Cool Dad Job: Photographer

Cool Dad Vibe: Auteur

Cool Dad Bona Fides: One quirk of professional photographers is that they describe their work as “making” photos, not “taking” photos. This verb choice reflects the hard work that goes into their art. Nils Ericson, a RISD graduate and Brooklyn resident, seems to work especially hard to capture muted but emotional images of people who seem to have drifted into a private world. “I want my photos to feel like black and white, but in color,” he says, summing it up rather nicely. Athletes are his most frequent subjects and, in his images, they are seen as tired warriors. In his self portraits he looks much the same. His photos of his partner Regina and their son Emmett? Well, they’re much better than your home photos.