Meet David Sutton of David Sutton Studios in Evanston

Today we’d like to introduce you to David Sutton.

David, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
First and foremost, I am a portrait photographer. People have always been my primary subject and area of interest. I find people more interesting – and less self-conscious – when I depict them with something important to them.

I was free-lancing, taking location pictures of people for magazines and corporations, but my first love had always been black and white portraits of people. In the early nineties, I rented a corner store to live in, and that store afforded me space enough to pursue my personal work, black and white portraits of people, as well.

Occasionally, when I would invite someone to come sit for me, the asked if they could bring their dog along.

I got a puppy, and one day had him sit on the backdrop for me. I shot one roll (twelve frames) of black and white film of him, made a nice print and took it to puppy training class, and when our instructor saw it, she suggested that I might have found a niche.

I had, indeed, found a niche.

Twenty-three years and roughly eight thousand dogs later, Sutton Studios is the preeminent studio in the Midwest offering fine-art portraits of people with their pets. Thousands of homes in the Chicagoland area now include this highly personalized form of artwork as part of their interior decorating schemes. Tom Segal, principal at one of Chicago’s most respected interior design firms, Kauffman-Segal Design, uses my portraits as part of the design scheme in his own home.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The business side has been pretty smooth sailing – other than that startling 30% drop in revenue we experienced in 2008 – but we’ve built things back up quite respectably since then.

It can be challenging for creative people to wrap their heads around the business side of things. As an artist working as an independent business person, the biggest challenge for me is having to constantly think about marketing and moving the business forward. It’s not how I love spending my time.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
I specialize in black and white portraits of people with their pets, and I’ve done so for over two decades. I create highly personalized artwork for private homes in the Chicago market. I’m the only person in the Midwest offering this unique combination, and I do every sitting myself.

Sutton Studios has a deep commitment to supporting the communities that support us. We’ve helped raise over a million dollars for both human and animal welfare agencies over twenty three years, and have special partnerships with PAWS Chicago and SitStayRead (pawschicago.org; sitstayread.org).

What were you like growing up?
I was quiet and timid, and a good observer. From early on, I wanted to be a veterinarian. Later, my attention turned toward photography. As I got older, I promised myself that I would do something I enjoyed to earn a living.

Contact Info:

• Address: Sutton Studios
  3417 Church Street,
  Evanston, IL 60203
• Website: www.suttonstudios.com
• Phone: 847-679-8090
• Email: info@suttonstudios.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidsuttonstudios/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SuttonStudiosPortraits/
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/sutton-studios-evanston
• Other: http://suttonstudios.com/connect/blog/

Image Credit:
David B. Sutton

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