Through Their Lens: The Photographers Who Shaped My Vision
🎭 Jason Lanier: The Art of Creative Portraits
Jason Lanier’s portraits are anything but traditional. He blends bold lighting, cinematic scenes, and raw emotion to turn portraits into full-blown stories.
✨ What I learned from Jason: Portraits aren’t just about showing a face — they’re about showing soul. His fearless approach pushed me to experiment with lighting setups and to think outside of the studio. I realized that creative portraiture has no rules, and that gave me freedom in my own work.
“A portrait is not made in the camera but on either side of it.” – Edward Steichen
Jason reminded me that the true magic of a portrait lies in the connection between photographer and subject.
🦁 David Yarrow: The Power of Black & White Wildlife Photography
David Yarrow is a master of timeless black-and-white imagery. His wildlife shots feel more like paintings than photographs — powerful, emotional, and unforgettable.
✨ What I learned from David: Color is powerful, but removing it reveals raw truth. His work taught me how stripping away distractions allows the emotion, composition, and story to shine through. Whether I’m shooting a landscape or candid street scene, I often ask myself: would this photo be stronger in black and white?
David’s discipline also pushed me to think bigger — to pursue shots that aren’t just beautiful, but iconic.
🌄 Peter McKinnon: Master of Color Theory & Landscapes
Peter McKinnon is one of the most recognizable names in photography today, and for good reason. His eye for color and dramatic landscapes creates visuals that feel both cinematic and deeply personal.
✨ What I learned from Peter: Color tells a story on its own. Through his tutorials and work, I’ve embraced the use of warm vs. cool tones, complementary colors, and moody grading to amplify emotion.
For example:
Warm tones can make a sunset feel nostalgic and comforting.
Cool tones can make a foggy morning feel mysterious and moody.
His blend of storytelling and technical mastery has directly shaped the way I approach both editing and framing my shots.
🏡 Mike Burke: Elevating Real Estate Photography
Mike Burke’s specialty in real estate photography has shown me that even the most practical genres of photography can be elevated into art. His compositions highlight not just space, but the feeling of living within that space.
✨ What I learned from Mike: Real estate photography is about more than just showing rooms — it’s about capturing flow, light, and atmosphere. Watching his work helped me refine how I approach interiors and architecture, ensuring every angle feels intentional and inviting.
From Mike, I learned that every photo — even those with commercial intent — should leave viewers imagining themselves inside the story.
🌟 How These Influences Shaped My Vision
Each of these photographers brought something different to my journey:
Jason Lanier taught me creativity in portraiture.
David Yarrow taught me the power of stripping back to raw truth.
Peter McKinnon taught me how color transforms emotion.
Mike Burke taught me how to balance art with function in real estate photography.
Together, they’ve shaped me into the photographer I am today: one who values both storytelling and technical excellence.
⚡ My Workflow & Motto: Ideas… Create… Reality.
This simple motto guides everything I do as a photographer.
Ideas – Where do you draw inspiration? From people, places, sounds, emotions, or fleeting moments? Every photo begins with a spark.
Create – How will you construct your photograph? This is the technical and artistic process: choosing your lens, adjusting your lighting, framing your subject, and using the tools needed to make your vision come alive.
Reality – The final result. The finished photograph that holds emotion, tells a story, and has the power to connect deeply with others.
This workflow keeps me grounded. It reminds me that photography isn’t just about pressing the shutter — it’s about crafting a vision into existence.
✨ Final Thought
Every great photographer begins as a student of others. We all pull pieces of inspiration—whether from photographers we admire, films we watch, songs that move us, or everyday life around us. But true artistry happens when you take those influences and transform them into something uniquely yours.
The secret is to study, absorb, and then adapt. Instead of imitating the exact style of someone else, ask yourself:
Why does this image move me?
What story is it telling that I want to tell in my own way?
How can I take the technique but bend it to fit my vision?
That’s where your journey becomes a personal storybook told through images. Photography is not just about recreating; it’s about reimagining. Every shot you take is a combination of your influences and your individuality.
Remember my motto:
“Ideas… Create… Reality.” – Michael DeMarco
Ideas → draw inspiration from everywhere—music, art, nature, conversations, even silence.
Create → use your tools, your environment, and your creative vision to construct a shot that’s authentic to you.
Reality → let the final image tell your story, not just the one that inspired you.
In the end, your photography becomes a mirror—not of others, but of yourself. Your path will never look exactly like Jason Lanier’s, David Yarrow’s, Peter McKinnon’s, or Mike Burke’s. And that’s the beauty of it—it’s yours.
