Joshua Annas has been busy remodeling and turning 301 Fourth St., La Grande, into a photography studio. His Beyond the Lens studio has an area for portraits and artistic expression, as well as a space where family photos can be taken in the winter.

LA GRANDE — For years, photographer Joshua Annas took pictures as a hobby, and now he’s making a go of it as a business.

Annas, an Eastern Oregon University graduate originally from Newberg, recently opened Beyond the Lens Photography, 301 Fourth St., La Grande, offering multiple photography services at his newly remodeled studio.

“I’ve done photography for about 20 years,” he said. “I didn’t turn it into a business until October 2021 because I saw a need for a studio in the area.”

Annas has been remodeling his residence to create three photography suites in his studio. One can be rented for retail exhibits by other artists, while a second space is for portraits and artistic expression. A third room is for family photos that can be taken in the wintertime with a rustic Eastern Oregon theme.

Beyond the Lens Photography offers a full range of services, including custom family portraits, weddings and landscapes. But in addition to these three main categories, Annas also provides passport photos, custom student photos, business highlights, residential photos, canvass creations, hardcover books with photos and sports photography. He also takes photographs at funerals, memorials, graduations, classic car shots and community events of all kinds.

Photography had been his hobby for a long time, but then he began thinking about how he could make a business out of it.

“That started my creative juices going about 2020,” he said.

Annas said he worked with John Lackey to get a business plan in place. Lackey, the former La Grande city councilor, owns Source One Consulting, which provides business, marketing, sales and feasibility plans, as well as help with financial planning, human resources, loan sources, income and expense analysis and lean technology.

Annas started becoming more engaged with clients and the community, and he also created a logo for his business. He became the vice president of the Downtown Main Street Board, and in this capacity, he listened to ideas from other entrepreneurs who described how they started their own businesses.

“I like working with clients and I want to give them an experience, not just a quick head shot and leave,” he said. “I want people to come to the studio to show them what I can do.”

Those who visit his studio will see an exhibit of his photographs on canvasses.

“You can pick through canvasses you want to buy, then I create them, sell them and everything will be done in-house,” he said.

Annas would like to develop a studio designed to meet a person’s photography needs.

“My goal is to be Eastern Oregon’s premiere photography experience,” he said.

Purchased photos are made available to the client using a SmugMug link where the client pulls them off the website or they can be provided on a USB port.

“I also have packages for prints, like for sports stuff, and I can print them in-house here,” he said.

Later, down the road, Annas would like to have a partner to run the studio while he is away taking photos. His studio, at the corner of Fourth Street and C Avenue, is near Eastern Oregon University and yet blended into the community.

“My goal is to provide multiple photography services for Union County to use in one place,” he said. “It’s a way to collaborate with other artists and partnering with other photographers. I also plan to offer a Photography 101 class outdoors in the future.”