About Us

• Willow Street Pictures * 2212 Penn Avenue West Lawn, PA Reading, PA 19609 (map) * (610) 375-3424 Credentials (view details) * DOJ Smart Search verified * Email verified * Thumbtack reviewed * Thumbtack Elite member * Bronze member Contemporary Family Portraits Request a quote Willow Street Pictures • Reading, PA 1. You'll be asked a few quick questions that will help describe your needs. 2. You'll be asked to provide your contact information so that Tara Elliot will be able to get in touch with you. 3. You'll have the option to get competing quotes from other qualified service professionals, saving you time and money. Request free quote » * Picture * Map Willow Street Pictures [Contemporary Family Portraits] Terms of Use Address: 2212 Penn Avenue West Lawn, PA Reading, PA 19609 Get directions * Provider travels up to 100 miles * Customer travels Darren Modricker is an owner of Willow Street Pictures and internationally-acclaimed artist. He specializes in family portraits that capture the special relationship between a person and their loved ones. Willow Street Pictures creates a fun and calming ambiance during your photo shoot that results in spontaneous and natural family portraits in the studio or on location anywhere in the world. Darren's furthest travels for a client was to Madagascar. He has also conducted photo shoots all over London and worked in Madrid for projects; however, most of his time is in the United States. During your photo shoot: You'll have a chance to view your pictures and select your favorites during your professional photo shoot. Our creative packages include a special presentation where you see each picture in color, black and white and sepia tone. Services: Willow Street Pictures custom prints and offers custom framing services to our clients. These services are completed in-house by highly-skilled artists which Darren has personally hired and trained. He oversees each step in the creative process. The results are one-of-a-kind framed works of art that his clients are proud to display in their home or place of business. Darren has over 20 years experience creating portraits, and has been featured on Discovery Health, NBC, HGTV and TLC. Gift cards are available online at our website or by calling our studio. Question and answer Q. What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you? A. The photographer that you ultimately select should be one that you have received a recommendation on from a friend or you are familiar with their portraits. In either case, you will certainly want to forge your own special relationship or bond with the artist. This will help them bring out your best qualities during the photo shoot. Q. If you were a customer, what do you wish you knew about your trade? Any inside secrets to share? A. Consulting with the photographer before the actual pictures are taken will help them to understand what you are looking for, and help ensure a good use of time for everyone at the photo shoot. Most professional photographers will offer an initial consult to help get a feel for each other's personalities and make certain that you will ultimately find the right fit. Q. What questions should a consumer ask to hire the right service professional? A. Having questions or suggestions ready for the photographer is a good tip to keep in mind for this initial introduction phase. This will keep the process moving along smoothly and efficiently. While you may feel packages are essential to which photographer you select, it is ultimately the creative process and style of the artist that is most important. You will want to look at this event in historical terms. The portraits they create are going to become a prominent piece of your family’s legacy and cherished for generations. Make sure that there are different options to choose from in order to get the style of pictures as you want. Do you want to be photographed inside the studio, inside your home, or at an outdoor location? See if they have any restriction on how many different poses or number of people. Can you can include pets? Finding a photography studio that can understand your needs and create images in multiple poses until you find one that is generally agreeable is another reason to shop around for the perfect photographer. Time is a key element in the selection process of a photographer. You want to avoid studios that routinely overbook their time, as this may severely limit the quality of photography your can expect. When it comes to reserving time with a photographer, generally the earlier you book the better. The good ones are typically very busy. You certainly do not want to feel rushed or unsatisfied, being hurried through your session just so your photographer can stay on time. Be cognizant of how many clients the photographer currently has booked on the day of your photo shoot as well as how amiable they are in the process. Most good photographers will allow some lead time for their appointments in case something goes wrong or the poses just aren't working out. Staying on schedule is one thing, but professional photographs are an investment and therefore, you should be at ease when you are getting your picture taken. Check to see if the photographer is up-to-date on all of the latest equipment and procedures that are available. Many different lighting and setting options become available from time to time, and you want as many options as you can get regarding what the possibilities are for your pictures. If there is a procedure that you have recently learned about, bring the subject matter up to them to see if they can enlighten you as to what is involved in this specific endeavor. New techniques are essential for a photographer to remain a viable option in their industry, so you should only choose one who understands everything that is going on in the industry and what is available to offer customers. A quality photographer can catch the essence of the moment and bring that across in the pictures that they take. Good photography studios will offer you many different options relating to picture sizes, prints, poses, and the many other items that play heavily into your decision regarding who you ultimately want to give your business to. Q. What important information should buyers have thought through before seeking you out? A. Check to see if the photographer is up-to-date on all of the latest equipment and procedures that are available. Many different lighting and setting options become available from time to time, and you want as many options as you can get regarding what the possibilities are for your pictures. If there is a procedure that you have recently learned about, bring the subject matter up to them to see if they can enlighten you as to what is involved in this specific endeavor. New techniques are essential for a photographer to remain a viable option in their industry, so you should only choose one who understands everything that is going on in the industry and what is available to offer customers. A quality photographer can catch the essence of the moment and bring that across in the pictures that they take. Good photography studios will offer you many different options relating to picture sizes, prints, poses, and the many other items that play heavily into your decision regarding who you ultimately want to give your business to. Q. Why does your work stand out from others who do what you do? A. Willow Street Pictures has been voted as the #1 Best of Philly. We received this award above all other pet photographers in Philadelphia. Q. Do you have a favorite story from your work? A. We accept a total of six photo shoots per week and each client has their own personal story to tell. We capture this story on each photo shoot and enjoy our time together. Q. How did you decide to get in your line of work? A. About the artist… Darren Modricker, was born in Lancaster, PA and moved to Berks County early in his childhood. A friend of the family, Mr. Bozart, who was his music teacher and taught an elective photography class introduced Darren to the world of photography. It was here that Darren made his first print in sixth grade and from this grew a lifelong passion of creating images. He would bring the camera along with him everywhere and started working in the darkroom with the enlarger for hours and hours. He found his passion! Darren continued to explore and refine his art and education by attending the School of Visual Arts in NYC graduating in 1990 with a BFA. Q. Describe your most recent project, what it involved, how much it cost, and how long it took. A. Willow Street Pictures was founded in 2002 with several guiding principles in mind. One of the many social goals I established was to make time in my schedule for projects that not only held meaning for me, but also helped increase community awareness of important causes. We are known both locally and nationally for our generous donations to many organizations. I am proud of the valuable contributions we have made to public and private schools, and numerous nonprofits such as: The Humane Society, Animal Rescue League, Berks Equine Council, Brookline Labrador Retriever Rescue, Children of the Future, Central PA Animal Alliance, Exeter Community Library, Good Dog Adoption Agency, Goodwill, Junior Achievement, YMCA, The Boys and Girls Club, Reading Public Museum, Ronald McDonald House, Reading Symphony Orchestra, and United Against Puppy Mills to name a few. On a national level we have made important and significant donations to Habitat For Humanity, as well as health organizations such as: The Lymphoma Leukemia Society, American Heart Association, and The Wellness Community. It has been our honor and privilege to meet with the extraordinary, wonderful and courageous people on these projects Q. If you were advising someone who wanted to get into your profession, what would you suggest? A. Do not be in a rush. It takes years to learn the profession. Value your time as apprentice and learn as much as possible in all the fields of photography. Then select a direction that you have a passion for. Only a few have what it takes to make it for the long haul. You seriously have to ask yourself how committed you are to the process because there are no shortcuts. Q. What is your greatest strength? A. Listening, understanding and backing up everything we say we can do... Testimonials Please see company website for video testimonials.