We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Spencer Jarman. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Spencer below.

Spencer , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

I think everything in life is a risk, regardless of how stable the industry, job, or decision is. Starting my own photography business was a risk. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. I knew I was going to have tough months, but I’m also an actor so I’m used to that. I think its more risky to your mental health to not take the risk that your heart is telling you to take.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Hello, my name is Spencer Jarman. I am an Actor and Photographer from a tiny town called Joseph Oregon. I have been acting since college (2010,) and I started my photography business Definition Foto in 2021.

I will start with acting. The story goes a little something like this… My first performance was a skit in this small church where I was supposed to be so infatuated with this cute pastors daughter that I placed my hand on my heart to check if it was still beating. I then got into college and tried out for the theater program and fell in love with acting. I dropped out, moved to the closest acting hub (Portland,) and studied there for 3 years. I then went back to my hometown and did a year of Wildland firefighting for the US Forest Service and saved enough money to move to Los Angeles. I was in LA for 7ish years where I booked a bunch of short films, plays, as well as a handful of commercials (1 National K-Mart campaign.) I took classes from world renowned teachers from Yale, NIDA, LAMDA, DCL, NYU, and Julliard. The pandemic hit and I moved to Utah because it just felt like the right move? I booked over 40 projects in my first two years, so I got to implement a lot of my training. I love Shakespeare, gritty independent films, and period pieces. I love intensity. I love to yell in a scene, but I also love to play laconic characters. I have tried to learn skills that will help me embody characters when the time is right. I ride a motorcycle. I’m learning french, horseback riding and guitar. I have trained for 5 years in Muay thai and Boxing, and I have been driving go karts since I was 4. Now on to photography.

I started my photography business because I saw a need for someone who understands branding and the casting side of the equation. I take a very customized approach to my headshots. I send out a questionnaire that helps me be very specific about my lighting choices, as well as the background. I then talk through goals that the client has in mind for their career. Are you going for a show on the CW, a Kevin Costner or Taylor Sheridan project? The clothing should hint at those projects without being a costume. I also do professional/corporate portraits which is a bit more straight forward. I am a perfectionist when it comes to photography and I think that and my amazing mentors are the reason why I have more and more clients each month. One thing that has helped me grow as a photographer is my background in design and art as well as attending a countless number of Q & A’s, Workshops, and Business of Acting classes, which has helped me grow a brand that is unique and that I am proud of.

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.

The goal is to create and sometimes creativity doesn’t mean $$ right now. Sure, that is one of the goals but it’s a marathon. A creative path can feel like you’re filling up a sink hole with time, money, opportunity’s, and relationships. Eventually you will be able to stand on a mound of all your hard work and you will have created a full life that is hopefully prosperous.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

For me it’s getting to sit back after a long day on set or a photography session and feeling like I got better. It makes you feel like this heightened being. I don’t mean in an egotistical way, you just feel like a piece of art. I know this sounds very obscure but it gives you a connection to the past in a way. To carry on an old tradition and tell story or capture someones essence.       

Contact Info:

• Website: Definitionfoto.com
• Instagram: Definitionfoto // Spencerjarman
• Facebook: Definitionfoto // Spencerjarman