Influencer Spotlight – Ron Hill

By Shelcy Joseph

Fashion and lifestyle influencer Ron Hill brings a photographer’s artistic sensibility to influencing.

Welcome to our “Influencer Spotlight” column, where we highlight some of our favorite content creators.

If there’s one thing Ron Hill knows how to do well, it’s creating beautiful editorial content. His work for our Grand Marnier campaign is a prime example. By day, he’s a renowned photographer and visual artist whose work has been featured in GQ, Essence Magazine and Men’s Health, to name a few. “Before the first photograph is taken, I study my subjects to truly understand who they are,” Ron says of his artistic process. “From conceptualization to retouching, I am intimately involved in the entire campaign.” It’s that same diligence that he applies to working with Billion Dollar Boy, and his images exude classic, timeless sophistication.

Get to know Ron:

How did you get started creating content?

I’m a photographer by trade, so in a sense, I’ve been creating content ever since I started taking shots. Even before content creation requests became a part of my life, I was on a constant journey to improve my craft and my shots, which in a way means I’ve been honing my content for years, as well. 

I’ve only been an official content creator/influencer for about three years now. I was on a shoot, and my client asked if I could post the photos on my social media. I agreed, and from there it just picked up steam. I’ve been an influencer ever since. 

What does a typical day in your life look like?

It really depends on the day of the week. Rather than my days being blocked out, my week is sort of blocked out instead. I have a job that requires a more fluid approach to my days, and I’ve found that it works much better for me to approach it in that way. 

Early in the week, I focus more on the administrative side of things. Every Sunday night, I touch base with my assistant to figure out what my work week looks like – shooting schedules, meetings, and things like that. My business partner keeps me up to date with client relations, as well, giving me an overview of the accounts we have and the ones we are on the verge of partnering with. Later in the first part of the week, I’ll work on retouching with my retoucher.

The second half of the week is all about inspiration. I bath in luxury and all things beauty – that’s not my saying, LOL. Seriously, though, I do look for the beauty and inspiration in everything for the latter half of the week. I study images for two to three days, watch movies, take walks along the street, peruse magazines, explore clothing stores, people watch, and binge on Pinterest. All of these things provide amazing inspiration for things like content, composition, lighting ideas – they all work together to inspire me. 

Towards the end of the week, I’ll flood my team, associates, and clients with mood boards that give a sense of what I’d like to capture for our upcoming photoshoots or what I’d like to work on for the following week or month.

Define your style in 3 words. 

I’m not sure you can really define anyone’s still in only three words. Style is such a complex weave of inspiration, the way your eye and mind work, your life experiences, and so much more. If I had to drill it down to three words, I guess I’d say classic, textured, and uniform. 

What is the biggest highlight of your influencer career so far?

Thus far, my NYE post for Billion Dollar Boy x Grand Marnier was an amazing experience. They gave me more creative reign than I was expecting which allowed me to create as close to how I do it personally. That made the whole process feel much more dear to me, and I think that showed in my work. Also, the comments I received boosted my ego quite a bit everyone dubbed me James Bond 007 (photo is above to prove it lol ) it was a great way to start the New Year. 

If you could share one tip for someone building their Instagram channel, what would it be? 

Instagram is a tough nut to crack. There are so many people out there trying to carve out their space, and unfortunately, that can lead to a person changing their style to try to fit into the Instagram world. I hate to see that because people should be doing the opposite. My biggest tip – the one no one should ever forget is this: be you. 

No one should abandon their creativity just to fit into some perceived Instagram area. It’s a disservice to them and to their art, and ultimately, it never works, anyway. Instagram is about discovering new and interesting things, if a person homogenizes themselves and their art to fit in, they’ll never be seen. 

What is a brand you think is doing things right on social? And why?

The brand that immediately comes to mind for me is Mr Porter. Their social branding is superb. They combine sports, lifestyle, foodie elements, and of course fashion perfectly, and their photos aren’t overly “salesy”. Honestly, I think they do no wrong.