I first met Rasy Ran while working for The Shorthorn, UT-Arlington's student newspaper. Not only is he a great photographer but also an awesome person. Rasy took some time out of his busy schedule of shooting weddings, engagement photos and other portraits to answer some questions for our Creative Series.
Creative Moxie: How did you get interested in photography?
Rasy Ran: I initially got interested in photography in high school. I purchased my first camera my senior year, dabbled in it a bit during college, and decided to pursue it.
CM: If you weren’t doing photography, what career would you have?
RR: I think about this every now and then, just because of my nature to ponder about hypotheticals. I like to think I would have been somewhere in the Information Technology field as a computer engineer. Looking back, that would've required a very different type of creative outlet and expression.
CM: You shoot countless weddings and engagement portraits throughout the year. How do you keep each session fresh and exciting?
RR: During the interview process I make it a point to understand the couple's desires. The ideas, backgrounds, and chemistry each couple brings is very vital to the process. For example, I was able to book a public library for an engagement shoot, after discovering the couple were huge book worms, and it was a first for the library since they haven't heard of engagements being done there before. I believe there's much emphasis that's placed on ideas that come first, rather than backup plans, which translates over to the sessions. Nobody wants to be second or have to settle.
CM: One of your clients includes animals. How do you deal with rowdy animals during your pet portrait sessions?
RR: Oh man, those are always a challenge. One method I use is that I would ask the owners to bring a couple of their favorite toys and let them play throughout the session. The same technique works with children. I'll reward each subject with play time after posing for the more formal photos. It really helps when your assistant has a background in Applied Behavioral Analysis, which is very effective and can be seen in the pet owners'/parents' eyes during the shoot. I try to ease into these sessions as more of a play date, rather than a completely formal and constraining session -- it makes more of a relaxed environment in the end.
CM: What or who would be your dream shoot?
RR: My dream shoot would actually be a car, since automotive photography is the original reason I got into it in the first place. I'd love for the chance to photograph a matte-black Koenigsegg CCX with a production team; envisioning a giant rig suspended a hundred feet in the air above a mountainside with the sun going down, and knowing the roads are closed off for that photo. You could say I have more of a dream photo mind.
CM: How do you promote your business?
RR: Word of mouth and social media. I have a lot of repeat clients that come back to me year after year, and building that relationship in the beginning is very important. If you initially met your clients for wedding work, it doesn't need to stop there, they may become a small family, and that's a chance to continue being their photographer. I also promote my wedding portfolio through WeddingWire, and keep in touch with select wedding vendors in the area.
CM: Any advice to photographers just starting out?
RR: Avoid flash for your website. If I could start over from the beginning, I'd build a HTML website. With the migration to HTML5, SEO-friendly content is important a current area, and a new website is one of my current projects. Also, seek criticism of your work from time to time, if anything look back at your previous work and evaluate it occasionally. Coming from an art school where critiques last hours, you tend to develop thick skin. Online responses (which are usually one-to-four word responses) about your work doesn't quite fill the void.
Learn more about Rasy:
Website
Blog
--------- Check out past Creative Series:
+Mark Mawson : Photographer
+Oliver Twardowski : Illustrator
+Paul Windle : Illustrator
+Meriol Lehmann : Photographer
+Muthari Insani : Illustrator
+Juan Leguizamon : Designer
+Sarah Hennessey : Illustrator
+Danielle Gundry-Monji : Illustrator
+RightBrainy : Crafter
+Laura Di Francesco : Illustrator
+Ryan R Thompson : Designer
+Delia Jalomo : Illustrator
+Cory Graves : Musician
+Anthony Williams : Social Media