Roy Cox’s Studio
Visit to Roy Cox’s studio
Specialty: Studio photography and some video
Location: Dundalk, MD
Date: September 9th, 2026.
Objective Description: Roy’s studio is situated in a side street right off 43 in Dundalk. Roy gave us a great background about his journey to becoming a highly successful studio photographer. As you might imagine it has not always been a straight shot to success and he portrays himself as the scrappy underdog who clawed his way to where he is today by working hard and always learning. Inside his studio you’ll find an intimate, well kept, space, that feels austere, but necessary. He tells us that over his career he’s shot over 18,000 clients and 1,000 ad campaigns. This seems like quite a high number and he tells us that his advice for success is to do market research and to make your prices reasonable, 80% of the high end of the range he suggests. To high and you lose work. To low and people wonder why. He also gives good advice that staying in your lane, your specialty, can be a benefit even if it means turning down work sometimes. A botched job that was outside your wheelhouse can damage your other business. Interestingly, Roy says that that vast majority of his clients are black, although he himself is white. He explains that he spent years learning how to shoot various skin tones and the nuances of working with clients with different complexions and that it’s his portfolio that brings in new clients although they don’t know who he is, they see his work. Roy takes in many interns each year and his only requirement is that you come in once a week for 3 months. One of his biggest competitors in the area was once an intern of his, and he says he loves teaching the next generation.
Subjective Observations: Roy Cox’s studio was a great example of a professional working studio photographer. I think it’s smart that this is early in the semester so students can find him early and work with him sooner in the year, because at least 2 students that I know of became interns almost immediately. Personally, I am more interested in nature photography but I can see that there would be value in learning lighting from Roy in his studio which could then be applied to any situation. Additionally Roy is doing more and more with video which seems to be a direction that is becoming more popular and would be a valuable thing to learn interning with him. Although I don’t feel his internship would work for me I have actually told people outside of the class about it as well who I think it could benefit. He is a wonderful resource.
