Who's in the Crew? - Spotlight on Maurice Jager

NAME:  Maurice Jager - aka the Deputy
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maurice_jager/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mauricejagerphotography/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mauricejager/
Website: www.mauricejager.com
Website: https://personalbrandingforphotographers.com
Podcast: https://personalbrandingforphotographers.com/podc…
HeadshotCrew: https://headshotcrew.com/maurice-jager

WHERE ARE YOU FROM AND WHERE DO YOU LIVE NOW?
I was born on a very small patch of dirt with just 1400 people. I moved out at age 18 and currently live in Arnhem, the Netherlands. A city in the Netherlands with approximately 150,000 people. My studio is about ¼ mile from my home.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN SHOOTING HEADSHOTS?
I've been shooting headshots for about 8 years. I was so fed up with corporate work and had no idea what to do with my life. I stumbled upon one of Peter's videos back in 2012 and that pretty much kick-started my headshot business.

WHAT ELSE DO YOU LIKE TO SHOOT?
I help entrepreneurs, speakers, authors, expert-based business owners, and photographers with their personal branding images, social media content, and its strategy. And I'm not talking studio images. I mean fly on the wall, straight out of life, raw images. I'm getting famous for laying on the floor in the local Starbucks to get the shot. LOL

TELL US ABOUT YOUR STUDIO. DO YOU OWN IT? RENT IT? LIVE IN IT?
I've been in my studio for 7 years. I rent it in an arts building. I love this space. It's a 1/4 mile from my house, so super easy to get to. It's my business man-cave. LOL. It's about 400 sq ft, and it houses all of my awesomeness. I'm surprised it can actually contain all of it, but it works. ;-)

WHEN DID YOU FIRST DISCOVER PH AND THE HSC?
I found out about Peter when feeling miserable about my day job browsing YouTube. Peter was speaking at the Google Plus Photographers conference and I caught the video on YouTube. After I watched the video in 2012 I emailed Peter and got into PH2PRO, the Headshotcrew predecessor. 

HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU TO JOIN THE CREW ONCE YOU FOUND IT?

I'm an impatient guy. When I think something is awesome, I go for it. So I join the Crew pretty much after I found out about what PH2PRO was. That said, shooting headshots in a country that had zero headshot photographers was a problem. My competition was video games like Call of Duty, where people take another kind of headshots. I decided to take on the gamers as competition and go for it. I let the term headshot go and went with ‘LinkedIn profile picture’ (translated in Dutch). It describes more what it actually is to an audience that has no clue they actually need it. 

TELL US ABOUT YOUR JOURNEY FROM STUDYING PHOTOGRAPHY TO FINDING YOURSELF ASSISTING A PHOTOGRAPHY LEGEND.

I was brought up in a family in the pro soccer sphere, I was in soccer school from an early age. I had to quit when I got into an accident and because of my injury, I got kicked off the team. 

My dad grew up in mining. At age 14 he was hundreds of feet underground mining coal, listening to his supervisor. Neither of my parents have any education, I'm from a true blue-collar family. 

My dad worked for the same company for 52 years, retiring at age 67. Anyway, he always told me to always make sure I'm the guy who calls the shots. He told me to never work for anyone else. 

After my soccer career went down the drain, dad sent me off to business school to become a 'manager'. Fast-forward 12 years, I'm stuck in an office managing 120 people in a marketing department and feeling miserable. 

When I was close to being burned-out, I stared across the room and saw my camera. I was already shooting semi-pro for events and concerts, I shot Jay-Z, and other famous artists before. But I never felt that kinda work had any longevity. I felt I could do something more meaningful. 

So I took on the gamers and created a headshot business with zero market and zero competition. It all took off from there. In 2014, I became an Associate at the HeadshotCrew, and not too long after in 2015 I became a Mentor. In April 2016, Peter was hosting the first-ever headshot event called HeadshotCrewz, and I was invited to be an educator. This kicked off a couple of things. First, after we got off the vessel I talked to Peter about developing the HeadshotCrew. He decided to get me on-board and help him build the HeadshotCrew. I felt like a fish in the water, and put on my marketing hat, and created a couple of things like Headshot of the Week which is still going strong. Headshot of the Week was one of my first brainchilds, and I’m glad it’s still going strong. At some point, my photography business started to kick off more and more and I couldn’t find the time anymore to help with the HeadshotCrew. I’m still forever grateful for the opportunities the HeadshotCrew has created for me. Because of my work and my branding, I was able to align myself with different companies to become their Ambassador. I’m currently sponsored by BenQ, Tether Tools, Phottix, Feisol, and working with a dozen more. This has helped me build a presence as an educator myself. Having sponsors isn’t paying the rent, but being aligned with these brands helps to tap into audiences to help other photographers to elevate their work. 

Currently, I’m the author of the book ‘Personal branding for Photographers’, host a podcast with the same name, and am I hosting a virtual summit in January 2021 about Personal branding for photographers.

I feel very fortunate to live the life I’m living based on my headshot photography, and the opportunities and comradery the Crew offers.

WHAT IS A TYPICAL WORK DAY LIKE FOR YOU?
I’m always in the studio at 7 - 7:30 AM. When I say always, I mean always. Monday to Monday. The weekend is for people that work for someone else. There are always things to do. When I’m home at night, I stuff my to-do list for the next day. Heck, it’s never empty. As a solo-entrepreneur, you need to wear multiple hats. Especially when you work with people in multiple countries. Whether it’s recording my podcast or organizing my event, I usually have to adapt to time zones from people overseas. With Covid-19, I only shoot 1 or 2 people a day in the studio to minimize risks for all parties involved. I currently shoot around 15 people each week. 

WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF IN 10 YEARS?

First and foremost, I want to further my authority as a headshot photographer. I’ve probably translated my book in English by then, and I am running a successful annual Personal Branding for Photographers event, hopefully in person and not just virtual as I’m doing this year. 

On a personal note, I’d love to move into another home more in the suburbs but with easy access to highways and cities. 

WHAT IS ONE THING PEOPLE WOULD NEVER GUESS ABOUT YOU?
Well I dunno, there are lots of things. I’m a lefty. I’m more or less colorblind, getting my portfolio in shape and consistent with colors was a total nightmare. I drive a 20-year-old Ford. I used to be an introvert and learned how to put myself out there when working with clients and audiences. I’m one of few people I know in Europe that watch NFL, and I’m seriously kicking ass in the Fantasy Football league. LOL. 
 There are lots of things people don’t know about me. I’m kinda mysterious ;-)

WHAT IS ONE THING YOU WISH PEOPLE KNEW ABOUT YOU?
Sometimes, I can come across a little rough around the edges and blunt but it all comes from a good heart. So don’t ever be offended, when I say things blunt. It might be genetic as a Dutchman. ;-)