Love That Kitchen! A Unique Photography Studio & Kitchen with a Deep History

Renee Anjanette, a twenty-year veteran food photographer in LA whose clients include Sunkist, HaloTop, and other top food producers, might have one of the yummiest and most historically interesting food photography rental studios in LA. The Historic Hudson Studio is situated on the top floor of the historic Hudson Theaters building and was the 2500 square foot studio of Herb Ritts, renowned art and commercial photographer from the 70s. A large, open space, also rumored to have been a dance studio where Fred Astaire glided across the floor, it is unique for its warmth, wooden beamed ceilings, and wood floor—not to mention an amazing full-production kitchen and a modular kitchen set to customize for filming.

We caught up with Renee to hear more about the studio, how she found and restored it to its original beauty, the prop shop downstairs, and how she’s tackling the social-distancing needs of COVID for all those who rent her studio.

Hi Renee! Thanks for meeting with me.
Hi! I’m excited to talk to you. And thanks for having me.

Of course! So, the big question is, how did you come to acquire part of Herb Ritts’ old studio?
I saw an ad on Craigslist, of all places, advertising a studio space that made only a cursory mention of Herb Ritts. That was about 11 years ago. I went to check it out, and walked in and found this amazing space with a computer tech company in it—you know, a bunch of kids on their computers and all these wires hanging from the ceiling. I thought, oh my gosh, this is the most beautiful photography studio and they are practically defacing it. So, I immediately took it on as a lease and I did some work converting it back into a photo studio with a full kitchen, and I still have it today. The Herb Ritts Foundation is just across the hall, which is super cool too.

This building has great history!

What a great find. I know you use it for your own photography shoots, but when did you decide to start renting it out?
I guess it was about five years ago. When I didn’t have a shoot, it would be just me in this big, beautiful space, and to be honest, I felt guilty for having it all to myself. At first, I thought it might be a good place for a yoga studio on the weekends or something like that. But, around that time, my good friend, who is a prop stylist, was starting a prop rental business, and she was looking for a small space to keep her inventory. That’s probably when it clicked. I invited her to join me here, so anyone who wanted to rent it for a still shoot or cooking show could get their kitchen props from her. It was very mutually beneficial.

Is the prop shop still in the studio?
Actually, her (and her fabulous partner’s) prop shop, The Surface Library, went gangbusters, and she’s one of the top businesses for that kind of thing in LA now. In March of this year, a space downstairs became available—same 2000 square footage, so she took it and has expanded, which is tremendous.  In turn, I got to have more of my space back for bigger shoots. In fact, we were planning this big expansion party for the two of our businesses when COVID hit.

Speaking of COVID, is there anything you are doing to make shoots in the space more COVID-safe?
Yes! We have this cool thing now where people can have a Digi-tech set up the space so that everybody on the shoot has their own 27” monitor and private station far away from each other. There will be someone in the far corner, someone in the conference room, people on opposite ends on the space, etc. It keeps the social distancing easy for crews of still shoots, especially. We can even have the client in a different location completely, checking out the shoot in real time and giving feedback from their home offices. Several clients have said they never want to do it any other way again!

And, in terms of COVID, what’s great about this studio is the ability to have fresh air. Many studio spaces are sealed boxes. But this space has these large industrial windows that all open, so there is plenty of air circulation, and we have wide front and back stairwells that lead to open doors, which is all good for COVID.

 
How would you describe the space?
Honestly, my claim to fame is what I’ve done with that kitchen! It is incredible. I outfitted it so that any food stylist can come in and just get to work. Everything is there. Usually, they’d have to rent appliances or bring a lot of tools, but here, they have everything all set up for them. That’s what really makes it special. It’s like working in your own kitchen.

We also have a set kitchen on wheels, fully modular and modifiable. You can change the colors & the configurations, which is really great for filming, perfect for filming a chef at work, for example,

Also, the space is just really comfortable. That’s one of the main things. Lots of studio spaces are very sterile. But this place has a warm, comfortable feeling. And it’s totally turn-key. The photographers who use it come back again and again because it feels like coming back home. There is great light, brick walls, and the wood floors make it very unique.  It lends itself to a casual homey-type feel.

You have had a lucrative career as a photographer. Tell me about yourself. How did your life as a photographer evolve?
The short version is that as a kid I realized that my brain would frame things in my field of vision, just like a photograph. Not having access to any classes or professionals, as we lived in a very isolated rural environment in the mid-west, I wondered if that meant I should be a photographer. I finally was able to take a community college course and I fell in love with it.

I attended an incredible school in Santa Barbara for my BA in Photography, and took the advice of a photographic icon, I heard speak at my school who said it was best to go to a smaller market to be able to work more on camera. I went back to St. Louis and worked for a well-regarded photographer there, and learned a ton.  I then took my skills and went to Los Angeles, to see how far I could push this passion!

As a food photographer and someone with this great kitchen studio space, how do you think about issues around food and community, like hunger?
Great question. Those things are so important to me. One thing we do here is that we donate the food we make or use for the shoots to local food kitchens whenever possible. And I am a huge proponent of local farms and farmers’ markets. I try to support my local food industry and community as much as possible. I will donate time as a photographer to local food companies that I believe in who might not have enough money for big shoots. Through the years, I’ve also done art photography that puts the role of food and food production into question.

I love doing that work…it turns out it is always my favorite work!

Anything else you think people should know about Historic Hudson Studios?
I’d love to share this incredible, beautiful space with other visual artists, and want everyone to feel comfortable and inspired here.