As a child, I always looked forward to going to the photo studio with my family.
Even though my siblings and I would wait for what seemed like eternity to get back those photographs, they were worth the lapse in time. We couldn’t stop looking at those wonderful portraits.
My getting older seems to take away the novelty of photography for me. It doesn’t help that these days, with the advent of digital cameras, everybody is now a bona fide photographer. But not so fast!
For quite some time now, a few people have been pestering me to add some photos on Facebook, and also that I should change my profile picture. Some of that prodding came from my own son.
Were they ashamed to have me as a friend with just the mere no-frills passport-sized photo, when everybody else was uploading pictures of all sorts daily? I perhaps will never know.
I pondered long and hard how best to oblige my incessant naggers, but I did not want to resort to photos from a webcam, cell phone, or from a run-of-the-mill photo shoot. I wanted something professionally done. By a professional! I was not prepared to wait as long as I did as a child to get back my photos.
Searching for the ideal studio was quite a task. But it pays to just walk the malls every now and then. Three months ago, I was drawn to the beautiful portraits hanging on the walls of the newly-opened G&K Photography Studio inside The Commons mall, west of Target, in Federal Way.
I wanted to make an appointment at the time, but I got cold feet. I figured it was too good to be true. Last Monday, however, at noon, I braved my way to the studio for an hour-long photo shoot, with various changes of clothing, as per Kevin Yager, owner and principal photographer.
After the shoot, Yager gave me a printout of the negatives, and I had a chance to choose from the various poses. When I paid for my selections, he told me to come back at 6 p.m. for the prints of varying sizes. I was speechless!
The finished product is a work of art. Some of my friends are bottle-necking to go to G&K Photography now after seeing my “cool” shots. They are putting down their cell phone and digital cameras to let a professional do his work for a change.
I have since replaced my Facebook profile photo with one of Yager’s masterpieces. And I must tell you, I have been getting requests left, right and center to become people’s friend on that site. All for the change of a photo? Unbelievable! Kudos to you, Yager, for bringing about this whirlwind of awareness in photography and in my life.
What I like about Yager’s work is that even though he can rely on PhotoShop to clear away lint or gravel, say from a backdrop, he would prefer to get down on his hands and knees — and dust off those eyesores the old-fashioned way. He’s patient, courteous, and experienced.
Yager attended Clover Park Vocational Institute and the Art Institute of Seattle, coupled with more than 25 years in the field of photography. He stays abreast of the constant changes in his field, from which his customers benefit immensely. And his prices are unbeatable, too.
For more information, drop by G&K Photography, 2030 S. Commons in Federal Way, or call (253) 529-2470. They do full-service and custom photography for every occasion, with up to 20 different poses to choose from.
It would appear as though Yager was born to shoot. How do you explain his giving up shooting rifles in the Marines a few years ago to now find himself photo shooting?
“Once upon a time, I used my eyes and fingers to take a life. Today, I use my eyes and fingers to save a moment in time,” he said.
