Who's in the Crew? - Spotlight on Suzanne Covert

NAME: Suzanne Covert - https://headshotcrew.com/suzannecovert
https://www.suzannecovert.com

WHERE DO YOU LIVE? There is a popular saying in Texas for transplants...I wasn't born here, but I got here as fast as I could. I was born in Birmingham, Alabama but moved to Houston, TX in 2002. After 10 years we moved to Austin, where we now call home. Austin is the state capital of Texas and home to the University of Texas. It's known for the electric live music scene and its many parks and lakes. Austin is a humid subtropical climate which means it has LONG hot summers and typically mild winters. Here are some more fun facts about Austin.

1. U.S. News and World Report named Austin the best place to live in the U.S. every year since 2017.
2. Austin is one of the sunniest cities in America averaging 300 days of sunshine per year.
3. Austin is the most populous city in the country without a professional sports team.
4. With 200 live music venues and as many as 2,000 bands and performing artists, Austin is considered
the Live Music Capital of the World.
5. The City of Austin covers 280 square miles, making the city nearly as large in landmass as NYC.
6. Austin has been the filming location for various well-known movies such as Dazed and Confused,
Boyhood, Spy Kids, Miss Congeniality, and Kill Bill Volume 1.
7. Whole Foods was founded in Austin by two college dropouts - John Mackey and Rene Hardy in 1978.
8. Austin is the only city in the world known to still operate a system of moonlight towers, lighting
structures from the 19th century.
9. Austin is home to the largest bat colony in North America. Around 1.5 million bats emerge from under
the Congress Avenue Bridge just before sundown every day from March to October.
10. The Texas State Capital building in Austin is the 2nd largest state Capitol in the U.S. The only one
bigger is in Washington, D.C.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN SHOOTING HEADSHOTS? I started my photography business back in 2013 shooting mostly real estate, but with some event photography and families on the side. I went to Photoshop World in Orlando back in March of 2014 and went to one of Peter's classes and was very intrigued. I came back from that conference and decided that attending Peter's intensive in NY would be extremely beneficial for me and my company...I was right. I mostly stopped the event and family photography around 2016 and started solely focusing on headshots and business branding photography.

WHAT ELSE DO YOU LIKE TO SHOOT? I love portraits and have been spending a lot more time trying to learn that. Fortunately for me, I have two teenage daughters and they have been an integral part of helping me learn that with their willingness to be my models, lol.

WHAT IS YOUR LIGHTING SETUP FOR HEADSHOTS? I use the Peter Hurley flex kit to light my clients an have since around 2016. Before I purchased my flex kit, I used strobes and it was difficult to see the exact light I would be getting when I clicked my shutter. Using the flex kit has been amazing for not only my studio headshots but the on-location portion of my headshot business too. Traveling with the flex kit vs the Bowen's strobes I was using before has made my life so much easier without having to sacrifice the quality of my light.

WHEN DID YOU FIRST DISCOVER PH AND THE HSC? As I explained above, I met Peter at Photoshop World and went to his intensive and this is where I heard about the HSC.

HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU TO JOIN THE CREW AFTER YOU FOUND IT? As an intensive attendee, I was given access to the crew for 6 months so I joined immediately. I was very spotty at best at the beginning of my first days on the crew just because I was busy with kids and work and I would forget. I attribute my heavier involvement in the HSC to another crew member, Pam Stuckenborg. We became friends through the crew and she used to always text and remind me about the crew cast. I finally put it on my calendar to remind myself and tried to get on, get involved, and learn from all the great videos Peter had on there and started meeting many more amazing crew members as a result.

THAT'S ONE THING ABOUT YOU PEOPLE WOULD NEVER GUESS? My grandfather was born in 1879 in Sicily, immigrated to the U.S. in 1896, and moved down to Alabama to be a barber. My dad was born in Alabama in 1908. After his first wife passed away from an illness, he married my mom...she was 30 years younger than him. I was born when my dad was 64. It was always very interesting to people in school that not only did I have a niece and nephew who were the same age as me, but I also had some older than me as well. My two half brothers now are in their late 70's.

WHAT'S ONE THING YOU WISH PEOPLE KNEW ABOUT YOU? I have an amazing husband and three of the most incredible children. My son is 21 and my daughters are 16 and 18. My whole family has stood behind me during the progression of my photography career and helped as I have needed them along the way. From putting together my home studio, being interested in things I am excited about regarding photography, and being late-night models when I am trying something new in the studio...I couldn't have done it without them.