Capturing Moments in Time: Elevate Your Story with Expert Portrait Photography
Professional Photography Specializing in Family, High School Senior Portraits, Corporate and Fine Art Photography
Dan Cleary of Cleary Creative Photography specializes in capturing the moments that matter most. A dedicated photographer in Dayton, Ohio who brings his creativity, professionalism, and passion to every session.
Call For More Information 937-298-6776
Dan Will Quickly Answer All Your Questions
How Dan Cleary Will Help You With His Creative Photography Skills
Customized Photoshoots: Dan Cleary offers personalized photoshoots tailored to the needs and preferences of each client.
Creative Direction: With his expertise in photography, Dan Cleary provides creative direction to clients, helping them conceptualize and execute their photo projects.
Technical Expertise: As a professional photographer, Dan Cleary has a deep understanding of camera equipment, lighting techniques, composition, and post-processing.
Artistic Vision: Dan Cleary brings his creative vision to each personal and commissioned project. He offers a unique perspective and style that sets his work apart and adds value to the final product.
Personal Branding: For clients needing professional headshots and branding images, Dan Cleary helps them present themselves or their businesses in the best possible light.
Photography Workshops and Classes: As an experienced photographer, Dan Clear offers workshops and one-on-one training sessions to help clients improve their photography skills.
Fine Art Prints For Collectors: Dan Cleary creates fine art prints of his artwork for clients who appreciate high-quality, artistic photography and wish to add it to their collections.
Call For More Information 937-298-6776
Dan Can Quickly Answer All Your Questions
Dan Cleary is an exceptional professional portrait photographer with a remarkable talent for capturing the essence and beauty of his subjects. With his extensive expertise and creative portrait photography approach, he produces stunning and captivating photographs that leave a lasting impression. If you want to preserve your memories in a truly remarkable way, Dan Cleary is the photographer you need.
Call For More Information 937-298-6776
Dan Can Quickly Answer All Your Questions
Since 1988, Cleary Creative Photography has been capturing the essence of life's precious moments in Dayton, Ohio. Skilled photographer Dan Cleary brings years of experience, creativity, and passion to every session, ensuring each portrait is a timeless masterpiece. Whether you're seeking family portraits that capture the joy of your bond, high school senior portraits that reflect your individuality, or professional headshots that exude confidence, Cleary Creative Photography is your trusted source for capturing the essence of your unique story.
Dan is a Certified Professional Photographer as designated from the Professional Photographers of America, the leading association of imaging professionals. He also has a Master of Fine Arts from Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills Michigan.
The Dayton City Commission recognized Dan as a Proud Dayton Original. The Commission initiated this award as a nod to Dayton’s long history of invention, innovation and inspiration. Recognition is based on creative thinking, doing, believing and achieving. This honor emphasizes Dan’s creativity and originality.
Wright Brothers: Then and Now
This book makes a great gift. Click to order signed copies of the book directly!
Dan Cleary has published a book that mingles historic photos of the Wright Brothers at the turn-of-the 20th century with contemporary images of his creation taken in the 21st century.
"Dan's images represent moving back in time while standing in the present day. This historical, engaging project is filled with images from both the past and the present." Lens Culture Review
"Ingenious photography project that transports the Wright Brothers to the present day." Plane and Pilot Magazine
"Dan Cleary has been a time traveler" Washingtonian Magazine
Call For More Information 937-298-6776
Dan Can Quickly Answer All Your Questions
Family Portraits
“I want to say that Mr. Cleary was a doll, he was very understanding about my requests and the fact I did not have all the things I needed for the sitting, he was fine with that so I would like to thank him for his time, not to mention the beautiful pictures he took of my family, children and grand kids. He is truly a professional portrait photographer and again thank you.”
Judy McCullah, Dayton, Ohio
High School Senior Portraits
“Mr. Cleary, you did a wonderful job with my daughter Alexa' high school senior portraits. She was absolutely at ease and totally enjoyed her shoot. You went over and above the call of duty. I will be telling everyone about your services for the photos, they are absolutely gorgeous. The price of the photos is much more reasonable than any other I have encountered. I do want to thank you again and plan on using your services again in the future.”
Sandy DeHaven, Dayton, Ohio
Business Photography
"It's a major endeavor to redesign a business website and especially challenging when it's for a law firm with hundreds of lawyers. We selected Dan because of his experience, photographic style and attention to detail. Dan did an excellent job on the photographs and in managing the project to completion."
Ellen Geron, Regional Growth Manager, Thompson Hine LLP
Fine Art Photography
"Thanks for all your help with the Kettering Health facilities projects. The photographs look great on the walls."
Lisa Laverty
The Art Company
Latest Blog Posts
Spring Daffodils
Daffodil Panorama Photographs
Daffodils are one of the first flowers that come up in the spring here in Ohio. I was asked by a client to create two photographs of the 100,000 + daffodils that are planted in their front yard. People stop their cars to look at the spring flowers. Neighbors out walking stop and take selfies; people bring their children over to take photographs with the daffodils in the background. For a few short weeks it is quite a show of color when we need it after the winter. This year more than most with all of us sheltered in place it was great to see that spring had come. My client wanted two 30” x 15” panorama photographs that he could hang in his office. I went over three times to create photographs. First, I went over to scout the location. I wanted to see when the best light was and what the good angles were. I decided that first light with the sun just hitting the house was when I wanted to first go over. I spent about an hour taking photographs but by 9:30 in the morning, the sun was already too high in the sky. I took a few wide shots that showed the landscape and they choose one of these early in the morning photographs. I also wanted to show the personality of the individual flowers. I created several closer up photographs, but the light wasn’t interesting for closeups on that first day. I went back a couple days later on a cloudy day. Clouds act like a large soft light source which render the flowers in fine detail. I created a series of panorama closeups by taking two horizontal photographs pivoted from the same point. Meaning I knew that these photographs would have to be stitched together in PhotoShop. They choose one of these two image panoramas for their second photograph to frame. I spent time working with the photograph of the house to create the morning light. I wanted the warm glow of the early morning lights. I also helped what mother nature hadn’t done by filling in a couple light flower spots. Every year there are a few spots that don’t flower and with a little PhotoShop help I was able to fill in those light spots. PhotoShop does a good job stitching photographs together, it actually does an amazing job, but there are always areas of the photograph that I have to manually create to make the photograph work. I won’t tell you what parts I put together myself, but the finished photograph turned out just the way I wanted. This was a very nice spring project. Especially this year with our stay at home, social distancing that we all have had to do.
PhotoShop Landscape Tutorial
Over the past five years I have created landscape photographs that are on display in Kettering Hospital Medical facilities between Troy and Middletown, Ohio. I created a video of my PhotoShop work to create one of my landscape photographs. This is called "Sunrise In Miami County" and was originally put up in a medical building in a rural town Tipp City, Ohio. I was commissioned to create 50 photographs to put up in this new construction building. Most of my photographs are not straight images right out of the camera. This video shows my post-production to go from the original image out of the camera to the final finished photograph. When I was creating my original photograph that the sky and foreground would be outside the range of what a camera can see. A camera can see 10 stops of light from white to black. The sky to foreground were more than 10 stops so I know that I would have to put together multiple photographs in PhotoShop to create an image that had a good exposure in the sky and the foreground. If the sky was the correct exposure the foreground would be black and if the foreground was the correct exposure, then the sky would be very light. This is how I work around this issue to create a beautiful landscape, sunrise photograph of a corn field in the fall in Ohio. To see more of these landscape photographs of rural Ohio go to http://clearyfineartphoto.com/landscape-photography/ The YouTube video is located at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJEzVAfB-jE. Enjoy!
Wright Brothers Then and Now photography series
Wright Brothers Then and Now photography series by Dan Cleary
After the Wright Brothers had secured contracts with European and American governments, they set up flight schools to start training pilots. The Army airplane trials had been held at Fort Myer, Maryland in 1908 because of its proximity to Washington, headquarters of the Army and its Aeronautical Division, but the commandant at Fort Myer refused to relinquish the parade ground for further flight training and the Wright Brothers expressed reluctance to teach beginners to fly on the small, enclosed area. Another site was found near College Park, Maryland, about eight miles northeast of Washington, D.C. The Signal Corps agreed to lease the site. However, the winter weather meant the College Park site could not be used for year-round training. Various sites in the south and west were used during the early 1910s at Fort Sam Houston, near San Antonio, Texas, North Island, San Diego, California, and Augusta, Georgia. However flying training in the Army remained on a small scale until the USA joined World War I in April 1917. In February 1913, the Aviation School contingent in Augusta, Georgia, along with two pilots who had been training in Palm Beach, Florida, transferred to Texas City, Texas, to join ground forces on duty along the border. This meant that the Army Aviation school was concentrated on North Island, San Diego.
The Wrights also set up a private pilot training school at Huffman Prairie in Dayton and called it Simms Station. Their brochure for the flying school read: “The Wright Company operates a permanent school of aviation at the historic grounds at Simms Station near Dayton, where the Wright Brothers carried on their experiments. The field is admirably adapted to training purposes, the ground being level and free from obstructions.” The Wright Brothers trained many individuals here at Simms Station like Hap Arnold who eventually became a five-star general and commanded the US Army Air Force during World War ll. Also, Albert Lambert from St Louis learned to fly at Simms Station. Lambert was a WW l pilot and later donated 170 acres of land outside of St Louis to create the first public municipal airport in the country.
Higher, Orville, Higher: My starting point for this series in many cases is with the historic photograph. On May 25, 1910 Orville and Wilbur made the only flight together in one of their airplanes. They had always agreed that they should never fly together incase tragedy happened that the other brother could continue with flight experiments. But this day was a perfect spring day. The only person in the immediate Wright family who hadn’t yet flown was Bishop Wright, their father. So, after the brothers landed Orville went over to his father and said “Next”. Bishop Wright who was 85 years of age said “yes” and they soared over Huffman Prairie at about 350 feet for about six minutes. I like to think that Wilbur took this photograph.
Test Flight On The Miami River is one of the historic photographs I know the Wrights didn’t take. The historic photograph is the Wright Model CH Flyer fitted with twin, multi-step pontoons. This photograph is attributed to William Preston Mayfield, Dayton Daily News, Dayton, Ohio and was taken on May 1, 1913. It is said he was the first person to take an aerial photograph flying with Orville in one of the Wright’s planes. There are two men sitting in the boat on the river observing the flight. I think one of them is Orville. This part of the Miami river flows east west and then makes a sharp turn going north south. It allowed them to make test flight into the wind in either direction. The location for my photograph is along the bike path from Carillon Park in downtown Dayton to West Carrollton, Ohio. I've ridden my bike on this path many times and stopped at this boat put in for a drink of water. I never realized the historic significance of this spot when I was taking a rest on my bike watching the water flow. The quote for this photograph is from Orville. "Isn't it astonishing that all these secrets have been preserved for so many years just so we could discover them!” To see the entire series go to ClearyFineArtPhoto.com/Wright-Brother-Fine-Art-Photographs/
Ohio Landscape Photography
Ohio Landscape Photographs On Permanent Display In Kettering Health Network Hospital
Over the past five years I have created upwards of 200 photographs that are on display in Kettering Health Network hospital buildings and offices from Troy to Middletown. Sunrise In Miami County was created on a fall morning in Bethel Township. I was searching for a sunrise photograph and came across these straw bales. I pulled over and walked out into the field and created this image. There was a limited amount of time because the sun was rising and after only a few minute the sun was too high for the effect I wanted. My clent asked if I had any covered bridge photographs, which I didn't. I found a few close to me and this was the photograph they liked. The Charleston Mill covered bridge is in Green County. The final photograph is on display in a medical facility in Middletown, Ohio. The farmer was finishing plowing his field right outside Tipp City and the photograph is one of 50 photographs on display in a medical building in Tipp City. Greenville Falls is close to Covington, Ohio also in Miami County. I photographed the little Miami River in John Bryan state park in October and was trying to create a quiet peaceful image. You can see more of these photographs at the landscape page of my website. http://clearyfineartphoto.com/landscape-photography/
