Justin Rives
I am blessed beyond my own understanding. I am the father of two rambunctious boys and the husband of a beautiful, sweet, and loving woman. Since earning my degree in art education from Mississippi College, I have taught photography and ceramics at Ridgeland High School where I have been the last 15 years. Through my work with clay, the camera, and occasionally other mediums, I am able to celebrate creation and my small place in it.
Photography
The goal for my photographs is to capture images that really embody the essence of the individual. I am happy to be your photographer in whatever way I can. Senior portraits, weddings, and family portraits are all venues that I enjoy. I work closely with my subjects, striving to see and materialize their vision.
Pottery
Clay is capable of being a physical poetry that no other material can be. It yields itself to be molded and formed while still having the strength to stand under its own weight and bear the will of the potter. I love to think that clay is thousands of years in the making and I can come along in the last few minutes of its journey and manipulate it into its final form. Through heat and pressure, a potter makes a form that can nearly last forever. With this mindset, I feel a great responsibility in the process and outcome of my pieces. Somehow, even with the weight of this responsibility, I find great comfort and therapy working with clay.
Kind Words
Ashley & Davis
OH MY GOSH! These pictures are rocking my world right now! We absolutely LOVE them! Justin and Cristie, thank you so much for everything...you are both AMAZING at what you do. We couldn't have asked for anything more! We love y’all! Thank you again for capturing so many special and wonderful moments that we can treasure forever.
John & Vivi
Justin,
Thank you so much for your work! It was nothing less than exquisite!
You are amazing at capturing the radiance of lights and colors. Your angles and color manipulations bring each picture to life! As a person, you and your wife were amazing. You two are a wonderful couple full of life and care. We’re very glad that we had you share this monumental episode in our lives, and that you helped us capture those memories with our wedding photos. We love that you both enjoyed yourselves at our wedding and hope to continue working with you in the future!
Olivia Marissa Miller
Working with Justin was a wonderful experience. He made my session truly personal and made sure I was completely happy. He took a few ideas from me and ran with it to create beautiful pictures that were beyond my expectations. I enjoyed working with him immensely and would definitely recommend him in a heartbeat.
Eric & Lydia: Return to First Love
Justin Rives has been such a pleasure to work with. His talent and gifts go beyond just normal "taking pictures." His attention to detail and design really make his photos stand out among the rest. I can't recommend him enough to anyone out there needing quality pictures. On top of that, Justin is a really great guy to be around. He strives to make the most out of every shot he takes. Justin will definitely be shooting for our second CD! Thanks so much, Justin!!
Pace & Maegan Stead
We highly recommend Justin Rives Photography for your special occasion photography needs. Our expectations were far exceeded! We could not have asked for a better documented wedding day than what we received as a result of choosing Justin Rives Photography. The photographs are absolutely beautiful and so accurately capture the special moments of our big day and depict our personalities perfectly. Justin and his wife Cristie are an amazing couple who work so well together; they each have an eye for creativity, and together, they never missed a beat. Not only are they professional, but it was easy to see that they both cared deeply about making our wedding day special. We felt right at home working with them, and their organization made our day go smoothly. They were so courteous throughout the planning process and were pleased to meet with us on more than one occasion to make sure we had everything in order for the big day. Proofs from the wedding day were uploaded and given to us in a very timely manner, which we very much appreciated! Having Justin Rives Photography as a part of our wedding day was one of the best decisions we made! We can never thank you enough for your professionalism and the wonderful job you both did in so beautifully capturing every moment of our wedding day!
Marsha Walden
Justin has taken both of our daughters senior portraits as well as several family pictures. He’s always easy and fun to work with. He has gone out of the way to make sure we had exactly the pictures we wanted. He has great ideas for settings and poses, his pictures seem not only to represent the way our daughters look but their personalities as well. We always have a hard time choosing which pictures we want. His prices are extremely reasonable but even if they were not, we would still use him for our family pictures.
Album
During my recent Thesis exhibition I created a set of ceramic speakers. During the Exhibition the speakers were playing original instrumental music that my friend Darin Jones and I created just for this installation. The music is a metaphor for what people speak and how people live while taking in and processing everyday experiences. The speaker enclosures I made have three speakers: a full range driver, a sub woofer, and a tweeter. I wired them up with a three way cross over to keep the high frequencies from going into the sub woofer and the low frequencies from going to the speaker made for higher frequencies. The speakers play both a left and right stereo channel that comes from an amplifier that sends power to both the speakers. The metaphor is that God is our life source, and a husband and wife focused on God live in one accord. I chose to paint the outer front panels of the speaker spacers red, which is a reoccurring theme in my series. The speakers will be shown with a mess of wires and electronics that power the speakers. Man is attached to our creator in so many ways: God gives us air to breathe, food, water, sustenance, and shelter. Humans are on a life support system, which God set into motion; without his provisions Man would cease to exist. Marriage is a union of two souls teamed up, tethered, and equally yoked.