Meet Aeron Reinhardt | Photographer & Digital Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Aeron Reinhardt and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Aeron, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
Drawing, painting, building things with clay, and sewing were all hobbies I enjoyed as a kid. I got my first part-time job when I was 14 years old, so by the time I graduated from high school I had gotten a chance to try out several different jobs, and get an idea of what I liked and disliked about each out them. Working in a call center was alright. I knew I didn’t want to be in a cubicle with a headset on all day for the rest of my life, but it was great money for a teenager. Selling clothing at some of my favorite stores was fun and the discounts on clothes were fantastic, but these jobs didn’t pay much. I worked at a fast food restaurant with some friends one summer. It was fun working with friends, but not something I wanted to do forever. I volunteered at an animal shelter because I love animals, and thought I might want to become a veterinarian. I quickly learned that I didn’t have the stomach to work in a medical field. I loved working at the ski resort in the winter! It was so much fun, and I got a free season pass to go snowboarding. I got a raise every year when minimum wage went up. I landed a full time administrative/accounting job after high school. The pay and benefits were great, I could work for this company long term. I had everything I wanted, my own apartment and my own car. Paid vacation time to travel. I was successful. But after about a year, I got bored. What’s next? It took a lot of years, and lots of trials and failures before I realized that I have always been an artist. No matter what career I choose, I have a creative mind. I need an outlet for my creativity. I eventually found a job working for a large photography company. This was only the beginning. There was so much to learn in photography! Things were always changing. I got to go to so many new places and meet a ton of new people. I’ve been working in photography for 12 years and have yet to get bored! Working as a creative has been very fulfilling. Whether I am painting with a brush and acrylics, or painting with light and a camera, my inner artist is happy. It is a great privledge to be able to work in a creative field like photography.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
As an artist, it’s easy to get stuck in a rut. Sometimes things can seem repetitive, and we fall into the routine. Then we don’t feel so creative anymore. Once in a while we need to step back and look for some new inspiration. Try a new technique, do a creative project just for fun. Feel inspired again. For example, as a wedding photographer, I know how to photograph a dance floor. Recently I’ve been playing with some colored lights, and bringing them to the dance floor. I make sure that I get the “must-have” shots that I need, and then I’ll start changing things up a bit. I take a photojounalistic approach to dance floor photos, and capture the action as it happens. Changing my lighting setup doesn’t stop the music or interupt the dance floor, but it does create some amazing dance photos! That’s just what I’m working on right now. There have been times when I focused on finding some new poses for the wedding couple. Time will tell where my journey takes me next.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If friends came to visit, I would have to show them the mountains! We would take route 70 west, and stop at Beau Jo’s for pizza! Their Mountain Pies are loaded with toppings and so delicious! In the summer, we would have to get off the highway in Georgetown, and head up Guanella Pass to go camping. There’s no cell phone service or internet, but you can see so many stars at night! The quiet murmur of the stream is so peaceful and calm. In the winter we would head up to Winter Park to go snowboarding! We’d start our day on the slopes early, and close it out with margueritas at Lime at the base of the mountain. Breckenridge Brewery makes some of my favorite beers, so a night of cold beer and karaoke is definitely in order. There are a ton of great karaoke shows in the Denver area. Some of my favorites are The Kat’s Meow at the Outpost in Westminster, Boogie Man at Elevate, Scruffy Murphy’s downtown, Michael D at Odde’s Music Grille, Cleopatra’s in Lakewood, or the Broadway Shot Spot in Englewood.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
So many people have helped me along my journey! I don’t know if I can choose just one! One of the first studios I worked at was Prestige Portraits. I worked with another photographer named Daryl. He is an amazing photographer, and I learned a lot from him. He would review my photos, and ask me “Why?”. “Why did you use this lighting?”, “Why did you crop this photo this way?”. He made me think, and evaluate my own work. How could I have made this photo better? The studio we worked at specialized in high school seniors portraits, and closed for several weeks every winter. I used this time to learn. Watching seminars and videos to learn new techniques so I would be ready when the studio re-opened in early spring. I will never forget the one year I came back from winter break, and starting trying out the new lighting techniques I had learned over break. Daryl was reviewing my photos from the day, and asked me, “How did you do that?”. This was a first! And it was a good feeling. I was growing as a photographer, and Daryl helped me to learn more and continue to grow as an artist.

Joining Professional Photographers of America has been life changing! So many wonderful people have encouraged me and supported me in my journey as a photographer. People like Kristy Steeves and Brent Watkins made me feel welcome from the very beginning.

I have to give a huge shoutout to Bruce Johnson of Riverfront Photography! He introduced me to wedding photography, and taught me how to photograph weddings. Before I met Bruce, I had never photographed a wedding, and didn’t really know if weddings were for me. After my first wedding with Bruce, I knew I wanted to be a wedding photographer. We worked hard all day, and had so much fun! I now specialize in wedding photography and have photographed over 500 weddings.

Website: www.aeronreinhardtphoto.com

Instagram: instagram.com/aeronreinhardtweddings

Facebook: facebook.com/aeronreinhardtphoto