Ryan Phillips Blog

Yes, you read correctly, this is my last blog post! I always thought I would stop blogging one day and it would be some great post with some mind blowing image and pearls of wisdom but at alas it is not. In today’s Social Media driven world I feel that Facebook is a far more effective tool than blogging so to that end I will be updating my Facebook page more regularly. You can follow me at www.facebook/ryanphillipsphotography. I will post more often and you can follow me through my world if you like. From shooting celebrities, to weddings, to commercial shoots I will try my hardest to take you along on the journey and give you something interesting. Please feel free to look at the blog for inspiration (if you are a photographer) and (if you are a potential client) to see more of my work and learn about my approach to shooting. It’s been an amazing 5 years of blogging and thanks to all the people who stuck around and read. I may be back at it one day but for now my focus will be on WeddingPhotography411.com and of course RyanPhillips.com where you can see all my wedding work.

Other places on the web to find me…

If you haven’t checked out WeddingPhotography411.com it is a site for Brides and Grooms to learn about the ins and outs of wedding photography. Check it out and pass it on. If you have specific questions you would love answered, please email us.

www.PurePhoto.com is an amazing place to buy images for your home from artists from across the globe at affordable prices. Skip ZGallerie, Pottery Barn and West Elm and go for authentic original art!

Also stay tuned for our commercial division…rolling out in a few months…..

Here are a few shots from a recent family shoot for baseball star Todd Ziele and olympic gymnast Julianne. McNamara (first ever American gymnast to earn perfect 10.0 at the Olympics)… They are all about the kids so per usual refrained from being in the pics. We headed down to Garrett’s studio to shoot a few pics.Their kids are all suprememly talented from sports to music. Their son Garrett is opening for Stone Temple Pilots this summer- keep an eye out for this one. Lastly, Their youngest one can do a running jump into a headstand freeze – hurt my neck just looking at it! (see below)

So there has been a lot of press lately about the Gretzky card vs the Kardashian card so I thought I would lay it all to rest. For starters the Toronto Star report is accurate for the most part. The photo was not some “leaked photo” Paulina was simply sharing her family photo with friends and followers. They are all very close and despite her “bad-girl” persona, she is very down to earth and very close with her family. People love to create a scandal out of nothing.

So here is the real photo / the photo as it is manipulated for the holiday card ( i.e the snow) / the gate-fold cover of the dog / and the alternate shot that we didn’t use. Almost every shot I took has the family laughing and smiling and having a good time however the concept of the card was to have their dog Louie on the front and open to a Burberry Ad-esque (moody) shot of the family with snow. It was meant for a close friends and family and the obvious A-List celebs that they are associated with. It does not go out to that many people and wasn’t meant for public consumption. Every year we do a different concept and have a lot of fun with it. Shoots like these are fairly common in L.A. although this was a full commercial production in order to pull off the concept.

For you Photo Geeks out there, it was shot with a Canon Mark 1D and a 50mm 1.2. The front side is lit with a 43 inch Mola Dish on a Profoto D4 pack. The top light is a 1×3 Profoto strip light with crates attached to another Profoto D4 pack. The alternate shot was lit with 2 heads with stock 7 inch reflectors on them but we added tough spun to the front to soften it up. I shot across the pool but had I had more “ground” to work with would have added the 43 inch Mola to the front side for fill. There were a few other lights behind the couches to light up the background.

A big thanks to my close friend Mike Hedden for helping me pull it all off! 

The Final Image

The Final Image for The Card

The Alternate Image That Wasn’t Used

Louie – The Best Dog I have Ever Photographed, Even Their Dog Knows How To Work It!

Paulina

Trevor

I love working in Hidden Hills, the light is amazing and the properties are so unique for this area! I had such a good time with the Hainer family! Everyone was ready to shoot…even the horses! OK, well not everyone, it took some time to warm Anders up since I was taking him away from his beer and his game but he was a good sport… although totally intimidating. World Champion downhill skier…check. World champion race car driver… check…. AND did I mention he manufacturers all the clothing for Under Armour. Total stud…I pitty the poor slobs who come to court his daughters

We have another shoot scheduled with all 8 horses and the dogs, I’ll let you know how that one works out…

The Kolbe family is another one I haven’t seen in a few years and one of my favorites to shoot! However it started off rough when my star performer Lauren who is all over my portfolio basically gave me a lot of what you see in the first picture. It took a while to get her warmed up but she still made the A-Team. Her brothers were easy…but the 2 dogs, 2 horses and angry donkey were another story. I am still pretty sure the donkey was trying to kill me…

It was a fantastic shoot and as you can see….out of control fun!

I haven’t shot the Goren’s in a few years and it was amazing too see how much the kids have grown up. They both got gold stars for behavior! Coupled with perfect light on a private estate in Malibu it doesn’t get much better…

A sweet little session on the ranch…

As usual the holiday portrait season is absolutely insane. There are a handful of dates available if you are looking for sessions but call now I think there is only one weekend spot left and maybe 3 or 4 weekday spots. For now, enjoy a few pics…

My good friends Amy and Scott came to visit us from Portland while Carrie and I were shooting in Bend, Oregon a few weeks ago. We headed out one morning for a couple of quick shots with their new baby Noa and wonder dog Theo. I have never seen a dog get this much attention EVER! I am not kidding every single person in Bend had to talk to or about the dog.