Who's in the Crew? - Spotlight on Judy Babinski

NAME: Judy Babinski - HSC Portfolio -https://headshotcrew.com/judybabinski
Website site - https://judybabinskiphotos.com
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/judybabinskiphotography/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/JudyBabinskiPhotography
Documentary photography website - https://judybabinski.com
Pet photography website - https://dogbiscuitphotos.com


WHERE DO YOU LIVE? I live in Dallas, TX. I have lived in Texas all my life except for 10 years in Rochester, NY, and several years as a child in Michigan.


HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN SHOOTING HEADSHOTS? I have been shooting headshots since 2016. I shot a few before that but didn’t really commit to a headshot business until I attended Peter’s Intensive in Oct. 2017.

WHAT ELSE DO YOU LIKE TO SHOOT? Actually, I started out photographing the Vietnam student unrest of the late 60s and early 70s. I was one of the photographers for the Austin, TX underground newspaper, The Rag. Along with the student protests, I photographed the Austin counter culture.

I always liked photographing people more than landscapes or other types of photography. While I was working in the corporate world, my vacations were always documentary photography workshops both in the US and abroad. I was fortunate to take these workshops in Sicily, several areas of Mexico, and Peru. My favorite place for documentary photography was Mexico, especially Oaxaca which has a wonderful and moving Dia de Los Muertos celebration. I have included a couple of photos from my documentary photography below.


WHAT IS YOUR LIGHTING SETUP FOR HEADSHOTS? I purchased a Flex Kit in 2018 and usually shoot Peter’s triangle set up. Before that, I shot the triangle with strobes.

TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT THE SPACE YOU SHOOT IN. DO YOU OWN IT? RENT IT? LIVE IN IT?
I am lucky in that I have a fully finished garage with quarters on top which was fairly easily repurposed into a studio. Pretty much all I had to do was to install split HVAC systems, insulate the garage door, and paint the floor. I also installed a ventilation system as a measure to make the studio a little more Covid safe. As the studio is detached from my house and has a separate entrance I don’t have to worry about picking up, etc., when clients come for their sessions.

WHEN DID YOU FIRST DISCOVER PH AND THE HSC? I’m not sure exactly when I discovered Peter and the HSC. It seems like I was always aware of him as the premier headshot photographer. It may have been one of his Creative Live courses in 2016.

HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU TO JOIN THE CREW ONCE YOU FOUND IT? I joined the Crew in 2016 soon after I discovered Peter and the Crew, but wasn’t active until I took Peter’s Intensive in the fall of 2017.

WHAT IS ONE THING PEOPLE WOULD NEVER GUESS ABOUT YOU? I was a hippie in the 60s and early 70s.

WHAT IS ONE THING YOU WISH PEOPLE KNEW ABOUT YOU? I wish people knew how much I appreciate and love the Crew! The Crew, more so than any other group I have ever been in either on or offline, consistently offers support and encouragement to its members. Although I always loved photography, I never seriously thought of it as a profession. But being in the Crew, receiving the critiques, seeing how others are making such a success of it, has really made me realize that it is possible.