Meet Chris Bailey | Co-Founder

We had the good fortune of connecting with Chris Bailey and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Chris, maybe we can start at the very start – the idea – how did you come up with the idea for your business?
Studio Pod is all about elevating the process of creating a nice portrait, headshot or profile photo, by making it more convenient, more accessible and easier for individuals and teams to produce high quality professional images. I began to develop the idea of Studio Pod in the first couple years of running my photography business, Chris Bailey Photography. I noticed how inefficient and difficult it was for businesses to capture headshots in a consistent and reliable manner. Business portraits, especially head and shoulder portraits taken in the studio, are fairly standard and simple to produce. But I noticed that the process of finding a photographer and then scheduling an entire team of people was difficult and costly for almost any business. Coordinating individual and team schedules to align with our studio’s availability was a job in itself. Then, attempting to match headshots taken across years of hiring, and potentially multiple photographers, rarely yielded consistent results. I thought to myself, “There has to be a better way.” I set off to reimagine headshots by creating the first automated professional photography studio that could create the highest quality portraits without needing a photographer. I designed Studio Pod to imitate how I would light many of my portraits, and now we offer offer customizable lighting options, the ability to apply presets and processing to our images, plus access to professional retouching and an online calendar to make scheduling a breeze. Users love having the live view right in front of them, so they can see exactly what their hair is looking like, or how their tie is falling. Plus, all of the photos are delivered to the user immediately after the session, available for download in both high resolution and low resolution social media sizes. Studio Pod can be delivered to a business location for a daily fee, and is also available for longer term lease or purchase. Individuals and teams can also book online and come to our brick and mortar location located in the Rice Military area of Houston. Sessions are only $40 and include 15 high resolution images, and professional level retouching is available for your favorite photos for only $10 extra. In today’s world of social media and Linkedin, it’s never been more important to have a high quality, professional portrait so you always look your best.

What should our readers know about your business?
Studio Pod is an entirely new approach to headshot and profile photos. We bring convenience, consistency, and affordability, all without sacrificing the quality of our images. Plus, customers get real-time feedback through the live-view monitor so they can see exactly how they look before the camera clicks. After completing a photo session, photos are immediately ready for download, so you no longer have to wait days or weeks for your images. Studio Pod also combines beautiful, high end lighting with user friendly controls, giving users the ability to customize their lighting and change the feel of their images. We offer several standard lighting options, from simple balanced light, to artistic shadow light, as well as full beauty light. We can also customize specific lighting styles for corporate clients, so all of their employee’s photos match. Soon we’ll be upgrading our software to incorporate filters so our users will have control over the look and feel of their final images. We are also working to add background replacement options to further customize any image. Individuals will love the ability to easily make a booking with Studio Pod online and have control over creating a beautiful self portrait. But we’ve developed some amazing options for teams and corporations as well. We offer business the ability to sign up and have a customized corporate portal, where they are able to easily purchase and manage all of their employee headshots. Any employee headshots that are taken with Studio Pod are immediately available for viewing and downloading for both the individual employee as well as the business. Businesses or their web developers can easily access all photos by employee name through their corporate portal. Currently our brick and mortar location is available for bookings online through our website, and we plan to roll out more locations soon. Studio Pod is available for delivery, and can be set up in any office for maximum convenience. We also offer lease and purchase options for office buildings, universities, corporate campuses, hospitals, churches and more. We are continually adding upgrading and adding features to make Studio Pod even better. As experienced photographers, myself and Co-Found Joseph West understand the importance and impact a good photo can have on a person. And as business owners, we know how important it is to have an elevated and coherent brand and image. We want Studio Pod to give everyone the chance to look and feel their absolute best!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Pre-Covid, here are some favorites: Minute Maid Park for a ball game. Hobby Center for a show – my wife and I have Sunday evening season tickets and love to go enjoy a dinner beforehand. Georgia James Underbelly Preserve Uchi Molina’s Mexican Food El Tiempo without a doubt! Jonathan’s the Rub – we’re in the Memorial area now and love the food. After a dinner at Jonathan’s the Rub we’d head over to the BPD, our neighborhood bar. St. Arnold’s Brewery Memorial Park – all of the new work is amazing and such a treasure! Julep MFAH and the rooftop of the Glassell Down House for brunch or lunch Continental Club for some live music

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’d like to give a shout out to Coach Harvey, my 8th grade basketball coach who first introduced me to photography. Unfortunately, I lost touch with him long ago and have not been able to reconnect with him since, so he has no idea that he literally changed my life by teaching me the basics of photography. That passion turned into a degree from the University of Texas in Studio Art with a focus in Photography, and then allowed me to start my own business after graduating in 2008. Having a passion that I was able to turn into a profession, and finding that at such a young age, was a true blessing. I’d also like to recognize my dad, Joe Bailey. He is an amazing dad, my best friend, and has supported me in so many ways both personally and in my career. He set an example of entrepreneurship for me to follow, and has always believed in me. Most of all, I know that whether I succeed or fail, he loves me and is proud of me. That is an amazing gift!

Website: www.thestudiopod.com
Instagram: thestudiopod
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thestudiopod
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thestudiopod/

Image Credits
Melissa Fitzgerald West Studio Pod