Today we’d like to introduce you to Sean C. Rice.
Sean C., we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I was born and raised in the San Fernando Valley by two parents who have always supported me as a creative. I grew up drawing and doing theater and accidentally found photography in Junior College. I went to Art Center College of Design for Photography then started my career working with photographer Robert Kerian and retouching for photographer Jill Greenburg. I perfected my photo editing while working on movie posters and DVD packaging, later starting my own DVD packaging agency. I deviated from movie posters and DVDs a bit to work after the market crash in 2009 and went to work at The Walt Disney Co as “Manager of Product Development” for fashion and home. Although I loved working for Disney I knew I wanted to return to what I love and get back to retouching and compositing automobile imagery.
Freelancing for with Car & Driver, soon I became the “can you save this photo” guy in retouching. Knowing I have the eye for retouching I decided I’d start shooting for myself as well… One of my clients was Racer Magazine, one day I was working as a digital technician on a shoot over at Mazda headquarters. The cars had no engines, but the Creative Director, Laurence Foster really wanted a shot of the cars in motion. I told him I could do it and it was successful. I then starting shooting for their sister magazine Sports Car, which lead to the launch of a Toyota Tundra that would be raced in the Baja 1000, followed by the reveal of the 2016 Toyota Tacoma. I’ve been fortunate to have the opportunity to shot all kinds of jobs from traveling to Germany to shoot the reveal of the 2019 Toyota 86 to being the lead photographer on the coffee table book that comes with the Toyota Supra.
My business has since expanded into directing starting with a 5 episode series starring Jay Leno which got me 3 Telly Awards, as well as a multi-car spots for the new Camry and Avalon TRD PRO’s. My biggest moment was in 2019, I launched the new 2020 Toyota Land Cruiser and that imagery got me the award by Lürzers Archive for being one of the Top 200 AD Photographers of 2019. A magazine that is revered in Advertising as the Holy Grail of award publications.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There is nothing smooth about photography or being self-employed. As they say, it’s either dry as a desert or it’s pouring rain and everyone wants to hire you at the same time, the best problem to have. In photography, you can publish the most beautiful image in the world and everyone thinks you’re amazing and wants to hire you, then the next day someone else publishes an image that is just as great and everyone forgets who you are. It really gives you an ego check and makes you ask yourself if you’re doing this because you think it’s cool or because you really love it.
A defining moment was the arrival of the pandemic, a challenging time for work that in the end turned out to be an opportunity. I was given the time to dig deep and truly focus on what it is that makes me happy. The ideation process and the storytelling were always limited to what was possible shooting straight out of the camera but with the right collaborators we’re making anything possible. Recently I partnered with CG Artist Vikas Sharma and lighting guru Kip Corley to create content we all love and are passionate about. I enjoy the creative back and forth and the art that we’ve created together. I look forward to evolving as a storyteller and I hope that taking these risks to be happy help create opportunities for success in the future.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I work in the automotive industry as a freelance car photographer/director. I’m primarily known for shooting black vehicles at night, a tough combination and the hardest to shoot. The color black absorbs light, so you need to reflect light into the vehicle’s shiny clear coat finish in order to see its shape. There is an art to it and I think my preproduction process is what enables me to achieve success when creating such technically challenging content.
I’m most proud of my preproduction process. I thoroughly research and scout the location, figuring out where the sun will be in relationship to the vehicle and at what time of day. I get asked to shoot a lot of photos in a very small amount of time, often with two or more cameras so preparation helps me control all the elements I can control (not including weather) and avoid any logistical issues that may arise during the shoot. On location, you may have a team of 20/30 people, my planning lets everyone know where and what they’ll be doing at all times throughout the shoot day. This alleviates stress for me and the client and allows me to focus on creating that content that I promised to deliver the client.
I believe that also being a composite artist separates me from other photographers. Before I even take a picture, I know exactly what exposures I need of which pieces of sheet metal, with what type of light, in order to compose the final image. Too much time is wasted trying to figure out where to put the vehicle at a location while the light keeps changing when that time could be used to create more content.
How do you define success?
Success = Opportunity + Preparation
You have to know your limits and always deliver. 1) Clients will respect you just as much for what you will do as for what you won’t do. 2) Clients will always focus on cost, it’s their job. I think you can consider yourself successful if you’re only talking about price and there’s no issue or complaint about your work/deliverables… I take pride in always delivering on every job. If every opportunity is met with preparation, you can only increase your chances of success.
When I was younger, I thought financial growth was the only measurement of success and as I get older, I find that balancing happiness in all aspects of my life is truly the cornerstone of real success.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: https://seancrice.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sean.c.rice/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sean.rice.731
- Other: https://www.behance.net/seancrice
