Jerusha Pfannenschmidt of TJL Imagery, Sarasota Photography and Video

Jerusha Pfannenschmidt has been photographing people for 17 years, the last 12 of them full time. For most of that run her business carried a name hardly anyone could spell. Pfanntastic Photography came from her married surname, and it worked for a while because clients kept telling her the photos were fantastic. Then came a divorce, a 947-mile move, and a fresh start in Sarasota in 2021. It's TJL Imagery now, short for Through Jerusha's Lens, covering weddings, engagements, seniors, families, headshots, fashion, and restaurant work across Sarasota and Bradenton.

The video side is newer, run in house with her partner Wes Rosengart. Jerusha calls her approach dynamic light photography, hauling studio lighting to every shoot and staying on the sand long after other photographers pack up. "Sunset beach portraiture is my specialty," she told VoyageTampa this July. What she wanted to talk about, though, was everything that happens before the camera comes out.

Why did Jerusha rebrand to TJL Imagery?

Jerusha calls the rebrand a reinvention point. The issue with the old name never went away: people struggled to spell it correctly, even though most people's first reaction to her work was "oh wow, that's fantastic," which is exactly what made it stick for so long. It also tied into her old married name, so she was ready to be done with it. TJL Imagery encompasses all things image related, which matters now that the business offers videography as well as photography. That side is fairly new, and it's already covered weddings, Greater Sarasota Chamber events, milestone birthdays, and proposals.

How would Jerusha describe her style?

She calls it dynamic light photography, because she brings studio light wherever she goes, sunny days included. "You might look outside and think you don't need lights right now," she says. "I'd disagree." Bright midday sun causes harsh shadows under the eyes, and most natural light photographers counter that with a reflector to bounce the sunlight back. Jerusha instead controls an unnatural form of light alongside the natural, which she says produces a more emotive, engaging, and multidimensional final image.

What happens before the shoot?

This is where Jerusha says she differs from a lot of her competitors. She doesn't just sign the contract, collect the deposit, and show up on the day hoping the client looks ready. Styling is part of the process, since fashion is close to her heart, so she talks through outfits with clients, whether that means working from photos they send, going through their closet, or going shopping together. For every client she builds a mood board of poses, hairstyles, and color themes and sends the link ahead of time to make sure everyone's on the same page. She'll also recommend hair stylists and makeup artists. "If you tell me you don't really do makeup, I get it," she says, "but it's about how the light reflects off your face."

How does Jerusha pick a location?

With couples, she starts by asking whether there's a location that already means something to their relationship, or whether they'd like recommendations. If they want suggestions, she asks about their vibe: nature or cityscape, edgy or soft, and builds a list from there. "I don't want to push my taste onto your shoot," she says. "I want you in the driver's seat." She also schedules a backup date for every session, since pop-up showers are a fact of life in Florida. The backup date does double duty. If a client isn't feeling their best, they can reach out and move the shoot instead of pushing through it. As Jerusha puts it, if you're not feeling ready for a shoot, you probably aren't, and that doesn't translate well on camera.

What's the shoot day actually like?

Jerusha brings a small Bluetooth speaker to sessions, since a lot of people feel uncomfortable in front of a camera and a shared soundtrack tends to loosen that up. Her posing style leans toward interacting rather than posing outright. She'll direct hand and feet placement, but she's after movement, and with a group her focus shifts to getting everyone interacting naturally so she can capture what happens. She also brings props. For a large family shoot on the beach, it's not unusual for her to bring crates and stools so people sit at different heights, instead of the typical lineup of everybody standing or everybody in the sand.

Why should a client care about equipment?

Jerusha's reasoning is that clients don't know what they don't know, and that isn't their job to figure out. Her flash controller, the piece on top of the camera that tells the lights what to do, can fail on any given day, so instead of one $400 controller she carries three. She also chose a $5,000 camera over a $1,500 one because it writes to two memory cards at once. If one fails, the other still has the shoot. "I've never heard of two cards failing at the same time," she says. Her point to clients chasing the lowest price: it can cost more in the end, with no usable photos and a pricier photographer hired afterward to try again.

What's behind Jerusha's folder called "Photographers vs Fauxtographers"?

It's a folder of more than 80 screenshots at this point, each one a version of the same story: someone paid a photographer, the photographer disappeared, a card failed, and the session was gone for good. Jerusha didn't start it to criticize anyone. Clients kept sending her screenshots like that to explain why they were nervous about hiring a photographer in the first place. She has her own version of the story. Her wedding photographer backed out three weeks before her 2006 wedding, the replacement shot on film, one roll didn't take, and the final product never arrived.

What keeps Jerusha busy outside of work?

She plays competitive beach volleyball and coaches it. Along with Wes, she runs a nonprofit called Bettering Beaches.

Where should people start?

Jerusha points people to the TJL Imagery website first, or to reach out directly. She's especially looking to hear from local businesses that need branding images, families who want portraits that feel like real moments, and anyone who's been burned by a photographer once and isn't planning to let it happen again.

• Instagram: @tjl.imagery
• Facebook: TJL Imagery
• Pinterest: jerushap
• YouTube: @jerushapfannenschmidt

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