Ask Ryan Brenizer

Manual focus adjustment is the best invention for pro shooting since digital. Align everything. But I always assume things are going wrong. Shooting wide fast lenses wide open ain’t easy, but I often make my life hard on purpose.

Hm, that may be something about your approach. Generally people are too drunk and having a good time to care, as long as they trust you. People reflect what you put out there, so if your attitude is “Hey, everything’s ok! I’m supposed to be here, we’re all having a great time, just keep on rocking with your bad self!” they will generally have their eyes pass over you, or see you, get a quick shot, and stop caring. If it’s just five people facing inward I will maybe just over a camera over or go for a long shot, but usually it’s not the right opportunity for a great shot.

I use VSCO, but heavily modified to look very un-VSCO. I just found it to be a good springboard to get my photos to look more in Lightroom like they do in my camera, which is always my ultimate goal of tonal processing.

Probably a D600, as it has unique strengths like a quiet shutter and a body that is not too similar to the D4 so I wouldn’t confuse them in my hands.

I only guarantee price 18 months in advance, and may shorten that a bit. My booking cycle is shorter on average than it used to be (which is normal as markets change.)

Absolutely, but not a “bad touch.” I am very careful about not overstepping people’s boundaries, and I generally ask first. I use a LOT of mirroring so they can see exactly what I want them to do.

My favorite darkroom is LTI Lightside, because it’s nationally renowned and just down the street.

I’ve been using the airport international for a while. I absolutely destroyed the roller portion (and have quickly destroyed every roller ever made) but I use it as a backpack and like it better that way. NYC streets are not roller-friendly.

My weddings average about 11 hours I would say. I actually take more than I used to because Photo Mechanic makes culling easier, and if there’s even a chance that the extra shutter press will make the moment better, I go for it. But I don’t machine gun away at quiet moments. I might take 3,000 to 3,500 and I deliver 600-1000.

I use assistants all the time, though I tend to pick from my workshop attendees first because I’ve met them and know their attitude and skills. I am always open to assistants for portrait shoots, because I generally don’t use them and might only need one for one or two shots.

Mine broke too fast to really encounter any problems, unless you just mean the 1/200th, which didn’t bother me all that much. Just a bit. I upgraded to the D4 largely for the live view, though I like the native ISO 100 as well. I also am very, very hard on my stuff. Thank you so much!

Remember it’s not about what they can do for you, but what you can do for them. The biggest things to me in an assistant are punctuality and attitude, as well as loyalty. Basically we know that the first wedding you do to us will be a giant gift to you, but the 25th or 50th will be not as great for you (law of diminishing returns) by the end but a big help for us. So being able to commit for at least a few months of weddings and to be trained to be a great help will increase your chances.

I could do 95 percent of my career with the 28, 85, and 70-200.

I do, only because I know what my favorite prime lenses are going to see before I put them up to my eye, so I can frame shots without a camera up to my face limiting my peripheral vision.

I’m really glad you asked! I am going to be developing the be-all and end-all of instructional videos for really, really cheap, like coffee-and-a-scone cheap. There are some videos out there now which I’ve helped with, but I’m not very happy with them, I want to start it all from the ground up. I just need a bit of time and a video guy.