Fine Art Photographer Supplements Offerings with Distinctive Album from ArtZ

Thomas Balsamo fell in love with photography in 1970, when he received his first camera for his 10th birthday. He spent his youth looking at pictures and learned what made a powerful image. A mantra of Balsamo’s, he says that a person's eyes are the windows to their soul and the more this essence is captured, the more valuable the piece of work becomes.

Portrait work by photographers, famous and local, inspired him to develop a career in fine portraiture work. In 1978, as a junior in high school, he opened his studio, Portraits by Thomas, in Barrington, IL, where he specializes in black and white portraiture.

As Balsamo was establishing himself only as a black and white studio portrait artist, he needed to add additional offerings to his product line in order to increase business without adding costs. Acting as a sounding board for the prototype of a distinct digital photo album offered by ArtZ, a photography display products company, he realized the potential this product could have to showcase his work for his customers as well as himself. The ArtZ Bookmaker? now can be found in the homes of many of Balsamo’s clients. He also prefers to use the Bookmaker over other types of albums he’s used in the past to document his growth and exploration as an artist.

“I was in on the concept of the Bookmaker before it had a name. I realized instantly that it could offer a lot of things photographers would be interested in, both personally and professionally,” said Thomas Balsamo. “ArtZ is a great company with exceptional products in which its founder, Kristin VanDeWalle, truly believes.”

In the Moment
Balsamo’s love of portraiture and fascination with his subjects is reflected in his classic yet simple style. He strives to create the true essence and personalities of the clients in his portraits by working with them to relax and be themselves, capturing fleeting moments in time in a lasting medium.

“The best portrait work comes when the subject is relaxed and enjoying the experience, when they let their guard down and allow the camera to capture the inner beauty in their eyes,” said Balsamo.

Since his humble beginning in 1978, Balsamo has developed clientele across the world, from New York to California and as far as Europe and Asia, that seek out his distinguished style. Many clients are referrals from satisfied customers. In fact, some of his customers who have moved from the Chicagoland area return to his studio because they cannot find the same caliber of work elsewhere. His patience and enjoyment of spending time with his subjects in order to create the perfect portrait keeps many individuals and families coming back year after year.

Because a lot of his business comes from repeat customers, Balsamo photographs various groupings—families, mother and child, father and child, siblings—during a single sitting. To these customers he suggests creating wall groupings that show their families interacting with one another. Some families return year after year for their annual photo shoot, and soon find themselves running out of wall space. It is these customers to whom Balsamo introduces the Bookmaker by ArtZ.

“I’ve been involved in a lot of projects throughout the years and have always made albums for myself as a visual history of my growth,” said Balsamo. “The Bookmaker makes it easy to put together a portfolio of my work—it’s simple to assemble and helps remind me of where I came from. I extended this reasoning to my clientele, thinking that there must be many people out there with no more room in the house for photographs and no motivation to create their own album.”

Portraits on Display
The Bookmaker is finely crafted in black leather with a crisp debossed square on the cover. This album helps turn a group of digital photographs into a museum-quality collection. For his customers, Balsamo creates Bookmakers that include at least eight pages full of different combinations of people photographed together in the moment.

“The Bookmaker is ideal for showcasing a collection of family photographs or similar groupings,” said Kristin VanDeWalle, president and founder, ArtZ. “We’re thrilled to work with professional photographers like Thomas Balsamo who realize the potential of innovative photo products like the Bookmaker that combine simplicity and elegance with high design, high quality materials and fine craftsmanship.”

The album, available in 7x7”, 10x10” and 11x14”, can hold up to twenty dual-sided Entrada? Photo Matte fine art paper pages from Moab Paper Company. The white and natural inkjet pages are a fine archival quality professional photo art paper that can be printed on both sides. The papers are acid and lignin free and are treated for superior ink load capacity. The water resistant photo matte paper dries instantly and prints with incredible detail and excellent tonality.

Balsamo began offering customers with a lot of photo groupings the option of the Bookmaker a few years ago and have found them to be very receptive. In fact, one customer liked his so much, he returned to have a duplicate album created for his mother.

“The Bookmaker can help photographers pave a new path. I highly recommend professionals with a client base similar to mine to suggest to customers this high quality product that’s easy to produce and that’s going to last,” said Balsamo.

The Bookmaker can also be a do-it-yourself project. Included in the kit that can be ordered from ArtZ (www.artzproducts.com) are 25 printable fine art pages, two printable translucent pages that protect the first and last pages of the book, a printing template, and printing and assembly instructions.

“The Bookmaker is a permanent, hardbound book that anyone can create for themselves,” said VanDeWalle. “We have a patent pending on how the book assembles, allowing it to easily be printed and assembled by an individual in one sitting.”

Current Endeavors
Balsamo’s exploration of fine art and portraiture recently led him to new projects. A major collaboration that he’s just completed is committed to portraying individuals with autism from the inside out. The portraits are visually stunning and the book, “Souls: Beneath and Beyond Autism,” is intended to educate and inspire those who see it by breaking apart stereotypes. Balsamo’s upcoming projects will explore aging and cancer.

“The more I learn, the more I have to share,” added Balsamo. “Nothing makes me happier than sharing these collections that show truly amazing and unique individuals.”

About Thomas Balsamo and Portraits by Thomas
Since 1978, Portraits by Thomas has created portraiture that speaks volumes about the subjects captured. Its mission is to thrill, captivate and compel the viewer to linger on the work. Artist Thomas Balsamo has created work for many prominent people including George Fisher, president of Eastman Kodak, and former Chicago Bear Great, Gayle Sayers. His work has been published nationally and has been displayed in The Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C. It also has appeared in national publications such as Time, Professional Photographers of America and Range Finder. Thomas currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Barrington Arts Council and is involved in teaching seminars for the photographic industry on a national level.

About ArtZ
Founded in 1993, ArtZ began as a card company called art’z’cards in New York City. Since then, the company has expanded its line of products into the spiral album realm, began creating a premier line of leather products called the Coffee Table Book and Box, and was the first to introduce a photo box. Every year since 1995, ArtZ has introduced an innovative photo presentation product. ArtZ’s mission is to provide customers with an innovative product that combines simplicity and elegance with high design, high quality materials and craftsmanship with service that’s prompt, personal and courteous.