Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jeff Bennion. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Jeff, thanks for joining us today. Can you tell us about a time that your work has been misunderstood? Why do you think it happened and did any interesting insights emerge from the experience?

I’ve always had an element of fashion and boudoir in my work. I shoot whatever makes people feel incredible. When I moved to my new studio in 2020 and did a huge fancy, elegant remodel, my inquiries became all boudoir inquiries. Honestly, it was my favorite genre because you can get really creative and fancy with the lighting and the mood of the image. Out of all the times that I had shot people and made them cry tears of joy, it was overwhelmingly from boudoir. But, especially being a man, there’s a stigma that you are just trying to take sexy pictures of hot girls. I felt really judged until I realized that I don’t really care what any of those people think. If they don’t get it, that’s their problem and not mine. I had built up a tremendous reputation as being very respectful of people’s privacy and boundaries and making sure they had a great experience and my reviews showed it.

Jeff, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I started my photography journey as a landscape and wildlife photographer. It wasn’t until about a year into when I attended a model workshop where I first worked with posing and lighting to take a picture of a person that I really found my passion. When you shoot nature, nature doesn’t care. but when you take a beautiful picture of a person, you can change their outlook on themselves.

I began to really thrive on the feeling of changing people’s outlooks on themselves. Most of my work in my portfolio is almost entirely straight out of camera. I edit pictures the way people want if they ask, but I love when people see their pictures, the way they actually look, and think, “wow, that is me.”

I’m extremely proud of my testimonials page on my website where people have left comments and sent me messages about what their shoot with me has meant to them.

I work with a lot of clients who have had some kind of trauma – whether it’s emotional trauma or physical trauma – and are looking for a way to own their beauty. I’m fortunate enough to have a rapport with most of my clients right off the bat where they feel comfortable enough to share with me why they want to do their shoot. It’s heartbreaking to hear their stories sometimes, but something I do regularly as a lawyer who has helped hundreds of clients in sexual assault cases against ride share companies. I am proud of the safe environment I create for my clients for them to feel safe enough to share their stories with me and it helps me create a comfortable empowering environment for them.

I’m very open about my healing path with plant-based medicines and psychedelic therapy. It has had a tremendous benefit in my life and I love sharing those experiences with people.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

My goal is to use my art as a healing modality for people to unlearn the over-critical way we see ourselves. In my bio on my instagram, it says: “Realigning energies caused by improper perception of your own beauty.” Almost everyone comes to me with something they hate about themselves – their nose, their lips, their legs, their neck, their stomach. I’d say almost every time, it’s something that no one else would recognize as a flaw. My job is to help people see themselves the way I see them and fall in love with the way they look. I light, I style, I pose, I angle, all to get the best shots to show them how I see them. I want to make people look like art. Then we sit down at the computer after the session and look at the pictures together and we’re seeing them for the first time before I’ve had a chance to edit them or even review them. I want people to see how great they look in every frame, not after I’ve deleted the “bad” ones and digitally altered everything about them.

It is my favorite part of the session.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

People think that it’s all just goofing around being an artist. Like, you wake up, make some art, take the rest of the day off, and don’t ever do any hard work. For every hour I spend shooting, there are dozens of hours of marketing, running ads, working on my website, responding to messages, working social media, networking, set building, cleaning, shooting and editing videos, etc. When someone finds me, it’s because I’ve put a ton of effort into making myself visible. There is a lot of back-end work that goes into running a business that no one ever sees or appreciates. On top of that, there is equipment costs, studio costs, technology upgrades, research for each shoot, education, etc. that all go into making each shoot special.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.jmb.photos
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeffb.photos
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sandiegoportraits
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-bennion-2883aab/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/jeff_bennion
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@JeffBennionPhotography
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/jeff-bennion-photography-san-diego

Image Credits
Images taken by Jeff Bennion Photography