Larger Than Life Tableaux & Humorous Portraits From Ryan Schude

To say Ryan Schude takes photographs is both true and a real understatement. His tableaux are bursting with so many levels of interest it's easy to get lost in them and even his portraits are a production within themselves. Sets are meticulously planned, set up and staged while actors featured in shots can be asked to pose and re-create the same pose time-and-time again until it's just right. There's that much production it's more like working on a movie set yet, as Ryans' new book says, there's no before and after, just the story you see at that moment in that particular frame. 

For those new to Ryan Schude's work, he's well known for pop art colour schemes, startling portraits and mischievous tableaux teeming with cleverly-organised chaos. He has won several prestigious photography awards and now he adds a book to his list of achievements with the release of SCHUDE which, as his publishers excellently describe, is a 'riotous celebration of pop Americana'. 

Think spaghetti shoelaces and fish in toilet basins and you'll begin to paint a picture of what Ryan Schude's work is all about. Below are just a few of Ryan Schude's images for you to take a look at. Do have a read of our review of his book SCHUDE, too. More images can be found on Ryan's website. 

Phoot Camp (2010), Calabasas, California. 

Bago (2008), Culver City, California
 

Elizabeth Bolinger (2012), The Forge, Los Angeles

Crash (2008), Cypress Park, Los Angeles