Today we’d like to introduce you to Jay Pegg.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
My actual name is Juan Felipe Rangel. I was born in Bogota, Colombia and when I was 11 years old my family moved to South Florida. I made most of my friends here and obviously timeless memories which is why I considered the Miami area my home.
My Dad worked in Radio and Television back in Colombia which is why I think I always had a natural inclination towards performing arts, visuals and creativity in general. I’ve always loved music as well. Around 12 years old my Dad bought me my first guitar and I taught myself hoy to play by basically watching videos and going on websites like guitartabs.com and putting in the time and effort. At this time YouTube didn’t exist so what I did was I watched live performances of bands I liked paused the videos and try to see where their fingers where on the guitar and mimic the same on mine. By the time I was 17 I was in a local south Florida band and we had a pretty decent following. Long story short our drummer quit and we just stopped playing together. This is when the acting bug hit me and I began auditioning everywhere in Miami. I did about 20 National commercials for the Hispanic Market for USA and all of Latin America and I also got the chance to be part of 3 Novelas for Telemundo and also 1 for Mexico.
This is why I moved to NYC. I was accepted to the New York Conservatory for the Dramatic arts in Chelsea. Those years in NYC basically transformed me and it is also the place where I began my photography career. I never planned on pursuing photography full time. I took pictures for fun and posted on Instagram. I realized that with photography I was more in control of my creativity. I could shoot and convey better what I wanted people to see in me. After I began taking images of NYC and posting them on IG people began noticing and acknowledging the pictures which made me realize that I had something there.
I got my hands on a DSLR the day of my graduation from Drama School and that is when everything changed. Shortly after graduation I rode my bike around Brooklyn and Manhattan and snapped as much as I could. I was free and hungry to shoot. Some friends from Miami saw the images I was posting on IG and they asked me to cover an event they were having in NYC. I got hired to shoot pictures. I realized that I could make this a business. An enjoyable business. I came back to Miami a year after that and began collaborating with some old friends who opened a bad ass space in Wynwood called Brothers & Brawlers. They began calling me Mr. Jay which is how we came up with Jay Pegg.
It’s been 4 years since I began shooting images and I’m so happy and thankful of all the opportunities I’ve had thanks to my camera. I can’t wait to see what else will come and I’m so ready for it.
Please tell us about your art.
What I like to create the most are portraits. I love people. I love faces. Although this is what I like the most I get hired to do so much more than that. Today I work with different clients from cool portable chargers to restaurants and also bloggers and models. I understand that as photographers we have to dedicate our time and creativity to one specific type of photography (or so I have read and heard from “experts”) but for now I’ve been exploring lots of areas. I’ve had inquiries for jobs that really have nothing to do with what you see on my IG for example, but I most likely always take the job because honestly, I don’t have the luxury of passing a job right now lol and also because I like the challenge and I’m curious to see if I can pull it off.
I love the color correction part of my workflow. In today’s day, photography is more than just snapping the image. The post processing is very important one. This does not mean that I alter my images dramatically. For the most part what I do with my images is play with the colors and textures. But what I snap is what you see. I don’t take things out or put things in. I’ve never composite images unless a job calls for it.
So far so good 🙂
Also, I’ve already hosted a number of photography meet ups in Miami where I bring all kinds of photographers from amateur to pros together, we set up strobes and shoot images with models and volunteers. The idea with the meet ups is to meet each other, learn from each other and grow together as on big Miami creative force. Some people never get the chance to shoot with studio lights and at my meet ups you get exactly that. Also, we encourage Art Directors, Magazines and brands to come and meet the creators of our city.
We often hear from artists that being an artist can be lonely. Any advice for those looking to connect with other artists?
As I said before I took it upon myself to begin building a better community of creators by hosting the photography meet ups around Miami. The response has been incredible. I’ll be hosting more in the near future.
Advice for people that want to connect with others is basically reaching out. Don’t be afraid to DM that person that you admire. Don’t be a creep, don’t be weird. There is a person on the other side of that message so just make sure that you are always professional, kind and I promise that you will begin building that crew of creatives you need and want.
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
You can see my work mainly on Instagram @jaypegg_ and on my website www.jay-pegg.com. The best way to support me is by following me in and leaving me a cool comment on any images you like 🙂
Contact Info:
- Website: www.jay-pegg.com
- Phone: (954)643-0226
- Email: jay@jay-pegg.com
- Instagram: @jaypegg_
Image Credit:
1- Locos por Juana
2- Martina Zerbo
3-
4-Lucas Joelten
5-Tati Rojas
6- Andrea Salazar / Seta Apparel
7-Reset MIA
8-
Getting in touch: VoyageMIA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
