A day in the studio with Sue Bryce.

Sue Bryce is one of the most celebrated portrait photographers, and for a long time, she has been my mentor. Her Studio Tours series visited the studios of photographers she had taught. When she asked to film mine in Dallas, I said yes before she finished the sentence.

The foundation of my work began with her. While my physical space has since evolved into the light-filled loft it is today, the uncompromising standards for styling, hand-painted canvases, and heirloom portraiture that we discussed that day remain the core of my brand. Showing her my process in person was a beautiful full-circle moment. We first met at a CreativeLive event years earlier, and that meeting is where the vision for my studio truly started.

The best part of the day was a sitting with my client, Alison, with Sue working beside me. She threw hair, adjusted posing, and played assistant and mentor at once. For Alison, the experience of being guided and styled with such precision resulted in a quiet, undeniable confidence in front of the lens. The frames from that afternoon are still some of my absolute favorites.

What the video does not show is what she did for my team. She showed my hair and makeup artists how to build looks that will hold up in forty years, and how much movement a fan should put into hair, and no more. That standard is the only one that matters for a portrait meant to outlast the day it was made. We all came out of it better at our jobs, and that is what a client feels in the room, whether or not they can name it.

If you are a photographer, learn from her; there is no better education in this craft. But if you are here because you are considering a legacy portrait of your own, know that the experience we crafted that afternoon—from the meticulous styling to the guided direction—is exactly what you will step into when you book a commission today.