about the artist

my first gig
It was 1989, I was in graduate school and some friends were getting married. The question—what to give as a gift? Well... what does any artist give when they don’t have much cash—their art. So, my present was to photograph their wedding.

It was a wonderful wedding/costume party. The groom came as a frog, the bride came as a bird, and I came as a 1950s photographer: a short sleeve white shirt, a bow tie, and a Fedora hat with a press pass stuck in the brim. I shot the event in a photo journalistic style—intimate, candid, back & white photos. It was lots of fun and everyone loved the images. Their enthusiasm encouraged me to pursue more event photography.

For a number of years I did the occasional wedding, but struggled with the idea of doing it professionally, because I wasn't interested in the traditional, commercial style—very stiff, very posed. I wanted to work in a documentary style, because that’s the type of photography I find interesting. Documentary photography is important—it’s a way of sharing humanity. I wanted to create something that was personal and intimate—something that captured the emotional intensity between family and friends on their wedding day.

shuter photographic
In 1996 I decided to pursue photographing weddings, events, and portraits in the intimate, photo journalistic style I have a passion for. If people liked the work—that would be great... if they didn’t—that was ok too. Shuter Photographic was born.

a little history
People have commented on the serendipitous nature of my last name—Shuter (pronounced shooter). They ask if I changed my name to fit my work. In fact, I am the third generation in my family to be involved in professional photography.

My grandfather, Michael Shuter, had a professional portrait studio in Brooklyn Heights from the 1930s to the early 1950s. For several years my father, also Michael Shuter, worked as a freelance photographer. One could say that photography is in my genes.

My grandfather made black and white photographs that look as good today as they did when they were taken—over 60 years ago! I have 100-year-old family photographs that still look great. These images hold up today because the people who made them were craftsmen—they had a passion about what they did. I feel that people should have photographs that are going to last their lifetime, and, their children’s lifetime. With black & white photography I can produce that kind of craftsmanship.

a little bio
I was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. In 1979 I left NY to go to college in Vermont where I graduated with a BA in psychology and an unofficial minor in photography. It was during my eight years in Vermont that I discovered that photography was central to my life. In 1988 I moved to Rochester, NY to go to the Rochester Institute of Technology where I received a Masters of Fine Arts in Imaging Arts with a concentration in Museum studies. Since then I have called Rochester home.

my day job
When I'm not photographing weddings and portraits I work at Museum Photographics: a studio that specializes in archival photographic and digital reproduction, duplication and restoration. Our customers include: museums, archives, libraries, historical societies, conservation labs, frame shops and private individuals. Our clients come from around the block and around the country.