ryan johnson films

A tornado hit Hampton, VA on the evening of June 1st. Since it was so close to home, I headed up on Saturday morning to survey the damage and take some photos. We ended up responding for a few days, helping homeowners cover roofs and clean up debris. I snapped these the first morning--crews had just started cleaning up vegetation in the street. Big, beautiful trees had been uprooted. Luckily I only spotted a few homes that been split in two by giant trees.


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I'll be honest up front: I'm not a head shot photographer by trade. I've been learning more about what makes a good head shot ever since I started shooting them a few years ago. Every time I shoot a head shot session I learn new tricks to getting a fantastic image. I spent a few weeks casting for America's Got Talent back in 2007, and I watched Casting Directors toss away so many head shots for the silliest reasons. I'm not a Casting Director, but I've worked with actors in the past, and I've seen my fair share of head shots, good and bad. That being said, art is about breaking the rules sometimes....


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Sláinte! My wife and I have been fascinated by Ireland for years. Luckily her ancestors are from Ireland, which makes me an honorary Irishman... I think. We were married this last August and decided to go to Ireland for our honeymoon. The trip wasn't intended to be a photo adventure, but we couldn't help but treat it like one. Driving on the wrong side of the road, exploring quaint towns and rolling green hills, we snapped some 2000 photos in only seven days. I could go on describing some of the sights, but the pictures do it way more justice than words ever could.  There's a gaelic saying...


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A long, long time ago a fourteen year old version of myself found my dad's old Canon AE-1. It sat in a box, taped up, with old cords and other junk. It was gathering dust, which made no sense to teenage me because, well, it looked so damn cool. I was surprised to find the camera in good working condition, whirling to life and flashing green and red numbers through the viewfinder. I had no clue how to use it, but I sure tried. Through clever Ebay bidding in college I collected old FD lenses for it (the mount Canon used back in the 80s). Now they sit on a shelf next to my bed, collecting dust...


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I was recently contracted to do some After Effects work for a nanotechnology company. They developed a superhydrophobic coating that can be applied to a variety of different surfaces. Put simply, imagine RainX intensified. Ross Nanotechnology gave me a lot of creative freedom, but suggested I play with water on different surfaces. Ultimately, I came up with these two concepts: simple, wateryish, dark. These elements play over their registered trademark, NeverWet. http://vimeo.com/36626581 If you're interested in their product, it should be released in 2012 to a consumer market. You can read...


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These are from a recent engagement photo shoot with Steven and Megan. They were hilarious; had me laughing the whole time. Steven is in the Navy and Megan wanted to get these photos taken before his deployment. We picked three beautiful locations around Norfolk, Virginia, and they turned out great. My favorite photos are hands down the ones with their daughter Olive, and her shirt that said "save the date." Too darn cute.


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I decided to go on a little adventure. I found myself at the Oakland Historic Cemetery at sunset. It was built in 1850 overlooking then downtown Atlanta, Georgia. With graves dating back to the early 1800's, many of them Confederate soldiers, the graveyard seemed too unique to pass by unexplored. The cemetery sits at the foot of downtown Atlanta. Many travelers, paupers, and Atlanta residents are buried here. It was named the Oakland Cemetery in 1872 because of the large oak trees.


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I had the pleasure of meeting Morgan and Collin recently for a headshot shoot. Morgan and Collin are local commercial and film actors who needed updated photos to hand out while auditioning. They were easy to work with, and were quite comfortable in front of the camera. We shot on the campus of Regent University for about a hour and a half. Such an awesome family--they had me cracking up the whole time. The end product was great. 


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I helped a friend shoot some headshots about a month ago. He only had fifteen minutes, so we shot as much as we could, and then called it quits. We ended up with a few good shots. He needed some photos for his website, not necessarily headshots, but these are close.


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  I'm trying to build a strong portrait photography portfolio with new equipment. That said, I'm willing to shoot a 3 hour session for $100. With what goes into a photo session, plus equipment, that's definitely a steal! If you're interested or want more info feel free to use the contact page. Or you can email me directly: ryanjohnsonfilms@gmail.com The session would include three different location (an hour at each), around forty or fifty final images. I would professionally touch up the fifteen best ones. After that, I would give you a Data DVD with all the images. Feel free to pass...


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