Robert Osborne calls the seven outdoor studio sets “The Land of Oz.” The studios are built in the backyard of Osborne’s home where he reopened the photography business in early July.
Osborne expects the number of his clients to double because of the new location. Several thousand dollars has been invested to build barnyard, beach, junkyard, green screen, Spanish archway, wooded and marble bench sets. Five side-by-side studios still have a 10-foot roof to be built over top.
Before the move, the business was on Central Avenue downtown. But it had been losing business there.
“I’ve noticed a real willingness for customers to come to mid-town,” Osborne said.
Osborne opened the photography studio in 2003. His father owned the business from after World War II to the 1980s. Now Osborne shoots senior portraits, weddings and events.
Recently Osborne was hired by Primary Health Solutions to shoot pictures of its ground breaking ceremony for a new $6 million Middletown health care center.
Low prices, wide availability, and a variety of services, including the green screen which allows him to alter backgrounds, puts him ahead of competitors, he said. He’s had 12 clients the first month.
Other Middletown photography studios include Sunshine Photography, Wurtzler Photography and Echoes-Light Photography.
The challenge in the Land of Oz is to get potential customers to consider his work.
He has high goals — “To offer an even more expanded variety of high quality photography to my clients at a price that is reachable to a majority of people in our market area.”
Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2551 or clevingston@coxohio.com.
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