Viewpoint Studios switching to digital photography
By Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, April 11, 2005
High Point — For home fashions photography specialist Viewpoint Studios here, the digital age is arriving.
Viewpoint is about to become what it believes is the largest U.S. studio of its kind to switch from film to almost entirely digital photography, said John Lawson, vice president of sales.
"The technology hasn't been there until this year," he said. But today's top-of-the-line cameras will allow the capture of digital images with no loss in quality compared to film, he said. New digital cameras also have features such as variable focus that allow photographers to achieve the artistic effects that had been available only with film, he said.
The switch won't come cheaply, although Viewpoint declined to disclose the size of its investment. The company said it is buying 50 Phase One H25 digital cameras, new computer workstations, network servers and customized programming. It expects to complete the changeover in May.
"We have built a strong reputation in our industry by providing cutting-edge creativity balanced with unwavering customer service," said John Purdy, a partner in Viewpoint. "This expansion allows us to utilize these new technologies to build on our creative reputation, while improving our efficiencies."
Lawson said one advantage in starting with a digital image will be in communicating with clients. With film, unless a client is in the studio, Viewpoint typically takes a Polaroid of an image, scans it and e-mails it to the client. This gives an idea of what the finished photo will look like.
By starting with digital, the scanning step can be skipped and images can be e-mailed, giving the client a better look at a finished product more quickly, Lawson said. Digital also allows images to be accurately corrected for qualities such as color and contrast.
Viewpoint's furniture clients include Henredon and La-Z-Boy, and its retail roster includes Bloomingdale's, Macy's and Lowe's.
