january 2007 - Professional Photographer Magazine

magazines and book covers. Staying abreast
of trends in design and photography, Ridout
continually strove to improve his own
photographic work. He even taught himself
Adobe Photoshop during a stint as a service
manager at a car dealership.
“We were the first Ford dealership in
Canada to have Photoshop installed on the
drive-through computers,” he laughs. “I felt
lucky to have a full-time job that let me learn
Photoshop on the side.”
Throughout his varied career, Ridout stays
focused on one goal, to push his limits. “I characterize
my style as disciplined,” says Ridout.
He never gets bored shooting weddings. “To
get to the top of your game, you need to take
risks and experiment, try to improve on every
shoot. I like to inject humor, passion and
discipline into each assignment.”
Three years ago, Ridout let go all other
pursuits to pick up the camera full time. “I
should have done it 10 years ago,” he says.
His wedding business was booming, and
he’d reached a comfortable workload that
kept him busy—but not so busy as to disrupt
his leisure time. And after years of working
with different camera formats and learning
studio tricks, Ridout switched to the Canon
EOS 5D digital SLR and stuck his
Hassleblad on a shelf. “It looks pretty good
up there,” he laughs.
These days Ridout also finds time to do
family portraits and a bit of commercial
work. With the exception of commercial
assignments, Ridout prefers to shoot
outdoors in his beautiful countryside.
“I like the advantages of different lighting
conditions, natural backdrops, and the
freedom to move around,” he says. “I like to
do what I call environmental portraits of
families, and I let the kids just be kids.”
He takes the same approach to weddings,
January 2007 • Professional Photographer • 103