Ryan Phillips Blog

Thank you for fielding our questions.  I’ve been following your blog for a long time now and I love all of your work.  So here are some of my questions.

Q: How do you meter your ambient light?  Handheld?  In-Camera?  Histogram?

A: What’s ambient light? kidding ;-) It depends on the type of shoot but for fast work like weddings and portraits there is no time to keep metering hand held. Now to  answer the first part of your next question. I shoot Manual as often as possible. I use the histogram to make sure I am in the ball park. I know my specific cameras very well, some overexpose, some are blue, etc. I kind of just know what needs to be tweaked based on what I see in the back. As long as you are within a 1/3 to 1/2 stop range you can tweak the rest in Lightroom. I shoot mostly in Manual as long as the light isn’t changing. I want all my exposures to be consistent so there is less work in Post. Take a minute to get it right and then set it and forget it.  I am pretty technical but not to the point where it effects my creativity and flow. You have to be very aware of that and it’s a fine line.

Q: How often do you shoot in a program mode vs. manual mode?  Do you have any tips for exposure compensation?

A: Sort of answered above. However I do also shoot in Aperture Priority when the scene is changing rapidly. I will make quick adjustments using exposure comp to account for drastic changes. Their are no real tips, just trial and error. If something is backlit I will start at +2 and usually it’s pretty close. Then adjust. Another good tip is to use exposure lock on the ground or some other neutral area and then fire off a shot to see if you are close. Then take that reading – make any adjustments necessary – and dial it in on Manual.

Q: For family portraits, how much time do you spend getting to know the family before the shoot?

A: We stopped doing as many portraits but at the height of it, we were shooting almost every day so it was too hard to meet with all the families. I spend quality time with them on the phone with a few follow up emails getting to know what they were looking for. For the most part they trusted me and just wanted a Ryan Phillips shot. Those who wanted more input would make it clear what they wanted and I would shoot towards that end. There are plenty of people whom I didn’t shoot because we weren’t a good fit. You have to know when you are not a good match for a client and tell them. You are doing both of you a great service.

Q: Do you always have an assistant with you during a family shoot or at a wedding?  If so, how many assistants?

A: Always at a wedding! Almost never at a family shoot. Never more than one unless it is a very big deal wedding. Also, I should note that my assistants are 2nd Shooters. They have their own studios and careers and are very well respected photographers. I can carry my own gear but I need to trust that when I say “go shoot the details” or anything else, that it’s done right. And they have to shoot Canon! ;-)