Over the past 30 years, Pat Becker and her staff have photographed hundreds of families in poses ranging from classy to campy. But her favorite pictures were the ones with the lambs.

After 10 years in the business, Becker got the idea of offering Easter pictures of families or children holding a two-week-old lamb. She got the lambs from a customer, who agreed to lend out the animals in exchange for their own set of studio shots.

It became a yearly practice, perhaps one of the studio's most well-known promotions.

It's that kind of creativity that has made Becker's business, The Country Studio on Route 20 in Guilderland, one of the most successful independent portrait studios in the region. In recent years, the business employed 16 people and was listed in the top 2 percent of the country's privately owned studios for families, in terms of gross sales.

Now, Country Studio has changed hands. Becker, 63, sold the business to employee Cheryl Devaul, who photographed under Becker for more than a decade. Devaul has moved the studio to a new location, just north of Parkwood Plaza at 1812 Route 9 in Clifton Park.

It opens today.

"It's been such a well-known business," said Devaul, 42. "I hope to continue with the community up here."

Country Studio was located in a sprawling house on several rural acres. The terrain was often integrated into family portraits, from the front porch to a pond in the back yard. Now, the business will be in a small office of less than 1,000 square feet. However, many of the traditions will be the same -- including the lambs at Easter.

Becker was a high school English teacher who fell in love with photography three decades ago and quit her teaching job mid-semester to open a studio. For the first six months, the single mother and her 13-year-old son lived on food stamps and slept on the floor of her studio, which was in a rented basement.

She was so nervous that she shot her first portrait job without film in the camera.

Slowly, Becker built up a business, growing her following by specializing in shooting kids and adding gimmicks like painted backgrounds or a plethora of props to choose from.

Sixteen years ago, Becker borrowed $500,000 and bought the Route 20 location. By this time, holidays were so busy the studio would be open seven days a week. Many photographers who worked for her -- mostly women -- went on to set up their own studios.

For Devaul, taking over the business was a no-brainer: "It was either take over or find a new career," she said. "This is all I've ever done."

Becker said she doesn't plan to go away soon. She has promised to keep promoting the business and help Devaul run it at first.

"It's completely reminiscent of what I did," she said. "I'm very proud of her. It's a leap of faith."

Source: MCT