I shoot in A LOT of studios around the Phoenix Valley. And they are absolutely NOT all the same.

• Some have beautiful, soft natural light.
• Some are built for controlled studio lighting and that high-fashion editorial look.
• Some have giant white walls perfect for horizontal website banners.
• Others are tiny little rooms that are ADORABLE for one or two people—but put a family of five in there and we have a problem. lol.

After nearly 20 years of photographing people, I care about way more than whether a studio is “pretty.” I want to know: What direction do the windows face? What does the light do at 9am versus 3pm? Can I back up far enough to photograph you without distorting you with a wide-angle lens? Can we photograph five people horizontally? Are there stairs? Is there a getting-ready space? Can we bring your dog? Can we play music? Do we have privacy? Is there somewhere for you to arrive early?

ALL of those things can change your experience and your final images.

So let’s talk about some of the Phoenix photography studios I use, what they’re actually good for, and how I help my clients choose the right one.

First: Natural Light vs. Studio Lighting

Lighting changes EVERYTHING about how a studio photographs—and this is one area where I have a very definite preference.

Natural light is my first choice when I want beautiful, clean, flattering skin.

BUT a great natural-light studio gives us more than just “light coming through a window.” That daylight fills the entire room and bounces from the walls, floors and ceilings, creating this beautiful combination of softness AND dimension that I absolutely love. This is also why I’m obsessed with an ALL-WHITE studio—white walls, white floors, white ceilings and, even better, HIGH ceilings. All of those white surfaces help bounce that beautiful natural light around the space instead of absorbing it. The result feels bright, clean and open, and it gives me so much freedom to move you around and photograph from different directions.

It’s also why I’m usually less drawn to studios with concrete or wood floors or low ceilings and small footprints. They can be gorgeous for a specific mood or aesthetic, but they don’t reflect and fill the space with light in the same way. And visually, I just LOVE that seamless, clean white environment.

Give me giant windows, white EVERYTHING and tall ceilings and I am a very happy photographer. lol.

But Sometimes We WANT Studio Lighting

Could I put a giant diffuser or softbox over an artificial light and make it softer? Absolutely. I just don’t particularly love doing that. Soft artificial light and soft natural light don’t look the same to me. When I’m trying to recreate window light with studio lighting, I often find the result feels a little too even or “washed” for my personal style.

I’d rather choose a studio with gorgeous natural light and let the windows do what they do SO beautifully.

If I’m going to pull out my studio lights, I usually want them to look intentional.

Give me the harder shadows -Give me contrast or give me that crisp, high-fashion, editorial feeling.

HOWEVER…..NEED TO KNOW STUDIO LIGHTING:

Studio lighting can emphasize more skin texture, pores, shine and shadows than the soft natural light I typically use, so it’s something we’ll consider depending on the final look you’re going for.

The lights themselves can also be BRIGHT, so sometimes there is a little adjustment period for your eyes when we first turn everything on.

And then there is one of my FAVORITE lighting situations:

direct sunlight pouring into a natural-light studio.

Depending on the studio, season, weather and time of day, we can get beautiful hard sunlight coming through the windows. Now we have the beautiful color and dimension of natural light combined with those stronger shadows and graphic shapes that give us an editorial feel.

This is exactly why I care about WHEN we book your studio, not just WHERE depending on the lighting and vibe you want.

Some of my favorite studios even allow us to do both—natural light first and then close everything up and pull out my Aputure or flash for a completely different look.

One studio. Two completely different vibes.

BLOK Studio: My Favorite Classic White Studio With Diverse Lighting Options.

BLOK’s Downtown Phoenix location is probably my first go-to when a client tells me, “I just want a clean white studio.”

White floors. White walls. EXTRA high ceilings. Beautiful second-story natural light.

Basically…all my favorite things.

Depending on the season, weather and time of day, we can get direct sunlight coming through the windows for those harder editorial shadows I love

BLOK EDITORIAL: Natural Direct Morning Sun

BLOK NATURAL: Beautiful soft natural light.

We can also close off the windows and use my Aputure or flash, which means we can create a surprising amount of diversity without ever changing locations.

BLOK EDITORIAL: Flash/Aperature

There is furniture and equipment available, a getting-ready area, and bathrooms down the hall. It’s also one of the more affordable studios I regularly use, and their staff has always been incredibly easy to work with.

I especially love BLOK for individual branding sessions, headshots, smaller families, product photography and clean website imagery.

My biggest consideration here is

1. SPACE LIMIT Once we get over about 4 people or I know we need a lot of space for me to backup to capture vertical groups and I cannot get far enough away for that. So I generally prefer somewhere larger if you have more than 4 people.
2. STAIRS: It is up LOTS of steep stairs with no elevator – My back LOVES that when I’m hauling all my gear upstairs. lol.
3. LOCATION: The neighborhood is a little bit sketchy in downtown phoenix. lol.
4. NO LOADING/UNLOADING SPACE: You cannot enter before your reserved time, so setup and breakdown need to be built into the rental
5. EXTRA ADD ON COSTS: Colored paper rolls and some specialty equipment are additional fees

PROS

• Beautiful natural light + direct sun possibilities depending on season and time
• Can close off the natural light and switch to flash or continuous studio lighting
• All-white walls AND floors with extra-high ceilings
• Private studio—you aren’t shooting alongside other clients
• Control your own music
• LOTS of included Furniture and many basic studio/grip pieces are already available to use
• Getting-ready area
• Bathrooms down the hall
• Pet-friendly with advance approval
• Easy staff to work with
• One of the more affordable studios I regularly use
• Central Downtown Phoenix location

For that classic white studio look with natural AND artificial lighting possibilities, it’s still one of my first choices.

REFINE 1.0: My Favorite Luxury Natural-Light Studio

REFINE does 2spaces, but 1.0 is the one I’m talking about here because it best fits MY photography style: bright, spacious, elevated and full of natural light. Space 3.0 is coming soon and I’m excited!!!! 2.0 is low ceilings, concrete floors so I wouldn’t ever personally select it unless a client wants that vibe)

REFINE 1.0 is probably the studio I’m MOST obsessed with aesthetically right now.

Instead of stark bright white, REFINE has this gorgeous warm off-white palette that feels incredibly elevated and luxurious.

And there is SPACE.

That matters SO much to me.

There are larger walls where I can create those wide horizontal images that we need for websites, photograph larger groups and actually back up far enough to give an image room to breathe. And enough room for some vertical groups up to 6 people ( still tight but doable!)

There is also SO much available to create with—furniture, props, different backdrops and areas throughout the studio.

The natural light is fantastic because we can get completely different lighting throughout the day.

Depending on our timing and season, we can work with direct sunlight on different sides of the studio

OR beautiful soft natural light.

It’s one of those spaces where I can create a lot of variety without making your final gallery feel like we photographed everything against the same wall.

It’s farther north than many of the studios I regularly use, and it’s a bigger investment, but for the right branding campaign or shoot it is absolutely worth it.

The owner is also wonderful and incredibly easy to work with, and REFINE creates some really fun seasonal setups—especially around Christmas.

THE QUICK TAKE: REFINE 1.0

PROS

• GORGEOUS warm off-white luxury aesthetic
• Beautiful natural light throughout the day
• Direct sunlight possibilities on different sides depending on season and time
• Larger walls and more room for diverse imagery
• Better for larger groups
• High ceilings
• Tons of furniture, props and styling options FREE
• Lots of variety within one rental
• Private space with music control
• Pet-friendly with applicable rules/fees
• Great safe neighborhood
• Wonderful owner and easy to work with
• Frequently offers beautiful creative/seasonal sets

My biggest complaint?

• STAIRS AGAIN. No elevator or wheelchair access at the 1.0 space. Apparently my favorite studios are determined to make me carry photography equipment upstairs forever. lol.
• COST: More expensive than some of my other go-to studios
• LOCATION: Farther north, so location isn’t as convenient for all of my clients

MY PICK FOR: Elevated branding campaigns, larger groups, luxury/editorial imagery, families, lots of horizontal website content and anyone who wants maximum variety from one studio.

The Good Vibe Studios: A huge CYC Wall!

I have a special place in my heart for The Good Vibe Studios because the owners are friends AND clients of mine, and I’m also a MAKER member, so I’m creating there regularly.

My favorite reason to choose Good Vibe?

THE CYC WALL.

If we’re intentionally going for that clean, seamless, high-fashion editorial studio look, this is such a fun space.

There is a small skylight that can give us some really interesting natural/direct sunlight at certain times of the day and year, but this is primarily where I love having full control over the lighting.

We can combine the overhead lights with my Aputure and create those harder, intentional editorial images that look completely different from my classic natural-light work.

Good Vibe also has several smaller themed rooms that change and evolve.

Daylight has natural light and paper backdrop options, and I’ve gotten some GORGEOUS harder morning sunlight in there.

Ethereal has a beautiful, soft living-room feeling.

They have also had spaces and a podcast room, which can be PERFECT when the content itself calls for that environment.I’ve actually photographed the podcast room from the HALLWAY because the room is so tiny—but if you run a podcast, those images immediately communicate what you do! That’s my biggest consideration with some of the smaller rooms here: they’re intentionally intimate spaces. For one or two people, close-ups, video, social content or a very specific concept? GREAT.

For a large family or a branding client who needs tons of spacious website images? I’m probably going to steer you toward the cyc wall or another studio.

Good Vibe is ground level, in a great area, has bathrooms and a getting-ready space, and the staff and owners are incredible. They also keep drinks and snacks around, which is such a thoughtful touch.

Some furniture, lighting and add-ons have additional fees depending on what we book, so we’ll plan those pieces ahead of time.

I’m actually filming my LAUNCH course there too, because it’s a fantastic space for controlled video production.

THE QUICK TAKE: THE GOOD VIBE STUDIOS

PROS

• Amazing seamless cyc wall- Fantastic for controlled editorial lighting
• Some opportunities for direct skylight/sun in the cyc space depending on timing
• Multiple rooms with completely different aesthetics
• Daylight room offers natural-light options with included paper rolls.
• Podcast-specific space—AMAZING if podcasting is part of your brand
• Great for video with noise control
• Ground-level access
• Great neighborhood
• Getting-ready space ( extra $) + bathrooms
• Drinks and snacks available
• Incredible AMAZING female owners and staff
• I’m a MAKER member, so I shoot here regularly and know the spaces well & give my clients discounts!

CONS

• The themed rooms are SMALL and best for only one or two people – even then tight for several needs to shoot from the hall/limited variety.
• I have to photograph from outside the doorway for Ethereal just to get enough distance so no option for angles unless we are doing close up images only.
• Not my first choice for spacious or website photography unless we’re using the larger cyc space ( then it’s great! but limited lighting options for that space- because of the lack of true natural light in the cyc studio
• Music is managed by the studio rather than having complete private control
• Multiple clients may be using different rooms at the same time
• The rental model is more à la carte than some other studios: furniture, lighting or other pieces that aren’t included with your specific room may have additional rental fees- Those extras can add up quickly when we need several pieces for a shoot

MY PICK FOR: High-fashion/editorial studio lighting, cyc-wall shoots, video, podcasts, one-person branding concepts and specific styled environments.

BUDGET NOTE: This is one where we’ll plan the entire setup BEFORE booking. If we know we want a particular chair, lighting package, furniture piece or add-on, I want it included in our studio budget from the beginning rather than discovering a bunch of additional rental costs on shoot day.

Beloved Studios: Small Spaces With BIG Personality

Beloved Studios in Mesa is a totally different experience.

Instead of one giant white studio, Beloved has several individual rooms with their own aesthetics—and the styling is SO GOOD.

Their newborn room is probably my favorite. It’s beautiful for babies and small families and already has so many of the visual pieces we need built into the room.

They also have boudoir spaces, creative rooms that change periodically and plenty of props and details throughout the studio.

The rooms use natural light, which I love.

But—and this is important—they are SMALL. VERY small.

I literally need to stand outside the room and photograph through the doorway to create enough distance! But it’s the same at the Good vibe – Anywhere you have these cute styled rooms they are tiny.

Could I put on a super-wide lens and make the room look larger? Sure. But I generally don’t love photographing people that way because wide-angle lenses can distort bodies and faces when we’re working that close.

So I tend to choose Beloved when we WANT something intimate: newborns, one or two people, smaller branding concepts, boudoir, close-up content or a specific micro-set.

One thing Beloved does that I REALLY appreciate is the arrival experience.

There is a common waiting area, which means you can arrive a little early and get yourself situated rather than literally standing outside waiting for the second your rental begins. That is HUGE.

Most rental studios are booked back-to-back, which means we cannot enter until our exact start time and need to be completely out at the end.

Beloved gives us a little more breathing room in the common areas.

There is also an elevator, getting-ready space, bathrooms and even a stocked refrigerator.

Affordable, thoughtful and SO cute.

THE QUICK TAKE: BELOVED STUDIOS

PROS

• Beautifully styled rooms
• Natural second story light
• Amazing newborn space
• Great props and aesthetics already built into the rooms
• Creative room changes periodically
• Several completely different concepts under one roof
• Elevator access!
• Good neighborhood in a convenient Mesa location
• Affordable!!!
• Getting-ready space – mirrors etc.
• Bathrooms
• Stocked refrigerator
• Waiting/common area means clients can ARRIVE EARLY—which is incredibly helpful
• Private shooting room while you’re using it

CONS

• Rooms are VERY small – Limited ability to create spacious compositions
• Not ideal for for than 1 person in several rooms or 4 in others.
• I have to photograph from outside the doorway just to get enough distance so no option for angles. Using an ultra-wide lens would create more apparent space, but I don’t love the distortion it creates on people
• Each room has a specific aesthetic, so there is less blank-slate flexibility within one room

MY PICK FOR: Newborns, babies, intimate families, boudoir, one-person branding, micro-content sets and shoots where we WANT a cozy environment.

Le Station: Lifestyle, Editorial & Something Completely Different

Le Station is NEW to my personal shooting rotation!

I haven’t photographed a full session there yet, but we already have it booked, so I’ll update this section once I’ve actually worked there and can tell you exactly how the light photographs.

What makes Le Station interesting is that it isn’t really a traditional blank photography studio.

It feels more like an editorial lifestyle space.

There is a kitchen, fireplace, living-room environments, another sofa area and even a salon space that can create this really cool vintage-inspired look.

It’s trendy but also vintage-inspired—which somehow makes perfect sense when you see it.

They do have a smaller traditional studio/backdrop area, but from what I’ve seen so far, that space is much tighter and will probably make the most sense for one or two people with controlled lighting.

The MAIN spaces are what I’m excited about.

I can see this being really fun for branding, editorial families, lifestyle content, product campaigns or anyone who needs their photos to feel like they’re happening in an environment rather than “at a photo studio.”

The owners I’ve met have been incredibly kind, the space is new and clean, and it’s in a great area.

MORE TO COME after I shoot there!

The Fully Alive Garage Studio: Small, Simple & Right Here

And then…there is MY garage. Yep. I converted my garage into a little photography studio!

It originally started because my son Mateo wanted to photograph kids’ headshots himself. But then I realized something:

I was constantly driving across the Valley and paying to rent tiny studios with paper rolls when…I could literally create that exact setup at home. So now I have white brick, concrete floors, paper backdrops and my own lighting equipment right here.

Is it REFINE? Absolutely not. lol. But it isn’t trying to be. My garage studio is perfect when we need something SMALL, quick and affordable. Think headshots. Product photography. A single business owner who needs a few new branding images. Kids’ headshots. A tiny themed shoot. Something we can accomplish in 15–30 minutes without paying for a large studio rental.

I can use natural light,

flash or my studio lighting,

We can use different colored paper depending on the project. The paper rolls are standard width, so once we’re trying to photograph several people, our options become much more limited. I’ve photographed small families out there, but one or two people is definitely the sweet spot.

There is also the white brick/concrete floor vibes if needed

And I sometimes offer themes!

Arizona summer is ARIZONA SUMMER. There is no traditional AC in the garage. I have a swamp cooler that helps, but I’m not putting you through an hour-long branding shoot out there in July.

Also…it’s my actual house. Which means using the restroom or changing involves entering my personal home where there may be a teenager, husband working from home and pets wondering why you’re here. lol.

For that reason, I primarily use it for repeat clients, products, headshots and smaller projects where it makes sense.

But when it DOES make sense? It’s incredibly convenient. There is also my wild backyard that clients seem to LOVE! And you are More than welcome to extend your session time for no extra fees and shoot nature…

THE QUICK TAKE: FULLY ALIVE GARAGE STUDIO

PROS

• Most affordable option
• Natural light available
• Flash + continuous studio lighting available
• Multiple paper backdrop colors
• White brick option
• I own all the equipment, so we’re not adding rental fees for every lighting piece
• Perfect for quick shoots
• Extremely convenient for repeat clients
• Great for products
• Great for kids’ headshots
• Great for one-person branding updates

CONS

• Small space & short ceilings with Concrete floor (not much light bounce)
• Standard 84-inch paper width limits group compositions – One or two people is ideal
• No traditional AC, so longer summer shoots are a NO
• Changing/restrooms mean entering my actual home – There may be a teenager, pets and a husband working from home because…it is, in fact, my house. lol.

MY PICK FOR: Headshots, product photography, kids, quick branding updates, themed mini shoots and small projects where paying for a large commercial studio simply doesn’t make sense.

What About The Other Phoenix Studios?

I’ve photographed in plenty of other studios over the years too.

• WAYLA’s original studio was actually one of my FAVORITES. It had white walls and floors, privacy, tons of natural light and a giant garage door we could open to create an indoor/outdoor feeling. I miss that space! WAYLA has since moved into a different space, but I haven’t photographed at the newer location because visually it hasn’t been as aligned with what I typically need.
• I’ve also photographed at Freddie & Co. in Downtown Phoenix. It’s a cool space with natural-light areas and boudoir options, but for the kind of diversity I typically need during a branding shoot, I’m usually going to choose BLOK or REFINE.
• There are at least 5 studios in town I’m familiar with but dislike so they did not make the list. Usually ebcause they either don’t have enough space, no natural light options, etc.

There are always new studios opening—and existing studios changing—which is actually one of the reasons I stay familiar with so many of them. A studio can be GORGEOUS and still not be right for YOUR shoot.

So…Which Phoenix Photography Studio Should You Choose?

This is the good news: You don’t have to figure that out by yourself.

That’s part of hiring me. Tell me what we’re creating. Show me your brand or family ideas. Tell me who is coming. Tell me whether you want clean and bright, soft and beautiful, bold and editorial, homey and lifestyle-driven, colorful and fun, or ALL OF THE ABOVE.

Then I’ll help you choose. Because I’m not simply recommending the prettiest studio on Instagram.

I’m thinking about your lighting goals, Your wardrobe. Your brand colors. How many people we’re photographing. Whether you need vertical social content or giant horizontal website banners, or Whether we’re creating video. Whether you need privacy. Accessibility. Your budget. The season. The TIME OF DAY.

And, most importantly, what we want the final photographs to FEEL like.

THAT is how we choose the right studio. Not because it’s trendy. Because it’s right for you.

Which Phoenix Photography Studio Is Right For Your Shoot?

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