Image: VSCO

VSCO has long been an app photographers turn to for film-inspired presets, but now the company is making a pivot toward something far more ambitious. This week, it announced two interconnected products that aim to serve photographers far more broadly: Studio Pro, a dedicated professional batch-editing app, and VSCO One, an all-in-one platform launching later this month that bundles editing, client galleries, booking and more.

Studio Pro is the more immediate piece of VSCO's new platform. At launch, Studio Pro is fairly limited in features, with a primary focus on editing colors and making minor tweaks to JPEGs. VSCO says it's intentionally shipping the first version now so that it can gather feedback before rolling out additional features. It says it plans to regularly release improvements and new features "based on real-world professional workflows."

Image: VSCO

To start, one of its primary features is batch editing, allowing photographers to apply VSCO's film presets and adjustments like HSL, grain, exposure, contrast and white balance on up to 100 images at once with one tap. The tool is aimed at portrait, wedding, sport and event photographers who need to be able to quickly edit larger sets of images.

Studio Pro also offers Style Match, which analyzes a previously edited reference image and replicates its color and tonal character across new images. The tool promises to make it easier to achieve a consistent look across image sets, allowing photographers to develop a distinct style. Lastly, the app will allow photographers to post images to VSCO Galleries, making it easier to share finished work with clients.

Image: VSCO

Raw file support, something most professional photographers would consider a must-have, is listed as a planned future feature, not something available immediately. Likewise, manual culling with star ratings, custom crop tools, tethering and advanced export options such as file renaming and resolution control are all slated for the product roadmap. There's also a macOS desktop version planned for later this year.

Studio Pro enters a crowded and competitive field that includes Lightroom Mobile, Darkroom and Halide, apps with more mature feature sets and, in Lightroom's case, years of well-established professional workflows behind them. Whether photographers find enough in Studio Pro's current iteration to trial it depends largely on how central VSCO's preset aesthetic already is to their work. For shooters already living in the VSCO ecosystem, the batch workflow could be a meaningful upgrade. For everyone else, it may be worth revisiting when Raw support arrives.

For everyone else, it may be worth revisiting when Raw support arrives.

What could be enticing to photographers, though, is the promise of a more complete ecosystem under one umbrella. Historically, photographers have had to stitch together various tools from different companies to manage all aspects of the business. That could mean Lightroom for editing, Pixieset for gallery delivery, HoneyBook for contracts and invoices, Squarespace for websites, and the list goes on, with each carrying its own subscription. VSCO puts the costs at $800 to $3200 annually.

Image: VSCO

VSCO's upcoming ecosystem, VSCO One, aims to ease those costs and the pain points of dealing with multiple subscriptions with what it's calling the "Connected System for Photographers." The platform is designed to cover the complete photography workflow, from creative to business needs, and it bundles the company's existing offerings under one subscription that costs $500 a year.

VSCO One isn't launching until the end of June, but it will include two editing programs (Studio Pro and AI Lab), galleries for client delivery and sharing, portfolio websites, client collaboration and creative planning tools, a camera app and community.

Additionally, the subscription will include VSCO Workspace, a tool for client management, booking, scheduling, invoicing, contracts and studio operations. It will also provide access to The Freelance Photographer, a business education and mentorship platform that VSCO acquired last year.

VSCO's new Studio Pro is available for free on iOS now, though you will need a subscription for some features, such as the company's full preset library. VSCO One will be available at the end of the month.

"U2; Concert for Obama, 2009, Washington, D.C. It was 10 seconds before they went on, we were all standing on wood planks and frozen ground, feeling history at the same time." Canon EOS-1D X | EF 70–200mm F2.8L IS II USM | F2.8 | 1/200 sec | ISO 640 Photo: Brian Ach

Brian Ach, known as Achman in the wider community and contributor at DPReview.com, loves to cover raving stadium shows and gain backstage access at major cultural events for clients like Getty and AP. In contrast, his personal work takes things down a notch in speed and seriousness. Street, travel and fine art photography give Brian room to go back to when he first learned photography: shooting film in New York City on his daily commute with a 35mm camera.

"After I was a couple of blocks from the WTC on 9/11, I decided life was short and graphic design wasn't for me. I left the full-time job and became a freelance photographer."

This story is part of our What's in your bag? community spotlight series. The series showcases the diverse gear and photography of our community, and shares their stories of how that gear helped them to capture the perfect shot.

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"Venice Beach; California. For me, there is nothing better than exploring the world with TriX." Canon F1 | Canon FD 35mm F2 | Tri X ISO 400 Photo: Brian Ach

Meet Brian Ach

Home base: United States

Favorite camera: "It's not related to my work or these photographs, but I’ve had my original Yashicamat for 30 years – it’s more than just a camera to me, it feels like a friend."

What's in Brian's bag

Brian's camera bag Photo: Brian Ach

Cameras for work: Canon R5 ("two of them, actually")

• Lenses:
  • Canon RF 24–105mm F4
  • Canon RF 14–35mm F4
  • Canon RF 70–200mm F4
  • Canon EF 135mm F2
  • Plus a classic FD 35mm F2 for adapted and film-era work

Cameras for play: Yashica Mat, Canon VI-L and a Canon F1

• Lenses:
  • Summaron 35mm F2.8
  • Canon 35mm F2

• Support gear: Brian's kit shifts depending on assignment. For commercial and editorial stills, he travels with a streamlined pro setup built around the R5 system, backed by a Pelican Air carry-on, a MacBook Pro, a Wi-Fi hotspot and a 2TB Samsung SSD for fast offload and backup in the field. Lighting is handled with a Profoto B2, including two packs and four heads.
• Camera bags: "Like many others in the DPReview community, I'm a fan of the ThinkTank ShapeShifter and a blue Pelican 1535 Air. The ShapeShifter is a flexible day-to-day carry solution for moving between shoots, and the Pelican serves as a convenient travel-and protection-first case, especially on long-duration flights."

"Taylor Swift; NYC, 2010. Sometimes you have minutes to make a portrait; here I had 15 seconds." Canon EOS-1D X | EF 85mm F1.2L II USM | F2.8 | 1/250 sec | ISO 1600 Photo: Brian Ach

What's your preferred shooting scene?

"My work is pretty divided into work and play."

"For work, I shoot for Getty, AP, and editorial and commercial clients. I've been around the world on these jobs, working as Prince's European tour photographer alongside other major names like Jay-Z and Journey. And also big brands and events from Jaguar/Land Rover to Samsung to New York Fashion Week and the MTV VMA awards. I like to say I've shot everything and everyone."

"Film forces me to really shoot with intention, to dissolve into the process and be deliberate about what I'm doing."

"For play, I like street, travel and fine art. I started in film, and it is still what really gets me going. Film forces me to really shoot with intention, to dissolve into the process and be deliberate about what I'm doing. I started learning by shooting street in NYC with a rangefinder and a 35mm lens on the way to and from work every day. It trained my eyes to be soft and let the image find its way to my shutter. This early work informed my process to this day, even in my professional work."

Have you taken any particularly memorable trips?

I visited 12 countries in 24 days quite a few years ago, and recently visited 9 countries in less time, including India and Japan. I'm a travel junkie. Many times, I only took the film cameras out, and it was just great. Sometimes you would see a shot you wanted to get, but you weren't able to because of what you had, and it was good to be able to let go of that, because professionally, I can't.

"Shadow Dancer; Chelsea Flea Market, NYC, 2002. Yashicamat, TriX. I was born on this street." Photo: Brian Ach

How has your photography changed since you started?

"Shooting for clients all the time has definitely made me shoot less for fun. Carrying a lot of gear to a job often means no room for a fun camera, even if it is small. I just don't want to carry another thing. So, it's a sad but true thing that I shoot less of the 'fun' stuff. It does make it more special when I choose to do it, though."

"When I started out professionally, I was concerned about creating a certain 'look'. Something people would know is from me. I quickly started shooting like my heroes, Callahan, Mary Ellen Mark and learned from each of them. But if I could tell myself how it really works, I would say: 'Learn and move on.' Your style will become clear after years of shooting. Don't get hung up on that."

"Learn and move on. Your style will become clear after years of shooting."

"My shooting has improved for simple reasons – experience has taught me to understand what the shot I'm seeking really is, and when to take it. I shoot fewer frames than ever because I am not searching as much. With clients, I've probably thought more about their shoot than they have by go time, and it makes it easier."

You clearly have a distinct shooting method. What's your secret?

"I think through the job or the trip multiple times, pack everything I want to take, and then take stuff out of the bag or case depending on what conclusions I come up with."

"I teach my method, which I call 'Content meets Context', in workshops. I use this every time I shoot to create 'intentional' photographs. Content is nothing without context, especially nowadays. An example would be Prince performing at the Stade de France. A picture of him on stage performing would be great, but there is no context – nothing to indicate it is in the iconic arena. I went and shot him wide, from behind (thanks, all access) as he turned around, so you can have the context of the arena in the shot."

"Prince; Stade de France, Paris 2011; This was the first show on the European Tour, the first time I had photographed him in concert." Canon EOS-1D X | EF 17–40mm F4L USM | F4 | 1/320 sec | ISO 2000 Photo: Brian Ach

"For all photographers: shoot more, be open to criticism and learn how to self-critique. Like a musician who knows their keys and scales by rote, you need to know your cameras the same way. Practice, refine, grow and get the work out there. Happy shooting!"

Brian really enjoyed participating in this spotlight article and would be grateful for you to join him in discussion in the forums.

Brian's work

You can check out his other work at brianach.com. He will also have an exhibit opening at The Garrett Museum of Art on July 10, which includes many of these photos as well as a talk back on the stories behind the Prince prints on July 11. And he'll be the keynote speaker at the International Photography Hall of Fame Induction ceremony in Indianapolis on October 3.

Also, check out Brian's stories of getting the right shot on DPREview TV:

Thanks again, Brian, for being featured!

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Editor's note: This article continues a series, 'What's in your bag?', highlighting DPReview community members, their photography and the gear they depend on. Would you like to be featured in a future installment? Tell us a bit about yourself and your photography by filling out this form. If you're selected for a feature, we'll be in touch with next steps.

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