Jeff Crass was born in a small city outside of Dayton, Ohio to a father who was a Nikon award-winning photographer and a mother who is an amateur artist of the written word. He moved to Jacksonville, Florida shortly after he graduated with a degree in Interpersonal Communication from Ohio University in 2000. Jeff has had a passion for visual arts and design for as long as he can remember.

He started as a fine arts major in college and tried to find his place in the artistic world. There were painting and drawing classes. There were sculpture and clay classes. There was even a photography class. But, nothing seemed to fit his “vision” and he changed majors in order to graduate and join the “real world.”

When a sales job came along right out of college, he joined the corporate world and put his artistic goals on a back burner. It wasn’t until 2012 when the photography bug bit him after he purchased his first Nikon DSLR. From that point forward, his inner artist reemerged and he couldn’t get enough of an education. He worked long hours and then came home to absorb as much photography knowledge as he could. Many nights were spent on the phone with his dad, who was thrilled to have someone to talk to about camera gear and lighting, all the while passing on as much knowledge as he could from 900+ miles away.

Jeff found himself at a bit of a crossroads when his dad, whom he considered his teacher and mentor died in February, 2016. That same year, through the world of downsizing and restructuring, he found himself “let go” from his job of 16 years. If there were ever a time to chase the dream, this was it.

Since then, Jeff has poured his heart and soul into his business. In 2017, he was fortunate to have several opportunities to work as a freelance photographer in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, Johannesburg and Kruger National park in South Africa and at Vumbura Plains in Botswana.

In 2018, he was on location in Maui, Hawaii and New York City freelancing for large corporate clients and, once again, following in his father’s footsteps.

Jeff continues to work in Jacksonville, Florida and the surrounding areas with professionals on rebranding themselves with head shots, website imagery and other photography services. In 2018, keeping with his dad’s methods of teaching, he started an “Intro to Photography” class that he hosts once a week in his home for individuals looking to learn about photography from the ground up. It has, thus far, been a successful endeavor that he will continue in the future.

Jeff’s work with Eye Candy came about when Chris Ladley reached out about doing some aerial photography for an upcoming publication. Since then, he continues to work with Chris and his team in both design and photography.