Gittings is Texas’ largest portraiture company, with photographers spanning across the globe. While Gittings properly handles a range of photography options, including family, graduation, and executive portraits—CEO Greg Lorfing saw the rising need for professional portraits in the legal industry, and thus Gittings was born. Gittings wanted to give you a brief history of the Gittings brand as well as an inside look at the leadership team that is behind the international agency.
The History of Gittings
Gittings was founded in the late 1920s by Paul Linwood Gittings, Sr. Mr. Gittings was an outstanding photographer and a founding member of the International Photography Hall of Fame.
Mr. Gittings moved to Houston, in 1928, to open studios in both Houston and Dallas for Bachrach Portrait Studio, an acclaimed Boston-based photography studio that photographed every U.S. President since Abraham Lincoln. In 1933, Mr. Gittings went on to purchase the Texas studios from Bachrach, and from there Gittings became a southern institution.
Mr. Gittings passed away in 1989, and his legacy lives on with the Gittings name.
In 1998, Gittings President, Greg Lorfing, purchased the company and went on to found Gittings.
Greg Lorfing – CEO, President, and Creative Director
Gittings President and CEO, Greg Lorfing, has been behind the camera for most of his life.
He took his first photography course in high school and became captivated by photography. Greg went on to receive his B.A. in Portraiture from Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara and studied under world-renowned portrait photographer, Yousuf Karsh, in a two-year apprenticeship.
Greg started his own company in Houston in 1986 after deciding that he wanted to become the Karsh of Texas. He began to ask around to make local connections and started building his portfolio of prominent Texans. He discovered the growing need for public figures to have headshots and portraits for publicity and then chose to concentrate his business on executives who have similar needs.
During this time, Greg met the owner of Gittings, and after much discussion, they came to an agreement and Greg bought the executive branch of the Houston business—creating Gittings & Lorfing. In 1998, he acquired the rest of the company.
Greg’s favorite aspect of photography is the satisfaction of helping someone feel good about how they look. This starts with helping ease their fear of having their portrait taken from the moment they walk into the studio. He works with them as they take the portrait, showing them the images and allowing them to share features they might like or dislike. The most common response he receives after a session is, “That was painless!”
Barry Benton – Director of Business Development
Barry Benton, Director of Business Development, has been behind the camera since he was a teenager.
On a family vacation road trip in the ’70s, Barry began taking photographs out the car window at 75 mph—so many photos that he promised his parents that he’d become a professional photographer one day and pay them back for all the film and processing.
His first serious experience with photography started in high school when Barry was sixteen. The high school yearbook advisor needed a photographer, and after some encouragement from his parents, he signed up, and thus his obsession with photography was born.
On one occasion Barry was even able to leverage his yearbook photo status to land press credentials for Ronald Reagan’s campaign speech in 1980.
Barry went on to work for a local magazine in high school and as a “Party Pic” photographer in college. He eventually managed that business for the owner of the Party Pic franchise at LA Tech and was a photographer for the university newspaper and yearbook staff.
While in school, he met a commercial photographer from Dallas and found out that they were looking to add to their staff, so he interviewed and was hired before he graduated.
In 2002, Barry opened up his own family and executive portrait studio near his home in Plano, TX. After building this business for several years, he merged the studio into the Dallas Gittings studio in 2006.
Barry’s favorite aspect of photography is working with clients to understand what they are looking for and being able to deliver a portrait that meets or exceeds their expectations.
Contact Gittings Today For Your Legal Photography Needs
The entire Gittings team is dedicated to helping your law firm develop your photography vision into a reality. Gittings has a long history of providing the best possible lawyer portraits and custom stock photography.
Contact us today to discuss your legal photography ideas in more detail.