He studied photography at Texas State University in San Marcos before moving to Austin to work at the Texas House of Representatives as a photographer. As darkroom printer for Austin photographer and screenwriter, Bill Wittliff, Mr. Pickering produced prints for the 2007 University of Texas Press book, A Book of Photographs from Lonesome Dove. He earned his M.F.A. in photography at the Savannah College of Art & Design, Georgia. After a short period of teaching photography outside of Chicago, he returned to Texas. He now resides in Austin and teaches photography at The Art Institute of Austin.