Hi, I'm Jared!
I love capturing moments and making creative, authentic portraits of people and would be happy to talk with you about family portraits, senior sessions, headshots, and photo shoots to promote your business. I'm passionate, patient, and easygoing, a few of the best qualities a photographer can have, in my opinion! I’ve been a professional photojournalist for 28 years, and I feel blessed to be able to make a living doing what I love.
I’ve spent 14 of those years as a newspaper photographer, where I’ve covered everything from NBA championships to presidential visits to Elian Gonzalez protests and made inventive portraits of celebrities and everyday people. You might wonder what this has to do with a family or senior session - well, a lot because I have tons of experience remaining calm while shooting in rapidly changing situations under intense pressure.
In early 2008, I left my staff photography position at The Miami Herald to move my family to NC and join the communications team at Duke University, where I currently work full time as a multimedia producer capturing imagery and creating videos that highlight teaching, learning, healing and discovery for various marketing channels.
Whether I’m photographing a brilliant genetics researcher in their lab or your playful son or daughter in your backyard, I approach all my shoots with the same enthusiasm and professionalism, so the result is a contemporary blend of photojournalism and magazine-style portraiture.Unlike most family/senior session photographers, I usually light my portraits with soft, directional light from a giant softbox and use the sun as an accent and fill for beautiful, flattering light. This way, I can create soft, beautiful golden hour light at various times of day.
When I don't have a camera in my hand, I love playing ultimate frisbee & chess, kayaking, and watching movies with my family at our home in Hillsborough, NC. I also enjoy leading photography workshops on Duke's campus, where I serve as the staff adviser to the student-run Duke Photography Club. I've led a portrait workshop for 60 first-year Duke students with eight photo coaches for the last three years. I was born in Miami in 1972 and earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Florida in 1994, having worked on the photo staffs at The Fayetteville Observer (NC), The Tennessean (Nashville), and The Miami Herald, before working as the main health system photographer for Duke University Photography in 2008. In 2018, I joined the Duke University Communications & Marketing team as a multimedia producer. My work has appeared in National Geographic, Time, Newsweek, People, Sports Illustrated, and The New York Times. My recent project on Duke cancer patients is on display in the Duke Cancer Center.
