Leslie Ryann Mckellar Email & Phone Number

I delight in traveling, meeting people, and documenting my experiences along the way with authenticity, beauty and humor.I’ve been a professional editorial photographer for 20+ years, starting locally covering restaurants, theatre, politics, and arts for The Charleston City Paper, and eventually growing my career to shoot for clients like The New York Times and Travel+Leisure. No matter what I’m shooting, or whom I’m shooting for, I aim to tell the story with images that are at once honest, professional and organic, while bringing my unique perspective to every assignment. I pride myself on being trustworthy, dependable and easy to work with, paying careful attention to my clients’ needs while bringing my own ideas to the table so that we can, together, create the best possible end product. I’ve worked alongside writers, editors, art directors and designers throughout my career, so I understand (and enjoy!) the specific challenges of shooting for publication.The thing I love most about my job is that I never know where it’s going to take me. It has taken me from the Estonian countryside to Rodeo Drive; from Capitol Hill to a tiny Spanish town where it was impossible to find a salad. It’s taken me to barber shops, breweries and bowling alleys. I’ve been on lots of trains and boats. I’ve spent the night in a fire tower. I’ve found myself in the Deep South and I’ve found myself in deep space (well... close. I was at NASA.) For some assignments, I’ve stayed at fancy resorts; for others, I’ve resorted to peeing in the woods. I’ve met authors. Actors. Comedians. Sommeliers. Farmers. Book binders. Long-distance swimmers. Artists who create insects out of human hair. An entire subculture of competitive lawn-mower racers. I’ve even bumped into Barack Obama (not at the lawn mower thing). Luckily for me, I thrive on variety, I take my easy spirit with me wherever I go, and I really love meeting people. I can’t imagine a career that would suit me more. I’m currently seeking assignments that allow me to continue to tell true, meaningful stories about people and places. My ultimate goal is to tell stories that inspire all of us to connect more deeply with ourselves and one another, and that encourage us to live brave lives that align with the authentic desires of our hearts. I believe in these words from Howard Thurman: “Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”

• Travel And Editorial Photographer

  Leslie Ryann Mckellar

  May 2006 - Present - Charleston, South Carolina Area

  I have been a professional editorial photographer for 20+ years. My work has appeared in/on: Travel + Leisure, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Saveur, American Songwriter, Preservation Magazine, The Washington Post, Garden & Gun, GQ.com, VanityFair.com, CNTraveler.com, AFAR.com, Rollingstone.com, Curbed.com, Wallpaper.com, Architecturaldigest.com, ProPublica.org, and Eater.com.