Steve Schroeder Photography, Macon

After graduating from college with a degree in industrial photography, Steve Schroeder honed his shutterbug skills at Houston's Gittings Studio before opening his own studio in 1987. Eight years later Steve and his family relocated to Macon, where he constructed his new studio in the Hardeman-Hatcher house, a Victorian Village dwelling built in the 1880s. The abode's elaborate architecture and flashbulb-wielding ghosts set the backdrop for many of Steve's portraiture sessions. These sessions always commence with a consultation, during which he helps clients determine which outfits and location best complement their style. Any image snapped in studio, on location, or at weddings—Steve has covered nearly 1,000 nuptial ceremonies—undergoes basic retouching. Patrons can also elicit Steve's services for framing or restoration needs, watercolor cards, or to commission the studio's resident artist to create an oil painting of a favorite image from their shoot (turn around time of six–eight weeks).