Recent Article in the Local Paper
So, I was featured in my local paper, the Rivertowns Enterprise, last week. I had never been interviewed before and didn’t really know what to expect, but writer David Maggiotto wrote a great piece. Thanks, David!
“Her name is Eve Prime, but she is fine with people calling her “Poppy.” After all, her photography business, Poppy Studio, is so named because she likes the flower and the sound of the word. “It’s fun to say and easy to remember. It’s not too cute and not too serious,” Prime said from inside her 51 Main Street storefront…
Poppy Studio opened in March 2009 and recently celebrated its one-year anniversary. Prime does portrait and wedding photography, and particularly enjoys working with young children. “Kids are so amazing- they are endlessly fascinating to me,” she explained.
Her subjects include newborns. Currently adorning her studio walls are two large prints of a 15-day-old girl shot in the family’s home. In one image she appears asleep; in another she is similarly posed but staring out with wide, unfocused eyes. Another portrait on display shows a 2-month-old lying belly down across its mother’s forearm, a pose that appears both precarious and secure.
Prime often photographs toddlers and preschoolers…. she sometimes begins with portraits of kids and finishes by shooting the whole family. “I try to sneak mom & dad in there,” she said, adding that her preferred group motif strays from the traditional. “I love families in a pile- close and cuddly and in a lump.”
Prime attended New York University, where she “took as many photography classes as [her] French major would allow.” After graduating in 1989, she worked in darkrooms developing film for other photographers. She did not love the smell… or the subterranean atmosphere of darkrooms, however, and found more satisfying work as a photographer’s assistant. For about 13 years, Prime worked for dozens of different photographers, for whom she “did [almost] everything but press the button on the camera.”
As she was learning the ropes of professional photography, Prime was taking pictures on her own. She enjoyed shooting concert and publicity photos for New York City rock bands. She also worked on album covers for independent music labels, and is credited with the cover art for the 1995 album “Get Lost” by The Magnetic Fields.
In 2003 Prime quit assisting and was hired as a product photographer for Star magazine. The job entailed shooting static objects for the magazine’s [fashion & beauty] spreads. “If I’m shooting a lipstick, the I love shooting a lipstick,” Prime said of the job. She still works for the company, having transitioned to part time in 2007 to focus on other subject matter. “Lipstick is not going to surprise you the way a 3-year-old will,” she said.
Prime and her husband, John Veglak,… moved from Brooklyn to Irvington in 2006. Originally from Bedford, Prime said she wanted to return to the suburbs in order to have more space. She tends a large flower & vegetable garden… [and shares her] house on North Eckar  Street with three cats and two border collies.
In 1999 Prime was commissioned to photograph her first wedding, a job that proved gratifying and exciting. “Weddings are uncontrollable events, not like any other photography shoot,” she said. “The emotions you get on people’s faces- that doesn’t happen in portrait photography”
When Prime began to concentrate on portraits and weddings, she typically met with prospective clients at her Irvington home. Finding this arrangement unsatisfactory, [she] began seriously thinking about having a separate studio. Last year she found a commercial vacancy around the corner from her home…. “It’s the perfect location, right in the middle of town,” she said. The studio’s proximity to the Old Croton Aqueduct and Matthiessen Park are added benefits, and Prime uses these settings to shoot clients outdoors.
For portrait works, sessions last 90 minutes and cost $150. Clients return to the studio a few days [later to] view a slide show… of the best 30 images (approximately- Ed.) chosen by the photographer. Wedding packages start at $1599 and include an engagement photo session…
Prime uses Nikon equipment and has been shooting digitally since 2003. She much prefers digital photography to film and said that programs like Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom allow her to do things she [could] “only dream about being able to do in the darkroom.”….
Prime appears to genuinely love the work she does and maintains an attitude of continual learning. “Photographers are always working on the craft,” she said. “We always believe the best picture we’re going to take is the next [one].”