Ed & Co.
My name is Ed Ip (yes, Ip is my last name) and am a photographer in Richmond,VA specializing in portraiture, environmental/location in particular, and event photography.
How I got here (if you care)…
My parents gave me a camera for my 10th birthday. Calling it a camera might be an exaggeration; It was a plastic camera that took 110 film cartridges had a plastic hole for a lens, had no flash but I am pretty sure it came with a keychain loop — very important feature for a 10 year old. Nevertheless, I loved that “camera”. It gave me the ability to capture moments in time and thus began my love of photography.
During my what-felt-like-never-ending years of college, I took up photography in a big way. I made photography an important aspect of my major (media studies), and was a staff photographer for the school paper and a number of school departments. I dreamt of being a “pro”, unfortunately I did not have the strength to make it stick; I longed for a financially stable career and found software development. Photography took a backseat.
Around the summer of 2008, 10 years after I sent photography to the back of the bus, I got an itch that I couldn’t scratch. I saw on Facebook that a friend had taken up photography and realized I miss it. I missed looking at the world through a viewfinder. I missed the ability to capture once-in-a-lifetime moments in time. Hence Ed Ip Photography.
I am a bit late to the dance but hopefully have not missed the party. It has taken me a long time to recognize what I am all along and darn happy to be here. My focus is portraits, events, and commercial photography. But I enjoy the unique challenges of photographing everything from children to corporate events to landscapes and everything else in between.
When I’m not behind the camera, I’m an avid cyclist and love to travel.
Joy Pfister - Beauty Queen Designer
Voted Richmond Magazine’s Best Makeup Artist 2011
I have worked in the beauty/health industry biz most of my life since growing up with a licensed beautician mother…blue eye shadow and boxes of Perms could be found around my house as a little girl! My big ‘claim’ to fame was winning Mrs. Virginia-America in 2004, and then capturing the Mrs. Virginia-International title 2008, making top 10 at nationals that year! I have been involved in stage and pageantry competitions for the past 14 years. I have been a Model/SAG Actress for the past 20 years, appearing in multiple commercials and movies. I am well versed with camera angles, how flash photography affects makeup, and I can help you get the most out of your photographs.
I launched Faces by Joy in 2010, after much push from a great group of people that wanted me to use my talents since it made me so happy to do makeup and hair. I have been a state licensed physical therapist assistant for 14 years.
Floyd Menezes – Assistant Extraordinaire
My first camera was a Kodak Instamatic that used flashcubes that my parents got me when they visited the US in the early 80′s. We lived in Kuwait at the time but what I really wanted was one of those spy cameras they sold in comic books but I could never order one cause the postal system back then was antiquated.
Photography never did have any traction until much later when I needed to find a medium that I could use to interpret the world the way I saw it. Commercial art was a temporary fix and did not fill my need so one day I borrowed my friend’s Pentax K1000 and everything clicked…quite literally…I found myself, and have been shooting ever since.
For me photography never gets boring. My circumstances inspire me, and I shoot from the heart. Taking photographs is a great relationship building tool, and I continue to be motivated by the fact that it enables me to interact with the subject, captures a single unique moment in time, and helps me interpret my vision.
