Meet James Rulison of Rulison Photography in Inland Empire

Today we’d like to introduce you to James Rulison.

James, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
My entire life I have always loved snapping pictures. I started the hobby of photography back when I was ten years old in Colorado. I just loved how the camera can capture a moment and freeze it never changing. Jump a few decades, and we no longer shoot on film but digital, and this app for our phones comes out called Instagram.

My wife and I are self-proclaimed nerds and decided to attend the 2014 WonderCon show in Anaheim California. I took a small point and shoot camera with me and took some photos of the cosplayers at the event. After editing the photos when I got home, I posted a few on Instagram. I wasn’t familiar with the hashtags back than so I think I just tagged the location, but immediately I got a response.

There on Instagram, I began to get feedback for my photos, and I liked it. I kept up with taking photos of cosplayers because it immediately put us in a neutral spot where both the model and myself loved superheroes. This helped me with posing, backgrounds, angles, and I just kept at it. Fast forward, and I continue to photograph cosplayers but now I branch out, and I take photos of regular models as well.

I now have over 32K followers on Instagram and somehow even when I only post once a week, it continues to grow. Now people are hiring me for normal portraits, modeling headshots, engagement photos, and even weddings. What was once a hobby is beginning to take the shape of a second career.

Great, 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?
It has never been a smooth road. First off I still have a full-time regular job, and that takes precedence before anything in my photography. I work in tech but not in a too different field I work in streaming online video which keeps me busy these days so carving out time and balancing it with family life is always tricky.

I somehow think I find enjoyment when I can squeeze a photo shoot in here and there. It’s like I am squeezing a little bit more out of life and that just makes me smile.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Rulison Photography – what should we know?
Rulison Photography is a photo studio. I don’t like to say we specialize in anything except portraits. That means we can do headshots, environmental portraits, cosplay portraits, celebrity portraits, it doesn’t matter. I just like to take pictures of people. Every person has a story, and I like to try and capture something of that story in my pictures.

What are we known for most is the cosplay or hero photography. We have done some work for Cosplay Culture Magazine including multiple covers for them. I think we sets us apart is that my wife is with me every step of the way and that makes people more comfortable.

Additionally, I think was sets us apart is that we don’t see someone’s ethnicity or gender we just want to take a picture that presents the best version of my subject.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
I am a family man, and it shows. When I attend comic book conventions, I get called Cosplay Dad a lot. It doesn’t bother me it’s because I am genuinely looking out for the cosplayer/model like we are all part of a family. I just focus on being kind, courteous, and professional.

I also pride myself on knowing the subject as well so if they are planning on doing a Harley Quinn photoshoot I know the character know the poses and already have locations picked out that go along with that. I guess I have that boy scout saying beaten into me at some point because I believe I always need to be prepared.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.rulison.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jrulison/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rulisonphoto/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/big_james

Image Credit:
Sean Shaw as Black Panther, Desiree Preston as Harley Quinn, Whitney Vigil as Evil Queen, Joanna Bert as Princess Giselle, Derek Barillas as Strong Man Super Man, Rachel Litfin as Wonder Woman, MaidOfMight as Super Girl, DarthLexii, GhoulCrest Hunting Club from WasteLand Weekend

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