Interview with Canvas Rebel

Posted on July 29, 2026 |CanvasRebel.com/meet-ellen-friedlander/

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Ellen Friedlander. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Ellen below.

Ellen, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

I studied photography at Ithaca College and had outstanding professors who outlined the photographer’s journey. I took their mentorship to heart, and upon graduation I sought out opportunities to work within every aspect of the industry, including styling, repping, office managing, etc. At the time, it was very difficult to break into the male-dominiated space. Using a phone book, I chose to call Peter Garfield who was a highly respected portrait photographer in Washington, DC. Peter is famous for shooting most of the Washingtonian Magazine Covers. After calling once a week for several months, I finally broke through and was hired. This was the turning point in seeing a real working studio in a metropolitan city. The reason I share this story is because relentless determination has been the overriding arc of getting me where I am today. Some people have luck on their side and breakthrough into the artworld young, but for most of us it is a continuous spiral throughout our lives…