"I was able to raise my prices 50%. Nobody questions the value."
Terry Tynan
Owner / Artist, Terry Tynan Lamps and Lighting
“I make art deco lamps by a very time-intensive hand process called metal spinning. All the finish work—the assembly and polishing—is also done by hand. The finished pieces that I deliver are beautiful and perfect.
My lights are a nightmare to shoot. Their polished surfaces reflect everything around them including the lights and the camera. I’ve struggled with getting good photos of them for years.
Because I didn’t have photos that made them look as great as they are, I could never charge what they were worth. Price was always an issue, even though when people received the lamps, they were thrilled.
My first thought when I saw my images was ‘ka-ching’!
The minute I had Rich’s images on my website, I was able to raise my prices 50%. Nobody questions the value. Demand for my lamps has increased.
At first I thought Rich’s prices seemed high but now I realize what a great investment they were. They paid for themselves very quickly.
I just placed an ad in Modernism magazine, using a new photo by Rich. The issue landed on my desk today—and I’ve already had 2 orders called in from it.”
"The only time I don't use Rich is when he goes on vacation. I hate it when he goes on vacation..."
Pauline Monson
Sr. Vice Pres. / Managing Art Dir., DMW Worldwide
“I’ve been working with Rich for 15 years now. One thing I really like about him: he always stays calm, always low key. No matter what happens, his attitude is, “don’t worry, we’ll solve this here.” He’s good at putting people at ease without making a big thing about it.
Rich is always able to deliver. He solves technical problems, helps us price things out when we’re focused on cost, and is responsive about scheduling – he always comes through. The only time I haven’t used him is when he goes on vacation. I hate it when he goes on vacation.
Once we did some photography for Lenox collectibles and we had him do a rough photo for the layout – and the lighting on this Lipizzaner Stallion statuette was so seductive that the client specifically asked that we take that approach on the real shoot, instead of their standard, rather flat look. That white porcelain presented some significant technical challenges. I’ve always been fascinated by how many ways Rich knows to light something, and he always has the tools on hand.
With Rich, I’m never worried that I will go back without exactly what I need.”
"He's easy to work with, talented and very detail oriented. Nothing is too much trouble..."
Mike Ticcino
Vice Pres. / Cr. Director, Ferrare & Fleming Advertising
Rich has done most all of our work for the past ten years. He’s easy to work with, talented and very detail oriented. Nothing is too much trouble. There is no deadline he won’t break his neck to meet.
He’s an imaginative problem solver. We had a shoot to do for an automobile brake cleaner. The concept was to show the product streaking across the page in a semi-circle, then suddenly stop. The day prior to the shoot, I gave Rich the product and the concept. I told him I hadn’t put much thought into how we were going to accomplish the shot, but we would put our heads together in the morning. When I arrived at the studio the next day, the shot was set up and ready to go. He attached the product to the turntable from his component stereo system to get a perfect arc. When the product hit a switch at the end of it’s path, a strobe was fired, stopping it in it’s tracks.
I can’t always be at the studio when he shoots, but that’s not a problem. After taking a photo, he’ll send it to me via e-mail.
Rich’s pricing is competitive, too. He always gives me a fair quote. And when my budget is limited, that’s never a problem, either.
"He's become our number one photographer, especially for jobs where we aren't going to be able to do it a second time."
Don Dunnington
Marketing Communications Manager, K-Tron Inc.
I look for a lot of things from a photographer: creative ability, reliability, fair price, fast response, flexibility, and and ease of working with them. We first started with Rich a long time ago – I’ll bet it’s been maybe eight years.
He’s become our number one photographer, especially for jobs where we need quality and reliability, and for jobs where we aren’t going to be able to do it a second time. We’ve used him on the factory floor, in test labs, at customer sites. It can be tricky: you don’t know what you’re in for ahead of time, in terms of angles and lighting.
I’m also impressed that Rich is able to accomplish by himself what lots of people drag along two or three others to do. And he does it faster. Rich gets the lighting right pretty quickly, so we’re able to get more shots in the same amount of time. When you’re shooting in a process environment where they’re in production, it takes skill to get the shot while staying out of the way.
He’s given us some images that were so good we’ve used them for years, including a shot in a test lab where we wanted a humorous impact. He helped us set up the shot and get the people in the right mood, and it’s become something of a classic for us.”
"He takes the time to make things look perfect."
Suzanne Meyer Morris
Senior Art Director, K.I. Lipton Inc.
“Rich has worked for us on a range of different clients: industrial, pharmaceutical, and business to business. I call on Rich when I need something to be beautifully lit, to look really beautiful. He takes the time to make things look perfect.
It’s really nice when someone takes the ball and runs with it, so you don’t have to worry. Rich always comes prepared and has a couple of ideas by the time you get there. One of his great strengths is that he loves the technical side and gets it thought out ahead of time.
He’s so helpful and agreeable. Once, our client had supplied us with incorrect product for the initial shoot but we still had to make the deadline. He reshot the entire thing practically overnight for us.”
"He's a great listener, and very good at understanding the outcome I want."
Roberta Healey Garbisch, CFRE
Executive Director, PresbyHomes Foundation
PresbyHomes & Services does housing, hospitality and healthcare for older adults. So we have a wide range of people to shoot, from young staff to frail elderly residents. Rich is charming and professional with all of them.
He’s a great listener, and very good at understanding the outcome I want. He’s a perfectionist without being a nitpicker–an artist, without being affected.
The annual report we just did together is the best I’ve ever worked on. People were even happy with their own images — one told me it was the best picture ever taken of him. I’ve worked with a lot of very good photographers. The photos that Rich takes are outstanding.
PresbyHomes & Services is not for profit, so the day rate is something we look at seriously. Because Rich gets so much done in a day, the value we get for the investment is outstanding.
"He's exceptional when it comes to working on the fly."
Claire Kuhn
Production Manager, Cetlin Design Group
Rich has both an engineering background and tremendous artistic sense and he’s able to integrate them: he’s a visually creative engineer. He always has a bag of tricks in his car; he’s always pulling something out. I don’t know how he fits it all in!
He’s good with clients and models, very patient – but he doesn’t waste time. On some healthcare shoots we’ve had to work with patients, sometimes even people who are partially paralyzed. You don’t have a lot of time in those situations, and he still gets in there and gets what we need.
He’s had so much experience that he knows how to approach any shoot. He usually gets there early and scouts things ahead of time, so when I get there, we’re ready to go. Rich is great on location or when we’re working with people, situations where there are many variables, because he sizes everything up quickly and manages to make it work. He’s exceptional when it comes to working on the fly.
"Rich is an extension of our team..."
Pat Burns
President, Pat Burns & Company
“Our positioning is that we make ourselves an extension of our clients’ teams, yet with an objective, outside perspective. And Rich works like that for us, he’s an extension of our team. I use his expertise, his eye and his input: Rich isn’t afraid to say, “here’s another way we could do it that might work better.
His photographic capabilities are excellent. And Rich is someone we really like to work with. He does our product and architectural work, and he’s the first one I call to do corporate work and headshots because I know I don’t have to be there to supervise him. Next week he’s doing a bank interior for us, very posh, and he’s perfect. I don’t have the people power to be sparing somebody to watch a photographer for a full day. It’s more efficient and much more cost effective to send Rich.
He’s so accommodating. Once we had to shoot the interiors of a newly renovated A plus mini-market. Because of the fluorescent lighting, we shut the place down and did the shoot between 11 pm and 4 am. I’m a morning person, and I was dying. But Rich was great – and he charged only his regular day rate.”