FOTIVO began long before it was software...

It began in art studios, on film sets, at Burning Man, in the Bay Area underground, and in the countless hours spent behind real cameras shaping light.

The platform was created by Tex Allen, a lifetime artist and photographer whose work has been exhibited across major institutions — the Smithsonian, Chicago Museum of Art, Oakland Museum of Contemporary Art — and featured in renowned galleries from NYC to San Francisco to San Miguel. His images have appeared GLOBALLY across the Burning Man culture, and his limited-edition 28 Wall Art series continues to sell out in small, highly curated runs.

For nearly two decades, Tex and his wife Catherine Renshon lived in the San Francisco Bay Area, working with startups, artists, technologists, and the creative underground. FOTIVO reflects that world: part craftsmanship, part innovation, all heart.

Joined by partners Vallier Hardy (Strategy + UX Research) and MoDMaN (Artist + Filmmaker), the founding team brings together art, design, research, storytelling, and technical experimentation.

Together, they asked:

"What if anyone could create studio-quality product photography — without a studio?"

What makes FOTIVO different:

FOTIVO wasn’t built by engineers guessing what photography should look like.
It was built by photographers who spent their lives creating the perfect shot.

Every control — lighting, camera angle, shadows, reflections, brand kits, dimension-true scaling — comes from real studio practice. FOTIVO simply puts that power into a browser, to recreate the physics, depth, and realism of professional photography.

This is why the results feel different:
They’re informed by experience, not just algorithms.

The Founders:

The founders of FOTIVO share a long history in art, photography, film, UX research, and creative technology. After years in the Bay Area’s startup and art communities, they united around a single belief: creators deserve studio-quality visuals without a studio. Their combined expertise powers everything FOTIVO stands for — craft, clarity, and creativity at scale.