Hayden photographer gets L.A. experience
A Hayden woman recently spent a week in the presence of such famous people as Hilary Swank and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. She was star-stuck not by them, but by the man photographing them.
Deidre Lackey started Deidre Ruth Photography LLC two years ago, and has stayed busy shooting children, weddings and other subjects. One of her projects included the family of Brian Bowen Smith, a Los Angeles photographer who has shot dozens of stars for magazine covers, advertisements and other projects.
Smith’s wife Shea Bowen-Smith is from Gardendale. (The photographer changed his middle name to Bowen when the two got married.)
“I take pictures of his family here,” said Lackey. “He invited me to come out and learn, to hang out on some shoots.”
It took a year for Smith and Lackey to coordinate a time to work together. Lackey says it was worth the wait.
“Mainly I was there helping as an apprentice,” Lackey said. She didn’t do any shooting; rather she helped set up lights and she soaked in everything she could learn from the photographer.
“He’s so super cool down to earth, and he was so nice to have me out there,” Lackey said. “He was kind of the star for me.”
Lackey assisted on three projects: An outdoor shoot of Brook Burke, host of “Dancing with the Stars,” at a home in Malibu for a magazine to publish in January; a small studio shoot of Hilary Swank for a magazine to publish in December; and a large, four-set shoot for the movie, “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island,” that included Dwayne Johnson, Vanessa Hudgens (who was “High School Musical”), Josh Hucherson (in “Journey to the Center of the Earth”) and others.
Lackey was pleased to get three widely different project experiences.
“She happened to come to L.A. during the perfect week,” said Smith. “There were lots of great shoots, a lot going on. … She did very well and was useful. She is a quick study and a great photographer.”
Lackey has been interested in photography since she was a child, and got serious about it when her parents bought her a “real camera” — a single lens reflex camera — when she was in college.
She has been building upon her skills ever since, and said her time in Los Angeles was a huge boost in more ways than one.
“I’ve always approached my photography business wanting to give my best and to give people what they want,” said Lackey. “That’s what Brian does. He puts full passion and energy into it. … It really just solidified that for me.”
Lackey said she was impressed with the relationship that Smith builds his clients; she said Swank’s publicist told Smith that the actress wanted him to work with her on future shoots.
“The thing I learned, there are lots of people with lots of talent … but the thing about Brian is the rapport he builds with people. … he makes them feel relaxed.”
Lackey said she gained confidence when Smith looked at her photographer and pointed out what he liked about it.
“It really just kind of reignited my passion,” she said.
Lackey said the experience will not change the way she shoots pictures, but she does want to incorporate some of her new knowledge about lighting into her own photography.
“It was a whirlwind. There were long days, but it was absolutely incredible and I would do it again in a heartbeat,” she said.
Lackey is married to Brandon Lackey and is the mother of two young children. Visit her website at deidreruthphotography.com.
See Smith’s work at bowensmith.com.