First Friday Features: Jennifer Hardt
Anyone who completes a 365 impresses me. Anyone who completes a self portrait 365 really impresses me, so I was immediately drawn to Jennifer's self portrait work. I just love her simple, uncluttered compositions, and I feel like there is a bit of mystery to her images. I find myself wondering about the story behind the images, and I love that. Check out her website, Instagram, or Flickr page to be further inspired by her work.
ME :: THE PERSON
1. How would your family and friends describe you?
This stumped me, so I turned to Facebook and let my friends answer for me..... Sorry this ended up being so wordy!!! :)
“adorable, adventurous, ambitious, artistic, authentic, beautiful inside and out, bright, caring, classy, confident, creative, daring, down to earth, efficient, fantastic, fulloflife, generous, gracious, great sense of humour, happy, honest, kind, openarmed, openminded, outsideofthebox thinker, patient, reliable, selfless, sincere, smart, soulful, stylish, supportive, sweet, talented, thoughtful, unique, warm”.
In particular, I loved this from my friend Jana (who before responding to this question, I had already mentioned below she is my “twin”, even though we look nothing alike) “When I first met you and didn’t know you, I thought “she’s someone I want to know.” You jumped right in to volunteer during the lighting class. You were interesting, curious, ambitious, creative and of course super talented. Glad I got to know you!”
<Phew> I obviously have wonderful friends, but I would be remiss if I didn’t add that I am also rather stubborn.
2. Are you married or single? Do you have any children?
I have been married to my husband, Dick, for 7.5 years. He is incredibly supportive of my career; he was the one who gifted me my very first DSLR 9 years ago and reignited my love for photography. We missed the boat on having kids, but we’re lucky to have many friends with young children that we love spending time with, and thus get to enjoy the process, minus the responsibility.
What makes you laugh? What makes you cry?
My husband seriously makes me laugh every single day! We’re so goofy together..... I call him my Monkey. I am super sensitive, so even thinking about crying can make my eyes well up with tears, but generally anything remotely sad makes me cry, whether it stems from a real life story, or fiction. I’m a hot mess at a sad movie!!
3. What is your best physical feature? What is one that you would like to change?
I would say my eyes are my best physical feature, although I swear my eyelashes are shrinking as I age. They used to be sooooo long when I was a kid! I’d seriously kill for naturally straight hair. Don’t be fooled by my flatironed locks; I’m a frizzball who dreads rainfall and humidity.
4. If you could change one thing about yourself or your life, what would it be?
Easy one! I would love to be completely fluent in another language. I get easily distracted, so I’ll start learning French, for example, and then find out we’ll be travelling somewhere that is Spanishspeaking and then make a detour. I’m seriously all over the place and I need to get it together and just concentrate on one. Since I would love to spend some extended time in Paris and/or the south of France one day, I should probably just start with that.
5. Where/how did you meet your closest friends?
I feel incredibly lucky to have some amazing friends scattered all over the world. I mostly met them through various places of work throughout the years, or through other friends, and more recently, at photography workshops. I met my husband at a restaurant/bar. I was with my friend, Sonia, who he knew through her now husband, and he came over to say hello.
6. What is the craziest thing you’ve ever done?
Burning Man. Twice.
7. What is the one thing about yourself that you are really proud of?
That I had the moxie to start a business six years ago that is still thriving today despite moving to another state. I will often just jump into something blindly and spontaneously, but I realized that this was an area that required a lot of thought and planning. I researched many different business models before opening my doors and made it a point to price myself properly right out of the gate... no shootandburn photography for this girl! I flew to Rhode Island in December 2010 to take an editing and business class with Heidi Hope an amazing child and newborn photographer and savvy businesswoman that I have a lot of respect for that allowed me to gain further insight into the business side of photography. It was worth every penny!! As much as I love what I do creatively, being a onewomanshow requires a lot of time, energy and determination. It means tracking expenses, paying taxes, marketing, and regularly revisiting the way I run my business. Continuing to educate myself has been instrumental to ensuring that I stay fresh in a competitive market where I see other photographers pricing themselves against each other in a race to the bottom. Because of that, I stand out and still remain true to my pricing to this day. Last year around this time, I even started mentoring a good friend of mine, Michelle, who I’m so happy to report now has a really successful business of her own. So while I’m proud of me and how far I have come, I am equally as proud of my entrepreneurial friends and that they trust me enough to give back to them my knowledge of what I’ve learned along the way.
ME :: THE PHOTOGRAPHER
8. How did you become interested in photography?
I have had a love for it since I was a teenager. Around 13 years of age, my dad an avid hobbyist photog gave me my mom’s Asahi Pentax Spotmatic to use at an airshow and he was just really impressed by the images that came back from the lab. Turned out I had a natural knack for framing. It never occurred to me that I could make a living at photography after highschool, so I instead merely dabbled in it from that point forward. It wasn’t until my husband and I moved to the U.S. from Canada in 2008 that I really turned towards that as a possibility for a new career. I had a lot of downtime while I waited for my Green Card, and felt super inspired after reading an online article at Digital Photography School about improving photography skills through various projects. I ended up starting my 365 project on a whim that very day!! Up until that point, I was mostly selftaught, so it was a fantastic journey to finding my style and learning and honing my postprocessing skills. Posting the photos online everyday made me accountable to my growing Flickr audience.
9. If you’re in business, how long have you been in business, and what job did you have before becoming a photographer?
I started my photography business in San Francisco in late 2010, specializing in children and newborns. We very recently relocated to Seattle, so I’m starting all over again but this time around, I have a small home studio in which to photograph. I’m super excited about that since my husband designed the studio to heat up quickly which is ideal for newborn sessions. Prior to becoming a photographer, I worked in the Vancouver film industry as an onset Extras Coordinator for 10 years, followed by 4 years at Electronic Arts before moving stateside.
10. What camera/lenses/camera bag do you use?
I currently use a Nikon D800e and Nikon D810 with the Nikkor 50mm f1.4, Nikkor 1735mm f2.8, and Nikkor 105mm f2.8 macro all packed into my Ruggard Outrigger 45 backpack for outdoor shoots. When I’m travelling which is often I ditch the backpack and carry one body and one lens (I like the onelens challenge, plus it’s easier on my neck and shoulders) in my Kelly Moore camera purse, which can also hold my laptop for easy transport. I also have a Canon 5DMII with Canon 35mm f1.4, Canon 50mm f1.2, Canon 85mm f1.2, and Canon 70200mm f2.8 lenses. In addition to my Asahi Pentax SLR (that still works splendidly), I also have a Uniflex II in my arsenal a gift from a Flickr friend and always keep rolls of film in the fridge.
11. Do you use Lightroom, Photoshop, or both?
I catalog and cull my images in Lightroom, but edit in Photoshop. For my client work, I am editing minimally these days, instead favouring a very clean, natural appearance. I think it is important for my clients to love something as much twenty years from now as they do today, without a trendy filter slapped on the images that is going to scream “so 2010” down the road. For my personal work, I give myself more license to experiment with different techniques.
12. Do you take pictures everyday?
Pretty much! I used to carry my DSLR with me everywhere, but with the camera improvements on the newer iPhone, I’m content to leave the extra weight behind unless we have an outing on our calendar. Taking iPhone images regularly allows me the freedom to not take myself too seriously. I can play with different angles and subject matters without the pressure of taking up precious space on my Mac, so it’s a good learning tool. My dear friend Jana, who I met in a lighting class around 8 years ago, told me about her “selfdates” as a way to reenergize, which in turn inspired me to plan my own a few times a year. With camera in hand, I either head out on foot in no particular direction or to a park or museum I’ve been wanting to explore stopping for a long lunch and a glass of wine along the way. It combines a few of my favourite things... solo time, peoplewatching, and picture taking!!
13. What is your biggest struggle as a photographer?
Comparing myself to others. There are just so many incredible photographers out there doing extraordinary work, so it’s easy to get sucked into a feeling of inferiority. I try not to spend a lot of time looking at other photographer’s work now like I did in the beginning, and while it’s important to always be growing and learning as an artist, it’s more important for me to express how I see the world. Not confuse my style by someone else’s version of it.
14. How difficult would it be for you to go without screens (no phone, iPad, computer, TV) for one week? One month?
I tend to suffer from socialmedia overload (which probably explains why I’m so inconsistent at posting), so I don’t think a month would be difficult for me at all; especially if you parked me in the south of France, or if sun, surf and sand was involved. I absolutely appreciate and embrace technology, but there is so much information bombarding us now that as a more introverted individual, I especially long for the days before cell phones. I mean, do we really need to be reachable at ALL times of the day? I like getting “lost”, and I like contemplative environments, so checking out for a period would suit me well since that really energizes me. My husband is an extrovert, so that would probably drive him crazy! He likes being surrounded by people.
15. How do you promote your photography?
I’m sort of lazy, so for the most part, I don’t. In the past, most of my clients came from wordofmouth or via Yelp. Before we moved to Seattle, I had a lot of repeat clients, which I loved since it really adds to a session when your clients know you and are comfortable enough around you to fully relax. It was also really rewarding to see the newborns I photographed two or three years prior become a big brother or sister. Lately, I have gotten in the habit of handing out my business card to almost every pregnant woman I encounter at the gym and I’m lucky to have a daycare across the street from my home studio which is great for marketing to people who already frequent the neighbourhood.
16. Whose work are you most influenced or inspired by?
Oh my goodness.... I fear there are too many to outline here, but I absolutely love everything that Brooke Shaden does. Not only is she an incredible artist, but she just comes across as super sweet and giving. I also adore Joel Robison’s work, and not just because he’s a fellowCanadian. His imagination produces some delightful imagery, and since I photograph children for a living, I just really relate to that. Kelly Brown of Little Pieces Photography is an incredible newborn photographer that I had the pleasure of meeting at a workshop last spring, and she has the kindest and gentlest manner about her. I’ve been a fangirl of hers for years, and learning from her inperson was such a great opportunity. She is incredibly creative and makes working with children and newborns seem so effortless which is why I’m sure she has won so many awards. I could gush about her work endlessly.
17. Have you done any personal projects? Is there anything new you are working on right now or plan to start soon?
I’ve done a few personal projects since completing my 365 Project “Around the Sun” in 2010, the first of which was an Alphabet Project. That was super fun since it was a nice selfportrait break. My friend Kristin came up with the “Skirt a Day in May” concept which she personally started as a way of welcoming the warmer spring weather. She made it a point to wear nothing but skirts/dresses in May and I took it a step further and turned it into a photo project in both 2011 and 2013. I also completed a 31 day “Sense of Snow” project at a point when my husband and I spent 3 months over the winter with his family in northern British Columbia. I’m a warmweather girl by nature, but I did learn that icefishing is fun!
I am considering starting a 52 week project in January, or at the very least, completing my “100 Strangers” project. Most people don’t really think of me as a shy girl, but I totally am! I only made it to #7 before I copped out, but it gnaws at me that it is incomplete, and I still think about it when I see someone interesting. I find all faces really beautiful not merely in the obvious sense and often catch myself staring at people, much to their discomfort, I’m certain. At the very least, I need to work on overcoming my shyness so they know why I’m staring, or get stealthier about staring. Life goals.
Thank you so much for interviewing me! You’re a really talented photographer and I feel honoured that you reached out. This was so fun!