Jackson Reed with his camera in the Gowanus studio

Hi, I’m Jackson.

I photograph people as they actually are, from a daylight studio on Union Street and wherever my clients feel most like themselves.

Jackson Reed in the Gowanus studio

I started photographing friends’ weddings in 2017 with a borrowed camera and one lens. Most of my clients still find me the same way: through someone I have already photographed.

Before the studio I spent six years assisting editorial and wedding photographers across New York. I learned to light a room in four minutes and to stay out of the way for the other four hours.

In 2020 I took a floor on Union Street with three tall north windows. Most portraits happen there; everything else happens in parks, kitchens, barns and the occasional rooftop.

Studio
Union Street, Gowanus
Shooting since
2017
Coverage
New York City, Hudson Valley, travel on request
Kit
Two bodies, 35mm and 85mm primes, mostly daylight

The studio on Union Street

Drag to look around
Jackson at work by the studio windows
North windows
The Gowanus studio with its tall windows
Styling corner
Jackson crouching for a low angle
The cyc
The studio desk with a shoot on the laptop
Review desk
Jackson reviewing frames on the camera with a client
First look at the back of the camera
The wardrobe rail and lights in the studio
Wardrobe rail
Jackson shooting from the floor
From the floor
Styling before a session in the studio
Before the first frame
North light

Three tall windows facing north give soft, even light from morning to late afternoon.

A fourteen-foot cyc

Room for full-length portraits, families of six and the occasional dog.

Open by appointment

Tuesday to Saturday. Come by to see prints and albums before you book.

Mia, second shooter, reviewing frames with a client
Second shooter

Mia covers the other side of the room

Mia has photographed weddings and studio sessions with me since 2021. While I stay with the couple, she is with the families, the details and the people who never ask to be photographed.

Wedding coverage

How I work

  1. 01

    Light first

    I plan every session around the light, not the clock. Most of the work is choosing the right forty minutes.

  2. 02

    Direction, then room

    A little direction to start, then I get out of the way. The keepers usually come after people stop posing.

  3. 03

    Small and quiet

    One camera, two lenses, no flash on the dance floor. You should forget I am there by the second hour.

  4. 04

    Prints at the end

    Every gallery comes with prints made in Brooklyn. Pictures are meant to be held, not just scrolled.

Come and see the studio.

Book a shootor call (718) 555-0142

Studio visits by appointment, Tuesday to Saturday

Built by Visuvate