Digital photography killed photo studios. And yet Photohut survived and thrived
When was the last time you printed a photograph? The likely answer would be when you had to print passport-sized portraits for some form of official document.
With the arrival of digital photography, the need to go to photo labs to print photographs - remember film cameras and negatives that had to be 'developed' - disappeared.
And with it, came the downfall of photo studio businesses.
Photohut, a Dhaka-based photo studio and printing lab, is perhaps one of the few entities in the city to not only survive the world's transition to digital photography but thrive too because they were quick to adapt and upgrade.
The key to success was its proprietor's knowledge of the business. "As I knew the technical aspects of photography and photo printing, it was easy for me to direct my business with the advancement of technology.
My fellow competitors who lacked this simply could not retain their businesses," Shah Alam, Photohut Studio's proprietor, told The Business Standard.
The proprietor and his photo studio
Shah Alam is a business graduate. His association with the photo industry dates back to the early 1980s. While studying at Jagannath University, he took a part-time job at Fujifilm in 1983.
"Fujifilm just started its journey in Bangladesh during that time. I learned negative retouching, film developing, darkroom printing and much more while working there," recalled Shah Alam.
After working there for six long years, Fujifilm sent Shah to Japan for advanced training. He came back to Bangladesh in 1994 and rejoined Fujifilm Bangladesh.
It was in 1999, Shah went to America, and that is where he mastered the technique of sublimation printing. In the following year, he returned to Bangladesh and established Photohut Studio, with only six people.
Now they have a team of around 30 people, including three photographers.
Over the years, Photohut led the way as a pioneer in introducing brand new printing gadgets in the country. They are the first importers of machines like Fuji Frontier 7700, Dye Sublimation Printer and much more.
Also, the largest possible print in the country, (width: 44 inches, length up to 150 feet), is only available at this studio.
Besides digital printing, Photohut also provides analogue film printing services by converting negative films into digital format.
Shah firmly believes that having profound knowledge of the business is essential to the business' sustenance.
Photohut provides European standard printing with uncompromising quality whereas all other local studios deliver much cheaper China grade prints. And because of their high quality in prints, 30 leading photography companies and photographers in the country rely on this studio for all their printing needs.
Shah said, "The opportunity for event-based photography has risen sharply. Collaborating with them for prints is also a reasonable adjustment that I would suggest to my peers."
Additionally, they have opened services like outdoor/event photography, photo retrieving and processing, laminating, digital printing on mugs and woods, photo framing, etc.
Photohut Studio is also in the process of opening a new branch in Dhanmondi. And according to the proprietor, instead of opening outlets across the city over the last two decades, it was more pertinent to invest in and focus on acquiring newer technologies and equipment.
And his strategy seemed to have paid off well. Photohut Studio has become a household name in Dhanmondi - its sole branch is located in 11/A - and nowhere else in the city.
Upon entering the premises, you will inevitably meet a crowd of more than 15 people bustling at their desks, processing photos and customers waiting on their orders.
Photohut is always booked at its highest capacity and to avail their services, you have to take prior appointments.
This might make you think this scene is commonplace for photo studios across the city, but that is far from the truth.
The tides of change
The downfall of photo studios due to the transition to digital photography ruptured the market in more ways than one.
Slowly but surely people stopped going to photo studios to take family portraits. Remember when families would put on their best outfits, put on lipstick, wear ties and brush their hair back? The young girl's hair would go up in a ponytail perhaps and everyone would be asked to smile for the camera?
It was an event. And this remained true for a long time.
Owning a personal camera was a luxury back then, and the only medium of storing photos was to print them; or 'wash them,' technically speaking.
Film cameras and having to get photos 'developed' and printed at a substantial price also meant people would be careful, even borderline stingy, with how many moments are 'clicked' and then chosen from the negative reel to be printed.
Photos, back then, were of just the very important or special moments. As a result, the business of photo studios was at its peak.
However, as digital cameras became more affordable and smartphones became more common, people no longer felt the need to rush to the photo studios. And for storage, we can use our extensive built-in storage space on our devices, such as mobile phones, memory cards and even the 15GB free cloud storage on our Google accounts.
This ushered in a change in our behavioural DNA.
We no longer need to go to photo studios for prints. Nobody really goes to studios for personal photos and printing photos has become an occasional occurrence at best.
Institutions like the Photohut Studio suffered and many failed to survive the rupture in the photo industry market.
Upgrade, adapt and overcome
"I love to keep myself updated. I heavily search for the latest in technology and try to bring them [to my studio] before others even get to know about it," said Shah.
Shah staunchly believes that all sorts of businesses need adaptation. He said, "The demand for photo print has dried up and we have to adjust to that. No matter what, things will not be like the old times again.
That being said, if a photo studio business is solely dependent on delivering passport-sized photos, which probably a customer needs once a year, it clearly will not survive."
Despite its success and its well-earned reputation among customers as a reliable outlet, Photohut continues to readjust and expand its horizons.
