Photographer’s Studio Strikes an Elegant Pose

Commercial photographers often strive to create beauty on film. Only a few, however, strive to make their studios as striking as their photo images.

One such photographer is Vic Huber, who recently converted an Irvine industrial building into a combined studio and office that he says is intended to be as elegant as his photographic work.

Designed by the firm Carlile/Coatsworth/Shankweiler Architects Inc. of Irvine, the studio matches Huber’s aesthetic: simple, direct and highly finished. Natural wood furniture, including a staircase that hugs the wall of a gallery room, accents the plain white walls. Bare metal and a concrete floor add an industrial note.

The exterior of the photography studio also stands out: The architects installed a vertical metal fin down the center of the building. To the left of the fin is the photography studio; to the right is the business office.

The office is unusual in its openness. Instead of being confined to a waiting area, visitors can walk past the reception desk and enter the work area of the office.

“Rather than segregating you, you are in the synergy” of the office, said Jeff Carlile, the project architect.

Part of the motivation behind the office redesign is Huber’s love for the visual arts. “I think that being in an environment that is emotionally and visually stimulating aids in the creative process,” Huber said. The photographer uses this understated setting to display his personal art collection, including works by Warhol, Rauschenberg, Borofsky and Serra.

Huber’s office is also calculated to impress his clients, which include several car makers and other high-end accounts, according to Carlile.

Among Huber’s clients, said Carlile, are East Coast ad agencies that have “extremely avant-garde, high-end, very expensive offices back in New York, and they are just amazed [to find] an office like this out here.”