Meet The Vendors: Maxim Photo Studio

I found Maxim when I was doing research for my sister-in-law's upcoming wedding. Max was the perfect fit and I just had to share more about his business!! Jen's wedding isn't until next September but I'm sure you'll be hearing more and more about it! 

Name:  Max Surikov

Website: Maxim Photo Studio and Maxim Photo Studio.net (weblog)

Location:   Springboro OH (Serving Greater Cincinnati, Dayton and surrounding areas)

Company Name:  Maxim Photo Studio

Type of Vendor:    Photography and Videography

Number of Years in Business:    5 years

How did you get started in the wedding industry?   

I purchased my first camera in 1999 so that I could take pictures of my honeymoon. In the following 5 years I became very interested in photography and started to accumulate a great deal of photography equipment, but wasn’t charging anyone for my services. My wife, mentioned one day that I may want to stop deficit financing our kids inheritance and should start to make some money. I am a CPA by profession and did some number crunching to figure out what it would take to leave the world of consulting and get into photography fulltime. I took a weekend course with a great wedding photographer in Leesburg VA by the name of Don Harper. Don has probably forgotten more photography techniques, then I could ever hope to acquire and after this course I decided to pursue wedding photography a career. That was a long 6 years ago, but seems like only yesterday.  

How did you pick your company name?  

I wanted to use my Russian given name, ‘Maxim’ somewhere in the title.  I then had to pick a business name which wasn’t already taken and for which a .com and .net extensions were available. I didn’t want to use the term photography such as “Max Surikov Photography” in my name because everyone else does that already. I also liked  the idea of a professional photography studio which connotes the idea that we are lighting and photography professionals. I put all of three together to come up with Maxim Photo Studio.

If you had to start over what one thing would you do differently? 

The short answer is that I would have demonstrated my differences much more than I have. My biggest mistake in the first couple of year of photographing weddings was following the popular techniques because I hadn’t fully developed my style yet. I tried copying various trends during my wedding coverage as well as in post production, but what that meant was that my work looked like someone else’s and it wasn’t personally fulfilling. Now, I still look at other photographers work, but I am much more judicious about utilizing other photographers styles and techniques.

{{{I LOVE this answer! So honest and so true for so many of us!}}} 

What is your company philosophy?    

Maxim Photo Studio is a customer service centric business first and foremost. There have been numerous studies that have shown that a customer’s negative comment gets transmitted to ten other people, while a good comment is only seen by 2 others. We think it is imperative that were are professional in how we represent ourselves and responsive from the first consultation and following the wedding day.

What's one thing you want clients/vendors to know most about your services?  

In the wedding industry it is important to stand out and be different. This year we started providing video coverage with all of our engagements in what we call our e-Motion Engagement sessions. I am not aware of any other local studio that is offering this. Most importantly, we are “anti-trend”. When everyone shoots exclusively natural or available light, we bring in flashes and strobes, when photographers started to use selective or vintage colors for most of their post processing, we counter with rich and vivid colors in our portraits and when others over promise and deliver, we under promise and over deliver. Lastly, we are constantly evolving. For example, in 2011 we are going to begin covering all of our weddings through photography and videography. This will allow our couples to experience their wedding day in a completely unique way.

Do you have any hidden talents or favorite hobbies?   

In my prior life, I was a competitive table tennis player. In 1980, when I was 10, I attended a table tennis camp from which future Russian Table tennis players were going to be chosen for the 1988 Seoul Olympics. I immigrated from Russia a year later and never competed in table tennis again. My other passion is weightlifting. I competed on an amateur bodybuilding circuit when I lived in Virginia in 1999 and have maintained an active workout regimen for the past 21 years.

What are your three favorite blogs?

I don’t have favorite blogs which I frequent on regular basis. I am a member of the Digital Wedding Forum and also rely on social media to guide me on the latest wedding must sees. Facebook and Twitter are my favorite social media options.

And now for the eye candy!! 

 

Max, thanks for taking the time to talk so openly about your business! Can't wait to see what new and exciting things Maxim Photo Studio comes up with in the future!