Jinsey Dauk can't sit still. She never could, probably. Enthusiasm and ambition propelled this lively, animated Photographer / Actress / Model into her own business as early as the eighth grade. " I did kids' portraits, then" explains Dauk. "But the kids wouldn't sit still. It was the last thing they wanted to do. I had to follow them around - inside, outside -like a moving camera. It wasn't easy, but the pictures came out full of life." That's why today Dauk doesn't need her subjects to sit still. "I catch people alive, in the Now. I catch that spirit in people."
Dauk, who lives in New York City, is no stranger to either end of the camera. A Ford model and former Elite model, she's got Vogue, Life,Bride's and American Health covers in her portfolio. She's been in more than 60 commercials, including Coca Cola, Nestle's Quick, Red Lobster, Aqua Fresh and currently appears in Dimetapp, Easy-Off and Palmolive. (Yep, that's her you're spotting with all those dalmations.) After a two-year stint in Europe, modeling in Paris, Milan, London, Hamburg and Munich, Dauk moved into a rooftop apartment in New York City. "A friend of mine with a new haircut needed pictures done. My apartment was being renovated and there were holes that let in the right kind of light. I used it to shoot her and the pictures came out great."Dauk then began shooting other models at Ford. The "big break" came when one model used her photography for her headshot. "Mari Lyn Henry, who then was head of casting at ABC, called me and said she loved my work. I had done a commercial and I thought she meant my acting. But she was talking about my photography! For a time I even told everyone in my acting class, 'I'll shoot you for free.' Ever since then I've been busy."
Busy seems to be all Dauk knows. In college, at North Carolina's Wake Forest University, Dauk didn't just take photography classes. She taught them. She studied film production, psychiatry, and began modeling the summer before her senior year.
"My first job was on the cover of Life. They wanted a picture of a model near a waterfall in a bathing suit. They said we'd film in Utah and we'd fly there by helicopter and I'd probably have to jump out of the helicopter on a rope and I said 'Yes! Wow! Great! Great!' I'm sure other models were afraid to do it. But, Ha! We didn't even go to Utah. We shot it right in Connecticut."
Dauk attributes her success to this sort of enthusiasm. "I'm sure I've gotten a lot of commercial work because of my attitude," she says, all the while eating breakfast, answering the phone and handling clients. "Casting directors look for unique personalities - and enthusiasm. Be yourself. Train, of course - and have confidence."
Having no fear of hard work, many successes have followed after that waterfall job. J. Michael Bloom, Dauk's agent on both coasts, has helped her land national commercial spots as well as appearances on shows the likes of Law and Order. And there's a movie, Love or Money, with Tim Daly.
Dauk, believe it or not, has another side to her multi-personality. She is also an athlete. She plays softball, volleyball, tennis, golfs, swims, works out and even played basketball in college. "I've been six-feet tall since sixth grade. I'm big on sports - a big clown - always the athlete, always performing."
It's that moment of performance in action that Dauk shoots for with her camera. "Catch that climax of the game, that moment when the ball leaves the player's hands and you've caught life. Catch that in a headshot, and you've really connected."
Dauk's studio is in her New York apartment. She utilizes natural light. (But no more holes in the ceiling.) "I have big windows facing the Hudson River. Clients really like it. I try to make their session as enjoyable as possible. When they leave they say, 'Wow, that was fun.' "
Dauk's assistant, Camille Hickman, helps as much as possible, even giving clients a choice of treats after the shoot - chocolate chip cookie dough or Jolly Rancher candies.
"That's been the key for me. My life has been run by what brings the most fun." Lately that also means doing wedding photography. But not just the run-of-the-mill wedding photography. "Wedding photography has been missing something for a long, long time: Creativity! My wedding work is full of life, full of humor, full of emotion, and chock full of fun! I shoot documentary style black & white and color photographs, and my philosophy is more of the photojournalist's - catching real life happening versus posing everyone like crazy. I'm IN the moment versus MAKING the moment!" Her clients really respond well to the filmic quality and the nostalgic feeling of the black & whites. She's already been published over 25 times in national magazines.
"It's quite an honor to share in such an important day with the bride and groom, and even more gratifying to be able to give something back - wedding photos that capture the very essence that got them there in the first place!"
Lights-Camera-Action!
- By Audrey Reagan, Editor of L.A. Casting Magazine,
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