As noted on Smbatyants’ seal the photographer opened his studio in 1880 and kept it in operation until the end of the 1900s. It is likely that Smbatyants did not have a single, permanent pavilion but regularly travelled to different cities and towns in Georgia and Armenia. He specialized in individual and group portraits which usually depict middle and working class citizens.

In the early 1890's, Smbatyants’ name was also associated with the photography of Armenian historical-architectural patrimony. Working alongside Mateos Papazyants, Karapet Ohandjanyan and Aram Vruyr, the photographer produced a limited number but skilfully photographed imaged of architectural monuments in the Ararat valley, as well as the Syunik region (Ejmiatsin Mother See, Tatev Monastery, etc.). These photographs were bound in a separate album published in a very small edition, a copy of which is kept in the National Library of Armenia.

Vigen Galstyan, 2016