“Stanley Leary has been a key consultant on our team as we built a strategic corporate communications function at Chick-fil-A, Inc. He is uniquely talented and versatile, with a deep understanding of how to use communications to connect with an audience. He is an excellent photographer, of course, but he is much more than that. He understands how to identify and create a story and then relate it to a target audience. He is a gifted teacher who both inspires and humbles me with his unselfish, hard-working servant spirit. I first decided to work with Stanley when I realized he is the person everyone else calls when they need help. I’ve been doing this for more than 40 years and he is one of the best.”

Greg Thompson

Longtime communications director

IBM and Chick-fil-A

“Stanley Leary’s been a guest teacher for me every year since 2006 in the School of Photography 1, which I lead at the University of the Nations in Kona, Hawaii. Stanley brings decades of experience in photojournalism and commercial photography, along with an acute sensitivity to the needs of my photo students. He teaches here in a very practical, hands-on way on lighting as well as business practices. Those are just a small fraction of his expertise. It’s a joy each time we invite him back to teach.”

Dennis Fahringer

Director, School of Photography

YWAM Kona, Hawaii

“Dedicated storyteller and visual communicator, Stanley Leary exhibits his enthusiasm and passion for photography with the large diversity of images that he produces. His depth of skill, technique, and photographic knowledge underpins his strategy to engage people at all levels and create dramatic images that demand dialogue. His methods and personal drive keep him on the cutting edge of equipment, software, and computer upgrades, increasing his performance and output for his diverse clientele. Learning with Stanley gives you the opportunity to grow your craftsmanship, expertise, and artistry as you develop deep knowledge of your equipment. When you engage that dramatic moment of light and artistry, your methods and strategy will deliver the performance that you gained from spending time with Stanley.”

Ken Touchton

Freelancer

“Stanley has been a regular guest in my photojournalism classes here at the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. Officially, I bring him in to talk about business practices. Unofficially, I bring him in because the way he talks about business practices demonstrates so many of the skills I want my journalism students to have. His level of preparation is staggering – his presentation is detailed and well researched, and his examples are meticulously culled from his experiences. He talks about the why that supports the what – why developing relationships with clients leads to what they will hire you for. His presentation style is to engage the audience, ask them to participate at a high level, and then adjust his presentation to the level the students are at. (I am forced to admit that my students are nowhere near as prepared for his visits as he is, something I now know how to fix based on his last presentation.) Outside of his formal presentations, Stanley has become an excellent resource for me. Our conversations run the gamut from the technical minutia of photography to the overarching reasons why visuals communicate so well in some situations and not so well in others. His real-world experiences help me shape what I teach every semester, his blog entries help me fine-tune individual lessons and his friendship helps keep me sane and grounded, both at work and at home. So, why does Stanley come out to talk to my classes? There’s an easy, and correct (if limited), answer that if everyone’s business practices get better, then everyone in the industry will do better. But I think he does this because Stanley, at his core, is a sharer – he is programmed to share, to help others, to guide, to teach.”

Mark Johnson

Professor of Sports Media, Clinical Professor of Photojournalism and CTO

UGA College of Journalism and Mass Communication

I cannot say enough good things about Stanley as a photographer and as a person. The highest compliment I can give is that I hired Stanley as the photographer for my wedding.

Originally, I knew Stanley for his sports photography, shooting major teams and events in the Atlanta area.

That connection came in handy, as I later hired Stanley to help install strobe lights in our gym at Berry College. During this time, he was even gracious enough to speak to one of the photography classes on campus during his trip up.

Fortunately, I kept in contact with Stanley, and when my wedding came around, there was no one else I wanted. Stanley was gracious enough to agree, and he captured some fantastic photos that I will cherish for a lifetime.

As a bonus, his turnaround time for editing the photos was so quick that my wife and I had thousands of images the very next day as we traveled on our honeymoon.

How did the picture come out, you ask? Well, there is no better stamp of approval than to say my wife loved them. This is thanks to Stanley, who did a great job capturing candid moments and directing us to take some cool posed shots as well.

Again, I can not recommend Stanley highly enough. So whether it’s for a long-term role or you need freelance photography, I recommend using Stanley Leary Photography.

Scott Dunford

Training and Deployment Specialist II

Trinity Health (HQ Michigan)