Check Out Richard Cummings’ Story

Today, we’d like to introduce you to Richard Cummings.

Richard, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My name is Richard Cummings but everyone calls me Rick. I am a fine art and commercial photographer in Boulder Colorado.

My training is as a musician and composer. In 1988, a bass player in my band gave me a camera and I was drawn to the tangibility of photography. Whereas music is wonderfully intangible, a photograph can be your hands and look at a photo for 5 seconds or 5 hours.

I applied many aspects of music to photography using the camera as I would a musical instrument. There are so many similarities between music and photography working with composition, tonal range, timing, improvisation, and much more. These days, photography has influenced how I approach music and I look at both disciplines as two sides of the same coin under the same umbrella.

When I started with photography, I found the nude to be very musical (sense of line and composition) so I have been working with photographing the body since 1988. For this work, I concentrate on form and shape, not really about who it is, These sessions are very improvisational.  This is great training for doing most kinds of photography in working with lighting, composition, form, and concept. It really helps in doing product photography.

Being a musician, I got wrangled into doing lots of band shots, which led me to portraiture and promotional photography. Several musicians had girlfriends who were aspiring models and got asked to do photos for their modeling portfolio, which led me to do fashion and beauty work.

When my musician friends got “real “jobs I got asked to do headshots for realtors, attorneys, and other professionals.  Fortunately, photo projects just came my way when I was starting out and I pursued the areas I found interesting and could add to my vision. Many decades later I am still doing variations mostly because I continued to follow my interests.

My commercial work has been seen in: the New York Times, Elle Decor, Vanity Fair, Zink!, In Style, WWD, V DeLux, In Style, Yoga Journal, Westword, and other publications. I do a lot of work for the yoga community, the natural products industry, apparel companies, jewelry companies, sports equipment companies, and more. I also do promotional photos for individuals, entrepreneurs, business people, musicians, restaurants, yoga studios, and other businesses.

In 2000, I started a photography workshop, The Body Form Photo Workshop, teaching a series of classes in fine art nudes and portraiture. This has expanded into doing location classes in Costa Rica, Italy, Moab, Crested Butte, and other places in and around Colorado.

Teaching photography was the best education I could have asked for. Even though I am the teacher, I have learned an amazing amount from the students in my classes and have made life-long friendships. Photography has made my life very fulfilling and I continue to follow compelling threads both in fine art and commercial work.

Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
In any endeavor, there are going to be challenges that test our ability to “figure it out” and take us out of our comfort zone. It is common in creative occupations to be talented on the artistic side but perhaps not so disciplined on the business side.

While I had a great day job for quite a while while I was establishing my presence as a photographer, I didn’t have the pressure of having to do the business side or starve. So that was a gift and a challenge once I went full-time with photography.

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?
As with most creative people (and I think all people are creative), we have several outlets for our imagination.

Hopefully, other endeavors elevate our talents so we are constantly progressing. In my experience I have been known for interesting abstract and environmental nudes, photographing hands, dramatic portraiture, yoga photography, telling a visual story for companies, photographing graffiti, doing headshots that convey authenticity, and inspiring other photographers to find their own vision.

I think what sets me apart, as with all artists, is who I am and my approach to photography, art, and life that connects me to people, culture, and humanity. My commitment to doing strong work, either for my artistic explorations or professional goals, is part of my ethos of doing the best I can, even if it is the more difficult road to follow.

Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
Much of my work is to celebrate other people and their passions. Being a photographer is a way for me to connect ideas with a larger audience and the medium of photography is very powerful.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.rickphoto.com
• Instagram: @rickphotostudio
• Email: www.bodyformphoto@gmail.com