About Jarod Opperman

Hi. It’s me. I’m Jarod.

I don’t like writing about myself in the third person. Actually, I don’t like writing about myself at all. But I do I love making photographs, especially with other people.

As a Phoenix commercial photographer, I’ve done all kinds of different work. I got my start as a photojournalist, working for various newspapers and magazines. Everywhere from small-town community newspapers to national publications and even international outlets. I was twice named Community Photographer of the Year in Arizona and Peerspace once ranked me as one of The 10 Best Editorial Photographers in Phoenix. (Though, really, I think that was mostly a clever marketing campaign to alert photographers to their services and recent rebrand.) As I progressed, though, I found I wanted to do more work that allowed me to collaborate with other creatives. Working for newspapers was great and gave me opportunities to work on lots of different types of photography, but I wanted to summon Captain Planet-like photography with a dedicated team of art directors, crewmembers, talent, and assistants. That’s why I began pursuing commercial photography, to see the fruit of not just my labor, but the collaborative effort of an entire team.

Favorite gig? It’s a toss-up between climbing through retired airliners in the Airplane Boneyard at Pinal Airpark or the years I spent backstage the the Ms. Senior Arizona Pageant.

Outside of my work? I have an awesome life with my wife, Yasemin, and our cat and dog, Bender and Lokma. I like to hike, camp, play video games, listen to music, collect records, build LEGO, gravel cycle, play MTG, and more recently, I’ve been trying my hand at 3D printing and modeling.

Yeah, okay, I have things I hate too. I hate maintaining my pool. Phoenix is terribly hot, but I still think having a pool is NOT worth it. I kind of hate folding laundry too. If we’re being honest, I have a dirty laundry pile and a clean laundry pile. I invested in a good clothing steamer, so it works out. Oh, and blue cheese. Gross. Sorry if you disagree.

I know that these areas of a photographer’s website are usually reserved for self-praise and mentions of clients and awards and recognitions—I won 3rd place for my mixed media poster of a bald eagle in the Alum Rock Park Art Contest in the 3rd grade!—but I hope my work speaks for itself and I’d rather you know a little about me. Hopefully this helps.