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Meet Jeffrey Moustache

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeffrey Moustache.

Jeffrey, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I began photography back in high school where I initially wanted to study videography and editing, I took my photo class as a means to access the video programs but quickly fell in love with the darkroom and shooting, processing and printing my own photography. My High school teacher Mrs. Jacobus was a huge inspiration and motivation as she gave me a few different old cameras to work with and I shifted my main focus my last years of high school to photography. I received numerous scholarships from SCAD and attend both the Savannah and Atlanta campuses throughout 2005-2009. Upon graduation, I moved to Los Angeles and began working immediately in television and advertising and was picked up on an action-adventure television show on Fuel TV called “The Adventures of Danny and the Dingo” as lead photographer. I later became director of photography which opened the door to being able to work with world-class athletes, musicians and movie stars. It was back then when I started one of my passion projects “The World of Beards” in 2010 after attending and competing in the first-ever National Beard and Moustache Competition in the United States hosted by Beard Team USA in Bend, Oregon.

Throughout the past decade I have worked on numerous marketing and advertising campaigns for clients including the likes of Monster Energy, SWATCH, Boost Mobile, G-Shock, Fox Sports, Toyota Scion, Subaru and the Olympics. In 2013 I started working as an Aerial cinematographer, where the company I was with at the time was one of 6 companies in the US issued a 333 exemption waiver to legally pilot commercial drones for productions. I saw that as a new opportunity to expand my services both commercially and creatively. It was not short after, that I realized the potential of drones as vessels for lighting and began a series pioneering Aerial Lighting via drone and electronically triggered flashes. “Transient Eclipse” was featured worldwide in multiple magazines and photography websites and blogs in late 2015. I later expanded to custom-built LED lighting for film and television and as technology progressed it is a more common than ever to see photos of landscapes and commercials looking for an eery “UFO” look to feature a drone with a high powered light mounted on it.

More recently, I have been following up on my book “The World of Beards” accounting for nearly ten years of competitive bearding. Documenting portraits and behind the scenes images of the ornate and outlandish characters, most of which I am happy to call close friends, that make up this amazing subculture. I have continued to work on various commercial projects for a range of different clients but love the passion projects that have been fortunate to take me around the World and share insight to a window of my life.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The road is never a smooth path and there are always challenges in running a successful business. I think one of the biggest obstacles was with the timing of the drone lighting and pitching that to clients. The concept was there, the proof of it working was there and a friend and I had even put together an extensive photo and video pitch to showcase it. We had pitched it to major brands that were right on target with its direction and people were just not interested. We were shot down multiple times through multiple agencies and even ripped off by a few, which came back as a stab in the gut when you see your pitched idea go viral but you’re not involved in its creation. It didn’t help that literally a week before launching a campaign around the idea ourselves, I was robbed and lost the hard-drive with the final project along with a year’s worth of work. If I had any advice to someone involved in production work, I would say have a backup of all of your work in a different location at all times, as well as if you consider yourself a professional, or even invest in a relative amount of gear, get a good business insurance plan!

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Jeffrey Moustache Photography story. Tell us more about the business.
I specialize in action sports, editorial portraits and film and television commercials as well as aerial cinematography for film and commercials. I am known for my award-winning moustache and placed top 2 in 5 different categories in the past 5 World Beard and Moustache Championships. I am most proud of my ability to transform and evolve with what the industry has asked of me, wearing multiple hats and being a jack of all trades has made for a very versatile career in most aspects of production work.

Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
Bad luck has taught me important lessons, such as always creating a routine to make a backup of your on a regular basis and to never leave gear in your car unattended, even for a few minutes. Some of the more fortunate lessons are to be thankful that you’re able to do what you enjoy and love and to never treat anyone with disrespect because one day they may come back and need something of you. I would say try to never burn a bridge with someone and always try to make true meaningful connections with people as you never know where your next job may come from. People will hire their friends first, even if they are not as qualified or as good at a job as you.

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Image Credit:
© Jeffrey Moustache

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