I got my first camera for my 14th birthday then, exactly 10 years later, I was hired by the Rochester Post-Bulletin newspaper to work as a photojournalist. I started there on my 24th birthday.
What is your favorite type of photo to shoot?
RIGGOTT: I love photographing people in their environment. Preferably candid shots, just doing what they do.
Describe your most memorable photo shoot.
RIGGOTT: The farm shoots I do are all fun. It would be difficult to select a favorite.
I guess the most memorable would be the farmer I photographed a few years back who broke his front tooth the day before, and then I found his dog dead in the garage while I was there and had to tell him about it.
So not exactly memorable because of the shoot itself. But photographing him and his family working all day was awesome.
Why do you enjoy farm-related photography?
RIGGOTT: There’s just something about documenting the faces and lives of such hard-working, down-to-earth, good-hearted people that really intrigues me.
What are one or two tips you would give to an amateur photographer who wants to take a great picture of people and/or animals?
RIGGOTT: Make sure you’re photographing them in nice light, which typically means shooting during the first hour of sunlight and the last hour.
Then, spend some time with them, try to put them at ease, pay attention to your background and keep a shallow depth of field (wide aperture) so your subject stands out. 
PHOTOS: Photos by Dean Riggott
Dean Riggott with Dean Riggott Photography
Rochester, Minnesota
Web Page: Dean Riggott
