Richard Mellinger Photography

Los Angeles based fashion, commercial, beauty, and headshot photographer.

Hi, I’m Richard. Thanks for visiting. Indiana is my home state, but I grew up in Louisiana and graduated from LSU with an MA in Art History. For the past 13 years I lived and worked in Atlanta, GA, but I now live in Los Angeles, CA and love it.

I am a fashion photographer in Los Angeles, and I also shoot actor and model headshots for model and talent agencies. I also shoot for some magazines and commercial clients (please see my client list below).

A Brief Bio:
Greek Art was my thing, especially red and back-figure vase painting, but I enjoy most periods and styles of art. I was selected to study for part of a summer at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens. What a blast that was. I spent many weeks traveling Greece going to one famous site after another.

Photography became an artistic outlet after I decided I couldn’t afford jewelry and metalsmithing equipment. I immediately fell in love with my first camera, a Pentax K1000, and I never looked back. It didn’t take long before I bought a Nikon camera, some equipment and my own darkroom space. Most of those early days were spent shooting, printing, and learning my craft. And as luck and a lot of perseverance would have it, I was accepted to art shows, gained clients, and eventually quit my day job as Registrar at the LSU Museum of Art. That was over 12 years ago. The old K1000 and Nikon film cameras have been replaced by Nikon digitals and my darkroom is now a computer, but I still love taking pictures. I do miss the darkroom smells and seeing prints slowly develop before my eyes. But progress happens . . .

My first clients were local Baton Rouge, LA, businesses, such as Kleinpeter Farms Dairy and the Louisiana Art & Science Center. Good stuff but not steady. Things really changed when I got a job as the house photographer for Stage 2000, a local model & talent agency in Baton Rouge. I started shooting head shots and model tests and I discovered fashion, commercial, and beauty photography. My life course was changed and, again, I never looked back. These days I still shoot fashion, editorials, lifestyle and head shots, but I’m also rediscovering the art side of my work, exploring video, and oddly enough cell phone cameras. It feels good to get back to my roots. My current projects are inspired by Daguerreotypes, how they looked when new and how many have aged and antiqued over the years.

I’ve been fortunate to live an artist’s life. Though that stuff about being a starving artist is junk, being broke is no fun (ha ha). Money sure makes living easier. In college I travelled to Greece, France, and England. After graduation I’ve travelled and worked in many US states. Atlanta, GA was my home base for a good while. There I built my client list to include model & talent agencies such as Elite, Ford, Click, Arlene Wilson, etc., and I experienced much of what life has to offer and met many very wonderful souls. I can’t complain.

If you have any questions or comments on my work, just shout. I’m very laid back and not sensitive about my work. Hope to hear from you.

Clients:

Model and Talent Agencies: Elite, Ford, Arlene Wilson, Click, Atlanta Model & Talent, Talent Network, Houghton Talent, People Store, J. Pervis Model & Talent, etc.

Commercial clients: Keller Williams Realty, Chuck D’s Slamjamz record label, Andrew’s Atlanta, Cha Cha Bella, LSU Museum of Art, Louisiana Arts & Science Center, Kleinpeter Farms Dairy, Cock Daddy Club.

Celebrity clients: Chuck D from Public Enemy, Amanda Bearse from Married with Children, producer, writers, and directors Stephen J. Cannell, and Russell Simmons.

Magazines: Pregnancy and Newborn Magazine, The Wichita Register, BAMF Magazine, Jezabel and Woman’s Focus Magazine.

Musicians: Brad Cox Band, Girlz Girlz Girlz, Most Hi Fi

Dance Studios: Gotta Dance (Atlanta).