Ryan and I always try and hook up for a shoot whenever we’re in the same part of the world together.  That could be here in Toronto, in Ryan’s hometown (Vancouver) or anywhere else we might happen to be at the same time.  Here is a article about our last shoot.  It was this time last year while Ryan was in Toronto for the Green Living Show and an appearance on Breakfast Television.  Ryan and I have known each other for some time now and always seem to make something happen with little or no time.  Here are a couple of examples from an impromptu shoot while we were in California for the Sea Otter Classic.  We just got in Ryan’s car and drove around for a couple of hours scouting and shooting.

Ryan was in town for the Toronto International Bike Show doing his demos for Norco and Shimano.  Ryan had a few hours before his flight left on Monday morning so we thought it would be fun to get together for a portrait session.  It’s not quite summer here yet and scouting locations for an outdoor action shot would have exhausted most of our time.

I wanted to do something interesting with Ryan; to present him as the incredible athlete and humanitarian that he is.  I did quite a bit of research on athlete portraiture but there really isn’t much out there that fit the bill for him.  It was either a macho jock with his football helmet under his arm or a headshot of a snowboarder with their goggles on – not what I was after.

Anyone who knows Ryan describes him the same way, as a “SUPER nice guy”. Ryan is very kind, soulful, and a happy spirit.  He would never want anyone to fuss over him or make him look like some sort of rock star, which in many ways he is. Trying to get Ryan to look like a tough-guy would not have been appropriate.  When taking a portrait of someone, there is a fine line between getting what the photographer wants and what the subject is comfortable with.  I thought that a clean portrait against a black canvas would be cool – something well lit with good separation and accents.  I think we found a good compromise in this photo.

I wanted to try and show the more serious side of Ryan.  With many athletes you can get this “going into battle” look, but I knew that wasn’t going to work with Ryan.  I know there is that side of him though.  I’ve seen this fierce look in his eye while out shooting with him.  When he focuses on a trick or new line the pure athlete comes out.  I wanted that!  What Ryan does takes incredible balance, core strength and skill.  I needed something that conveyed this while also keeping his kind soulful side apparent.  We settled on some yoga style poses and I think these really summed it all up.  Ryan was great, as always, and I am really happy with this shot.

Thanks for the great shoot Ryan!  You can learn more about Ryan on his site and follow his blog here.