Photography is my passion. People and their stories are my subject matter of choice. I strive to deliver images that wow my subject or client or connect with the viewer and generate the desired emotional response. That feedback is my reward! Moreover, my shoots are as much about the experience as the images and are thus infused with joy, fun, and exitement! I simply love what I do and I go about it with all the joy and enthusiasm I can muster.
I bought my first camera at age seven. It was the first thing I ever bought with my own money. Photography has been a part of my life ever since. Sports, college, girls, marriage, and another career took priority for many years but the digital era renewed my passion. The onset of digital technology allowed me to marry the two halves of my brain once again! I'll never look back and I truly look forward to working with you to deliver exeptional images and an unforgettable experience.
I am an experineced professional photographer. I am competent and proficient at a wide variety of work including commercial and editorial work, fashion and modeling, weddings, and portraiture. While I always attempt to produce image that "wow" the viewer, I also realize that my ability to effectively manage shoots, work with other creative professionals, connect with poeple, hold up under stress and chaos, and ultimately deliver a rewarding and fun experience for my subject or client is equally important most of the time.
My Work
My work is an expression of how I see the world and how I interpret a scene. It has been said that every image is a lie. I attempt to manage that lie to the benefit or my subject or client. Left to my own devices, I will usually attempt to show people at their best -- looking fabulous, full of joy, having fun. Of course, for some of my work, the desired emotional impact is different. Regardless, my style is consistent and could be classified as simulataneously simple and clean yet dynamic and impactful.
If you like my work , please contact me. Hopefully we will connect and find a way to work together. I am always looking for unique challenges and opportunities and simply love meeting others with a shared passion for photography, wheter they be fellow photographers of potential clients!
This blog is intentionally a fusion of my commercial work, my wedding and portraiture work, and my personal work. My photography absolutely permeates every aspect of my daily life. In addition to sharing my images, I hope that this forum will allow me to shed some light on the human side of the equation and yield some insight into the person behind the images. Enjoy and PLEASE share your thoughts and comments.
Hey Everyone. A few weeks ago, I had the supreme pleasure of photographing the Zac Brown Band and several other artists at a concert to benefit the restoration of the Georgia Theatre. This 4+ hour show was headlined by Zac Brown Band of course and they served as the “house band”, performing with other acts including Joey + Rory, Little Big Town, Kid Rock, Sonia Leigh, Nic Cowan, Levi Lowrey, and several other special guests.
The show was held at the fabulous Fox Theatre in Atlanta and I was even treated to a fantastic behind the scenes tour of the place by it’s live-in caretaker who was an incredible man and story in his own right. I’ll post some shots of him soon.
I had the full run of the place and photographed both the actual show and rehearsals. Zac and all of his band mates and crew were just fantastic and so gracious and down to earth. They’ve had one incredible year and it’s easy to see why. It’s fun to see good things happen for great artists AND great people.
My primary assignment and reason for being there was to photograph Joey + Rory during the performance. Here are some shots from their time on stage. It was great to catch up with Joey and Rory again. They have been on the road and extremely busy. While most of my time was spent shooting, we did get to have some quality “down time” after the show. We’ve also started working on images for their upcoming second album. More on that later and more from the rest of the show soon. For now, I hope you like these . . .
November 23, 2009 - 12:27 pmCarol Tyree - Great photos Bryan!! What an experience you had!
November 30, 2009 - 8:47 amTracy Bruce - Bro,
Super experience. Wish I could have tagged along. Zac Brown Band is my new fav. Since we are moving to Wilmington, our theme song is Toes in the Sand!!!!! Thanks for sharing!
Here’s another fun Fall family shoot with Travis and Mary and their beautiful little girl, Cora Bea. We had another spectacular Fall day here in East TN and made a full afternoon of it. Travis and Mary have a bit of a retro vibe and are remodeling an older home in a great neighborhood. I tried to give many of these shots a bit of a retro feel . . . all be it with a contemporary composition Feel free to check out more images from the shoot here.
By the way, Travis gives the best massage in all of Knoxville (well really anywhere for that matter). If you’ve got some kinks that need to get worked out, give him a call at Spa Visage!
Here’s more of the blue eyed wonder, Sofie, and her awesome parental units . . . Sarah and J. This little movie showcases several more images of Sarah, J, and Sofie.
The slideshow is set to a song written and performed by Sarah and J (and their band Jag Star) about little Sofie. Pretty cool! It must be awesome to possess those mad skills and be able to do something like that for your daughter. Look for Sofie’s Song and many more on Jag Star’s latest album which is just about to come out. Hope you enjoy the pix and the song!
November 18, 2009 - 1:57 pmBrian Bastinelli - WOW....
Not only are you images fantastic as usual how cool is it to be able to use that song written by them for her...
Super cool.
The song is great. The photos are great. I really like the whole thing.
November 26, 2009 - 8:20 amFlo Deems - Bryan - what a touching tribute to a little girl whose arrival has enriched her parents' life beyond measure. How well their music fits your slideshow! A great synergistic endeavor. Thanks for notifying me and others of this event.
I had a great Fall shoot last week with Sarah, J, and beautiful 11 month old Sofie. Sarah and J were awesome and totally relaxed and game for anything. Sofie has these amazing blue eyes that just suck you right in and was so fun and easy to work with. Mom and Dad are performers and Sofie is definitely a part of the gene pool. She can even hold a note and whistle. Too funny! The weather was spectacular and there was still enough color in the trees and fallen leaves to feel (and look) like fall. Here’s a bit of an artistic/painterly take on one image from the day to serve as a bit of an appetizer.
Had a fantastic time yesterday shooting the wedding of Pamela & Ron. Again, weather was threatening all week but all turned out perfectly! A bit chilly but the sun broke through and lit up the early Fall colors at the most opportune times. Here’s but a few quick sneak peek shots. Thanks to Jim and Paula for all of their hospitality hosting the event and for their warm and gracious nature! You two are infectious (and I’m not talking H1N1). I’ll be back to test those trout fishing waters and work on my fly fishing skills soon. Pamela and Ron, enjoy Anguilla. We’ll have some images waiting on you when you get back. Thanks also to Jessi Ringer for second shooting, keeping me on task, holding a flash on a stick on occasion, and wading in the water in your rain boots to get some fantastic shots.
I’ll be teaching my Location People II workshop all week so will be largely out of pocket and get to step out from behind the camera and hopefully give some other folks some insight and encouragement!
October 27, 2009 - 7:41 pmBrian Bastinelli - Bryan-
Awesome images! Love the middle one with the dark sky.....love it!
BTW, THANK YOU for everything you did this past week. The workshop was the best I have ever attended. You went way above and beyond to create an environment where we could learn and create beautiful imagery. Your efforts did not go unnoticed.
You ROCK!
November 5, 2009 - 11:02 amPaula Melton - Bryan, cannot wait to see the other pics! You and Jessi worked your hearts out on a cool brisk day. I am so grateful the rains held off and even though it was cool, at least we were blessed with a dry day for the wedding ceremony! You're the best!
Here’s a few quick sneak peek shots of Kara & Frank. Many, many more to come. I nearly sprained my trigger finger with these two! These guys were a pure delight to photograph and the scenery was just spectacular as well. Kara and Frank were married on Frank’s parents’ incredible property on Douglas Lake. We all worried about the weather all week and in the end it all worked out. Dramatic skies all day but hardly a drop of rain! Thanks for the honor of capturing your day you two. I’m sure Hawaii is a welcome relief from the weather we’ve been enduring here in Knoxville. See you when you get back!
October 12, 2009 - 10:54 pmjoshua - Excellent concepts mixed with positive interactions and communication which shine through the image. Great work Bryan!
-joshua
October 13, 2009 - 9:35 amCarol Tyree - Great wedding pictures!!!!!!!
October 14, 2009 - 9:16 amBrian Bastinelli - Bryan-
Another set of super images.
I love the design of the images as well as the treatments.
Great work!
November 26, 2009 - 12:38 pmPhil Savage - Bryan,
Thanks again for sending a great blog. I always look forward to seeing your wonderful masterpieces. Lisa and I wish you and your beautiful family a Happy Thanksgiving and precious moments together!
Phil and Lisa
Here’s another sneak peek (no retouching applied) from a model shoot with 18 Karat Model and Talent. Say hello to Kara. Kara lit up the camera and was just as easy to work with as could be. These images were shot on the same lake and cabin location as my last post (Blaire). Despite the challenging weather, we had great light and took full advantage. Kara’s full portfolio will appear on the 18 Karat web site soon.
September 15, 2009 - 10:15 amBrian Bastinelli - Hey Bryan-
I really enjoyed both this and the previous post.
Like the images shot in the water, cool idea. Also like the colors of the pinks and greens together.
The black and white with the zebra stripe shirt also works really well.
In the previous post I like the location for these images nice light there.
Looking forward to seeing more!
Brian
Hello everyone. Here are a few sneak peak (no retouching applied) shots from a recent model shoot for 18 Karat Model and Talent. This is Blaire who was a bit under the weather due to a recent bout with the flew but you’d never know it. She hung in there and we had a great time working together. This was a day planned on the lake and focused on swimsuits. We had a little challenge with the weather but definitely made the best of the situation. Blaire’s full portfolio will appear on the 18 Karat web site soon.
Back in late July I once again had the pleasure of photographing another Olympic Gold Medalist. This time it was the delightful ball of energy, Shawn Johnson. Shawn was the 2008 Olympic Balance Beam Gold Medalist, Silver Medalist in the Individual All-around, and the 2007 All-Around World Champion in gymnastics. She also recently won the very popular TV show, Dancing with the Stars. She visited town to appear at John Macready and John Roethlisberger’s Flip Fest Gymnastics Camp which is located in nearby Crossville, TN. It is always fun to visit John and John and see the incredible camp they have put together. It is one of the finest gymnastics camps in the world and people come form all over the country to train and attend camp there in the summer. I spent my day largely covering Shawn working with the campers and then followed her through the 75′ high ropes course with three cameras strapped around my neck. Shawn was a great sport and easy to work with. In person, her personality is exactly as you would imagine seeing her on TV. The highlight for me was watching her attempt back-flips on a damp log suspended 75′ in the air. She summoned up the courage to try this in the first place, which is no small feat I can tell you. However, the best part was that she missed and fell off the log at first. She would not be denied however. She tried again and again, making small adjustments each time until she finally nailed it. It was quite apparent why she has been and will always be so successful.
Here are some more images of Shawn and many other elite gymnasts from years past.
September 15, 2009 - 10:11 amBrian Bastinelli - Hey Bryan-
Very cool environmental portrait series here. Also nice work shooting on the ropes course!
Brian
Robb and Angie should be back from a beautiful honeymoon in Fiji by now so I wanted to get some images up for them to enjoy and share with friends and family. This wedding was a blast despite the August heat in Atlanta. Robb and Angie and all of their friends and family were incredible to work with and a delight to photograph. The weather was spectacular and the venues awesome too! The wedding was held at beautiful Villa Christina and the reception was held at The Pavillion of East Cobb. The accomodations and preparations took place at the beautiful W Hotel Buckhead.
I want to send a huge “Thank You” out to Jessi Ringer for second shooting with me. Jessi’s work is fantastic and I’m always confident that we’ll get great images when I know she’s shooting with me. Also, a big thanks to Allan Mueller making a day trip down to Atlanta to assist, shoot, and wrestle with assembling and manning my new photobooth! Be sure to check out the photobooth imgages at the end of the post!
OK, enough rambling. Let’s see some images. There are a bunch so be sure to click on the thumbnails to dig deeper within each category. You can also see all of the images below (and a few more) here.
August 28, 2009 - 2:45 pmMichael Novoseletsky - Awesome shots! What lens is Allan shooting with in the shot I see of him? Next question...can I be your friend, and can I borrow that lens till I can afford it :)
September 1, 2009 - 1:06 amBryan Allen - It's the 600mm I believe and you can be my friend for sure but if you want to borrow the lens, you'd better snuggle up to Allan. This one is actually his!
September 3, 2009 - 4:02 pmMichael Novoseletsky - Ok disregard the whole friend thing then :)
Feel free to check out more images from the shoot 
by Bryan Allen
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