Cliff Ranson’s Artistic Remakes
by
Bill Hedrick
We’ve all been there… You plan and prepare for a photo session, anxious to try some exciting technique you recently learned at the Texas School of Professional Photography or some other seminar, create stunning poses, and capture a variety of timeless expressions, only to have Mom select the one with the biggest smile, looking right at the camera. All of the others you thought would be certain winners are relegated to a file and forgotten. That was often the case with Cliff Ranson until one day he decided to “take a second look” at some of those rejected images and transform them into artistic masterpieces that translated into new sales, long after the original session.
Cliff grew up in McAllen, a place where Mexico is his closest neighbor, and watched his home town’s population explode from about 35,000 to nearly 150,000 in just a few short decades. A graduate of Texas A&M University, he spent 21 years coaching high school football and baseball while doing photography as a side-line. But, in 2004, he made a bold decision to leave his former occupation and to pursue a full-time career as a professional photographer.
Being 100% committed to this new venture, Cliff leased a commercial location between two boutique stores for women and close to a busy restaurant. The studio was state-of-the-art with a 20×35 camera room and a 14×18 projection room. The facility was equipped with low-voltage halogen lighting in the main areas to accent the earth tones in the granite-textured walls. A combination of flood and spot bulbs illuminated the display portraits and seating areas to give the place a warm glow at night from the outside. For the next 21 years, it was his second home.
While doing photography part-time during his teaching career, Cliff had very little formal training, relying on lighting diagrams in books and a few instructional videos he had collected over the years. “Some of the most helpful videos on Commercial Photography by the late Dean Collins back in the 1980s,” he recalls. “That was probably my first dive into professional instruction.” But before long, Cliff heard about the Texas Professional Photographers Association and the Texas School of Professional Photography and quickly took advantage of the learning opportunities they offered.
“As a member of TPPA, I was also fortunate to study under Don Blair, Frank Cricchio, Monty Zucker, and others,” he adds. “I also watched the print competition and began applying those techniques in real applications.”
It was before the digital age when careful planning and a lot of thinking was required before capturing an image on film. “We had to be technically proficient and have an eye for composition and detail,” he recalls. When everyone went “digital,” Cliff simply expanded on what he had already learned, allowing him to be even more creative with his images.
In no time, he acquired his Master of Photography and Photographic Craftsman degrees from the Professional Photographers of America and became a Certified Professional Photographer. By that time, the Texas Professional Photographers Association had taken notice of Cliff and he came onboard as an officer, serving as the President of TPPA in 2011.
Along the way, Cliff has photographed some of the world’s most famous celebrities including Elton John, Aerosmith, KISS, George Strait, Kenny Chesney, Carrie Underwood, and Carlos Santana. But the heart of his business has always been the people of McAllen, Texas, a town with a high percentage of Hispanic residents. For Cliff, the fact that family is an important part of Hispanic culture would work to his advantage, and he quickly developed a personal connection with his clients.
“Many years ago, I read ‘How to Win Friends and Influence People’ by Dale Carnegie and learned how it was necessary and beneficial to find ways to connect with people in a business setting,” Cliff explains.
This knowledge came in handy in 2023 when a past-president of a local economic council came in for a business headshot. “He was accompanied by his wife and I could tell he was not happy to be there,” says Cliff. “Then I noticed his pocket watch chain, and knew how I could connect with him. I explained that I still had my grandfather’s pocket watch that was made in the 1880s and asked him about the history of his pocket watch. After completing the headshot session, Cliff was permitted to create the image, “Timeless” at the end.
With his knowledge of Photoshop and other creative tools, Cliff also discovered a way to create artistic masterpieces from previous images, some of which were passed up by the clients. Some of them just needed a new setting or theme.
“Maiden of Madrid” was created from a quinceañera image that was not selected for the display at her event. Some time later, Cliff traveled to Ireland where he visited Blarney Castle and noticed a wall with a window area at the right third of the scene. He immediately pictured an image in his mind of that same young lady appearing gracefully within the arched stone of this ancient ruin.
The rough, timeworn texture of the stone would contrast with the delicate elegance of her layered dress. For an added touch, Cliff added the candle sconces to give a source of the warm edge light he used in the studio. “I selected the subject’s image that appeared contemplative, as if she was stepping out of another era,” he explains. “I wanted this to show that she was bridging the line between fantasy and reality.”
With the ability to place subjects in a new environment with perfect realism, Cliff began cataloging images he had taken while traveling to other countries. “The concept started when we traveled, mostly on cruises with Don Dickson and Texas School people. I knew it wasn’t possible to have so many physical backgrounds in the studio, but I could have my own digital catalog available and, at the same time, spark creative endeavors and personal projects.” Over the years, Cliff has collected a variety of scenes from travels to Ireland, Italy, Greece, Croatia, Sweden, and other locations.
The image “Whiskey Street” was originally photographed on a white background and was to be used in a New Orleans scene. “I was not pulling it off, so I let it go until I found a scene I had photographed at the Gaylord Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee, while attending Imaging USA. “I wanted the image to convey something like jazz that is ‘barrel-aged,’ much like a craftsman practicing among other craftsmens’ work. His casual posture and backward cap say ‘contemporary’ but the arched brick, industrial lamps, and worn floor speak of old-world workmanship. Both the scene and the oiled canvas cap made by a custom hatter in Nashville brought it all together. The musician, after seeing the image for the first time, said even the chalky wall mark hints at a set list he might have scribbled on the floor of a stage.”
Another excellent example of background replacement is the image titled “Enchanted Door” on the title page. Cliff photographed this little girl on green screen for a spring promotion for the studio. “Being the daughter of a local lawyer, I needed to change her likeness and identity, but I also changed the color of her dress from blue to a new tone that better matched the scene,” he relates.
One of the most enjoyable jobs that Cliff Ranson does is photographing celebrities and musicians on stage and in concert. During a performance by Aerosmith at the nearby Hidalgo Arena, he was photographing Steven Tyler and captured an image that brought to mind a poem he remembered called “The Charge of the Light Brigade” about a military blunder by Alfred Lord Tennyson. “Needing a title for this image, I thought about what the front man looks like leading a charge on the stage of a rock show, and the ‘Charge of the Rock Brigade’ was born.”
“First Communion” is one of Cliff’s images that has brought out the most emotions from a child’s mother. However, the original image was not chosen as part of the portfolio. Instead, it was a pose suggested by Cliff at the end of the session. Afterward, he took the subject out of the original background and placed her into an entirely new scene. The beautiful image is on display in the window of his studio.
Cliff Ranson knows better than anyone else that he is somewhat of an “endangered species” in today’s world where most photographers work from home. After all, he learned a lot about photography before the digital age and made his career change at the beginning of it. He learned lighting techniques, posing, and all of the other fine points associated with producing professional images at the time.
“I only wish that new photographers today could have had the privilege of learning from some of the finest photographers in the nation like I did early in my career,” says Cliff. “Those photographers shared information and techniques that are seldom even talked about today.
One thing in particular that Cliff believes has fallen by the wayside is the “12 Elements of a Competition Image” along with an emphasis on the art of posing and the ability to “find the light” in an environmental setting. “Perhaps I am geographically isolated from a different opinion that exists outside my area, but that is what I observe,” he explains.
It is not surprising that Cliff Ranson puts a lot of emphasis on continuing education. “With the influx of new photographers who were never as fortunate as myself to learn from the Masters, the general business model of the profession has changed considerably, and I find myself constantly having to re-educate those who call my studio as to what traditional studio photography is all about.”
Reflecting on his career, Cliff recalls how some advised him in the beginning to specialize in one type of photography or another or to find what others were doing and to do something different than the rest. “I’m currently doing a variety of things in addition to my studio and location work,” he explains. “I’ve spent over two decades photographing more than 1,000 concerts and doing some commercial photography as well as real estate and live sports… all of which keeps things interesting.”
The road that Cliff Ranson has traveled has been one of challenges and rewards, but it has been exciting as well. Each challenge is met by sure determination to succeed and to become the very best photographer that his clients seek out and deserve. To those who may think the knowledge and skills he has gained over the years are not particularly applicable in today’s marketplace, perhaps they need to take a second look at someone who has defied the odds and continues to produce stunning images and top-notch service to his customers.
