Who's in the Crew? - Spotlight on Jon Meadows

NAME: Jon Meadows - https://highendheadshots.com/

WHERE DO YOU LIVE? In Southeast Washington, D.C. We live about six miles from the White House, 4 miles from the U.S. Capitol building and I've only photographed one politician! D.C. is a city, but it's the smallest city ever. There's traffic, but it's never too bad.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN SHOOTING HEADSHOTS? I took my first headshot on October 1, 2016 so just over 3 years now. I learned in the Headshot Crew with most of my learning taking place during 2017.

WHAT ELSE DO YOU LIKE TO SHOOT? Non-headshot portraits.

YOUR LIGHTING SETUP FOR HEADSHOTS? 5 XPLOR 600's. I go with a triangle or parallel for headshots.

WHEN DID YOU FIRST DISCOVER PH AND THE HSC? I found Peter on YouTube and then watched hours of his CreativeLive. He was addressing both issues that made me confident I never wanted to shoot people: the technical and getting good expressions from people (basically everything there is to headshot photography, I guess). I wrote Peter a thank you note and included my email address because I knew The Peter Hurley would never write me back a note. I was blown away when I got an email back, inviting me to join the Crew, which I didn't know about before.

HOW LONG DID IT TAKE TO JOIN THE CREW AFTER YOU FOUND IT? I jumped on the Crew within a week, I think. Maybe the same day I got the email from Peter.

TELL US ABOUT THE SPACE YOU SHOOT IN. DO YOU OWN IT, RENT IT OR LIVE IN IT? My studio space is rented and is about a 15' x 25' space with a 10' x 8' square on one of the corners. I shoot in the bigger space, and makeup happens in the smaller space. Eventually, I will figure out a way to partition off that space, so it will be for makeup and changing clothes. There are three decent sized windows on one side of the space.

I have probably 12' ceilings, and I have some storage in the space above the hallway to my studio.

I thought it would be plenty of space for me, but I could actually use twice as much! But I'm thankful for what I have, and I can make it work nicely.

WHAT IS ONE THING PEOPLE WOULD NEVER GUESS ABOUT YOU? I can float a bit, but I can't really swim. I grew up 30 minutes from the ocean in New Hampshire, but my parents weren't fans of the beach, or pools, or anything having to do with bodies of water. So I never really learned to swim. A friend attempted to teach me while we were at Oxford. I kind of got it, but I do not like having water in my nose and I can't bring myself to open my eyes underwater. I think I am going to take swimming lessons with our 3-year-old this summer.

WHAT'S ONE THING YOU WISH PEOPLE KNEW ABOUT YOU? I get at least as much joy out of another Crew member's business win as I do my own. I am eager to refer jobs to people from the Crew outside my area, and even inside my area if the potential client and I aren't a good fit.

EDITOR'S FOOTNOTE: Jon has written a book, Making Bank with Photography, about the principles he followed to go full-time. And it's endorsed by Peter Hurley! Check it out here! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B084GYBLSK/ref=sr_1_1?k…