Mike Ritter Photo

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Mike Ritter Photo

Celebrating the Boston community w/ caring, joyful portraits. Advocate for HVAC in all BPS schools. My name is Mike Ritter, and I'd like to tell your story.

I am a Boston-based freelance photographer specializing in event, portrait, and architectural work for area schools, non-profits, businesses, law firms, publications, and architects. I strive to capture candid and natural moments.

09/11/2026

Photographers love gaffers tape. Every single one of us. It's tough but tearable. It holds things together, shows subjects where to stand, and lots of other things like get you home.

I was driving home early from New Jersey on a June Saturday and had to get back to Boston for my daughter's softball championship. I heard a few intermittent scraping noises and then just one long scraping noise. Upon pulling over, I saw the cover shield had been knocked loose and was now pinned under the car while dragging on the road.

I sat there wondering what to do. Tear it off and drive with an exposed under engine maybe leading to more damage. Just drive it. But, then I remembered I was coming off a job and had gaffer's tape in my kit. I taped what was left of the shield to the front bumper and crossed my fingers.

Worked like a charm and got me home in time to pitch in the championship where my daughter's team won. It took them a minute to turn their first double play of the season, but that's another story.

09/02/2026

I made portraits for the scholars at The Upward Project which helps close wealth / opportunity gaps for Boston area students by preparing them for college and supporting them in college. It's a pleasure getting the chance to make what is often their first professional headshot for their LinkedIn page.

This year, I wanted to do a bit more and deliver three options:

1). High key (brighter, soft shadows) on white vertically
2). Low key (more dramatic shadows / lighting) colorful horizontally
3). Converting #2 to black and white, which I learned earlier this year worked better than I expected

You can do more when you think ahead which starts with thinking through the lighting set ups.

#1 used the 8' octabox as backdrop making a nice white background and soft spill over the shoulders and on the sides of a face. A 3' boomed octabox provided the key light with a bounce underneath to soften shadows. This was strobe lighting.

#2 used four Nanlite PavoTube II 15C continuous lights. Three lights were behind the scholar left, right, and overhead set to magenta creating a rim light. The key light was set to blue on a 45 degree angle from the subject and mounted at a slight angle.

#3 was a conversion in Lightroom of #2 without much changed other than the profile from Adobe Color to B&W 01.

I liked the variety possible despite the tight time window. The wide open space provided by Klaviyo helped a lot in making these two light set ups efficient. I saved my exposure settings in my Nikon Z8's menu banks for each set up. This way, I made portraits in the #1 set up and then turned to my right and almost immediately started making portraits in the #2 set up. All I had to do was change the menu bank, turn on the Nanlites via the app (running on batteries to speed along set up), and hold a pre-programmed function button to not fire the flash so I didn't have to turn off or remove my strobe trigger.

I like the balance of classic and edgier in the two set ups.

Go get 'em scholars and great work Upward Project!

08/25/2026

is a project reclaiming the American flag with a more nuanced, truthful, and complicated American story told from multiple perspectives.

Something I love about doing a project is that you learn what you're doing while doing it. That used to bother me as it felt like I should figure it out and then do it. Silly.

Part of internalizing a project is finding your inspiration. Dave Cole's Flags of the World:

https://davecoledavecole.com/ #/flags-of-the-world/

is definitely one showing a huge American flag created from the flags of the world with all the not red, white, or blue scraps left on the floor in front of it.

In American Flag (Bullets), he makes a powerful statement:

https://davecoledavecole.com/ #/american-flag-bullets/

There's lots to chew on in these depictions of the American flag.

While I had plenty of inspirations as I started Who Are We (an art history major better), a friend told me about Dave Cole's work after hearing me describe my project. Just start and give good things a chance to happen.

Thanks to Brayan Restrepo for his graphic design work and all those who sat.

08/20/2026

With nearly 200 of the needed 250 portraits complete for , I'm getting the chance to start seeing certain portraits combine with others in poignant ways.

This one really stopped me in my tracks. One person describes her grandfather dying in a political prison in China. He was there because he criticized the government. Another person describes her love for America leading to her critiquing the country in the hope of helping fulfill the ideals we like to say and think we espouse.

Because they've said as much, I fully believe those in power would prefer dissenters be sent to prison (and at best be indifferent to them dying there) as opposed to actually listening to them.

I'm including a layout of roughly how the flag made from the 250 portraits will look. Sequencing them into such pairs and groups in the flag layout will be challenging but very gratifying because it will help communicate something deeper, more personal, and truthful about America than what we're subjected to constantly. Reach out if you're interested in being one of the last 60 or so people photographed for the project.

Thanks to all those who sat and graphic designer Brayan Restrepo. And, if you're lucky enough to live in the Norfolk and Suffolk District where Persis Yu is running for MA State Senate, consider her for your vote. She deeply understands what the moment we're living through demands.

08/13/2026

Through I've been learning... about friends who participate, quotes from noted people I knew and didn't, phrasing and vocabulary, and most importantly about America.

My friend Russ, in the first portrait, told me any part from Langston Hughes' "Let America Be America Again" poem rang true to him. After reading it, I agree wholeheartedly. Here's the verse holding the powerful quote paired with Russ' portrait:

O, let America be America again—
The land that never has been yet—
And yet must be—the land where every man is free.
The land that's mine—the poor man's, Indian's, Negro's, ME—
Who made America,
Whose sweat and blood, whose faith and pain,
Whose hand at the foundry, whose plow in the rain,
Must bring back our mighty dream again.

It's more than worth reading in full:
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/147907/let-america-be-america-again

Thanks to all who participated and to graphic designer Brayan Restrepo as we close in 200 of the 250 needed portraits.

08/07/2026

Adjusting to the changing light on a beautiful summer evening job at an equally beautiful location is a treat. Flybridge Capital hosted it's 7th annual event at Park City in South Boston. These photos are in chronological order.

1). Started out for the most part using the beautiful open shade under the large pavilion lowering ISO as much as possible while maintaining a very comfortable shutter speed.

2). Watched for dramatic lens flare positions as they happened.

3). Captured the directional light as the sun went lower.

4). With the sun close to set, took advantage of the all encompassing soft light everywhere including outside the pavilion.

5). As the pavilion got significantly darker, used the flash occasionally dragging the shutter to bring in enough ambient light. But, didn't use too much flash as that's not fun for people in dark spaces.

6). Swapped out my 70-200 f2.8 for my 40 f2... a lens worth 1/10 of the zoom... for that extra stop. With such a small, fast lens, I was able to squeeze the last few ambient shots out of the night decently inconspicuously despite it requiring me to be much closer to the subject - although, by then, people were pretty used to me. The blue hour sky is always beautiful.

The partners helping put on the event included SVB, Gunderson Dettmer, Fidelity Private Shares, Focus, and Citrin Cooperman.

The co-hosts included Underscore VC, Flybridge, Link Ventures, Pear, Glasswing Ventures, Pillar, and Next View.

Seeing my first client John Werner out in the wild still pumping up a crowd is always a sight to behold.

07/31/2026

In the beginning of , I was working to control light spill from the background looking to achieve the cleanest silhouette possible. I've started letting some of the light in because it makes the person a bit more three dimensional as it defines their cheeks, neck, and shoulders.

This is what I love about taking something out of my head and actually doing it. It evolves, begins speaking for itself, and changes for the better. I've been embracing just getting started on any number of projects, laughing at the very idea of perfection, and reveling in the joy of simply making a decision to follow it to the next decision (which may well be going back to square one with hard won new found knowledge to inform the next decision).

Who Are We is closing in on 200 of the needed 250 subjects. If you want to be one of the voices telling a truthful American story with nuance and heart, you know where to find me.

Thanks to all the participants and graphic designer Brayan Restrepo.

07/24/2026

For seven weeks this summer, I'm covering Greater Ashmont Main Street's Thursdays @ Ashmont in front of The Mix. Each week a local food vendor and musical group will feed and entertain you.

It's great seeing the community come together, and it's fun getting the chance to do the same photo session repeatedly. Repetition is key to improving. There's always a different way to look at an event, person etc. You just have to be present and keep an open mind which are important to everyone, not just photographers.

Performers have included Forty World Wide and Toussaint the Liberator. Food vendors have included Boston Street Tacos, American Provisions, and House of Seven Cafe.

Check out Thursdays @ Ashmont!

07/15/2026

I will be making ? portraits at the ? anniversary show (sponsored by the ACLU of Massachusetts) next Tuesday 7/21 at BLO at Midway Studios.

If you've been interested in taking part, get your ticket (https://www.whichside.boston/) and I'll see you there! It will be a great show!

I need roughly another 90 people to complete an American flag )with 250 portraits) telling a truthful American story. Please be one of them.

Thanks to Brayan Restrepo for this graphic design work and all those who sat.

07/09/2026

Special thanks the Green Street Photo Collective for hosting a session and to member Jake Belcher for this lovely video. More sessions coming. I need less than 100 people to reach 250 and complete the project. Contact me if you're interested in participating.

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