We recently connected with Dot Ridenour and have shared our conversation below.
Dot, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?
My parents adopted me from age 3 and have always been so supportive of my artistic endeavors. When I was little, and even too small to know how to write I would sit with my mom and tell her stories to write down for me. When I got to high school and started to pursue film, my parents blessed me with my first DSLR, a Canon SL2. It was because of this camera that I was able to start my business from such an early age. When my dad passed in 2019, the last thing he told me was “to make good movies and remember him” I still take that quote to heart today. I owe everything to my parents and I really appreciate them so much.
Dot, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Growing up, I was always passionate about creating and learning new art forms. Originally, I thought I may go into the animation industry as an animator, but once I found film and photography through a film class at my high school, I knew I couldn’t do anything else. I started my photography and videography business back in 2017 when I was just 16 years old. My career started with capturing cosplay portraits for my friends at Comic-Cons and I was happy to bring storytelling and a creative approach to showcasing their costumes and seam work. Quickly, just cosplay portraits turned into working for businesses and families capturing everything from equestrian photography to product photos. A huge part of my business has always been focused on showcasing small businesses and stories that might not make it out otherwise. Being “outside the norm” myself means I want to bring as many unique ideas to the forefront as I can. I would say my style has become more polished as I’ve gotten older, but I still have the unique flair I did starting from cosplay photography. I love playing with sunlight and creating light flares and introducing colored lighting to my work.
How’d you meet your business partner?
While I currently run my business myself, my right hand man is my boyfriend, Simon Tamura. We’ve been great collaborators since we met in college. The way we met was so silly and so unlike I’ve met anyone else. It was during COVID, and it was rough making friends in the dorms. We ran into each other one night, learned that we were both film majors and the rest is history. We’ve been inseparable ever since. He’s such a good partner on set. He comes from a directorial and editing background, while I excel in camera operations. I love bouncing ideas off him and working together because he is great at making my crazy ideas actually happen.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
My biggest lesson as an artist that I am still unlearning is “perfection is the enemy of good”. I feel like every artist has a hard time with their work. It’s always “this could be better” but later I find myself looking at my old work that I used to dislike and now am extremely proud of. I am learning to love making mistakes because some of my favorite photos have come out of them. My favorite photo that is now award winning, “Tokyo Daylight” was shot on a random Tuesday evening at the ASU Art Museum. The lighting was perfect for maybe 10 minutes until it started pouring rain despite it not being on the radar. Me and my model, Remy, decided to shoot through it and get what we could anyway. The result was “Tokyo Daylight” a photo that won the Judge’s Choice award at SabotenCon 2025.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://dotsshot.com
- Instagram: @dotsshot
- Facebook: Dot Ridenour
- Youtube: d0tsicle25
Image Credits
N/A (all photos taken by me)