Photo Elan, Seattle

Brian Hartman brings an artistic touch and approach to his on-location photography. Employing a photojournalistic style and dramatic lighting, he captures solo subjects and groups during posed and candid moments, earning critical acclaim from the Artistic Guild of the Wedding Photojournalist Association and The Knot and placing images in the pages of Elle and Seattle Bride magazines.

Not content to simply point and shoot, Hartmans lights compositions using chiaroscuro or high-exposure natural lighting and often accentuates subjects with extreme angles, forced perspective, or unique natural surroundings. He shoots in vibrant color or black and white, and can edit photos to enhance colors or, by request, replace each subject’s face with Winston Churchill’s. Though Hartman uses professional tools, he's glad to help students break into photography via ultra-accessible devices such as the iPhone—following in the footsteps, he notes, of Annie Leibovitz, who endorsed the iPhone’s camera on NBC Nightly News in 2011. When not conducting on-location sessions, Brian also leads large-scale workshops in which he passes on his knowledge through graphic slideshows and hands-on training.