Who's in the Crew? - Spotlight on Garret Buckley

NAME: Garret Buckley - https://headshotcrew.com/garret%40buckledown.media
https://www.buckledown.media/

WHERE DO YOU LIVE? Lincoln Park, Chicago Il.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN SHOOTING HEADSHOTS? Around a year

WHAT ELSE DO YOU LIKE TO SHOOT? I love shooting high-end country club/charity galas. 

WHAT IS YOUR LIGHTING SETUP FOR HEADSHOTS? I'm sticking with the triangle for now. I use the Godox system of 400,200x2 a V1 and a speedlight. Three 1x3’s, a 2x2 for kick, and a bare round head V1 to control my background. 

TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT THE SPACE YOU SHOOT IN.  DO YOU OWN IT? RENT IT? LIVE IN IT? My studio is in the heart of downtown Chicago. I’m right on Michigan Avenue, a block from the southeast corner of the “Loop” line.  I’m in a great building full of creatives. Instrumental instructors, artists, voice lessons, axe throwing, and anything else cool you can think of! Did I mention violin makers? There are 7!
I have just under 500 sqft with 14ft ceilings. Enough space for a private dressing room, coffee/lounge area, and my dual-sided shooting area. I shoot my headshots against a broad white wall and then have a 9-foot backdrop system to shoot long ways for any full body stuff! 

WHEN DID YOU FIRST DISCOVER PH AND THE HSC? I first discovered Peter around October 2019? from an Fstoppers critique and some B&H keynotes. I discovered the HSC after buying the “Perfecting the Headshot” tutorial. 

HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU TO JOIN THE CREW ONCE YOU FOUND IT? It took me about a month or two, I think.  I got enough info from the freebies out there to know about the Hurley method so I slapped and bought the tutorial right after the nationwide lockdown. I studied and studied and studied until I moved across the country to open my studio (also during the pandemic!). I joined once it was safe to start shooting more people!  

WHAT IS ONE THING PEOPLE WOULD NEVER GUESS ABOUT YOU? I was a full scholarship, full time starting D1 athlete, and had thoughts of pursuing pro-competition as my career. I was one skills notch shy (and a few screws loose in the head) from making this a reality. I’m so glad I picked up a camera as that chapter of my life closed.  I also used to be an audio engineer and write/ perform in a technical progressive metal band. Wild. 

WHAT IS ONE THING YOU WISH PEOPLE KNEW ABOUT YOU? I’m just really happy to be in a community of people that are as, or more passionate as I am. I’ve always been through a revolving door of tight-knit, niche communities and I’m just so frickin happy that there is one for headshot photography, not even mentioning the value of the crew.