Gittings

What Gittings does

Gittings is a Dallas-headquartered professional photography company founded in 1928 that operates three Texas studios (Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston) and an enterprise division called GittingsGlobal with a coordinated network of more than 85 photographers serving clients across the U.S., EMEA, and APAC. The company's core offering is portrait photography — spanning professional headshots, personal/family portraits, branding imagery, and custom studio or on-location sessions — delivered through both direct consumer bookings and large-scale enterprise contracts.

The primary revenue engine is the legal vertical, served through the dedicated GittingsLegal sub-brand, where Gittings executes firm-wide portrait projects for Am Law and other large law firms (e.g., Orrick 1,100+ lawyers across 26 locations; Seyfarth Shaw 900+ lawyers across 15 offices; Barnes & Thornburg 600+ lawyers across 15 offices). Underlying this enterprise work is a proprietary photography process refined over decades plus a centralized Digital Image Library and Client Portal that standardize multi-office image management and create switching costs for clients. The consumer side includes studio sessions, a recurring Birthday Club membership, and sale of finished portrait products; pricing is largely quote-based, with occasional promotional offerings (e.g., $250 Winter White studio session).

The firm is privately held in its second generation of family ownership (Greg Lorfing, CEO; Rick W. Bettinger, President) with no external institutional capital. Its go-to-market combines direct studio sales, an enterprise field-sales motion (with dedicated BD directors for the U.S. and Europe), industry-event lead generation at LMA and London Law Expo conferences, content marketing, and a long-tail of community partnerships with Dallas arts and civic institutions. A notable intangible asset is the archive of every Gittings portrait negative since 1928, which can be queried to retrieve historical images — a dataset no competitor can replicate.

Name

Gittings

Legal name

Gittings

Website

https://gittings.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1928

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Gittings is a 1928-founded Dallas-based professional portrait photography firm operating Texas studios (Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston) and an enterprise division, GittingsGlobal, that coordinates 85+ photographers to deliver multi-location portrait and branding projects primarily for large law firms.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Dallas

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Studio Portrait Photography Sessions: Professional portrait photography sessions conducted in Gittings studios or on-location. Pricing varies by service type with promotional offerings like Winter White sale at $250 for studio portrait sessions including a mounted 5x7 Imperial portrait.
2. Corporate/Law Firm Headshot Services: Enterprise photography services for law firms and corporations requiring consistent, professional portraits across multiple offices. Projects range from small firms to large organizations with hundreds of lawyers across domestic and international locations.
3. Portrait Products: Sale of finished portrait products including mounted portraits, framed prints, and custom artwork. The Winter White sale includes mounted 5x7 Imperial portrait printed on state-of-the-art materials with crystal clear lacquer finish.
4. Birthday Club Membership: Annual membership program capturing portraits of children at each birthday age, creating a storybook collection over time. Members receive a beautiful portrait displayed for a year and added to a birthday album.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Gittings sells professional portrait and commercial photography services delivered through three Texas studios (Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston) and an enterprise division (GittingsGlobal with GittingsLegal) that coordinates 85+ photographers worldwide for multi-location projects. Offerings span personal/family/bridal portraits, corporate headshots, lawyer/legal industry headshots, real estate and financial professional headshots, personal branding photography, custom stock image libraries, and a Birthday Club membership program for annual children's portraits. Enterprise clients also receive access to a proprietary Client Portal / Digital Library that centralizes image storage and access across offices.

Product overview

Gittings is a professional photography company offering portrait photography and commercial photography services, operating for over 90 years since 1928. The company operates a studio-plus-services model with three core service lines: Professional Headshots (including specialized services for lawyers, real estate professionals, financial services, and branding), Personal Portraits (family, individual, and milestone photography), and Commercial Photography. The enterprise division, Gittings Global, serves large law firms and corporations with international photography coordination across over 85 photographers worldwide. Supporting the core photography services are technology platforms including a Digital Image Library for centralized photo storage and distribution, and a Client Portal for deliverable access. The company also offers a Birthday Club membership program for annual childhood portraits and Portraits as Decor for custom framing services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Professional Headshots Professional corporate headshot, executive portrait, and team photography services for businesses and individual professionals.
• Personal Portraits Family, individual, bridal, children, couples, debutante, destination, men's, women's, pet, and pop art portrait photography sessions delivered as heirloom finished artwork.
• Lawyer Headshots Professional headshot photography specifically designed for attorneys and law firm websites, featuring consistent branding across multiple office locations.
• Branding Photography Personal branding photography services to help professionals and businesses establish a cohesive visual identity and market presence.
• Real Estate Headshots Professional headshot photography for real estate agents and brokers to build credibility and a professional presence.
• Financial Headshots Professional portrait photography for financial services professionals including bankers, advisors, and investment managers.
• Gittings Global International and enterprise-level photography services for large organizations, law firms, and corporations with multiple global office locations, coordinating 85+ photographers worldwide.
• Digital Image Library Centralized database system for storing, organizing, and distributing professional photos across multiple offices and locations for enterprise clients.
• GittingsGlobal Client Portal Web-based client portal for accessing, reviewing, and downloading professional photography deliverables, with centralized image management.
• Birthday Club Annual membership portrait program offering yearly birthday portraits for children, capturing growth and milestones over time with finished albums and displayed portraits.
• Portraits as Decor Custom portrait framing and home decor service enabling clients to display professional portraits as art pieces in their homes.

Quantifiable outcome

• Photographed over 1,100 lawyers in 26 different locations worldwide for Orrick
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Dallas Symphony Orchestra (DSO)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 October 2023Gittings donated nearly $120,000 in portrait photography services to create a Principal Musician Portrait Gallery for the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. This represents a significant community investment and partnership with a major arts institution.
• Houston Livestock Show & RodeocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAnnual partnership creating portrait collections of rodeo leadership. Saks Fifth Avenue unveiled a Gittings portrait collection at the event where over 200 people gathered. Longstanding tradition of documenting rodeo leadership.
• Junior League of DallascoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity partnership supporting the organization's missions and events including the Crystal Charity Ball and other fundraising activities for children's causes.
• Armstrong Bradfield Preschool Association (ABPA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity partnership supporting early childhood education organization in Dallas.
• Dallas OperacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLongstanding partnership supporting the Dallas Opera (TDO) since early years, providing photography services for opera events and documentation.
• SafeHavenminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity partnership with the largest agency in Tarrant County providing relief for women and children affected by domestic violence.
• Houston Men of DistinctioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAnnual partnership creating portraits for the exclusive fraternity of men recognized as pillars of the Houston community. Includes former Presidents, Fortune 500 CEOs, and other notable Houstonians.
• Crystal Charity BallcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLongstanding partnership supporting children's charities in Dallas through the Crystal Charity Ball organization.
• Chron's and Colitis Foundation of AmericaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership creating portraits for the Women of Distinction celebration benefitting the foundation.
• Jewel CharitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOfficial photographer for the Jewel Charity Ball in Fort Worth, documenting board members and event activities.
• Dallas Symphony Orchestra League (DSOL)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOfficial photographer for the DSOL Presentation Ball for four decades, documenting debutantes at one of Dallas' most elegant social traditions supporting the arts.
• Susan G. KomenminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity partnership supporting breast cancer awareness month with Galleria Dallas and Paper City.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Lifetouch: Large-scale portrait photography company (subsidiary of Shutterfly) serving schools, businesses, and families nationwide. Comparable as a major player in the broader portrait photography industry with similar consumer and enterprise-facing offerings.
• Shutterfly: Public digital photography and personalized products company that owns Lifetouch and other portrait brands. Comparable as a scaled player in the portrait and commercial photography ecosystem with broader digital reach.
• Olan Mills: Long-established American portrait studio chain offering family, church directory, and professional portraits. Comparable as a multi-generational portrait photography brand competing in similar family and professional segments.
• Bachrach Studios: Historic American portrait studio chain where Paul Gittings, Sr. began his career before founding Gittings in 1928. Operates a similar executive portrait and family portrait model with multi-city studio presence, making it a direct historical and operational comparable.

Others

• Great Jakes Marketing Company: Law firm marketing services company that includes a 'World's Best Attorney Bio Portraits' recognition list and partners with Gittings. Ecosystem partner rather than competitor; comparable as a legal industry marketing specialist that recommends Gittings to law firm clients for portrait photography.

Emerging players

• The Headshot Truck: Mobile professional headshot service bringing studio-quality portraits directly to corporate offices and events. Comparable in targeting professional headshot needs, with a differentiated mobile delivery model that overlaps with Gittings' on-location corporate work.

Direct peers

• Portrait Innovations: Multi-location portrait studio chain offering family, child, and professional portraits in studio settings. Directly comparable business model targeting similar family and individual portrait customer segments.
• Steinberg Photography: Professional photography studio offering corporate headshots, executive portraits, and personal branding imagery. Comparable in providing executive and corporate headshot services to professional clients with similar studio-based delivery.
• Bell Photography: Professional photography studio specializing in corporate, executive, and commercial headshots. Directly comparable in targeting professional headshot and corporate portrait clients with a similar service orientation.

Regional players

• Picard Photography: Boutique professional headshot and branding photography studio serving corporate clients. Comparable in targeting professional branding and corporate headshots, though operating at smaller geographic scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/GittingsPortraiture
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/gittingsglobal
• Instagraminstagram.com/gittingsportraiture

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Gittings