KIM’s bringing Santa’s home here
December 8, 2009
Galeand Raymond Theriot
December 10, 2009
Whether it’s the innocent eyes of a newborn child or the vibrant glow of a bride walking down the aisle, whenever the camera flashes, Petersen Studios freezes the moment forever.
The family-run photography studio on Bayou Gardens Boulevard in Houma has done its part to capture snippets of its customers’ family history for 26 years.
Madelyn Petersen, a studio shareholder and photographer, said, “We believe in giving a good, quality product. It’s important to give personal services and build relationships with your customers.”
Interestingly enough, Petersen Studios started as a one-hour photo shop. Madelyn’s husband, Louis Petersen, had a bad experience with a south Louisiana photo-processing center, and decided he wanted to do something about it.
“Dad bought a high-end Canon [camera] to take family pictures,” Madelyn’s daughter, Marty Petersen-Burnham said. “But when he went to develop the film, the people told him that it would take a week for the photos to come back. Dad thought that was too long.”
Then, Petersen-Burnham recalled that someone told her father about a business in New Orleans that offered one-hour photo processing. While there, Louis Petersen wrote down the name of the machine with the intent of purchasing one for personal use.
“When he called the manufacturer, they told him that he could not purchase it for private use, but rather it could be used at an establishment,” Petersen-Burnham said. “The family purchased the machine to offer Tri-parish residents a faster photo printing process.”
That’s when Louis Petersen and his brother Larry decided to ink their family name to a business license.
Petersen Studios opened as a one-hour photo-developing center.
As years passed, Petersen Studio evolved into more than just a picture-processing center. Madelyn Petersen said the cornerstone of the business became capturing candid shots – family portraits, growing children, weddings and graduations.
Larry and Madelyn learned the craft first. Then, Madelyn taught her son Matt the family business. Petersen-Burnham, the youngest of the photographers, soon learned the tricks of the trade from Matt. She works as one of the wedding photographers now.
“Capturing a part of someone’s history on camera is amazing, it’s like being a part of his or her life,” she said. “We are a family, and they are a family. We bring our world into their home and they bring theirs into ours.”
The business also does framing, wedding albums and wedding videography, she said.
The studio started offering wedding video production two years ago, according to Petersen-Burnham.
Family portraits and individual candid pictures are taken all year round, she said. Wedding photos and graduation pictures, however, generally have peak months. December and May have a high influx for graduation, while May and November are peak months for wedding photography.
Photographer Madelyn Peterson has been standing behind a camera for more than 25 years. She said the most amazing part of her job is being able to take candid shots of families from generation to generation. * Photo by SOPHIA RUFFIN
