Gittings Studios

This article is about Gittings Studio. For the activist of the same name, see Barbara Gittings.

Gittings Studios is a photographic studio founded in 1928 by Paul Gittings, Sr.. Mr. Gittings bought the Bachrach Studios in the southern region of the United States during the Great Depression. The Gittings laboratory was a pioneer of color die transfer prints. In the 1960s, the Gittings laboratories were the first to use machines from Kodak that would develop into the "one hour processing". Due to this progress, the Gittings laboratory lost its almost-monopoly hold on the color film processing industry.

Paul Linwood Gittings, Sr. was instrumental in organizing, funding and establishing the International Photography Hall of Fame and Museum.(See link below).

In the 1950s and 1960s, Mr. Gittings also operated a studio within Neiman Marcus.

From his autobiography he writes "The photographer doesn't sell photographs; he sells sentiment and flattery. From the day that he (the photographer) understands the philosophy of the product he sells and bends his efforts to that end alone, he (or she) will prosper." and "Finally, if I could choose those words of wisdom which have served me best, during a long photographic lifetime, I would mention first: 'The only difference between the difficult and the impossible is that the impossible takes more time.' Sometimes the hundredth attempt is the one that brings success." The company has trained and inspired generations of portrait photographers. The organization was sold in 1987 to Paul Skipworth, the again in 1998 to Greg Lorfing.There is a dispute regarding the trademark use of the name between Neil Gittings and Greg Lorfing.(see discussion page)

Citations

CHRISS, CATHERINE (06/10/1990). "`All I want to do is preserve who I am'". Houston Chronicle. 

Crofford, Ava (02/O8/1988). "The Diamond Years of Texas Photography". The Dallas Morning News. 

Lemann, Nicholas (02/O8/1988). "The Gittings People,". Texas Monthly. 

Gittings, Paul (1979). Direct Color Portraiture. Houston,texas: Gulf publishing 

External links

• Neil Gittings' website
• Lorfing/Gittings Website