May 8, 2017

Meet Jennifer Buhl of Happy Hour Headshot

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jennifer Buhl.

Jennifer, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I started this business because I realized that people needed to be able to get gorgeous, cool headshots quickly, easily and enjoyably!

“You are supposed to hate your headshots” — this is what the headshot photogs are saying. (That’s right, even the photographers are on board with “everyone hates their headshots?!?) But NO, not true. You maybe 40 or 50 or 60 but you are still beautiful! If you are photographed in the right light with the right pose and the right camera, then BOOM: your Best Self is gorgeous!

Constantly we are flooring people at the way they look. They come in saying “I’m so unphotogenic. If I can just get 1 photo looking decent I’ll be happy.” Then 30 minutes later they are looking at 30 or more images they can’t decide between! We pride ourselves on shooting people’s best self: most attractive, confident and approachable self.

I started the business in 2015 in Denver and spent a long time working out the kinks. I figured out a business model and style that would work for me as an artist (and a single mom of 2 young boys!) and one that my clients loved too. Now I am expanding: I’ve hired and trained excellent portrait photographers in San Diego, Atlanta and Denver, and I’ll be moving to Philadelphia this summer to open Happy Hour Headshot there.

Has it been a smooth road?
We have been in Denver for almost 2 years and the business has consistently grown. We now get a ton of referrals and are becoming quite well known. After perfecting the business model in Denver, I honestly wanted to share it. Showing people how beautiful they are feels really amazing – for both of us!

I knew the challenge in expansion would be finding the right photographers. Headshot photography may sound simple (even to a photographer) — but in reality, it is not. You need a very talented natural light photographer behind the lens.

Now that I’ve found the right photographers in our four markets (I’ll be shooting in Philly and I’ve hired in Denver, San Diego and Atlanta) it’s just getting the word out. There are so many photographers in Atlanta so of course it takes time – and marketing money! – for people to find us. Once they see us though, the sale is simple.

So, let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Happy Hour Headshot story. Tell us more about the business.
We have done for professional and actors photography what Uber did for taxi rides: we make it easy for folks to sign up (online) and meet up (in a hip cafe around town). Then we make the process fun and stress-free. Finally – and most importantly – we deliver the best, natural light headshots in town because we hire amazingly talented and hip photographers who know WHAT IS UP!

And no one else is doing this! We do headshots differently.

Here is how it works: people go on to our website, hit the SIGN-UP button and up pops a list of dates and locations where we are shooting over the next couple weeks. We shoot at places like Ponce City Market in the Forth Ward and Octane in Little Five Points. Cool, interesting cafes inside and out. They make for great backdrops for our headshots and they are fun places to chill for an hour. (This came about because as an extreme extrovert I couldn’t handle working at home all the time. I found myself at different coffee shops daily. Then I thought, no skin off my back if I take a break and shoot. My clients ended up loving it too. Low key and easy to meet up – just like a Tinder date!)

Day of, we meet the client at the cafe, begin with a short image consultation, then pop outside for about 20 minutes to take a variety of colorful, textured headshots. After, we are back inside, grab a drink, pick their favorite shots… and they are done. Later, we edit their images; then, when we’ve got their pictures perfect, we email them to our client.

We have not only made it simple and painless, we have made it “an experience.” We can’t wipe the smile off our clients’ faces when they are done.

It’s that simple. But it’s powerful. Check out our yelp reviews, people love it! https://www.yelp.com/biz/happy-hour-headshot-denver-2

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
While there have always been actors who need professional headshots, I think there will be a huge shift in business professionals feeling the same way.

And we are leading the industry here: we are on a mission to stop selfies from showing up in professional images – one client at a time! This is where the industry is at right now. People aren’t happy with their online image/headshot but they aren’t sure what to do about it. Actors know and are willing to pay for quality professional images, but general business professionals are still waffling. I mean how many LinkedIn photos do you see where the person has cut themselves out of a wedding photo — or is using a selfie. But people are coming around. We shoot a lot of realtors, lawyers and entrepreneurs who realize that their online image is the first way that most people meet them. They realize that they invest in their image all the time (clothes, hair, shoes) and “the headshot” in today’s online world is just another business image expense.

Pricing:

$85 session fee (includes the image consultation, photo session and over 100 images from which to choose).
Images priced separately in packages starting at $195.

Contact Info: