Jebb Graff

Biography

I was born in Charleston, SC where my family instilled in me a love for people and the arts. By middle school, I had chosen music as my medium. I played through high school and then chose to pursue a degree in Jazz Performance at the University of South Carolina.

Burn out and an assignment for my Media Arts minor compelled me to switch majors to Media Arts where I instantly connected with photography.

Soon after, I was offered a job in design at an agency so I left school before graduating to begin my career in visual arts. A couple of years later I found myself working in the marketing department of a vacation rental company on beautiful Kiawah Island, SC where I managed photography and design projects.

In 2006, when the company was sold, I proposed I remain on as a contractor to keep my current duties, including to photograph and design the ads and marketing materials. They accepted the proposal! I was suddenly making photos for a living.

At the same time, I answered an ad to work for wedding photographer Leigh Webber of Dive In. We hit it off and worked as a dream team. We opened a shared studio together and she was and still is one of my best friends and mentors.

In 2010 my wife and I decided to pack up and try out living in North Carolina. Reflecting on my past experience in design and being a people-person, I felt I had more to offer to commercial and portraiture clients than wedding clients.

Since then I’ve worked in the commercial space photographing everything including food, products, editorial stories, higher education, and brand story libraries. Of all these categories, I feel most at home and most helpful to clients when I’m photographing people in a collaborative setting.

Today, I’m focused on making portrait and brand story images with my clients that help them look good, promote their brand, tell their stories, and sell their stuff.