San Diego Photographer - Ryan Nichols-Roy

Resources

Darker Colors are slimming. Consider Black, Olive, Gray, Navy, Plum, Burgundy, Dark Brown, or Eggplant.

"My daughter did not want the tradional type of senior pictures, so we were looking for something unique. After looking at several different photographers' websites and being very discouraged, my daughter and I happened to find Ryan's website. We both loved what we saw so we started the process of getting in touch with him. I must say that I was very pleased on how quickly he responded, each time I called or emailed with questions. He made the session lots of fun and was very conscious of what we wanted. We love the pictures and have gotten several compliments on them."
- Shelly Flaherty

Whatsabout

An odd assortment of facts to help you get to know me ryan In my humble opinion, it is absolutely essential to have at least a rough idea of the personality and character of your photographer before the date of your portrait session. It really doesn’t matter how many fancy cameras, lenses, or flashes we might have; if we can’t interact and build a rapport with our subject, we might as well use a disposable camera!

Therefore, I find it quite interesting that most portrait photographers don’t offer much information about themselves, and sometimes completely ignore even a brief biography on their websites. In fact, if you do a quick scan over 90% of all photographers‘ websites (especially fashion photographers) you’ll find that we tend to favor a lot of style over substance. You will surely see plenty of flashy intros and galleries, but when it comes to the biography page, you might (if you’re lucky) read some fluff about “vision”, “insight”, and (my personal favorite) “the mind’s eye”. Why is this? Well, most of us would like you to believe that we are artists; and that our artwork doesn’t need any of that other silly stuff like “About Me” pages, or 100% You-Will-Be-Thrilled-Guarantees to get you to book them. But I think the real reason lies somewhere between ego and optimism -- we all hope that you will be so blinded by how beautiful our pictures are, that you will absolutely HAVE to book us, and we will have lines of customers just begging us to take their pictures!

I am not immune to this either - my first website was very similar to all the rest, and as such, my clients would show up to their sessions not knowing whether their photographer was 20 years old or 80! But as soon as I started doing things that felt right, everything fell into place. I found that there's nothing to be ashamed of by being honest with my clients, or letting them know that I'm more than just a fancy-pants artist who doesn't have time to listen to their questions or concerns. I realized that most people don't care whether I have a "brand" or not. They care much more about respect, and great customer service.

So, knowing that some of us will not meet until the date of our portrait session, I have compiled an honest (but surely biased) collection of “snippets” about myself so you can know that I’m not some snobby “artist”, but rather just a regular guy with a very enjoyable job. Here goes:

I am a 21 year-old college student, pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from The University of Moose California, Riverside (whew, that’s a mouthful). I was formerly a music major, and have played the piano for more than ten years.

I have a beautiful girlfriend named Gabrielle, and a best friend named Moose, who is half Welsh Corgie and half Golden Lab. Moose is a camera-hog, and is the most-photographed member of our family. Gabrielle is camera-shy, and is the least-photographed member of our family.

My parents were both born and raised in a small city in Northeastern India. We make the trek (approx. 22 hours of flight time, 48 hours of travel time, and days and days of 13-hour jetlag) usually every two years. As I like to tell my friends, visiting India is not for the faint of heart. Don’t be turned-off by the pollution, trash, humidity, or the absolutely ridiculous driving experience - Instead, visit India for the people. (And bring lots of deodorant and a clothespin for the seemingly endless palate of olfactory surprises.)

I am a car and driving enthusiast. My pride and joy is my BMW E46 Sedan. I love driving Gabrielle’s dad’s Porsche 997 Carerra S Cabriolet - it’s absolutely fantastic. And I spend far too much time reading car magazines and quoting car statistics for my totally uninterested girlfriend. In her opinion, cars are judged on their “cuteness”. Naturally, she drives a Mini Cooper - it’s actually quite fun to drive, and it handles like a dream.

I enjoy wine and good beer. I’m not big on any of the harder spirits.

I love to travel both internationally and within the US. I enjoy road trips. The most beautiful place I’ve been is Crested Butte, Colorado. The least beautiful place I’ve been is Calcutta, India. Thailand and Malaysia are quite lovely, as are the Himalayan mountains, the Northwest United States, and New York City.

I prefer Apple computers, but I do have a Fujitsu laptop for those few things that can’t be done on a Mac.

I don’t exercise nearly as often as I should, but so far my metabolism has been able to make up for my laziness.

I sing for the UC Riverside Chamber Singers as a Second Bass. I have a deep voice, and I am often told that I should look into doing voice-overs. I’m really not quite sure how the business works, but it does sound nice to be able to get paid to talk.

I am close friends with the Youtube Hip-Hop Piano Superstar, David Sides. We sing in the Chamber Singers together, and we go to Rubio’s for $1 Fish Tacos every Tuesday. If you haven’t tried the $1 Fish Tacos, you really should.

ryan I love to eat. Ever since I met Gabrielle’s parents, I have gained a very unhealthy appetite for delicious food. A well-marbled steak and a bold Cabernet? I’m on it.

I am a movie buff. My personal collection of DVDs is easily in the hundreds. Favorite movies? Depends on who’s asking - I tell film snobs that it is No Country for Old Men, but its really a 45-way tie between the Lord of the Rings trilogy and several other films.

Of course, the best way to get to know me, is to meet me, call me, or shoot me an email. I'm always happy to speak and meet prospective clients, so give me a call today! 760.580.0217

Ryan Nichols-Roy