DJ Personal Branding Photography in Studio with Jason Kushy
A fifth creative photo shoot with Monterey DJ and producer Jason Kushy
There is something especially rewarding about photographing the same client as their career and personal brand continue to evolve. For my fifth photo shoot with local DJ and producer Jason Kushy, we were back in studio creating another series of portraits with both color and black and white versions.
Five Shoots and Still Finding New Looks
It is kind of amazing to write that this was already my fifth photo shoot with local DJ and producer Jason Kushy! Jason quickly became one of my most valued repeat clients, and I really appreciate that as his music career continues to grow, he continues to come back to me when he needs new branding photography.
In our branding shoots together, we have gone from in studio, to in a recording studio, to on the street, and then back in studio. For each shoot Jason has ideas, and we also collaborate on ideas, to make creatively different images. This time I created black and white versions of several of the color photographs. I like doing this when the image works particularly well both ways because it essentially gives the client two different visual impressions from the same photograph. Color can have one mood and purpose, while converting that same portrait to black and white can suddenly make it feel more dramatic, minimalist, or editorial.
Thank you so much Jason for continuing to choose me as your photographer and all your success and growth has been amazing to be a small part of!
Jason’s website
Jason on Spotify
Jason on Instagram
Personal Branding Photography That Keeps Working
One reason I enjoy working with repeat personal branding clients is that the photographs are not being created just to sit in a gallery. Jason has consistently put the images from our shoots to work across his artist branding, website, music platforms, press, and promotional materials.
That is exactly what good personal branding photography should do. As someone's career changes, the visual library representing them can change along with it, giving them new options rather than relying on the same few photographs year after year.
Black and White Portraits for an Artist Brand
From color to grayscale can completely change the impression of a portrait
Black and white works especially well for Jason because it fits naturally with the visual language of music and artist photography. Without color competing for attention, expression, lighting, shape, clothing, and pose become even more important.
These are not different photographs from an entirely separate shoot. Several began as color portraits and were also finished in black and white, giving Jason another set of usable images without needing another session. I particularly like how the different poses range from a more traditional portrait to stronger artist focused looks that would work well for a website, streaming profile, press feature, or promotional graphic.
Seeing the Photography Put to Work
Jason Kushy's website shows why branding photos need somewhere to live
One of the best parts of working with a repeat branding client is eventually seeing the photographs being used out in the real world. Jason has built his own visual identity around his music, and the photography from our shoots has become part of the way he presents himself online.
His current website features his music, artist story, press, performances, and photography, including images from our shoots. Jason's site currently notes that his music catalog has passed one million combined streams and that his Keep It Moving EP reached #18 on Beatport's Tech House chart. Jason Kushy
So instead of only looking at my photographs of Jason, go listen to the music they were actually created to help represent.
Color Creates Another Direction
The same studio session can produce photographs for very different uses
The color versions show exactly why I like giving clients options rather than trying to force an entire branding shoot into one visual style. The warm neutral backgrounds create one feeling, while the blue background photograph has a completely different energy even though it came from the same studio session.
Having both color and black and white versions also gives Jason more flexibility when using the photographs. One may work better on a dark website page, another for a press article, another beside album artwork, and another as a social media portrait. The more places a client actually needs photographs for, the more useful that variety becomes.
Five Photo Shoots, One Evolving Brand
Repeat branding sessions can grow alongside a career
Jason and I first worked together in June 2025 when he needed photographs as he began releasing his music on Spotify and other platforms. Since then we have photographed him in my studio, around downtown Pacific Grove, inside a recording studio, and through several different visual concepts.
That continuing relationship is something I value a lot. I already know how Jason likes to work, he knows what to expect from me, and each new shoot can build on what we have already created rather than starting over from zero.
It also means his photography can evolve along with his music instead of his visual brand being frozen at one point in his career.
For this section, I would link these phrases to your existing posts:
Our first branding shoot → June 2025
Our second Pacific Grove shoot → September 2025
5 Reasons Personal Branding Photography Matters
Professional photos give people more ways to recognize and remember your work
Jason is a great example of why personal branding photography becomes more useful when you have more than one photograph of yourself. A musician, business owner, creative professional, entrepreneur, or other public facing professional may need images for a website, social media, press articles, speaking appearances, promotional graphics, newsletters, and profiles across many different platforms.
That is why I put together my 5 Reasons Why You Need Personal Branding Photography guide. It explains how a strong library of professional photographs can help establish consistency, make marketing easier, show more personality, and give you more useful visual content when opportunities come up.
Create Personal Branding Photos That Feel Like You
Personal branding photography does not have to mean making one formal portrait against one background. As my five shoots with Jason show, it can evolve over time and include studio portraits, environmental photography, different wardrobe choices, dramatic lighting, color, black and white, and whatever visual style best fits the person being photographed.
I work with musicians, business owners, attorneys, entrepreneurs, actors, creatives, and other professionals throughout Pacific Grove, Monterey, Carmel, Pebble Beach, and the Monterey Peninsula to create branding photographs they can actually put to work.
Personal branding photography for musicians, DJs, creatives, entrepreneurs, and professionals in Pacific Grove, Monterey, Carmel, Pebble Beach, and throughout the Monterey Peninsula by Jason Collin Photography.