Jeff Zoet Interview

Friday, August 8th, 2008
by Greg

I was introduced to Photographer Jeff Zoet by a mutual internet friend of ours Miss iJustine. Jeff is based out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and mainly shoots creative portraiture. He has developed a unique visual style is fun and entertaining! Which keeps attracting people to him for their portraits. I’m pleased to present you with photographer Jeff Zoet’s interview. Enjoy!

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So Jeff, your photography mostly deals with portraiture correct?

That is correct. As most people do when they get a new camera, I started by just taking pictures of daily life. Trying to learn the different functions of the camera, while paying attention to lighting and composition. Though I don’t have any actual education in photography, I did learn things in college that applied to taking better pictures. After much experimenting, I felt I needed a focus. So I starting shooting portraits because it gave me an opportunity to involve others in the process.

Why do you like to photograph people more than anything else?

When personally viewing photographs, I have always been more interested when a person was the main subject. I find them to be a great blank canvas to really try interesting ideas with. Plus I like the back and forth interaction with my clients. I try to get their ideas and personal quirks incorporated into the photo. That way I feel I’ve done something unique that is tailor made for each individual.

How do you get your clients to relax if they are camera shy?

A lot of the people I have shoots with have either never done this before, or have worked with people that didn’t help them improve. I always start thing out nice and light. Just chat for a bit. Let them know that there is no pressure. Sometimes people witnessing me talking to clients before a shoot ask me later “How long have you known that person. You guys were chatting like you’ve known each other for years.” And I just say “Nope. I just met them tonight. That’s the first time we’ve talked” So yeah, I am a people person and have no trouble starting a conversation. So once the shoot starts, I just let them do what they do, and get a read on how much direction they need. I shoot all digital, so I can just snap as many pictures as I want. This helps when people just need some time to get going. Then no one feels like they’re wasting valuable film or anything. Some people loosen up after a little bit while others need a little more help throughout the shoot. Either way, I am cracking jokes (usually bad ones) throughout the shoot.

What your processes of picking the finial images for the client?

For an average two hour shoot, I’ll take anywhere from 125 - 200 photos. A lot of them are very similar. I do that just in case their eyes are closed, or the focus isn’t perfect, or the pose slightly changes, and so on. Usually within a day of the shoot, I’ll go through them all and select which ones I feel are the best. I’ll be pretty trigger happy at first when picking favorites, but then eventually narrow it down after I see which ones are too close to the others. I used to post all the unfinished images online in a password protected folder for the client to choose. But I had a couple instances where people would save those unfinished photos, and post them all over the internet. When I take the photos, I only view them as half done. What I do when developing them is just as important as when I am lighting and capturing the images. So I had to stop doing that. But it’s been working out just fine. My clients trust that I am giving them a good variety of the best possible images from the shoot. I always seem to process a few extra just to be sure. For a two hour shoot, I always promise to give the client 20 - 30 final images. But it always ends up being at least 40 when it’s all said and done. That process has worked pretty good for me so far.

Can you tell us how you felt when you found all the unfinished photos all over the internet, and what was the conversation like with the client afterwards?

I try not to dwell on these kind of things, but I remember feeling like I got cheated. I specifically told the client to only view the photos and let me know favorites… but not to save them or use them online. While I was retouching the finals, I noticed the originals showing up on their site. I asked that they immediately take them down. After a little back and forth, they finally did. But I had learned my lesson.

What shoot has been the most demanding or difficult for you; be it client, location, post-processing?

I would have to say that the most demanding shoot I had so far was for a clothing line called Salvezza Threads. I had worked with the owner Nicole twice before, so we were both very trusting of the other. The first two shoots were pretty hectic, but Nicole was always pleased with the results, and very grateful for my efforts. But for the third shoot, she had a very daunting task for me. The two of us booked 24 models to pose in over 50 different hoodies and t-shirts that she designed… and I had to shoot them all on location within 3 hours. Oh, and it ended up happening on an unnaturally hot day. I scouted a spot ahead of time that she was happy with. It was underneath two highways and next to some train tracks. We wanted a spot with a lot of variety so I could get completely different backgrounds just by moving a couple steps and point the camera in a different direction. So I had to think about composition, lighting, posing, getting all the necessary angles of the products all while pumping through the shots as fast as I could. With the help of a great makeup and hair styling team, Nicole running the show, and an assistant helping me haul my lights around, we got the job done, and satisfied the client once again. But I don’t think I was ever so exhausted after a shoot as I was from that one. I’m sure I went straight home to the air conditioning and enjoy a nice Belgian brew after that!

When you used to show the clients all the photos, did they ever pick one that was a little out of focus and the very next one was perfect; did you ever pull the old switcheroo on them?

Ha ha. Definitely no. I guess I should have specified a little more on that one. Even when I used to let the client see “all” of the photos, I still went through them all and removed the out focus and poorly cropped shots. Nobody needs to see those! And I didn’t even want to give them the option for that type of scenario to happen.

You just finished a shoot with Justine Ezarik aka iJustine. Could you tell us a little bit about the shoot?

Well, a shoot with Justine is never dull, I can say that. Justine and I have known each other for about 3 years now. Way before she became so famous online. So I watched with amusement as her popularity rose, and as more and more people became her fans. Back then I think I had just started doing portraits. I think we briefly talked about do a shoot, but it never happened. I think that might have even been at the beginning when I was just begging people to shoot with me for free, to help get more experience.

So anyway, our shoot was 2 hours, but I think I was at the studio for at least 3 hours between of all the bad jokes, funny faces, and catching up on how our lives have been. Justine and I are very comfortable with each other, so there is no layer of BS to cut through when we’re hanging out, er I mean… doing a professional photo shoot. We’ve both come a long way since we first met, and I think it’s safe to safe that we’re both big fans of the other’s work.

If you can leave one lasting impression on the viewers of your photographs what would that be?

I would hope that the photos do that for themselves. But if I were to wish for a certain reaction from my work, I guess I would just hope that it connects with people on a very personal level. My favorite work has always been the more conceptual images. I love working towards an idea, and then have the photos tell a story. I feel so much more rewarded when I create something that makes people look twice. Or crack a smile and giggle at the way I approached a feeling or subject. If I can find a way for a photo to relate to a fond memory or dormant feeling inside someone, then it’s all worth it.

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I really enjoyed doing this interview with Jeff. I hope you all do as well. If you have any questions leave them bellow. I’ll make sure they get answered.