I began my professional life strictly as a commercial photographer, as my career grew I became an educator and am now shifting into the third phase of my career as a Fine Art/ Photo Educator/ Commercial Photographer.  I have loved all phases of my career and try to channel the things I learned from each discipline.  If you need a commercial photographer I am available, if you need a photo educator I am available and if not then I will continue shooting my own self assignments.  Keep checking back I am always shooting.

Many photographers sell themselves as a specialist in one area or another. Some clients have typecast me as only shooting industrial, another only thought of me when they were working for medical clients. The truth is my specialty is shooting on location. I bring the same sensibilities to a shoot whether I am shooting close to home for a pharmaceutical client looking for lifestyle types of photographs, shooting in a chemical plant or office on the west coast, or shooting trucks in the rain.

Early in my career I was lucky to work as an assistant and learn from some great photographers. These people were generous with their time and in sharing their knowledge and experiences. I learned that the problems encountered on location often lead to more creative solutions then the initial idea. We have frequently been on jobs in which someone suggested what they thought would make for an interesting picture only to arrive at the site and find that what was originally expected does not exist. One job comes to mind; I was assigned to photograph a chemical plant in New Orleans. The executive who commissioned us told my contact to get a picture of the plant reflecting in the Mississippi River. We arrived at the site and found that the river was about 3 miles from the plant. If we were on the moon the plant wasn't going to reflect in the river. Luckily there had been rain the night before and there were puddles on the property. I found one that gave a good reflection and we came back to that area at dusk and made a beautiful picture of the plant reflected in the mini Mississippi. The executive loved the shot and loved that we took his idea and turned it into a great photograph.

The problems in doing location work are essentially the same. Good planning and the ability to be flexible in different situations are the keys to being able to pull off the seemingly impossible. I always try to get as much information as possible before going out on a job and then expect everything to go wrong. My motto is if anything can go wrong it will. This way I am prepared and if I luck out and everything goes as planned, wonderful and if nothing goes as planned, I am mentally and technically prepared to meet the challenges of the job.

E-mail to: rich@phillyphoto.com