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Brodie Ledford said it was the Christmas present he bought for his wife that started his photography career.
The 41-year-old Frederick native has always loved video cameras and taking pictures, but it wasn’t until he bought one for his wife Dara, a college art major majoring in the photography art form.
After they spent Christmas together after college, Ledford “went out and bought her a brand new DSLR camera” [digital] camera,” he said.
“The funny thing is, as soon as she opened it, I started playing with it,” he said in a phone interview. “Then that camera became mine. The rest, as they say, is history. That was almost 17 years ago.”
Today, Ledford owns Brodie Ledford Studios in Frederick and recently participated in a photo contest called the Creator Series. Ledford is one of 10 photographers selected for the 11-episode series, which is available online.
In each episode, the photographers were challenged with every aspect of photography, from lighting to framing to posing — they only had 10 minutes to shoot.
The web series, available on YouTube, is judged by Canon Light Explorers photographers: Sal Cincotta, an award-winning wedding and portrait photographer; Laretta Houston, known for shooting Tyra Banks Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition ; and Vanessa Joy, a renowned wedding photographer. Cincotta, the series’ producer and host, has his studio in St. Louis.
Ledford entered the contest after seeing a promo for the Creator Series at ShutterFest, a large photography conference. He admits he has reservations about participating in a competition that will be broadcast globally. He considers himself a private person. But he still decided to apply.
After applying, Ledford was interviewed. His portfolio and online presence were also under scrutiny before he moved on to the next round. He then submitted a 90-second video explaining “why us.” But weeks passed after the video was sent, and Ledford didn’t think he was drafted.
“Then, when I finally lost all hope, I got an email that said ‘Congratulations,'” he recalls. “I was totally shocked, I was both excited and scared.”
He spent July in St. Louis shooting the series. It premiered online in August.
His biggest adjustment was learning how to use the Canon equipment required for the series, as it is of course sponsored by Canon.
Cincotta is the assistant to every photographer throughout the series.
“It’s kind of scary because he’s absolutely great,” Ledford said. “He’s one of those guys who expects the best because he’s the best out there and he’s been known to be amazing.”
Photographers were only allowed 10 minutes to film their homework for the day, which made it all the more challenging. Typically, it can take an hour to set up a studio shoot, Ledford said. “We basically had 10 minutes to pick the gear we wanted, set up the shot, talk to the model about what we were looking for, instruct the model and then shoot.”
Then, ask the photographer to hand over their memory card immediately.
Competitors cannot see their photos and process them further until each photographer has completed their shots. They have 30 minutes to select and edit images. But, Ledford says, when he actually selects his images, he only has an average of 15 minutes to edit.
“I’m excited about the image created – it was done in such a short amount of time,” Ledford said. “That’s where the challenge lies.”
The cards were given out to judges, who then picked the best and worst. Every week someone is sent home.
“My favorite competition is probably the reflection competition,” where models are reflected on mirrors or windows, for example, he says. “Because it’s beyond what I would normally do.”
He said the whole competition was challenging because it forced photographers to try a type of photography they wouldn’t normally do every day.
He said the series really shows that photography is much more than people realize.
“I think the biggest difficulty for photographers is that people think the camera has a magic button because they can’t see what’s behind the scenes,” he said. “People can’t see the editing process. They can’t see all the lights. They don’t understand the settings [the camera] in manual mode, not in automatic mode. “
Ledford credits his wife with making him a career in photography, and he dabbled in photography during his full-time job as a Best Buy store manager.
“My wife would take pictures of me and she would make a photo book for me and just keep pushing me and say, ‘Hey, look, this is great,'” he said.
He co-founded Brodie Ledford Studios with his wife, who is also a photographer, and it became his first professional gig when someone asked him if he was hosting a wedding. After a while, his wife again encouraged him to devote himself fully to his new passion.
“I’m out of that life and I’m now able to do what I want,” he said. “And unbelievable.”
Ledford’s business is considered a service-based luxury company, and he focuses on customer relationships.
“There’s a lot of people taking pictures out there, and there’s a huge difference between the photographer and the professional photographer,” he said. “I’m proud of our focus on the customer experience, our customers have truly become like friends and family.”
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