The Sitters
Members, not models: four people from a credit union's own membership, one at a time, on four plain backdrops.
Chicago · since 2014
Commissioned photography, and a studio to make it in.
Stopholt is Ines Halloran’s studio: portrait, food, still life, interiors and stories for brands, agencies and editors — and two daylight stages for hire.
Portrait · 2026
The Sitters for Tallis Credit Union
SITTER 01ADemo photo: Tima Miroshnichenko on Pexels (opens in a new tab)
What we photograph
The full archive- 01PortraitPeople on a plain backdrop or where they work: campaigns, editorial features, leadership and casting-led series.3 projects
- 02Food & drinkMenus, press sets, packaging and recipe libraries, shot with the chef or bar team on the day.3 projects
- 03Still lifeProducts and objects for launches, e-commerce and lookbooks, lit for material and shadow.2 projects
- 04InteriorsHomes, hospitality and workplaces for designers, architects and developers.1 project
- 05StoriesDocumentary sequences of people at work, for editorial and brand storytelling.3 projects
Recent commissions
All 12 projects
The Olive Room
A spring capsule shot against olive paper with one warm light pool, so every look carries the same evening.
Last Call
A new cocktail list shot at the bar after closing, one drink at a time, in a single strip of warm light.
Quiet Formula
One unlabelled bottle, marble and amber cloth, and shadows cut from real branches.
Second Act
Two founders who started companies after sixty, photographed on the same grey canvas a week apart.
Low Table
A tasting menu photographed in service, plate by plate, on the restaurant's own dark tables.
Three ways to work with us
01
Commission a shoot
Tell us the media, territory and term you need and get an indicative range before you write — then a written estimate within two working days.
How commissions work02
Hire a stage
Two stages by the day or half day, with a live calendar of bookings and holds. Place a hold in a minute; it costs nothing.
The stages and rates03
License an image
Most of the archive can be licensed for editorial and commercial use. Pick the frame, tell us where it will run and we will quote.
Licensing the archive
STAGE ONE · THE CYCDemo photo: Tima Miroshnichenko on Pexels (opens in a new tab)
Studio hire
Two stages, booked by the day.
A 2,400 sq ft white cyc stage with five tall north windows that black out, and a freight elevator to the floor.
Stage One
- Monday, October 5: Booked
- Tuesday, October 6: Booked
- Wednesday, October 7: Available
- Thursday, October 8: 1st hold
- Friday, October 9: Available
- Monday, October 12: Booked
- Tuesday, October 13: Booked
- Wednesday, October 14: Booked
- Thursday, October 15: Available
- Friday, October 16: 2nd hold
Stage Two
- Monday, October 5: Available
- Tuesday, October 6: Available
- Wednesday, October 7: Booked
- Thursday, October 8: Available
- Friday, October 9: 1st hold
- Monday, October 12: Available
- Tuesday, October 13: 1st hold
- Wednesday, October 14: Available
- Thursday, October 15: Booked
- Friday, October 16: Available
Prints and editions
Shadow Studies
From the journal
All notesHow holds work, and why you should place one early
First, second and third holds, the five-day clock and the 24-hour challenge — the studio calendar explained in plain terms.
Three ways to light a white set
Clean white, soft grey and a white that reads as a room: the same backdrop, three setups and what each one costs in time.
What a digital tech actually does
Why we put a second person behind the laptop on commissions with a client on set, and what it saves in post.
Selected clients
- Copperash
- Lowfield Creative
- Moller Hart Interiors
- Ninefold
- Northside Arts Trust
- Oriel Vane
- Ostra Clayworks
- Pell Street Pottery
- Quillon Skin
- Tallis Credit Union
- Teller Mill
- The Brinemark Review
Advertising commissions in North America: represented by Northfold Artists — bookings@northfold.example.