Reyna grew up in Three Rivers and graduated in 1995. His mom, Elvira was a kindergarten teacher at TRISD for years and most everyone knows his dad, Wally. Reyna said, “I’ve always been interested in art. I consider myself an artist first before anything else. I have fond memories of Mrs. [Stephanie] Harris’ art class and entering contests at the county fair.” Today Reyna lives in San Antonio but his business is based in Three Rivers (101 E. Thornton) and he does freelance photography throughout the Austin, Dallas and San Antonio region.
As Reyna was growing up, his first inspiration for photography came from his Aunt Angie. “She would always photograph my basketball games and I would sometimes borrow her camera and act like I knew what I was doing.” Today Reyna takes inspiration from everything; movies, art, people, but it was the birth of his son that made him want to learn the dimensions and science of photography. “I started reading and learning everything I could to make my photos better. I took classes and started out assisting various photographers and worked at a studio in San Antonio for a short time. The studio was mainly portraiture and schools, so it didn’t really give me the creative freedom I was looking for. I moved on and started doing a lot of event photography for promoters,” Reyna said.
A few years later while living in Austin, Reyna was introduced to fashion photography by a friend. He was so enthralled with the idea of shooting fashion that he invested in a high-end camera and lighting equipment. “Fashion photography allowed me to explore things from a more artistic point of view,” Reyna said.
In 2007, Reyna left Austin and set out for New York to learn from the best. While living in Brooklyn, he answered a few ads and began interning as first assistant for fashion photographer Klynt Hay on a regular basis. Hay has worked for various magazines such as Vogue, Harpers Bazaar and Rolling Stone. “I was also able to intern with celebrity portraiture photographer Michelle Asselin, who has shot the likes of Hillary Clinton, Paul Giamatti and Ian McLellan. My experience in New York was greater than anything I could have imagined. I would not trade those experiences for anything. It’s great to get to see and explore new places and cultures,” Reyna said.
However, Reyna missed his family and returned to Texas where he set out on his own. Moving back to Texas did not mean the end of an exciting life. Reyna recently shot a portfolio for model Chelsea Sheets and she is now on the Bravo television program titled, “The Fashion Show”. He also shot with Jessica Ciarla, a designer from New York living in Austin. “I have done two lookbooks for her and we are planning a third. Lookbooks are like portfolios, except they represent the designers’ entire product line,” Reyna added. Images from the second lookbook were used in the Brides magazine article. More of Reyna’s photography can be viewed at www.ricardoreynaphotography.com or www.liveoakphotography.net.
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