We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ryan Varga a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Ryan thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Some of the most interesting parts of our journey emerge from areas where we believe something that most people in our industry do not – do you have something like that?
The photography industry is very saturated. Anyone can take a good photo and purchase the same gear and software that you use. The biggest asset you have is yourself. Only by being your true authentic self makes creates an asset that’s non-replicable and will be the reason you get hired.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
The first thing people should know about me is I absolutely love photography and capturing moments. It’s something that I’ll do until my hands fall off and I think that comes through in my excitement on set and attention to detail. I got into photography after being inspired by a documentary called Maru and photographer Jimmy Chin. I picked up a camera and went to an in person workshop in Asheville NC not knowing a single person attending or teaching. This workshop is where I met my now wife with whom we just had our first child. It’s kind of out there but I believe shows the importance of following your curiosity and trusting your intuition.
I grew up really into art, skateboarding and playing outdoors so photography has always been an excuse to surround myself with creative types of people. This turned into shooting lots of lifestyle, portraits and unique moments. This is skillset has led me to be able to help brands like Stetson or Lululemon tell a story for their brands that their customers resonate with.
Whether a brand is looking to tell your story with a visual narrative, a business owner looking to sell a product or a model looking to build their portfolio I’m confident that I can help bring their vision to life with my 6 years of experience.
Outside of photography you can find me diving into holistic health / wellness, snowboarding and camping with my wife Shelly , our newborn Penny and dog Gonzo.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?
I feel like I have to answer this question because it’s something I hear all the time that really bothers me. I have friends who want to take photos, write or make videos and their main excuse is “I’m just not a creative person”. It makes me wonder how many would be artists or great art we miss out on simply because most people never start.
I believe creativity is a skill, just like going to the gym or learning to ride a bike. You only get better by doing the thing over and over again and putting out really bad work. Everyone’s work is bad at first, but that’s how you improve. For every artist you look up to there’s mountains of embarrassing work from when they first started.
If you’re waiting for permission to start that project or pick up that skill I hear-by grant you permission.
Can you share your view on NFTs? (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)
I started going deep down the crypto rabbit hole in 2020 and still invest to this day. I even began learning to program with hopes of learning Solidity to create my own smart contracts.
The number one thing I see with NFT artists who actually succeed is they first put lots of work into creating a good body of work. I think NFTs are a great way for artists to sell their work or create an additional stream of income but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. They still need to hustle to sell their work and get the word out. It’s not as simple as throwing up a half baked collection and making thousands of dollars.
It’s all very interesting to witness and I don’t think NFT technology is going away anytime soon.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.ryceroni.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryceroni/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/ryceroni