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Paul Ernest has always had a love of photography, both as an art form and for its ability to forever capture a moment in time. He believes the passion he has is in his blood. “My family played a huge role in my development as an artist. My mother worked in graphic design, my grandfather in painting and woodcarving, and my great grandmother as a painter and literary artist,” he says.

Majoring in advertising at University of North Texas with a specialty in brand development, Paul’s love of imagery led him to also take a minor in photography and cinema. “It was the creativity of photography that I really enjoyed. As I started to see my images improve, I found myself entering and winning photography competitions, including the Creative Summit in San Marcos, TX,” Paul says.

After graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in communication design, Paul found employment as art director at David Carter Design Associates. It was here that he met his future mentor, David Edmonson. “David is a wonderful commercial photographer and also a close friend. I was doing some of my most creative work at the time, but still photographing for myself.”

After a few years, Paul went on to work at a more advertising-driven studio for a short while, but soon decided to open his own agency. David and Paul remained friends and continued to work together on commercial shoots. After seeing Paul’s fine art photography, David encouraged Paul to try photographing other things. Or, as Paul explains, “He told me I should ‘shoot for more than just fun.’ ”

The turning point came when professional photographer Walter Van Dusen was visiting Dallas. In a private conversation David told Walter about Paul’s images. The two met up with Paul “I kept [my images] on my iPhone, which provided an easy way to show my work,” Paul says. After seeing the images Walter then asked Paul what awards he had received. “I told him none. He was surprised and gave me a verbal kick in the pants to start entering. He said if I didn’t, I would have to answer to him. Walter became a good friend and I have to say he is one person I credit with a major tipping point in my career.”

In the next few years Paul also began working alongside David and Luke Edmonson (David’s son), photographing high-end weddings as a second shooter. He found the learning curve both fast and extremely demanding. “Coming from advertising, I was accustomed to the fast pace and the need to learn quickly. Learning all this, anticipating the right moment when to shoot was really demanding, but absolutely crucial.” Paul’s portfolio grew quickly with a number of beautiful images both from his wedding shooting and his personal projects. “I put together some shoots with models to emphasize the fine art side of my portraits. This really helped me showcase my creative side, something I felt was important to differentiate myself from the large number of photographers working in Dallas.”

For Paul, fine art photography is a kind of therapy. “It gives me a sort of spiritual opportunity to be with my grandfather.” He credits his grandfather as the most influential person in developing his artistic side. Additionally, Paul also credits him with introducing him to artists that have helped shape his style including Norman Rockwell, Homer, Millet, Vermeer and his favorite, Andrew Wyeth. “Wyeth was often called a painter of people. His paintings have what I call a surreal ambiance in showing people in their own surroundings.” Paul points out that Wyeth is the one painter who has helped him further his style, adding what he calls “a fusion of real life playing out in a created setting. I call this ‘mise-en-scène Realism.’ Mise-en-scène is a French expression meaning placing on stage, essentially telling a story but doing it by arranging people and props to emphasize the subject.”

It has only been three years since Paul changed careers and became a full-time photographer. In this short time his business has grown quickly. Paul explains one major reason as to why his business was able to grow in such a bad economy. “I learned from other professionals that it’s not just about doing your best every time you shoot. As Andy Marcus put it, ‘Focus on the relationship. Don’t rely on your work alone.’ ” Today half his business revenue is derived from wedding photography. The other half is split evenly between fine art portraiture, seniors and commercial work. His mise-en-scène realism style is seeing more and more requests from couples looking for a unique engagement session and a growing number of brides looking for a different but artful portrait.

To read the rest of this article visit WPPI Online at: www.wppionline.com/newsletter/April2011/Member-of-the-Month-Paul-Ernest.aspx/.

Peter Kotsinadelis is a writer/photographer living in Pleasanton, CA. Email: [email protected].