May 17, 2017

Meet Gary Donihoo of F8studio in Addison

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Gary Donihoo.

Gary, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
My father worked for HKS, a big Dallas architectural firm. As a teenager, I took a construction job at the company and began to experiment with architectural photography. It was there that I learned the technical aspects of photography, which provided a firm foundation for the next phase of my career. I grew bored of the buildings pretty quickly, and gravitated towards people – a transition that has been far more rewarding that I could’ve imagined.

Has it been a smooth road?
In the ’90s we were photographing some of the best weddings in Dallas with little competition. When digital photography hit in 2003, the market had grown substantially to more than 1,0000 photographers in the area; now there are TENS of thousands. I have seen a lot of really great wedding photographers leave the business due to competition, but we have succeeded in keeping a loyal client base by staying true to our creative principles. It is not uncommon for me to know entire wedding parties, which frequently are full of past and current clients. In that way, we’ve truly built a “family business.”

“I play honestly and I play to win. If I lose, I take my medicine.” Bobby Fischer

We’d love to hear more about your business.
In 2009, f8studio was named a Top 10 Wedding Photographers in the World by American Photo magazine – an honor I could not have imagined when I founded the company more than 20 years ago. Our group has grown to include two other award-winning photographers, Kym Skiles and Carter Rose; and boothBOOTH, an event and photo-booth division.

We consider ourselves storytellers who approach each wedding with sensitivity. Our artistic style is both modern and classic, as evidenced by our affinity for black-and-white photographs, which have an unparalleled ability to reveal the emotion of the day.

“When you photograph people in color, you photograph their clothes. But when you photograph people in black and white, you photograph their souls!”– Ted Grant

Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Yes, absolutely. We are fortunate to live in one of the largest wedding markets in the country, and our broad and diverse population always keeps things interesting. You just can’t beat the energy and variety that can be found here. Dallas is a town that really loves celebrations, and that attitude magnifies the excitement of every wedding we’ve shot. Although it’s a major metropolitan center, Dallas is above all a close-knit community of friends.

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