Quick-Fire Questions: Rich Marquis Portraits

The year 2015 was a memorable year in photography. Time released its annual top picks that never fail to amaze, BoredPanda gave us a rundown of Sony’s World Photography Awards, and photographer Tim Mantoani left us, once again, in awe of his “Behind Photographs” collection, which featured some of the world’s most famous photographers in 20 x 24 Polaroid pictures, holding their most iconic shots.

These are big moments captured in camera, but there were also small moments that are in no way less important. They are even life-changing for those just starting to dip their toes behind the lens.

In 2015, photographer Rich Marquis decided to take his oldest son’s senior portraits. He has not stopped since.

Passion for Portraits

Rich grew up around art and photography. His dad, a hobbyist photographer, had a dark room and would teach the young Rich how to develop film. His mom, on the other hand, holds a degree in fine arts and is the person to whom he credits his artistic talents.

Over the past 20+ years, Rich kept on his artistic pursuits while working a full-time job in manufacturing. He has successfully maintained a side business as a fine art portrait artist using pencils as his medium of choice.

Quick-Fire Questions

How did you start in the business?

“It all started with my art. As I became more known with my portraits, word spread, and I would constantly be asked to draw custom portraits. Over the years I did several art shows to promote my work. “

In the last few years, Rich has decided to turn his focus in photography specializing in senior, family, and wedding subjects.

“When our oldest son was a senior in 2015, I decided to do his senior photos. I thought they turned out pretty decent but didn’t do much after that until our other son became a senior 2 years later.

I did his senior pics as well and I was happy with the way they turned out, so I decided to focus on photography a little more. My oldest sister, who is also a photographer, saw my work and she asked if I wanted to help her shoot a wedding.

I decided to upgrade my camera to a more professional level. From that point on, my photography picked up momentum and it has been growing ever since.”

What do you enjoy most about photography?

“I enjoy getting creative with my photography and making people happy with the results. I love working with people, but I also love shooting weddings. I really enjoy capturing those special moments.”

Can you share with us your favorite subjects to capture and why? 

“[High school] seniors are fun [to photograph] because I like to incorporate their interests and capture their personalities. With weddings, I just love capturing the love between two people as well as all of the special moments.”

What is the most memorable shoot you have done so far?

“The most memorable shoot I think has to be a senior shoot I did in the fall of 2019. The girl I did the shoot for had an awesome style. She was really into music and fashion. I thought a really cool place to do her shoot was in a record store. We had a lot of fun getting creative.”

Wow! You also do pencil portraits. Tell us a little about it. 

“I really enjoy drawing. They just take a long time. I don’t really have any formal art training, just a couple art classes in high school and a basic class in college.

I drew a lot growing up and have always wanted to be a comic book artist. Eventually, I was asked to draw a portrait from a photo, and that’s where it all began. Word spread I could draw, and I started doing more and more commissions.”

How’s your photography business doing so far? Any achievements or challenges you want to share with us? 

“I feel since I started a few years ago, it has really taken off. I’m becoming more and more known for photography and bookings have been really good.

My sister and I work together shooting weddings now. We have done a couple of wedding shows to promote our business and we have several bookings so far. I am hoping to be a well known wedding photographer in the area someday.”

Promoting one’s craft is important to a rising professional photographer like Rich. His marketing materials needed to stand out and serve their purpose well in terms of complementing all his other efforts to further his reach.

Needless to say, we are very grateful that he chose NextDayFlyers to print his business card magnets.

Looking for fast and affordable business card magnet printing?
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Thank you for printing your business card magnets with us. How was your experience with NextDayFlyers?

“You’re welcome! The experience was great. I loved the communication in making sure the cards were right and letting me know if something was off. Your team did a great job! Thank you!”

I loved the communication in making sure the cards were right and letting me know if something was off. Your team did a great job! - Rich Marquis Click To Tweet

How do the business cards help you promote your art and photography services?

“We got a lot of compliments on them. Especially since we went with the magnet business cards. People thought it was a great idea and they could stick us on their fridge.”

If you want to learn more about Rich’s art and photography, visit www.richmarquisportraits.com or follow him on Facebook and Instagram.