designer spotlight: jamie Haller, the craftsman healer

*A 1920’s craftsman in Koreatown, designed / rehabilitated by Jamie Haller, image by Jenna Ohnemus Peffley. Shoes also designed by Jamie Haller.*

As a lifestyle, brand, celebrity, and interior photographer, I’ve probably photographed over 500 homes at this point in my career (that may be a slight exaggeration, but I’ve never actually counted and it might not be far off - you should see my archive!) and have worked with countless incredibly talented interior designers, architects, builders, creatives, companies, magazines, and home owners. Living in Los Angeles, I get to see and shoot some of the most spectacular properties in the world. Over time, as I’ve developed my career, I’ve become a little bit pickier about which projects I take on. At the beginning of going full time freelance, I said yes to everything so I could build my book and my client base (and let’s be real, my income) and I often had to bite my tongue when a designer sent me the “before” shots and “after” scouting shots of a historic home that they had renovated, proudly removing all traces of character and turning it into a white box with the same fixtures I saw in every other box home. Needless to say, I was getting really bored shooting the same thing over and over again. Don’t get me wrong, I work with a few designers who do simple and neutral in such a lived-in, warm, textural way, and I LOVE shooting their projects - it’s the homes that look like carbon copy boxes without any personality that make watching a clock tick seem like a better use of my time.

Now that I’ve built up a strong client base and portfolio, I’m able to be a little bit pickier before accepting a job - I want to work in spaces I feel inspired by, with people who I find inspiring, or with companies that are making things that I would actually use. The money is important, but creating images of something I love is even more important!

House of Hackney Wallpaper Jenna Ohnemus Peffley Craftsman Jamie Haller — *Image by Jenna Ohnemus Peffley, Craftsman designed by Jamie Haller*

When a prospective new design client comes to me asking if I’d be interested in shooting one of their projects, I now have a bit of an interview process prior to agreeing to work together. One of the first things I ask for is scouting photos - not only to assess lighting needs and scope of work for a proper formal estimate, but also to see if it’s something I want to put my name on when it makes its way out into the world.

*Image by Jenna Ohnemus Peffley, Craftsman designed by Jamie Haller*

In November 2020, I got an email from a designer named Jamie Haller asking if I’d be interested in shooting one of her projects. At this point, heading into what was looking to be a second lock down from the pandemic, I was being VERY choosy with which projects I was willing to take on. Working in LA through the second half of 2020 when we were sort of allowed to go back to work had been quite the adventure in lots of nose swabs, lots of quarantining before and after shoots, and in between that, 12 hour days spent in a mask. To say it was a stressful time is an understatement (but I don’t need to explain that to anyone at this point - we’ve all been through it in some way or another).

Koreatown Craftsman designed by Jamie Haller, Photo by Jenna Ohnemus Peffley — *Image by Jenna Ohnemus Peffley, Craftsman designed by Jamie Haller*

At that time, Jamie was still working as the in-house creative director for an LA fashion brand, and doing interior design craftsman restorations on the side (along with designing a shoe line on the side…LA creatives are the most amazing side hustlers I’ve ever met). She didn’t have a huge portfolio, but one look at her scouting shots and I knew immediately I wanted to work together. We scheduled our shoot, but then we locked back down and I didn’t wind up getting to shoot the house until April of 2021 - but it was well worth the wait!

Photo by Jenna Ohnemus Peffley Design by Jamie Haller Craftsman California — *Image by Jenna Ohnemus Peffley, Craftsman designed by Jamie Haller*

Since this shoot, Jamie has left her in-house position to become a full time Interior Designer (woohoo!!) AND shoe designer (seriously, she makes the most amazing shoes, and I’m super finicky about how things feel on my incredibly sensitive Flintstone feet) and we’ve gotten to work on more projects together that I can’t show yet because they haven’t been published. But this is my blog, so I am going to share more of my favorite images from this project that Jamie designed for creative couple Julia Kramer and Zach Kaplan.

People always ask me how I know where to put the camera when I frame a shot, and I always have the same answer - “the house tells me where I need to be.” Historic houses always have a lot to say and it’s my job to listen, to represent the house how it is meant to be showcased. Each house has it’s own personality, it’s own quirks, challenges, highlights. Often people come to me with inspo photos that are nowhere near similar in terms of space and ask me to duplicate a specific shot (to note, Jamie did not do this - bless creative directors who love letting the photographer do their thing - it’s impossible to shoot a full straight on bathtub shot when there is only 3 feet between the tub and toilet, but sometimes awkward spaces lead to the most creatively interesting photos, and historic homes are full of awkward spaces!

I’m still working this whole blog thing out - not sure if it’s going to be story telling, writing, snippets, interviews, or just a quick blurb with pretty photos, or all of the above? We’ll see. In the meantime, a few more photos for your viewing pleasure, of one of my personal favorite projects I’ve shot in the last few years, fully embodying the idea of a “Well Lived" home. And also, keep an eye on Jamie Haller - she’s absolutely one to watch!

designer spotlight: jamie Haller, the craftsman healer

Jenna’s Archive: Justina Blakeney’s Jungalicious LA Home

WHAT IS A WELL LIVED HOME?