PhotoFANatic Friday featuring Gabriel.Ryan.Photographers

Gabriel.Ryan.Photographers. have been around for about two years now and I'm stunned by a) how beautiful their work is, 2) how much they've grown, III) how successful their business has become in that amount of time. From reading their blog, I can tell that they're committed to their art, are passionate about what they do, and have character...three essential components to any strong business.

Gabriel and his wife Carlie are an Orange County team with a flair for vintage styles and great color (my obsession!). Their brand is enjoy.the.story. and with each blog post and photo upload it is evident. They always find fun locations and their images are never boring...it's fun to imagine what they'll come up with next!

And now a word from our sponsors...just kidding...and now some words from our featured photographers:

1. how did you first get interested in photography? the series of events goes a little something like this: 18th birthday, mom bought me an slr, dropped out of college, read an article about colorado in a magazine, moved to colorado, snowboarded every day, picked up a photo book "blower" by snowboard photographer jeff curtes, pulled my slr back out of the closet, moved back to california, took a black & white printing class at ventura community college, shot two weddings, swore to never shoot another wedding again, moved back to colorado, opened my favorite fortune cookie ever "you will be paid to travel the world with your lover," spent the summer in oregon, met my wife in orange county, had an AMAZING experience with two incredible professionals [jasmine * & dane sanders], started our business, now get paid to travel the world with my lover.

2. in your opinion, what makes a perfect shot? two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, on a sesame seed bun. no, but seriously though... mr. bill hendricks, my photo-lab prof at ventura community college opened my eyes, not to the famous burger baring the golden arches, but to the big MAC theory. so, the big MAC makes the perfect shot... which stands for Mystery, Ambiguity, and Contradiction. the perfect shot, in my opinion, holds these at its core.

3. what has your professional journey been like? http://www.gabrielryanphotoblog.com/

4. what's the most unique/bizarre shoot location you've ever been in? every wedding, just after the ceremony... you know... family formals. our families are all crazy.

5. what's the best piece of advice you were given when you were just starting out? i wasn't really given much advice right at the start... in fact, most of the advice i sought out, and received, came more after i had already started but still in those early days. the only advice i was given, at the very beginning [and yes it was great advice], which came from my friend dane sanders, was [1] shoot 100,000 photos as soon as possible and [2] read michael gerber's book "the e-myth revisited." check and check.

And now, onto their photos!!!

I believe I NEED this car at my future wedding.

I LOVE a good birdcage veil.This perspective = me likey.

This is my friend, Stephanie - WOOT WOOT! Look at those lashes!!! This is like magazine quality good...loves. Oh, so glamorous!!!
Super cool angle!!! Her eyes just POP.
Another magazine-style image...GORGE. Is this fun, or what?!

Gabriel and Carlie, thanks so much for sharing your story and your work! It's great to know that you put so much value into the mentorship that you received and that you don't mind sharing those little nuggets with us!