Introduction: My name is Ryan and I am the owner of RM Photography. I have been doing photography for 12 years professionally and 20 plus years over all. I guess you can say it all started when I was 13. My family was on vacation in Florida and my grandpa gave me his Minolta SLR camera to play with, mostly to keep me quiet, and let’s just say that camera is still in my possession. From that point on a camera was never far from me. I started by taking lessons through Tippecanoe County 4-H, followed by classes at McCutcheon High School, and even on into my college years at Purdue University. Over the years I have dedicated a lot of my time to training and learning, finding new ways to get the shots I want and techniques to better my abilities.
I have always found photography fascinating, from the way the camera works to the moments it can capture. When I was 13, I never would have guessed that I would start my own studio someday, and make my passion my life’s work. Before opening I had done some shoots here and there for friends and family, but never anything serious. Then it happened, my sister was getting married and needed a photographer. My first instinct was to hide under the bed until they lost interest in trying to get me to do it, but a part of me said “Do it, this is your chance,” so I did and a few days later RM Photography was born. Since then, I have been putting my blood, sweat, and tears into making this studio the best it can be and I have no plans to stop.
So here I am 23 years after “borrowing” my first camera. I now shoot with a Nikon DSLR, I can manipulate images in Photoshop, I have backdrops and flashes and all kinds of accessories that would make 13 year old me very jealous. It’s funny to think that it all started with my grandpa handing me a camera to keep me quiet and then again with my sister’s wedding. You never know what will spark your passion.
Outside of photography I am a huge geek! I write for a living Pathfinder campaign (think Dungeons & Dragons), I am an avid gamer (both digital and pen and paper), I attend as many gaming/anime conventions as I can, and I have some really geek collections. My instructor at Purdue always told me, “Shut up, sit down, and let your work speak for itself…” so that’s what I do. I don’t say I’m the best, I don’t say I’m groundbreaking, but if you want to, I don’t mind.
