Life & Work with Ryan Longnecker of Long Beach

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ryan Longnecker.

Hi Ryan, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Sure. I grew up in a small town in Central California, surrounded by the beauty of the Eastern Sierra. If you’ve ever smelled the air after a summer rain, you know just how sacred that place can feel. I credit much of what I do today to an appreciation for awe, nature, and the slower things in life that was fostered in me from an early age.

I moved to Southern California for college to study music, and while I was in undergrad, I got a job as the yearbook photographer. For two years I was spending most of my days with a camera around my neck.

After graduation, I opened a wedding photography business with a very good friend, (shout out Mike). From 2008–2016, it was successful and gave me the opportunity to meet many of the creatives who are some of my dearest friends today. In 2016, I pivoted my business and brand toward outdoor travel and landscape photography, working with brands and companies around the world.

I had so many great people in my corner who would recommend me for opportunities where I was completely out of my depth. I’ve always had a habit of saying yes and figuring it out, and those opportunities became some of the most formative experiences of my career. From 2016 onward, I had the privilege of speaking at conferences and workshops around the world, mentoring creatives one-on-one, and working with artists, agencies, and brands I love, including Adobe, DJI, PolarPro, Nike, Princess Cruises, and many more.

After being published in more than 45 print and online publications and spending time as an online forum author for photo and video, I realized my passion had less to do with photography itself and much more to do with seeing people thrive—encouraging others and playing whatever small part I can in bringing creative vision to life.

In 2020, another passion—serving in my local church—became my primary focus for three years. During that time, much of what it meant to be a creative in the world shifted. Coming out of that season I’m still not entirely sure how to exist and create in these spaces, but I continue to have the opportunity to shoot, design, and I also teach photography and editing online through Click Photo School. And as an incredible side quest, I’ve begun training to become a chaplain – and that experience continues to form and inform me as a creative and a human.

Today, I spend my days as a Creative Director, working on fewer but larger projects. When I am not in awe of my incredible wife and two daughters I manage design, pre- and post-production, content, and marketing strategy, and I still find myself being asked to navigate challenges that are often beyond my current capabilities. Thankfully, I’ve gotten pretty good at saying yes, figuring it out, and growing into whatever comes next.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Getting to this point has been a journey marked by profound struggle and loss. I don’t want to overstate or over-inflate that, because honestly, I’ve been buoyed by so many amazing friends, fellow creatives, clients, companies, and mentors along the way. I don’t feel like I can take much credit for the goodness in my life.

That being said, there are still many moments and seasons loneliness, uncertainty, and frustration. I’ll often stand back at meetup-type events and watch people anxiously trying to carve out space for themselves. I have a lot of sympathy for them and that impulse though because, at its heart, most people just want to build a successful life around something they genuinely love. I’ve just found some professional loneliness in the ways I distance myself from that way of moving through the world – it just turns out to be much more isolating and unnecessarily competitive. Thankfully all of my most trusted mentors embody a much more generous and confident way of moving through their careers.

I’ve watched the creative industry increasingly place an expectation on people to become a personality, and that has never been me. I hate pointing the camera at myself. In trying to focus on what I imagine I do best, I’ve probably missed out on a lot of opportunities. There can be long stretches of silence followed by sudden bursts of inquiries and work, and trying to maintain some sense of consistency and reliability for my family while providing financial stability can feel tenuous at times. As I get older, the impact of my career on my family has grown exponentially past my own creative insecurities.

But I think being in this world and getting through more than a few of those seasons, I’ve developed at least enough emotional resilience to metabolize that reality. I still feel the uncertainty, but I’m less afraid of it than I used to be.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Broadly, I am a Creative Director, but mostly known for my drone work, fine art outdoor landscape photography, and editing. Since 2024 I also work with BLDR media, a micro-agency providing full-service media and marketing for the construction, engineer, and contracting world.

There isn’t a particular project or angle or segment of my life I’m most proud of, but I have a very small handful of photos that I think captured the feeling of the moment in a very pure way, and every time I see them it brings me joy. With the flood of endless information on shooting/editing/style/etc I think the majority of what sets me, or anyone, apart from anyone else is the working experience clients have working with them. I don’t worry about what anyone else is doing in their work anymore, I focus on what I can do to be as human, kind, responsive, focused, integrous, and excellent in my work for each project.

We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
I don’t often attribute good or bad luck. Most of the time it was good or bad people, good or bad choices, good or bad timing, and good or bad courage on my part. I do, however, feel fortunate for the good that has been along my side the entire way.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.ryanlongnecker.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/ryanlongnecker
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ryanlongneckerphotographer
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanlongnecker/