Who's in the Crew? - Spotlight on James van Hees

NAME: James van Hees - https://headshotcrew.com/JamesVanHees

WHERE DO YOU LIVE? Burlington Ontario which is just west of Toronto and North of Niagara Falls

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN SHOOTING HEADSHOTS? Humbly I can say I shot very poor headshots for years compared to where I am today. Focusing my attention on headshots has been a relatively new effort for me. Perhaps a year and a half.

WHAT ELSE DO YOU LIKE TO SHOOT? My career as a photographer started shortly after 2000 when I opened my Wedding and Portrait business.

WHAT IS YOUR LIGHTING SETUP FOR HEADSHOTS? I had used Alienbees for years, but I currently use Godox Strobes (AD400’s and AD200’s) in strip boxes (12x36’s and 12x54’s) for my headshots. I use a Triangle setup mostly, sometimes the men’s setup. Occasionally I do play with an Octa as a main from time to time.

TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT THE SPACE YOU SHOOT IN. DO YOU OWN IT? RENT IT? OR LIVE IN IT? Currently, I am a photographer without a home. I had an old church studio, then a smaller space downtown …. But closed them both when business slowed down. Now I shoot on location exclusively.

WHEN DID YOU FIRST DISCOVER PH AND THE HSC? Peter first popped up on my radar when I was following F-stoppers. His long hair and Shabanging were kinda hard to miss. I had a few jobs that required headshots so I started seeking out Headshot specific tips and tricks to make sure my work was keeping with industry norms.

The more I looked I kept finding Peter. He had a unique style and attitude which warranted more investigation and although I was able to get close to the technical lighting aspect ….. my work was always felt lacking.

You know that feeling when you are thinking about that new car and you see it on the street and you get a little excited because it’s so new and special …. But then when you buy your car, you are driving it around and it seems like everyone and their brother has the exact same car!

When I started shooting headshots I thought Peter and his knowledge was going to be my secret weapon; that I was unique in picking up his tips and trick, but then once I started shooting headshots and looking online that triangle lighting, the #headshotcrew hashtag, and that word “shabang” seemed to appear everywhere I looked.

HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU TO JOIN THE CREW ONCE YOU FOUND IT? I knew Peter had a following and was running a program teaching his methods and sharing his skills. I had checked out the Headshot Crew website a few times …. But never pulled the trigger because I was already following Sue Bryce and her portrait work.

Sue is brilliant in her own right, but for me, the online experience was missing something. Namely: other people!

In March I had been working on a number of shoots and I actually reached out to Rich Soublet whom I found on Instagram (#headshotcrew) and he without hesitation started to share information and helped me understand more clearly than ever the triangle setup he uses and provided information and support about the crew.

I thought to myself if there are people sharing like him inside the crew, it was a place, it was a community I needed to look into more.

Then Covid hit. Everything shut down and 2 weeks after my last shoot I started getting really sick. Like the kind of sick that makes you worried. I was in bed struggling to breathe and I knew at that time I needed to start looking at the things I had been doing very differently.

I made a commitment to myself as I started to get better that I was going to get healthier in all aspects of my life; health, finance, and business. I started my photography career with a very strong mentor …. I knew it was time that I needed an even stronger one now as I was on a mission.

I quit all my subscriptions, I took Rich’s advise and I took Peter’s promotion ….. and voila I became a member in April.

WHAT IS ONE THING ABOUT YOU PEOPLE WOULD NEVER GUESS? Perhaps what most people don’t know about me is I am a huge nature guy and love all outdoor pursuits. I mountain bike every day (Yes every day!)

WHAT IS ONE THING YOU WISH PEOPLE KNEW BOUT YOU? I do a daily motivational message on Instagram (@chatswithjames) encouraging people to find their happiness, success, and freedom.