The Author

The Reason Why (self portrait)

An image with one of my grandfather’s portrait cameras from the 40’s.

Lori Patrick . Photographer . Writer . Educator

I grew up in a career Air Force family. Brat. Born in Hawaii, we moved every 2 to 3 years all through my childhood until reaching the age of 14 when Dad retired and we settled in Pennsylvania. This lifestyle made me accustomed to people of all walks of life and I always found community even if only for a short period of time. I was drawn toward photography as a young girl and influenced by portraits of my Mom that were taken by my grandfather. I gazed in wonder at the unique qualities of each one. In the early 80’s, I took a photography course and bought my first 35mm camera. I was confident that i would be a working photographer within a few years of practice. However, as fate would have it, I soon had to give up this vision at age 21 when I had my daughter. I now needed to provide for a family and beginning a career in photography was out of the question. So I took a job at a local florist. Years later, I got some sales experience in interior decorating. Eventually, I moved to another city and opened Wildflowers Studio, a flower shop that I owned for 16 years. However, a lower back injury forced me to retire from floral work.

A few years prior to this my daughter had asked me to photograph before and after shots of her clients at a salon. I reluctantly agreed. I had a very busy career and photography was rapidly changing to digital. I was concerned about having to relearn everything. Soon after, I bought my first digital SLR, a Nikon D70, and started the journey of realizing the dream I thought I had lost. Ironically, I was 21 years old when I put the camera away for her and she was 21 when I picked it back up again (this is why I use “21” on some of my media, like Expressions21). From there I began working as a photographer in the arts section of a newspaper which led me to my love of performance work. In the years that followed, I continued to study studio work in pursuit of my desire to be a portrait artist.

Educating comes easily to me because I am passionate about helping others. The precipice of Photo Communiqué is in the work I do building and maintaining photography groups on Facebook. Since 2011, there have been more than 55,000 members who have come to us for support, answers, research and more. It became apparent to me as I watched the activity in these groups what photographers really wanted. This inspired me to jump into the editorial side of the field. I am now wildly excited about this chapter in my life as I continue to explore my own world of photography.

I dived into the education sector in 2014 with a PhotoWalk series in NYC. I have taught with several platforms through the years including WPPI in Las Vegas, PhotoPlus PPE in NYC, PPA Chapters, B&H Photo Event Space and B&H Photo Depth of Field Conferences.

Under the Photo Communiqué there are two divisions.
I created a in person hands-on education company in Paterson NJ at The Art Factory in 2022 that features my brand called PortraitWalks. The company name is PORTRAIT SYMPOSIUM … avant-garde photographer education. Another company I have created is PHOTOCOTERIES … are we there yet? This is where I bring a small intimate group of photographers with me on cultural tours to destinations such as CUBA, MOROCCO, IRELAND, FRANCE, NYC, SPAIN and places in the US.

Thank you for being a Photo Communiqué subscriber.

“live in your art to create a realization only you may understand, while others imagine your intention” LP

https://portraitsymposium.com

https://portraitofbeauty.com

https://www.photocoteries.com

https://www.behance.net/loripatrick