Meet Jake Leffel | Creative Journalist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jake Leffel and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jake, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
The thought process behind starting this was the need for a creative outlet. I was someone who grew up around the arts and raised with an appreciate for creative expression. Shortly after college I found my self in the corporate world living what felt like the exact same day over and over again. Just the same way i did as a kid, I needed time for the arts. Every day I try to find time to do something creative, even if it’s outside of Photo/video. It really helps to balance me out, and its something that is really important to me

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am just a guy who enjoys taking pictures and live events. I had a passion for attending long before I picked up a camera. What made it easy is I pursued this as a passion project and something I knew I would enjoy. What set me aside from a lot of other concert photographers was simply cold emails/social media messages. I wanted to go to concerts, and more importantly I wanted to take pictures at them because it was something I really liked doing. Even when I didn’t have a lot of photos or any experience, I would shamelessly reach out to anyone I could find a contact for asking to shoot for them. I got a lot of opportunities early on solely for just throwing my name in the hat. The more I got booked, some stress got thrown in the mix but the passion behind it eases out any stress that comes with this. I started this whole thing with idea of “If not this one, something else will come along”. I learned pretty quickly you’re not going to get approved for every show so I tried to remind myself more shows come along and if I get denied for one, I wont get denied by all of them. I also tried to remove my self from the art and separate the business part. There is whole side of the arts that is booking yourself, sending emails, staying organized, and a lot of admin. What set me up well is I treated this more as a sales job than an art job. Once I got myself booked, I got a ton of experience, I learned, and eventually got larger gigs. I was lucky that I had a lot of people believe in my early and teach me tips and tricks of the industry. I certainly did not do this alone and I am very grateful for the people who took the time to support me and teach me anything about cameras or the music industry.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I think Phoenix and the larger valley area is awesome to visit. I would take them on a hike to toms thumb, lunch at OHSO brewery and then dinner/drinks at Copper blues downtown Phoenix. Super fun spot with food, and live music. I like to hang out downtown phoenix for all the concerts, and then old town scottsdale for dinners like sumo maya, Toca Madera, and The Mission. Cap off the weekend a little north at Buffalo Chip.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I dedicate everything I do to my family. They’re where I get my love of music and passion for photography from. The reason I had any confidence in pursuing something like this is because they raised me to believe it was possible. They have helped me every step of the way getting going, and are a big reason why I have had any success in what I am doing.

Website: https://Jakeleffel.com

Instagram: Jake Leffel

Image Credits
Live Nation