Check Out Ryder Lee’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ryder Lee

Hi Ryder, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Growing up my Mom was a photographer and my Dad was a videographer. I was always making videos with my dad. No matter what we did or how much trouble I got in with my parents (which was a lot), we were somehow still always making videos. Whether it was breaking fortune cookies with sledgehammers, us golfing, or lego stop motion, me and my dad always made videos together, testing out the new gopros as soon as soon as we could. And that eventually led to me starting a YouTube channel in 3rd grade. Making gaming videos, and that eventually turned into lifestyle videos 7 years later, which led me into doing photography. My mom had taught me all the basics, or at least tried to (I was a know-it-all when starting out) and always answered my questions, whether it was photoshop, learning how to expose things, or still to this day telling me very harshly how I could have made a photo better. And it always stings a tad and I never believe her then I watch her do it and it always humbles me. But this past year during my senior year of high school I really just forced myself to try and grow as much as I could, and in April I made the decision to just go all in. I was driving a beat up car that could barely make it to LA and back from Redlands, and just drove after school almost everyday. To do photoshoots, film people and events, go to the prop store. My typical day would be, go to school 8:30, get out at 12:40, be in LA by 3, and be back in redlands at 1 AM, and it freaked my mom out. Especially when I would call her and my dad and let them know a new check light came on in my car, or I ended up on the side of the freeway with 2 blown out tires and I gotta empty my savings to fix it. But I just continued the process and 6 months later I moved out to LA at 18, with a functional car, and the happiest I’ve ever been. Now I’m just continuing to try and better myself everyday and grow my photography every single shoot.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It definitely has not been a smooth road. I struggled a lot with feeling pretty lonely my senior year of high school and just in general when I was really trying to put myself on the radar with photography. But I definitely always reminded myself that it was all for a purpose. Like I mentioned I was driving a horrible car 4 hours everyday to get to shoots and meet people. I didn’t really ever maintain a group of friends throughout school so once I started to come out to LA more often and meet all the people I’m surrounded by now, it felt like I was definitely on a clearer path and surrounding myself with the right people. But I think everyone has things going on in their life and thats what makes the journey so beautiful. My dad always reminds me that you can’t only have the good. And whatever goes up must go down, but also, whatever goes down must go up.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a fashion photographer. I love messing around with different angles and finding new locations to work with. I think I’m known for my concepts and my ability to execute them. I still have a ton of ideas I have to execute but I love to go all in on them and try to keep it as real as possible without photoshop. I think the photo im most proud is this photo I took at these sand dunes with this ring of fire surrounding our model. I worked on that with my good friend Trent for his brand and it was crazy to see my idea come to life. But the project overall I’m most proud of is this shoot I did with my friend and it was my first passion project I put 100% into from start to finish. Its this girl in military inspired outerwear with these Balenciaga shoes and she’s holding a rocket launcher. I had the idea for months and never knew how to execute it till I just started. I think I’m most proud of just starting and telling myself I’m gonna do this and not stop until I did it, and the feeling of sharing those photos with the world was just so sick. I held onto them for a little bit to myself beforehand too just so I could appreciate the feeling a bit longer. I think I’m always gonna be giving 100% and thats what I want people to know and what will set me apart. I always go all in, whether i’m getting kicked out of locations, driving 200 miles on a spare tire in a car that could break down at any given moment, I’ll always continue to go all in.

We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I think taking risks is what got me to where I am today. Being 18, everyone in high school is all talking about College, trade school, all this continuation of education to go live life. And growing up I always knew I was never going to have those conversations at all. I knew I was going to move out to LA or New York at 18, and I took that leap. I always knew I’d travel to wherever I needed to be to get the photo. I think you have to take big risks to get big rewards. And sometimes to risk ends up not working out or was a waste of time but I think you could always learn something from it. My dad always, always, ALWAYS, encouraged me to take a leap and never regret my life. My mom always wanted me to be a bit safer, because, well, she’s my mom and thats what mom’s do. But when it came time for me to take that leap, she was more supportive than anyone in the world. So I think risk taking is essential to growth, and its definitely a lot easier with a great support system behind you.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://ryderlee.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryderlee/

Image Credits
all photos owned by me