Finish the Sentence...with Jason Groupp

[pump up the volume on the game show music]
"It's time once again to ask a well-known photographer, instructor or otherwise interesting person the same 10 questions and ask them to Finish the Sentence! This week the sentences are finished by.... Jason Groupp.

Jason, please Finish the Sentence..."

My favorite photography accessory (lights, modifier, bag, tripod) is
This kind of rotates and it really depends on how much crap I can lug. It's always a struggle between bringing the right gear you need and having so much that it keeps you from actually getting the shot. :) So it's kind of impossible (for me) to answer this in one succinct sentence. I'll just be a wise guy and say:
My trusty vivitar 285HV's - same ones for the last 15 years.


I’ve learned the most from..
My peers. I don't know what I'd do without my photo geek friends. Thanks guys!

If I could go anywhere in the world it would be_____ because….
I'm from NY, is there anywhere else to go? It's all here. :)


My most-used Photoshop add-on, plugin, action set (etc) is
Doug Boutwell's Totally Rad actions and Kubota's action sets. ALL of them. I'm an action junkie, but have a very specific "recipe" I use for almost everything. I've also just recently added Dave and Quin Cheung's Qui-keys to my workflow.

I love the fact that Photoshop
Makes me money.

I hate the fact that Photoshop
Makes my ass fat from all the hours I have to sit in front of the computer. (It's not the potato chips - really!)


If I could turn back the clock 10 years
I would have never stopped shooting film? :)

It's SO cliche, but, I wish I worked harder in my 20's - I like to play too much and I did a LOT of it in my 20's. I love my job, I always have, and it's all been a journey for me.

In 10 years
For the first time in my career I feel like I've finally hit some kind of "stride". It's taken 22 years, but I can honestly say I'm doing work I'm proud of for the first time. I hope to be in the same place 10 years from now. Well, maybe I'll be shooting film again. :)


If I could give one piece of advice it would be
Fail. If you don't fail, how can you succeed? Work hard.

My favorite quote for inspiration: WEEGEE
"So, keep your eyes open. If you see anything, take it. Remember – you’re as good as your last picture. One day you’re hero, the next day you’re a bum... "

Your readers can find out more about me
My blog: http://jasongroupp.com
For the ADD: http://twitter.com/jasongroupp
My videos: http://vimeo.com/user1057116

Ladies and Gentlemen, let's hear it for Jason Groupp!!!
[wild applause drowns out the annoying game show music]
I shot my first gig at 18 years old. While my friends were flipping burgers for beer money, I was making a living doing what I love. I put myself through photography school (F.I.T) by shooting (weddings) on the weekends and soon after graduation, I hit the streets of NYC.

Over 22 years I've built an amazing studio in the heart of Chelsea. I get to work with awesome clients I'm proud of that love to refer me and push me to refine my style with every wedding I shoot. Keeping Manhattan brides and finicky magazine editors happy is a daunting task but I find it very rewarding. I have an awesome career shooting everything under the sun. Iʼve shot for
clients including J. Crew, Candies, Tiffanyʼs, BMW and Cusinart to name a few. I have been published in over a dozen magazines including the Sunday NY Times Magazine, Menʼs Health, Bicycling, Marie Claire and Vogue.