Bridge Creative Studio

If you’ve ever stood in line at a drugstore photo counter only to be told your passport picture has “too much shadow”, this one’s for you. Bridge Creative Studio opened in Walnut Grove this year, steps from Service Canada, and passport photos are the thing most of us will walk in for: done while you wait, about ten minutes, two printed copies for $25 plus tax.

They size photos for more than Canadian passports, too. Citizenship and PR card photos are on the list, along with visa and travel-document sizes for Korea, the US, China, India and other countries. That’s handy if you’re juggling paperwork for two countries, and the studio’s website comes in a Korean version as well as English. One honest note they give themselves: baby photos can take more than one try depending on the baby’s mood, so bring a white blanket and some patience.

Two businesses under one roof

The front of the studio is a photo space, and it isn’t only for ID shots. They book family and group portraits, maternity, graduation and mini sessions (from $150 for a short family session), plus milestone setups: cake smash sessions and dol, the Korean first-birthday celebration, with themed backdrops and props. Party table rentals for a dol or 100-day celebration are listed as coming soon. There’s also a cute one for parents: send in your kid’s drawing and they’ll turn it into a gallery-style art print.

The other half is design, signs and print for businesses. Think storefront and illuminated signs, window graphics, sandwich boards, banners, vehicle graphics, business cards, menus, labels, stickers and printed T-shirts. The bigger sign jobs are built and installed with King’s Sign & Graphics, a registered BC sign company, and the studio handles the permits, so the business owner deals with one person from the first sketch to the install. Their portfolio already includes the Service Canada building sign and work for several local shops.

Good to know

• It’s locally owned and run by someone with 25-plus years in photography and design, the owners tell us. The owner’s dog is often in the studio, so say hello.
• Weekday hours only, so plan passport photos for a lunch break.
• Free parking out front.
• Sign and print jobs start with a free, no-obligation quote through their website.

New in Walnut Grove and worth knowing about, if only so the next passport renewal is a ten-minute errand instead of a two-store one.