In the Swim with Skeebo Reichert
By JANNA ZEPP | Photos by SKEEBO, GLEN MUSE and JANNA ZEPP
As the editor of Tex Appeal, I rely on a variety of local photographers to make this magazine come visually alive for our readers, including Skeebo Reichert. At every photography session with Skeebo, invariably our subject knows him and his work. Sometimes I wonder if Central Texas needs a board game called “Six Degrees of Skeebo” because almost everybody we meet, at one time or another, has worked with him or went to Temple High School with him.
“As all great stories begin, I went to college as a swimmer, but my career started with this girl,” he says, laughing.
After graduating from Temple High School, Skeebo went to Southwest Missouri State University in Springfield as a swimmer on the school swim team, with no idea of a major. Interest in a young woman got him into a photography class that she was taking. The relationship didn’t last, but he discovered a talent that led him to an academic major that eventually turned into a career.
Skeebo started as a studio portrait photographer in California. Soon, he became studio manager and sole photographer of that company’s store in Mission Viejo. Eventually, he opened his own business, Photo By Skeebo. His clients included the MTV show, I Want a New Face – Posh Spice, the Movie Guide Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, and a Fresh Apparel fashion shoot featuring Efren Ramirez, whom you might know as Pedro from Napoleon Dynamite. He also photographed album art for national recording artists and headshots for actors around LA. His West Coast corporate clients included Systems Paving and Mission Pools.
Skeebo came home to Temple in 2006 and promptly built a client base to support local businesses and expanded services to include video. He says his inspiration for corporate photography brought a shift from his studio roots to a focus on capturing businesses “in their element.”
His mobile studio includes full lighting, backdrops, steady camera, vehicle mounted rigs, film-industry standard 12-foot by 12-foot diffuser, and Canon exclusive camera equipment. His software expertise includes DaVinci Resolve, Final Cut Pro, Adobe Creative Suite, Motion Graphics and Compressor.
“I’m full service for my clients,” he says. “If I find something I think they need, I will offer it to them.”
Skeebo says he approaches each project by drawing on his knowledge of cinematic history, current filmmaking styles, and timeless storytelling methods to create maximum impact videos for digital marketing. He says his personal, compassionate commitment to building the success of his clients has earned repeat customers.
“I’m dedicated to providing high-quality videos and photos that are in line with my client’s goals and accomplishments,” Skeebo says. “I want to give them what they want and maybe a little bit more.”
His skill as a studio photographer shines often, especially on shoots with small children. He has a knack for putting people at ease during photography sessions, getting even the most stoic faces to crack a smile or break into a broad grin after a little while. He’s open to suggestions but can effortlessly navigate a client (including magazine editors) back to what they really want and need.
Skeebo is a dad. He and his wife have two boys that keep them occupied as often as the business.
“I love being flexible enough to be there for my sons and my wife when they need me,” he says. “I couldn’t do that with any other career.”
When asked about his handle and whether his real name is a state secret, Skeebo laughs. His full name is Stephen Reid Reichert.
“Skeebo is short for ‘ski boat,’ which is what my swim coach called me because I looked like a ski boat cutting a wake in the water,” he says. He adds that his drive and dedication in photography and video reaches back to decades-long training as a long-distance swimmer.
“After swimming NCAA Division I for Southwest Missouri State University, I joined the Wildwood Crest Beach Patrol in New Jersey. I was the top swimmer on the competition swim team of the Beach Patrol. I won the Rehoboth Beach Olympics, the Beschen-Callahan Memorial One-Mile Swim, and swimming 20 miles around Wildwood Island in nine hours and 15 minutes, beating the previous record by three hours,” he says.
That competitive edge and work ethic shows in his photography. This issue’s cover featuring Santa Claus, as with many of our cover photos in the past, is a sample of Skeebo’s talent.
CONTACT SKEEBO
254-773-2537
photosbyskeebo.com
