We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Rebecca Rayon. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Rebecca below.

Rebecca, appreciate you joining us today. Do you have a hero? What have you learned from them?

I have more than 1- but I have to thank my older sister, Madison, for showing me a whole world of film photography and for teaching me all about it. I am so thankful that I got to spend my early teen years in an art facility that had easy access to things like a darkroom, processing lab, and photography studio, especially when these facilities are extremely hard to come by.
She gifted me a NikonF4 and it was my first ever camera. Her and the former teacher who worked there showed me step by step how to process film, from the initial loading the film into the camera all the way to drying your prints and scanning them in the computer. It wasn’t long before I started spending almost every weekend there.
Funny enough I ended up working at this institute a few years down the line and then it unfortunately closed not too long after.
I don’t shoot film very often nowadays, but I truly believe its such an important skill to learn in photography. I still use a lot of the techniques in my digital photography today!
I can’t thank my sister enough for opening that door for me and helping me step in. Over my teen years she was my photo travel buddy! With her Hasselblad at her hip and my Sony on mine we traveled around places like Colorado together taking pictures of everything we saw.
I don’t know where I would be today without her!

Rebecca, 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?

Hello! My name is Rebecca Rayon and I am a portrait/event/food photographer from Tulsa, Oklahoma called RJ.CR Photo. Ever since I can remember I have been fascinated by imagery. I would see the light from a window bounce in a certain way or how colors swirl together and I would stare for forever in awe. It wasn’t until I was a little older when my dad got the first family digital camera that I became in love with capturing these little observations throughout my day.
It wasn’t long after that when my sister took me to shoot and develop my first roll of film. That day she gifted me her NikonF4 and It was from then on photography just became this natural part of my life!
It wasn’t until I was 17 that I got my first Canon DSLR camera. I was doing more and more shoots and getting comfortable with editing and cameras. A few years down the line I decided to switch over to a Sony Mirrorless camera and I have never looked back since.
I started educating myself and reading on the parts of a camera, how it works, how lighting works. At this point I started to become really drawn to kind of this vintage surrealism/nonconventional style of photography that carry unique colors. A lot of my inspiration stems from mid 70s to early 2000’s photography phone books that I find.
This year, at 24, I decided to quit my secure job and try freelance photography full time! I have never been happier to do something that brings me so much contentment in my everyday life.
My favorite thing about photography is meeting all kinds of interesting people and getting to capture who they really are! People usually come to me for out-of-the-box ideas that might not be something a regular portrait photographer would be interested in. As much as I love doing simple portraitures if that is what a client is wanting, there’s just something about the challenge of creating a vision with my clients that turns into a story, and then onto a set that I get to DIY design. Being able to incorporate my other artistic skills into my daily routine for photography has been a dream and it makes me happy to work a little extra hard for something that my clients will enjoy for the rest of their lives.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

Definitely seeing peoples reaction to their photos that I take! Especially when a client is doing a photoshoot for the very first time and seeing their reaction when I show them the shots in real time! If they are nervous it makes them feel better and it makes me happy knowing they are becoming more confident and comfortable throughout the session!

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My goal has always been to become a creative full time photographer with a gallery filled with local art. This space will also have areas for people to come and make art or use a photography studio, and act as a 3rd space to do work, read, etc.
I eventually want to incorporate traveling into my journey. My soul feels fulfilled the most when I am on a mountain range, in a valley, or on the beach somewhere taking pictures.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.rjcrphoto.com/
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/rj.cr
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rjcrphoto