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Business & Tech

Dorm Room Proprietors of Free Enterprise: MTHS Grad Gets The Right Shot

Cori Ryan, photographer, second in a Patch series featuring college entrepreneurs.

For many college students, working to pay tuition and make the rent is as much a part of the college experience as term papers and finals. This can be especially challenging when the college is in Manhattan, the major is acting and the dorm room is a small apartment on the Upper East Side.

To meet this challenge, Marymount Manhattan College student, Cori Ryan, fused her love of acting with her passion for photography to create a business that she finds exciting and that helps her pay the bills.

"Honestly, I needed the extra money," she answered when asked how Cori Ryan Photography was born. "I was shooting with friends for free, and I figured if people are eager to shoot with me, I might as well turn it into a business endeavor."

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Ryan, a 2007 Montville Township High School graduate, had taken a variety of painting and drawing classes during her four years at MTHS. 

"I have always been fascinated by photography," Ryan said, "but never had the equipment to learn and grow."

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At Marymount, Ryan met someone with a Nikon digital SLR camera. The friend allowed Ryan to borrow the camera to experiment with light and angles. Because of the many painting and drawing classes she had taken in high school, Ryan had been looking to dive back into the visual arts. But, the full-time college student, living and working in New York City, hadn't found the time. Her friend's digital camera allowed her to rediscover her hobby in a new way.

"To me, photography, especially digital…is an art form with fast results," Ryan said. "I can take the photo and make quick edits in Photoshop if I need to. Different from painting and drawing, but the same basic principals apply: color, shape, space, etcetera."

It wasn't long before Ryan purchased her own Nikon, a DSLR and began taking photos of friends and family. As a theater major, Ryan's classes are filled with actors, many of whom were eager to practice in front of the camera while Ryan practiced behind it.

"I experimented with my new camera and learned a lot from trial and error," she said. "My sister Julie is wonderful. I photograph her the most."

Soon Ryan was posting her work on Facebook, where others began responding to it. Before long, many friends were asking her to shoot headshots for use at auditions. That's when another friend encouraged her to go into business.  

Ryan liked the idea, but still needed to learn more about the technical side of the art form. Scraping together $250, she took a class on shooting portraits with photographer Chris String, of Rutgers University, whose work she finds inspiring.

"I have taken exactly one class," she said. "He taught me the basics of how to use my camera, shooting with manual settings, not automatic. After that, my growth became rapid and in a month my business had begun."

Since August 2009, Ryan's business has grown rapidly. She has gone from a shoot every couple of months to two or three each month. Her headshot fee is currently $150, which includes editing of the photos. She shoots mainly in Central Park and edits in her apartment.  

"Some photographers don't do their own editing, but I like to edit my work, enhancing the moment through color and light," she noted.

Ryan's subject matter has also grown. While headshots and portraits remain her specialty, she has expanded to family portraits, weddings and modeling shoots.  She has even branched out to website and promotional work, such as the photos she shot for Stir, an Upper East Side bar.

In addition to running Cori Ryan Photography, Ryan works full-time at Crumbs, Manhattan's trendy cupcake boutique, carries a full course load at Marymount, does homework, maintains her website, CoriRyanPhotography.com and takes time each day to shoot photos for fun.

"I enjoy photography.  I do it for fun. It's a pleasure," she said. "The more I shoot, the more I learn about angles, color, balance in the frame."

Her portfolio continues to grow with both paid work and photos she takes as studies of subjects that inspire her. Currently she is working on a series she calls NY Street Artists and a Kids series.

"I would like to shoot more portraits of children," Ryan said of a field she has recently moved toward, "because they are so fun to work with."

Ryan is energized by her work as a photographer. 

"I never thought I would be taking photos and getting paid for it," she noted. "I enjoy learning and growing as an artist and being proud of the work I present at the end of the day."

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