Who's in the Crew? - Spotlight on Jennifer James Long

NAME: Jennifer James-Long
WEBSITE: HeadshotsEugene.com
CREW PROFILE https://headshotcrew.com/StudioSura
INSTAGRAM @headshotseugene
FACEBOOK @headshotseugene
LINKEDIN https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferlong/

WHERE ARE YOU FROM AND WHERE DO YOU LIVE NOW?

I'm from Eugene, Oregon, and live here again after many adventures elsewhere.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN SHOOTING HEADSHOTS?

I starting shooting "headshots" about five or six years ago but had no clue what I was doing. I got a job to photograph 120 people in two days and realized it was the fastest and most straightforward way to make decent money in photography. So I decided to go all-in -- but realized that I need to shoot them well. So I re-joined HeadshotCrew at the end of 2019 and went to Mania2. THAT was the BEST!

WHAT IS YOUR LIGHTING SETUP FOR HEADSHOTS?

I use 4, 4-inch wide Genaray LED light that I've rigged up with diffusion, which is attached to the barn doors. They were sold as a kit with light stands and sandbags for $998 over at B&H. Because the light strips are so narrow I increased the surface area with ripstop nylon diffusion fabric that I velcroed to the back of each door. It still allows me to close the barn doors and transport if I need to. Everything in my portfolio was shot with those. They work pretty well but I would still love a FlexKit. They are way more powerful.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR STUDIO. DO YOU OWN IT? RENT IT? OR LIVE IN IT?

I have a home studio that actually takes up the front three rooms of my house. I have a master suite off the front door which serves as the hair/makeup/dressing room, then I have a salesroom (for portrait sales) and I cut a doorway from there into the garage. This way no one ever goes into a private area of my house. Many people have doubtfully asked me if I actually live here because they feel the separation between my work and private life. I don't really go in there unless I'm working -- except during the pandemic shutdown when I couldn't work. My salesroom turned into my gym because I used my payment center (iPad) to play the workouts I was following along with. The other thing the pandemic changed is television ownership. I now own a TV to TNT my clients. Before that, I didn't own a TV for 15 years.

WHAT ELSE DO YOU LIKE TO SHOOT?

I shoot beauty portraits and I also photograph the dancers at the University of Oregon Dance Department. I dabble in photojournalism but I just don't have the grit it takes to be at all the newsworthy events. I have HUGE respect and admiration for that discipline -- especially after last year.

WHEN DID YOU FIRST DISCOVER PH AND THE HSC?

I think I discovered Peter when he was CreativeLive the first time with his crazy hair. I bought the book and created an account at the crew website, but I was up to my eyebrows in learning beauty portraiture and building my in-studio wardrobe and product sales process. I really, really enjoy the simplicity of headshot work. Sometimes I wish I'd gone that route first, but I have no regrets either.

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

I think it was at least five or six years between signing up and actually paying my dues. As I mentioned, sometimes I wish I'd gone all-in back then because I've learned SO much about expression (and many other things) from Peter. You really get to hone in on the face and all the subtleties without worrying about posing the rest of the body.

WHAT IS ONE THING PEOPLE WOULD NEVER GUESS ABOUT YOU?

There was an article about another business I started here in the U.S. in Time Magazine. But people would never guess it because its been archived in their history.

WHAT IS ONE THING YOU WISH PEOPLE KNEW ABOUT YOU?

Hmmm... I dunno. After my adventures, I find that I'm not in a hurry to be "known" again. I don't think there's anything people actually need to know about me unless we have it in common. :-) For those of you who do know me, you have my permission to volunteer information you think is worth sharing.