Today we’d like to introduce you to Rick Law.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Rick. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I started in photography through the encouragement of a fellow student in college. We were both in a Visual Arts program, and he had signed up a photography class for the next semester and wanted me to join just for fun. I was more focused on other artistic media and disciplines at the time — heck I didn’t even own a camera. I ended up borrowing my parents’ camera for the class and became really drawn to the photographic process.
This was back in the days of film photography where you put in time in a dark room, and I loved the immediacy of creating work because the process for creating images seemed so quick in comparison to any other medium of the day.
After graduating, I spent another year studying photography, and it was truly one of the greatest time of schooling of my life. The ability to learn, live, breathe, and immerse in photography was a bit of nirvana. I ended up leaving after a year to avoid the burden of student debt though. Leaving it was heartbreaking and has felt like unfinished business.
Photography took a bit of a back seat until five years ago when I decided to start up Rick Law Photography. When I started up the business, I was fortunate enough to find online and in-person groups in the field of photography that were nurturing in their approach where they promoted community over competition. These groups really try to build you up constructively instead of tearing you down, and that has helped me to improve and believe in my own abilities and creativity and to be able to share that with others. It’s easy for like-minded individuals in a group to follow and espouse one specific style or way of doing things, but these groups are very creatively diverse across different genres of photography — weddings, portraits, seniors, family, pets, etc.
In hindsight, part of starting up my own business has allowed me to continue exploring personal projects that I would have done in school, and picking up that unfinished business. I currently focus on portrait photography, specifically high school seniors. It’s very close to the fashion/editorial photography work I’ve been influenced by during school, and I try to incorporate aspects of that genre into senior portrait sessions.
Recently I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to share my photographic experience and give back to the community through speaking at a photography conference, co-hosting a workshop, and was asked to speak at a local school. It’s a bit of a strange experience because I have so much to learn but fulfills a desire to share what I can to those who want to improve as a photographer.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Developing creatively is always a struggle. There are so many visual influences in the world and you want to create a visual statement, and often trying to translate something in your mind to something material is always challenging, but that’s one reason why we create — to challenge ourselves, and sometimes we struggle, which is fine. It’s healthy to struggle sometimes because the satisfaction of overcoming those struggles makes success all the more satisfying.
Digital photography, the internet, and advancements in other technology in general has made photography so much more accessible to everyone that anyone can take good photos. I think it’s great that technology has brought photography to people for everyone to participate and contribute, but that’s also the challenge with building a photography business with everyone having a camera that can take “good pictures.” I try to create images that you can’t achieve with a smartphone, or without the knowledge of lighting and composition. The margin between a good photo and a great photo can really be thin, but the difference can often be found through continuous improvement, learning, and honing of your craft, which I’m a huge proponent of.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Rick Law Photography is a full-service, portrait studio that prides itself in documenting memorable experiences and providing quality art products that you will be proud to display. That’s my little schpiel.
I purely enjoy creating high school senior portraits because you get the opportunity to capture a pivotal time in a young person’s life as they grow into a major part of their lives. It’s important to me that people have these images, not just because it’s a rite of passage, but it’s an opportunity for people to have art in their homes that represents them in a personal way.
The one type of imagery that I’ve been trying to build on is something called Sportraits. Sportraits are “sports portraits”. These aren’t your pictures of your kid with a soccer ball or a baseball that get taken on team picture day (and I still get those for my own kids), but these are more environmental, sports-themed portraits. Sports or any type of athletics is such an important part of young people’s lives, and I love the dramatic, editorial nature of the photos you’d find in sports magazines, or in graphics you’d find in video games or watching a football or baseball game on TV.
What kid wouldn’t want to be depicted in the same way as their sports heroes? I’m a sports junkie, more from a spectator perspective. I try to learn about different sports, so when it comes time to do a senior portrait session with someone who plays basketball or volleyball in school, I’m able to talk with them using the same terminology they would use, and create images that are authentic to their sport and not posed in a cookie-cutter fashion. I also try to capture and create images that show the hard work, the discipline, and the successes of the people I’m photographing.
I’m always trying to find different sports and athletic disciplines to photography, like figure skating, martial arts, dance, cheer, and probably ones I’m not aware of. I’m also always trying to find new and unique locations to photograph. Sometimes I like to put the person in a different environment that may be different, like maybe a swimmer in a fountain or a kiddie pool, or something that is off-beat and humorous, especially if the person has a quirky sense of humor like mine.
My visual style is very definitive of my influences, but I prefer the dramatic look that exudes strength, some level of tension, and action, sometimes actual and sometimes implied.
I’m also exploring other areas, such as fine art photography, and ideally incorporating and extending sportraits into that look and feel. I still want to maintain the editorial and dramatic looks, but with a refined feel. It’s a bit of my art history studies shining through and casual appreciation of the Renaissance art period. I’m not planning to create the next David sculpture, but it’s an extension of wanting to create art for my clients who want something personalized displayed in their own home.
What were you like growing up?
I was very shy and still am quite introverted. Sometimes that’s a curse when photographing people, but I find that it’s a strength with how I photograph. If I’m looking for a dramatic look, I sometimes have to act the part and I don’t mind acting as a mirror for my subjects. I often find myself opening up more and being less introverted when I’m photographing. I guess I’m in my element there.
I was very much into comic books, both reading and drawing, to the point that I wanted to make being a comic book artist my profession. Well, I wasn’t very good at it, but my photography is heavily influenced by it in the lighting and posing. I was always drawn to all types of visual media in college, especially printmaking, but eventually photography became my calling.
Pricing:
- $150/hour for portraits, senior portraits, and sportrait sessions
- $125 for individual headshots, corporate headshot pricing upon request
Contact Info:
- Website: http://sportraits.ricklawphotography.com
- Phone: 682-651-8898
- Email: rick@ricklawphotography.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ricklawphotography
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ricklawphotography
- Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ricklawphoto
- Other: http://seniors.ricklawphotography.com
Image Credit:
Rick Law Photography
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