About us
About us: Studiorama is a cinema photo studio in Paris, born from the encounter between writing, directing and photography by Nicolas Castro, screenwriter and director for more than 30 years.
On the rooftops of Paris, passers-by become the heroes of their own film. A choice of scenarios and props, cinema-style lighting in an exceptional location; at Studiorama, every photo session turns a moment shared with loved ones into an immersive cinematic experience, extended by a quality photo print.
At its core, the direction stays the same. You need to find a frame, a direction, a light, a game. The only difference is that, in front of the lens, these are no longer actors, but strangers. I invite them to play, to pose, to step into a situation. And when they forget the camera, I capture the photo.
The idea is simple: to recapture the pleasure of old-school genre cinema. Not out of nostalgia, but for the love of play, of sets, of fiction. To create images that look like film stills, then turn them into photographs. Like those exploitation photos once found in cinema lobbies, right up until the 1980s.
Studiorama’s signature set, the rooftops of Paris, sums up this idea. It’s a cinematic Paris: a little dreamlike, a little stylised, deliberately more romantic than realistic. A Paris of zinc roofs, chimneys, sky, unlikely encounters, gunshots and characters bursting into song as they leave.
I wanted to create a place where everyone could step into an image that looks like it’s straight out of a film, without needing to be an actor. A place where you can come alone, as a couple, with family or with friends. Together, we choose the genre of film, the character, the props, sometimes a soundtrack or a small scenario. It’s a return to childhood, but on a film set.
The experience doesn’t end with the shot. The image is designed to be printed, displayed, given as a gift, kept. A photo that you don’t simply leave to sleep on a phone. No artificial intelligence, no digital trickery: just a set, a light, a camera, and the age-old pleasure of telling a story.
Studiorama was born from this simple desire: to recapture a taste for fiction through photography. To make sure a photo session isn’t a tense moment, but a memory in itself. A little shoot like a glass of champagne, with no lines to learn, just a set, a light, a direction. To live, for the length of a session, your own little cinema scene, and leave with the photo of the film.
For about twenty years, I’ve worked as a screenwriter and director. More recently, I enthusiastically took up photography. The idea for Studiorama came to me by naturally combining these three passions: inventing a unique, never-before-seen place, where every day I could « make my own cinema », going from 24 frames per second down to a single one.
Nicolas Castro has worked in audiovisual creation for more than thirty years. He directed documentaries for television, then fiction films for cinema. His feature film Des Lendemains qui chantent, starring Pio Marmaï, Laetitia Casta, Ramzy Bedia and André Dussollier, received a very warm welcome. Other scripts for cinema and streaming platforms followed.
Since 2021, he has also been developing a career as a photographer. Winner of the Prix Planche Contact in Deauville in 2023 and selected by Photo Magazine the same year, he completed further studio training in 2025 at the École des Gobelins.
Cinema
- Des lendemains qui chantent (2014)
- Je n’ai pas changé (2012)
Series and TV films
- Alphonse Président season 2 (2019)
- L’Opéra season 1, Alphonse Président season 1 (2017)
- En Famille (2011-2014)
- Dossier Karamel (2009)
- Brigitte et moi (2007)
Documentaries
- Jean-Loup Dabadie ou les choses de sa vie (2009)
- Les écrivains de cinéma (2009)
- L’âge d’or du polar (2007)
- L’âge d’or de la comédie (2007)
- L’âge d’or du X (2007)
- Michel Rocas le roi du nanar (2006)
The coming together of several interests; writing, directing and photography. I tried to combine the three to design an original concept. What was exciting about this adventure was inventing something, creating a concept that didn’t yet exist.
That’s exactly it, I drew on that experience. I mostly wrote comedy, a genre that relies on situations. At Studiorama, I continue that pursuit: finding little moments that are tender, funny, with a touch of poetry. And bringing them to life on the rooftops of Paris. Rather than directing actors, I direct passers-by, Parisians or tourists, keeping that sense of play and fun in order to create singular images.
I’ve also always loved the hands-on, craft side of things. It suits me to follow the whole chain of production. I started my career in documentary; I was producer, writer, director and editor all at once. Studiorama lets me find that pleasure again, from creating the concept to meeting the clients.
Everything; the set, the direction, the fact that it’s aimed at a wide audience. My photo studio offers a cinematic experience with a real set built by a production designer, and lighting set up by Pierre Aïm, a renowned director of photography. It’s truly a unique experience, sitting at the crossroads of cinema and photography.
I was looking for a place that was both very emblematic of Paris, somewhere people couldn’t naturally get photographed, while still being iconic; a little stage for imagining fun situations. I asked my production designer to build a roof where you could feel the slope, with ladders and windows, so that participants would really feel immersed in the experience.
I love 1930s cinema. So I wanted to recapture the spirit of sets designed by Alexandre Trauner, a great production designer. He notably worked on films by Marcel Carné and then Billy Wilder in the 1950s. I wanted something that felt realistic, while at the same time making you feel like you were on a film set. The old-fashioned way.
Yes, exactly. By revisiting that 1930s-50s cinema, made by craftsmen and artists, I’m taking the opposite stance to AI, where in the end you can be inserted into images generated by software.
Here there’s no green screen, it’s a real zinc roof, with birdcages, flower pots, prop guns, guitars, old telephones that you hold in your hand. There are many vintage props, mostly sourced from real film sets.
I offer them different scenes, different scenarios. Then we choose their character, their costumes, their props. Finally, I direct them on the roof, both so they have a good time, and so they leave with a beautiful, well-lit photo that shows them at their best. This photo is never posed in the classic sense; it’s not a standard shoot, I direct it. Caught up in the action, participants forget about the camera. I make sure they’re not looking at the lens.
I choose the soundtrack and play with sound effects. For example, on the detective scene, which works very well in black and white, I add police sirens, gunshots… It’s an immersive experience. The audience needs to feel like they’re acting in a little film; but instead of leaving with the film, they leave with the photo of the film.
Absolutely. I narrow it down to about twenty photos. Clients choose their favourite, and I print it on the spot, on pearl satin Fine Art paper. It’s a fun moment, because they choose the photo themselves, often debating amongst themselves to decide which one is best. Then they leave with the print in a beautiful box.
But there’s no need to feel frustrated: I also open up a private gallery for them… an account with around fifteen photos, which they can use for social media or to order additional prints. They can choose a black-and-white or colour version. Sometimes we plan the choice together, because it lets me adjust my lighting differently, and sometimes I send them both versions.
So far, client feedback has been enthusiastic; they have fun, they keep the feeling of having taken part in a truly unique, very original experience, and above all there’s always a little « wow » moment when they see the printed photo; seeing themselves in this set, in the costumes, beautifully lit.
What if, just for a moment, you became the lead character in your own film? At Studiorama, every session is designed as a real piece of direction. Choose your scenario, your aesthetic, your atmosphere. Let the camera do the rest.
Film noir
Romantic comedy
French New Wave
Musical
Carte blanche
In the heart of Paris, inside the legendary Passage Jouffroy, a set unfolds; an immersive recreation of the rooftops of Paris using authentic materials: weathered zinc roofing, old windows and an iron ladder running alongside a chimney. Inspired by the work of production designer Alexandre Trauner and lit by Pierre Aïm, a renowned director of photography, every detail has been designed to feel like a still straight out of a film.
Going against the trend of AI-generated images, the studio chooses the tangible; real props, real costumes, lighting crafted as on a film set, and a set designed to be lived in and photographed. Every session thus becomes an immersive experience, where visitors step into a scene and play a role.
The venue is also designed for events for companies or private individuals, thanks to an upstairs room, with the possibility of a shoot on the rooftops of Paris.
At the end of the session, visitors leave with their photo, a framed Fine Art print, ready to display or give as a gift. They can choose between two finishes: a sober and elegant wooden frame with acrylic glass, or a black wooden box frame, which creates a real presence on the wall. The quality of the print is therefore what truly elevates the Studiorama experience.
Studiorama offers an original and immersive venue to host both private and professional events. With its 180 m² spread over three floors, its set inspired by the rooftops of Paris and its cinematic universe, the studio provides an elegant, warm and highly photogenic setting for memorable moments.
Designed to adapt to different types of events, Studiorama can host cocktail parties, evenings with friends, seminars, team buildings, product launches, exhibition openings, pop-ups, and more. By day or by night, the venue transforms according to your wishes to create a tailor-made experience. Every event benefits from personalised support, to design a private hire suited to your project and expectations, in a unique setting in the heart of Paris.
Every private hire includes a professional photo service, allowing your guests, colleagues and clients to pose in cinema-inspired setups. Studiorama is an excellent way to strengthen team spirit and conviviality.
Portraits and group photos from the event will then be handed over after the reception, extending the experience lived on site.