206: Jesse Dittmar: Using the Magic of Film to Capture Celebrity Portraits

Jesse Dittmar is a commercial portrait photographer based in Brooklyn who specializes in celebrities and other notable figures. Jesse had photographed celebrities like Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington, Jodie Foster, Sting, Charli D’Amelio, Tom Brady, George Takei, David Letterman, Uma Thurman and many many more. In this interview we chat about Jesses early start in photography, what he learned from assisting that he didnt in art school, and the transition to going out on his own and shooting for himself.

In This Episode You'll Learn:

• When Jesse knew photography was going to be an important part of his life
• Struggles Jesse had with photography early on
• The magic of developing your own film
• What Jesse learned when going to art college
• Why Jesse started assisting other photographers after graduating
• Who books Jesse to take portraits of celebrities and notable figures
• How Jesse is able to connect with his subjects in an impossibly short amount of time
• The importance that music plays in Jesses life and in his photographs
• What kind of music Jesse plays when he photographs artists like Sting
• How Jesse approaches vision for his shoots when he just has minutes to grab the shot
• How much direction Jesse gives to his subjects
• The one thing Jesse needs from each shoot to consider it a success
• Why Jesse still shoots film and how he uses it to achieve a signature look

Premium Members Also Learn:

• How to nail your client meetings
• What Jesse was surprised to learn after going out on his own and how he handled the stress
• What Jesse outsourced in his business to make him a better photographer
• How to overdeliver to your client to ensure they keep calling you back

Resources:

• Celebrity Portrait Photographer Jesse Dittmar’s website
• Jesse Dittmar’s Instagram
• Jesse Dittmar’s book “Two”

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Thanks for listening & keep shooting!