We recently connected with Jeffrey Hornstein and have shared our conversation below.

Jeffrey, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

I’ve had MANY meaningful projects including my day to day Portraits (corporate, performing arts, etc) and have worked with many successful and talented individuals. HOWEVER I think the most meaningful project to me personally has been one I’ve been working on for decades.

For many years I have been photographing Legends,Icons and Groundbreakers in the worlds of Arts and Culture who are over the age of 60. I hope to have a gallery show and or coffee table book exhibited/published featuring these individuals.

The narrative of this project is to fight ageism and also serve as an homage to a variety of Actors, Producers, Magazine Editors, Club Empressarios, Dancers, Entrepreneurs,Performing Artists, etc who are active and vital.

This project started off with the Award Winning Legendary Actor Tony Randall. I was hired to photograph him at the old Barnum and Bailey’s Circus rehearsal grounds in upstate New York.

I photographed him astride an Elephant of all things! At the time he was appearing at Lincoln Center here in NYC reading selections from Babar The Elephant accompanied by a piano.

Since then there have been many others including Oscar Winner Eli Wallach, Nick Vallelonga (Producer, Original Screenplay winner for Best Motion Picture 2019 “The Green Room” ,Tovah Feldshuh,Tony Winning Playwright/Director Terrance McNally, Legendary Actor Paul Sorvino and Many,Many More !

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I come from a small town in Connecticut in Fairfield County. I came to Manhattan at the age of 21 and held many odd jobs including being a dancing busboy at the famous disco “New York, New York”

After a few years of boring desk jobs I decided to strike out on my own as a photographer. Back in the day one could just walk in and show their work. So I would cut out of my data entry job early and pound the pavement. I started photographing Models from the major agencies such as Elite, Ford, Wilhelmina, building my portfolio. This was before everything was “online” so one had a “book” or portfolio to go around with .

My first big break came photographing fashion editorials for “Mens Guide To Fashion”. From there I garnered many other assignments in various magazines such as Detour (now Flaunt), Genre Magazine, Details, Project X, and many others. I also photographed a number of Fashion Look Books, Authors’s Portraits and then got into photographing many actors, musicians, corporate individuals from large companies such as Denton’s Law Firm, Mercedes Benz, Daimler/Chrysler, Met Life as well as portraits of Editors and Publishers for major magazine publishing companies such as Time Inc, Hearst Publications, Conde’-Nast, Meredith Publishing, American Express Publishing, etc.

Something I really enjoy doing is photographing Actors,Performing Arts Headshots/Portraits,etc. I’ve worked with many working actors who have costar, guest star and lead roles on Television and in Film as well as Top Classical Musicians.

I find many in The Arts may come in to a session very nervous and self conscious. I am genuinely interested in what makes these folks tick and how to bring out the best in them. What are their goals? How best to photograph them in terms of various types they can portray? I want to find out about their background and interests. The more I know the more I will be able to market them in the photo session. Being a photographer is kind of like being a casting director to me. And many times one needs to be very specific regarding wardrobe and visualizing how a specific character would act. It’s important to “Be in the moment” so to speak. I feel I am gifted in that I can draw that out as a photographer and director.

I like to use a variety of lighting techniques to achieve this and my studio in Midtown Manhattan is a large open loft with many windows and a large outdoor shooting area. So we can go from look to look. Sometimes natural light works best, sometimes strobe, sometimes LED lights. It all depends.

I’m very proud of the fact that so many legendary folks have entrusted me to take their photos but perhaps proudest of the fact that my headshots/portraits have gotten so many individuals in the door and cast in Television shows, Movies and Film. I love to hear the success stories and the doors that have been opened as a result of my photos!

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

In order to undertake the business of being a photographer one needs a thick skin. There will be critics, doubters, and just plain mean people you are going to encounter. You need a strong (but nice!) personality to stick with it and weather the many ups and downs. It is really like a roller coaster. It’s very important to have certain trusted friends, cohorts, etc. that can help get you through the tough times.

I remember around 9/11 things got very slow for everyone, including myself. Don’t be too proud to seek out other types of work. I took a real estate class, passed the test and planned to do that. Or any odd job even dog walking to help keep some money coming in during very hard times.

Its very hard but try to save a bit for a rainy day as well.

This is also a business in which you may be loved one minute and yesterdays’s news the next. Try really hard not to take it personally. It is extremely competitive and can really get you down so it is important to get out there when it is slow. Make calls, Email, drop off promo cards. I’ve noticed many times the energy you put out comes back at you.

If you are lucky others will come in to your life that believe in you and you can help one another. Be open to new ideas and experiences!

We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.

One thing that I offer to recurring clients is a discount when they return. It is a token of my appreciation and really appreciated. I also offer discounts to students in middle school, high school and college.

I also like to offer periodic “seasonal specials” at a discounted rate and announce that on my website and through social media.

Speaking of Social Media it can be a terrific way of keeping in touch with past and potential clients. I like to post lots of my work on Instagram and Facebook (interspersed with more casual day to day posts to break it up so I am not Bombarding folks with just my self promotion. Its kind of a balance one needs to strike. And follow ppl! Many will follow you back. You want to grow your Social Media presence as much as possible.

Occasional advertising can be good. But I am prudent with it. One can go through a lot of money with little return if not careful.

I mentioned promo cards. Get some made with a QR code and post in places you feel your audience will find them!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.jeffreyhornstein.com
• Instagram: @Madman6