’ homes via classic portraiture. I spent a year studying art and being mentored by several famous portrait photographers in America. I bought only the highest-end equipment in preparation for opening my studio.

Within four months, I had a beautiful, high-end portrait studio established and a full schedule of clients from all over the Atlanta area. I relied on ads and mailers for the first two years, but after that, my business has grown primarily from referrals. Our family clients are mostly from Atlanta, while our “Baby Plan” clients are typically from Bartow, Cobb, Cherokee, and Floyd counties.

Great, 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?
Overall, the studio has been a huge success. As history will show, only real brick and mortar photography studios weather multiple recessions. Our studio was as busy as we could handle until August 2007. Suddenly, the Atlanta area was stricken in a panic over foreclosures and layoffs.

Our business immediately dropped 35%. We revamped our marketing strategies and began offering interest-free/no fees payment plans to our clients. This made it possible for clients to still purchase their high-end portraiture without blowing their budgets (and ticking their husbands off). It wasn’t until about 2011 before clients began being comfortable spending more again.

One of the biggest negatives of the recession was the influx of amateur photographers (basically, any mom with a decent camera). Families were so financially desperate after 2007, 1000’s of new “photographers” popped up in the Atlanta area with only a Facebook page and no studio. For $75 they would meet you in a park or your yard, spend two hours with you, and give you a CD of images. They did not print, nor did they know anything about printing.

In the photography world, this is considered a disservice, as consumers don’t know how to create a finished product, so the CD sits in a drawer and the images are lost forever.

The client might download them to their Facebook page, but they are never printed and displayed in their homes. Only 3% of photographers are Certified Professional Photographers. I have been certified since 2004.

Please tell us about Darrah Photo fine portraiture.
Darrah Photo specializes in creating classic, timeless portraiture. We, clients, are newborns, babies, children, teens (Seniors portraits), families, Corporate headshots, and pets. We do not do events or weddings, as I believe you can’t do it all and really be great at everything. I also do oil painted portraits from my photography sessions. I do my own editing and my own printing. I never use a lab so I control what the final prints look like.

I use only archival, museum quality papers and canvas and I reprint any damaged portraits – forever. We have reprinted portraits for clients due to house fires, moving gaming, children’s horseplay, even some left on the roof of a taxi at an airport. Our studio is filled with beautiful antiques and hand-painted or crafted backgrounds. We have closets full of classic, timeless dresses and outfits for babies and girls to use if needed.

Most of our clients come to use because they desire classic portraits for their walls. This is what I love to do. I want to create art for your home that just happens to have your child or family in it.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
I had a fairly normal childhood until about age 14. My mother’s new husband did not find my very lovable, so I was sent to The Big Oak Ranch for Boys in Alabama until my Senior year in high school. The ranch was one of the best things that ever happened to me, so all is well. Anyway, when I was about 8 years old, one Christmas, I received a G.I. Joe Helicopter AND a pool table!

For whatever reason, this day has always stuck in my mind as one of the happiest days of my life. It made such an impression on me, I made sure each Christmas for my three children was the best ever. That memory set the bar pretty high for my Christmas expectations for my family and it has stuck with me even to this day.

Pricing:

• Our Baby Plan membership is only $39 and includes a $450 4-image matted and framed panel at year end. Most of our Baby Plan clients spend between $300 – $700 once a quarter during that first year.
• Our regular clients typically spend between $1800-$5000 from a family or children session.
• Corporate Headshots are $250

Contact Info:

• Address: 100 Cook St. Ste. 101 Cartersville, GA 30120
• Website: www.darrahphoto.com
• Phone: 770-607-1411
• Email: greydarrah@darrahphoto.com
• Facebook: facebook.com/darrahphoto
• Other: bigshotmoms.com (my blog)

Getting in touch: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.