By Ryan Spelts
Scott Sneddon spent nearly 21 years in Air Force as a Military Police Officer. Even though he worked as an officer at his day job, Scott has always had a passion for photography. He would set up a photography studio where ever he was currently assigned around the world. He has had studios in California, Germany, Korea and finally, he settled here in Utah.
The idea for DIY Photography Studio arose when he was looking for a local place to take maternity photos of his wife Aple in 2011. He couldn’t find a place that would take the quality of photos he wanted nor could he find a studio that would let him rent the studio to take the photos himself. He later managed a Target Portrait studio and was consistently asked by professional photographers if they could rent out the space which was against Target’s policy. With that in mind, Scott set out to create a photo studio for professionals and do-it-yourselfers to rent out and have the best in lighting and settings for their photo shoots. DIY Photography Studio was born in 2015.
Because of Scott’s background and experience in studio photography, he often trains professionals in studio photography. As he was training photographers and they were utilizing his state of the art facility he realized another need. Photographers were always looking for a place to have their photos printed. Many were opting for online sources but quality control was not the best and often the turn-around time was too slow. Scott purchased his first high-end printer and started creating high-quality prints for his students and friends. Word got out of his quality and attention to detail and within 2 months, the printing business was producing as much as his photo studio. He later expanded to the open office space next door and created a full featured photography printing business open to the public.
After attending a large format printing conference in Las Vegas, Scott learned about a new technology called Metal Sublimation. This process chemically bonds the colors of a photo to metal. It doesn’t fade, scratch and the colors just pop. They are really quite beautiful with much more clarity than printing on paper or canvas. Scott was offered a loan at his bank especially for Veterans that allowed him to purchase the equipment for creating metal sublimation prints and it is by far his favorite way to print photography.
Scott spent the first year, after purchasing the equipment, going around to photography clubs educating them on the process and showing them the results. Today the word is out and everyone is starting to realize how awesome metal prints are. He is one of only 3 studios in the entire state that can handle larger metal prints. In fact, some of the larger photography studios fulfill their metal prints through DIY Photography because they cannot do it themselves. The nice thing is, his shop is just around the corner and you can go directly to his shop and have them done without the middle man.
DIY Printing prides themselves on quality. With the eye of a professional photographer, they turn out the very best quality and they can often do very quick turn arounds. Just the other day, they were approached by a wedding photographer who needed some photos printed for that evening’s reception and DIY was able to make it happen. It is great to have a such a stellar resource near by. We appreciate DIY supporting the magazine and recommend their services.
Scott met his wife Aple while serving in Korea and later married her in her home country, the Philippines. They have 2 children 6 year old boy, Dillon and nearly 5 year old girl Leianna.