Rising Stars: Meet Ryan Henderson

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ryan Henderson.

Hi Ryan, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
It all started with my love for food. Ever since I’ve had a smartphone, I’d always take pictures of meals before eating. I would stand up in my chair or around the table, flash on my iPhone and shoot until I was satisfied with the picture. After a few months of posting to Instagram and tagging the restaurant, restaurants would start messaging me, asking me to share to their page. I would always agree, thinking, “that’s pretty cool to be featured by a restaurant.” I got pretty good with my smartphone and decided to purchase a camera and dive into food photography. I opened Facebook Marketplace and found a $270 Canon Rebel to start my photography journey. At the time, I had a close friend with a meal prep business, and he needed pictures of the food. I offered to take some pictures as he prepared the meals, and he promptly posted the pictures on his website to showcase the menu. Business took off for him and I continued to shoot new menu items to keep him updated. It was a really cool experience to be a part of something at the very beginning and see it grow into something amazing.

Shooting food was great, but I felt like I could do more in my free time, so I started attending Cars & Coffee in Brentwood. This free event allowed me to shoot exotic cars, practice different angles, and play around in Lightroom for post-production work. After shooting my love for food and cars, I was challenged by my roommate to shoot him—updating his Hinge profile pictures. We carefully chose an outfit, picked a great location for a Fall season shoot, and it was a hit! He had so many matches he couldn’t keep up. Pictures go a long way when you’re looking for a special someone. I then decided to create a website, design a logo and have business cards made for networking.

Today I shoot mostly portraits: professional headshots, family/pet portraits, and dating/lifestyle pictures. Photography started out as a hobby, now currently part-time, and soon to be full-time in the near future.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
It has definitely not been a smooth road. It was easy to start out taking pictures of food with a smartphone and using filters. Once I purchased the DSLR camera, I had to learn about lighting (natural/artificial), depth of field, and which lenses to use in different situations. I would find myself reading articles online and watching countless YouTube videos (Manny Ortiz and FroKnowsPhotos) of professional photographers to learn all that I could.

Another struggle was communication with clients. After moving on from food and working with people, I learned that not every client knows exactly what they are looking for. That taught me transparency and open communication. I would create Pinterest boards for clients to share ideas and thoughts with to fully understand their vision when it came to their pictures. Asking multiple questions to make sure we are all on the same page and making fine adjustments on their photos after edits. Nothing is ever easy, but I realized I would have to work harder at these struggles to become a better photographer.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a part-time photographer in Nashville, TN. I specialize in portraits: headshots and lifestyle portraits for dating and social media apps. I shoot mainly outdoors, working with natural light, but I also enjoy shooting within a well-lit studio.

I am most proud of my experience and knowledge gained from when I initially started. Whenever I get discouraged when editing a photo, I scroll through my Instagram to when I first started and review the progress that I’ve made throughout the years. This keeps me level-headed and determined to be a better photographer.

Finding the vision of each client sets me apart from others. I’ve received feedback from previous clients stating how well I’ve matched their vision and applied my own creativity and style to enhance it. I think it is very important to not only use your own creativity but also match the client’s energy when capturing great photos.

What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
I’ve lived in Nashville going on seven years. I thoroughly enjoy the many activities and events going on weekly, all around the city (pre-covid). So many events are free to the public and everyone is so welcoming. There is never a weekend where I am bored or can’t find something to do or somewhere/someone to take pictures of.

Traffic is terrible in Nashville. Monday-Friday, everyone knows not to be out between 4 pm-6:30 pm because you will be caught in traffic. It will take 35 mins to go 8-10 miles some days. Luckily, I work from home, but every so often, I do get caught in it.

Pricing:

• Headshots: $120
• Portraits: $250
• Family Portraits: $275
• Events: $400+

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: ryanhmedia.com
• Instagram: Instagram.com/ryanhmedia
• Facebook: Facebook.com/ryanhmedia
• Twitter: Twitter.com/ryanhmedia