Arizona native Fred Ferguson has had an interest in photography for as long as
he can remember. His grandmother bought him his first camera when he was just
a youngster, and his love for photography has only grown stronger over the
years. Fred took his first photography class at age 13 and soon after was
developing film and printing photos in his own darkroom.
In high school he was awarded the Art Department Award for his photographic
achievements. After high school, Fred attended Northern Arizona University
with a major in commercial photography and minor in business. He added more
awards to his collection when he was named Outstanding Photography Graduate
from the School of Communication, and Outstanding Senior from the university.
Fred began photographing weddings while he was still in college. After
graduating he worked for Al Payne, an architectural photographer in Phoenix,
as his production manager andassistant. I realized very quickly that my true
photographic love was people and weddings,” Fred says. He now
specializes in weddings and portraiture and does a small amount of
architectural, landscape and corporate photography. Fred works out of his
recently remodeled home studio, which has three levels. The basement houses
his studio and office, where large canvas prints hang on the walls. Fred has
no other employees, but his wife, Sara, is learning the business and assists
him at weddings and some shoots.
Fred joined the digital age a little over a year ago after purchasing a
Fujifilm FinePix S2 pro. Fred soon
realized that digital was right for his business, and he now has a
Nikon D2X with a wide
variety of fast lenses. He likes to move effortlessly between different
lighting conditions and not be bogged down with lots of equipment. He rarely
uses a flash. When asked about the changes that are happening in photography,
Fred states, “I feel that digital is a double-edged sword. I love the
infinite possibilities and creativity that it affords us as artists. I love
the instant gratification. But I will always love film—the way it smells
and feels, grabbing a nice cool box from the refrigerator, the sound of a
motor drive. I believe shooting digital is more cost-effective than film, but
I also know that the amount of time spent at the computer is chiseling away at
my life. I would love to hand over my RAW files to a lab and be done with it
as [I can do] with film, but I can’t seem to relinquish control of my
images—no one else would render them the same way I do. It’s a
shame to see the labs disappear one by one and see sparsely stocked shelves of
film down at the photo store. I have embraced digital technology with open
arms, but being the sentimental guy I am, I will always look back fondly at
the old days.”
Simplicity is the word that best describes Fred’s photographic style.
“Less is definitely more,” he says. He strives to create clean
and simple images. He carries the least amount of equipment that he possibly
can and utilizes zoom lenses.
He avoids using “fancy lighting” whether in the studio or on
location. He uses the sun to his advantage and always carries a reflector.
“I used to try too hard. I wanted things to be perfect, so I ended up
over-working a photograph and ultimately defeated what I was trying to
achieve. Now I try to lay low and let people be themselves. I use longer
lenses so people are less awkward of my presence. I also was guilty of using a
flash all the time.”
Fred believes that joining WPPI last year was one of the best business
decisions he has made. He is also a member of PPA and says, “Joining
these groups, as I have realized from experience, is a tremendous
asset.” Fred attended his first WPPI convention in 2005 and took a Plus
class with Marcus Bell, which helped him to make his photographs more artistic
and compositionally balanced. Fred says, “I needed to start thinking
outside the box, and some of the pointers he gave me really helped me achieve
that. I also learned that if I don’t keep my camera poised and ready to
shoot as much as humanly possible, there’s a good chance I’ll
miss the crucial moment.
He also picked up some great business tips, which have helped with his
marketing and sales techniques. He entered his first print competition and
learned much to improve his own work by seeing the great work of other
photographers.
Fred has been married to Sara for one and a half years and has two daughters,
Hailey, six, and Jade, four. When asked who inspires him, Fred said that Sara
is the most influential person in his life. “She is a master
farrier/blacksmith, and her love for what she does has inspired me to follow
my own passion. She has given me the freedom to express my creativity and
build a thriving business. She is always there to reassure me when I’m
having a bad day, and she’s not afraid to knock me down a peg when I
get a little too confident. We make a great team, and I am very lucky.”
When Fred has time to photograph away from his business, he enjoys
photographing landscapes. He says, “There is something very relaxing
about sitting in God’s country just waiting for the right light to
happen.” Fred was influenced by Ansel Adams when he was studying
photography and still uses the Zone System extensively. Currently he is
inspired by the work of Yervant and Joe Buissink. His dream job is to travel
around the world photographing weddings. “Living in Phoenix, I feel a
little cheated with our lack of greenery and historic buildings.” To
view more of Fred’s photography, visit
www.arizonaweddingstudio.com.
Caresse Muir began her home-based
business eight years ago, specializing in family, high school seniors,
children’s portraits and weddings. She is a PPA Master Photographer, a
member of WPPI and Professional Photographers of California. She is currently
the president of the Professional Photographers of San Diego County.
