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Interview: JOSH RITCHIE Josh Ritchie is a freelance photographer based in South Florida. After graduating from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, several successful internships and being a staff photographer in Virginia, Pennsylvania and Illinois, Josh decided to take the leap into the freelance world. One fateful day after several long conversations with a close friend Josh decided he wanted a change and moved to Fort Lauderdale where he began a new phase of his career. Since that day, Josh has been seeking out moments in the Florida light with an ear-to-ear grin on his face. He has also found his photographic passion while working on his "Fluidity" project beneath the waves of the Atlantic Ocean, and while working for his corporate and editorial clients. His blog My 30 Percent is home to work shot not only for his clients, but also for himself.
You went from small paper to small paper to propelling yourself into the freelance world -- what prompted the change? What does freelance offer you that newspapers didn't? i had spent many years at smaller papers working for boss's that had little vision, and motivation to push their staff to do great things. i was working in communities that, looking back on it now, had some great stories to tell, but the papers i had been working at for one reason or another refused to tell them. photography for them them was more of a way to fill a hole on their pages, an after thought. this lead to a lot of complacency for me early on in my career. i was making solid daily images, and a better than average image every once in a while, but was missing the boat on great story telling and great lighting. everything changed in 2001 when i went to the eddie adams workshop as a student. i got a portfolio review from joe mcnally. he said my work was good, but lacked that certain something that would take it to the next level. so naturally i asked him what would help me to get to that next level, and he said that i would need to go somewhere where i was scared. all of the papers i had been working for had me in their comfort zone. i was making images that would suffice for the paper because i knew what was expected. if i became scared, or got out of my comfort zone, i would be forced to see differently.
What advice would you give for other people ready to make that leap? As far as actually making pictures what do you do to keep yourself motivated now that you're on your own? my advice to budding freelancers is to make sure you have the money to support yourself for a while. unless you are extremely lucky you won't land the high paying jobs over night, and there are a lot of expenses when you go out on your own. marketing, travel, equipment, and daily living can take a huge toll on the bank account. probably the most important thing is to make as many contacts as possible BEFORE you become freelance. you have to get the editors you want to work for to have you in the forefront of their mind. there are a ton of photographers out there who are more than capable of shooting any given assignment. your job is to get the editors to use you and not the other guy. that comes down to solid images, and more importantly great marketing. make sure you go to their offices and meet face-to-face with the people you want to work for. become friends with them. always keep in contact with your contacts. let them know what you are up to. making sure that i am building my client list has kept me motivated thus far. i always have this voice in my head that pushes me by saying "if you want to work for them you have to show them something special." so i am always trying to work on something. whether it's new work, a website update or a newsletter, i am always trying to push myself to show something new. For a boy who's been largely landlocked your entire life you really seemed to take to the water and excel with your Fluidity project? How did that come about? Is that for a client or is it more personal? i have always been drawn to the water, which is kinda funny since i can get sea sick. growing up my mom always used to tell me that i should join the navy or become a marine biologist. when i was about 8 i really got into sharks. i read tons of books about them and went to see them at the aquarium. my friend and i even started a club called the killer sharks (dorky i know). so when i started taking a photography/video course in high school my plan was to become the next jacque cousteau and study sharks though video. i was better at stills, so i went with that instead. later in college i found that i had a passion for people and thus my photojournalism career was born. when i moved to florida i rekindled my love for the sea. the clear aqua waters of the south florida shores called to me every day and i knew i wanted to try my hand at underwater photography. i am not scuba certified, and i had a lot of inner ear infections as a kid which gives me problems when i dive deeper that 10 feet so i knew i would be trying to shoot stuff in the surf close to shore. i had looked through "the seventh wave" a book by photographers trent parke and narelle autio and it blew my mind. the images were very surreal very dream like. with that in mind i sold the idea of doing a tourism story from the water's point of view to the south florida sun-sentinel. they liked it so they paid me to go to the beach, destroy at least 7 nikonos v cameras, and explore my vision which became more about how people are changed when they entire the water. kinda like i have been ever since i was a kid.
Speaking of personal projects, let's talk about your travel. For someone whose first trip out of the country was to Mexico to shoot some personal projects, what did that open your eyes to? travel to mexico did a lot of things for me. first of all it taught me to pick your travel companions wisely. good friends always give you great stories to tell from the road. i also learned that going to a foreign country isn't as scary as i thought. things are generally the same there as they are in the u.s. and people are generally good. so there wasn't much for me to be anxious about in the first place. i also found that the mexican people are passionate about a lot of things. it seemed to me that no matter what they did they did it with a love for the fact that they were able to do it. they were happy just because they were able to accomplish the task at hand and share it with others. it seems to me that in the u.s. were are very self absorbed. we get so wrapped up in how we look to our peers that we forget the joy of just being able to do what we do. that to me was probably the most important lesson i learned while i was in mexico. a change of scenery can do a world of wonder for photographers. it seemed liked i was looking through the eyes of a child again. everything was new and worth exploring. travel is exactly what i need to keep the creative juices flowing. Why'd you wait so long to get out of the U.S.? Where's your next trip to? And why? i grew up a poor pennsylvania boy. my family never traveled outside of the eastern seaboard, and even that was rare. when i was in middle school we declared bankruptcy and moved into section 8 housing for a year. then when i was in college i was scrapping every last red cent i had just to buy some ramen noodles. i was never lucky enough to be in the situation that allowed for travel to another country. currently i have not picked my next destination, but i do know that i want to go back to guanajuato, mexico to experience the easter celebration there. from what i have heard and seen in images it is amazing. they ride hundreds if not thousands of horses through the mountains and the entire town comes out to celebrate. they were all sorts of costumes and some carry life sized crosses. other than that i will go where they wind blows me when time and money permit.
You seem to have found your niche as a portrait photographer. Tell me about that. Was that out of necessity? when i became freelance it became more and more obvious that i was gonna have to up my game in the portrait department. i was finding that a lot of clients, both corporate and editorial, where looking for lit portraits. so i started out slow, gained my confidence with smaller lighting kits, and eventually invested in some profoto gear. i have to say that investment alone has made a huge difference in my business. the lights work well, and it shows in the images. when i was using the smaller kits with smaller light sources i wasn't making near the amount of money i have made since i got my current setup. people will always be willing to pay money for great portraiture. you have to be prepared deliver if you want to cash in. Your portrait essay on the cars and their owners seems different from your other work. Are you exploring a new direction to take your work? i was lucky enough to land an assignment from city & shore magazine shooting owners of high end cars. the story was about the passion that these guys felt for their vehicles which aloud me to have some room to play with the images. i decided to try my hand at the diptych scene in an effort to shoot the owners and their cars in a similar way. my original goal was to shoot the images so that the cars and the owners looked alike in some way, kinda like the way dogs and their owners sometimes look alike. after realizing that was a tall order while shooting on location, i simplified to shooting them in similar light. lighting the cars was probably the hardest thing i have done in the long time. i knew what i wanted to accomplish in my head, but translating that into a final images while shooting in someone's driveway was a bitch to say the least. after a lot of trial and error and several calls to friends for some advice i was able to get the light the way i wanted. i learned that light cars is not about placing a light, and using highlights and shadows to create shape, but more about creating a reflection that works for the image. all of the images had little photo retouching done to them, and i did not have a studio where i could control every little thing so there were no reflections. i had a car four heads and black back drop all set up outside in most cases. so i had to make the reflections become the high lights. so i learn a lot about how to make light do what i want in a less than ideal situation. i guess to that end my work has gone in a new direction.
I've watched your work go from standard newspaper work to more high-end work with a magazine feel. Most of that seems to be because of the lighting you've been using and the professional nature that lends itself to. Do you have any tips for people who want to get better at lighting? the biggest thing i can say about lighting is to practice a hell of a lot. try to come up with ideas that are way over your head and then force yourself to accomplish them. you will fall flat on your face more often then not when you first start out, but you will learn a ton of stuff as you are falling. you also need to assist people who know what they are doing as much as possible. watching people like bob croslin, eric larson and jen sens, light things has been a huge help. i got to see what they were doing and why they were doing it and apply that to my own work. i think that has been the fast track for me to get to where i am now, but i still have a ton to learn and look forward to the opportunity to learn it. As far as promotional material goes -- what are you doing to get your name out there? some say that promotion is 80 to 90% of freelance, and i would have to agree. promotional material, and networking is what is gonna get your name out there and help to keep it out there. don't get me wrong you still have to have some amazing work, but promotion is huge. currently i have my online portfolio that i try to update with new images and tear sheets from clients i have recently shot for as often as possible. i have a blog that i use to show people who i am both as a person and a photographer, and a monthly newsletter that i send out to both current clients, and those i want to work with to show what i have been up to. i also try to send out promo cards to the same list of contacts so i have at least two points of contacts with them each month. meeting with people, as i mentioned before, is by far one of the most important promotional steps i can take. so i have been planning trips to new york and other places to meet face-to-face with the people who will pay to do this "job" (is it really a job if we are having this much fun?).
What's next for Josh Ritchie? right now i am working for whatever clients call me. recently that has been golf magazine, newsweek, the new york times, and a few corporate clients. while i am having fun shooting assignments and paying the bills i am hoping that i will find the time to continue shooting my underwater photography, as well as working on some new personal projects. maybe something on fishing culture, or a continuation of my car portrait project, or a shoot with alligator hunters. who knows maybe all of them. plus there is some travel to be done in the near future mexico is calling me back, while south america is beckoning as well. no matter what happens i am sure the future will be fun as it brings a few more grey hairs to the top of my head.
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