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A Day With the Deasys

I was really looking forward to visiting Deasy Photographic, in Newbridge, only a short drive from Kildare. We were warmly greeted by Padraic and his wife, Sonia, about whom I had heard so much during Padraic's time in Illinois. Back in April the Deasy's youngest child was only three-months old, but Sonia, Padraic assured me, was busy at work at the studio while he was gone. The fact that Sonia will give birth to their fourth child in just six weeks from our visit wasn't slowing her down a bit.


From observing Padraic's work ethic during his visit to Illinois last April, I knew he had a business that was under good control. But I was amazed at how many of the concepts he embraced during our studio visits that he had managed to implement in such a short time. As the studio website says, Deasy Photographic truly is one of Ireland's leading boutique portrait studios. What makes this so are the key elements that distinguish any well-managed boutique studio:
  • A simple, easy-to-recognize business concept: specializing in top-quality family portraiture.
  • A clear understanding of the target market: sophisticated families who appreciate an artistic approach to decorative photography.
  • A client-education effort and selling plan: providing clients with a memorable experience and intelligently selected images.
  • A well-defined style and well-developed product focus: Offering three distinctive styles:
Signature Style - highly styled color fine-art facial studies.
Classic Style - fine-art black and white relationship-style portraits.
Contemporary Style - energetic photojournalistic-style portraits.

I'm certain that you'll enjoy seeing the photography of Padraic and his associate, Richard, when you visit the
studio website.

Because Deasy Photographic is doing so many things right, I want to take you on a tour of the studio. The attractive storefront is located in downtown Newbridge, in an area that enjoys a lot of foot traffic. The two-story building is much larger than it appears from the street.



The stylish gallery, just to the left of the entrance, is made even more impressive by the clever use of a mirror wall that appears to double its length.


The use of contemporary white furnishings against white studio walls creates a perfect backdrop to showcase portraiture.


The reception area is just as stylish.


As you walk into the camera room, a seating area to your right is the perfect place to relax and get acquainted before the session.


The camera room itself, not surprisingly, is extremely well organized so that equipment is secondary to working with subjects.


The viewing area, which is Sonia's domain, is located on the second floor and features comfortable furniture and all the tools needed to use ProSelect efficiently.


Padraic is in the process of converting the glass on his Signature Style portraits to museum glass. I asked him to demonstrate the quality of this very pricey glass, and as you can see below, the difference is very much worth the expense.


I was also impressed by the studio's stylish packaging. The smallest package contains the studio's gift certificate, called a "voucher" here in Ireland.


In case you hadn't noticed the finishing touch of the studio's decor, it's the black clothing worn by the staff! Here's Padraic with staff members Richard and Anita.


Sonia left early so that she could finish making an incredible Indian curry meal at the Deasy home, where we were met by the rest of the family: Sofia, Matthew, and Lucy, who are featured in a collection of family portraits in the foyer. Fortunately there is plenty of room left for more portraits of the growing family. In the photo below, Sofia and Matthew proudly point to their portraits.


Here's a better view of Sofia . . .


. . . and Matthew as well.


And as you can see, Lucy even managed to charm Jim!


Finally, here's the multi-talented Sonia. It was well worth the trip over just to enjoy her fabulous meal and the great day we spent with the Deasys!