/Engineering
FAQ
What's your favorite thing you've taken pictures of?
Probably Clemson football games. However, the puppies are a close 2nd place. I also enjoy any long exposure things, especially steel wool and fire pictures. Dancer pictures and portraits in general are really rewarding because of how excited people usually are for the pictures. Landscapes are fun because I get to explore the outdoors, so that's a good time by itself. I just like photography in general and trying new things.
Update: I took pictures of a marriage proposal and it was super fun. That probably makes the list too.
Is this FAQ serious?
Not really. All answers are accurate, only a few are serious though.
Can you make me look skinnier?
...not really... I can make you look not-fatter though. I also can make you look fatter if I'm feeling mean. So be nice.
Does the camera really add 10 pounds?
Not to you or the image of you, no. Does it add 10 pounds to my backpack? Yes. (Depending on lenses I bring)
*Okay it can make you look 10 pounds heavier if you take the picture too close - try to take pictures of people from further than 3 feet away, preferably 4-7 feet. Any closer and their nose starts looking bigger and cheeks rounder and it's just not good. Take a few steps back, use the optical zoom on your $1k smartphone, and take the pic. Portrait mode isn't cheating, it's fine
Can you do weddings?
No, and I have decided that I don't want to due to the high expectations and stress of it. However, I will be happy to refer you to a few of my photographer friends in the Clemson/Greenville area that do cover weddings depending on what you're looking for! Here is a good page of photographers: https://clemphoto.wixsite.com/home/photographers
Where are you located?
I'll be in Clemson during the school year 2019-2021. During the summers I'll hopefully be doing internships at companies so who knows where those will be! (P.S. if you're a recruiter at SpaceX or Tesla or Blue Origin or NASA please hire me :)
What software do you use?
I mainly use Lightroom, which is designed for batch photo processing. I can apply edits to multiple pictures at once, and deal with hundreds of pictures easily. I sometimes (rarely) use Photoshop for more detailed edits or fun projects. I also use "Image Resizer for Windows" to make the file size smaller for uploading.
What kind of computer do you have?
I actually built my own computer in Spring 2017. It has a 1TB SSD, a Nvidia GTX 1070, 32GB RAM, and an i7-7700k. You can read the full specs here. Oh and a 32" monitor.
2019 update: Same pc, but with 12TB more HDD storage, an RGB keyboard, and some Bose speakers. Oh and the graphics card costs half as much as when I bought it, screw you bitcoin.
What's your favorite color?
Blue
Do you have a 3D printer?
YES AND I LOVE IT (when it works)
2019 update: Technically yes, but it isn't functional right now. The Monoprice Maker Select Plus is a great printer for the first 6 months, then things start failing on it and it gets annoying having to constantly troubleshoot it and replace nozzles, fix clogs, level the bed, try to get things to stick to the bed, etc etc etc. So currently it's sitting at home partially disassembled and unused, I may or may not just get rid of it in the future. Selling for $50, any takers?
So you're an Electrical engineering major doing photography?
Yep
Why?
Photography is a creative/relaxing/exciting activity I can do outside of classes that can take me a variety of different places, and doesn't make me tired like sports do.
How much does your camera cost?
A lot :(
2019 update: A lot, but the lenses cost more
What's your spirit animal?
It might be the gazelle, because when I sprint sometimes my hair flies up on both sides of my head and a friend called them my gazelle horns. However, I also like the playfulness of dolphins.
Favorite book series?
Definitely the Ender Saga by Orson Scott Card. (A lot of people have read Ender's Game, but that's actually just one book in a 13ish book series.) The series gives some semi believable explanations for future technology and how we could colonize the galaxy. I also love the Eragon series, along with typical classics like Harry Potter.
The Expanse series by James Corey is also really good, and similar to the Ender Saga.
2019 update: The Expanse is my favorite series. Can't wait for the final book to be released in a few books
Why are you so tall?
My parents fed me Miracle Grow as a small child. (I'm 6'2")(Approaching 6'3")(2019 update: Looks like a full 6'2 might be the end of it)
Why do you charge so much for just taking pictures?
Taking pictures is only half of the photography I do. I also edit and crop all the pictures I take, so that they look better. A 1-hour photoshoot usually means 1-2 hours of editing afterwards.
Also I'm probably the cheapest experienced photographer in Clemson that you'll find, especially for senior pictures:)
Is this the end of the FAQ?
No, can't you see the questions below??
Will you shoot for free if I give you credit for the pictures?
No. I sometimes accept cookies/desserts/food/definitely-non-alcoholic-beverages as payment though.
I'm reading this on a computer/laptop/desktop, why is the background moving?
Isn't it cool?? Wix has a built in feature for animated backgrounds for pages. Sorry people on phones, it looks horrible on mobile screens so I disabled it.
Why did you go to Clemson?
It was a good distance from home (3 hours), a great engineering school, has a beautiful campus, and it has a good out of state scholarship package. Clemson guarantees $15k/year if you have a certain ACT/SAT score. Most schools you either get a full ride scholarship or you get nothing at all. (Other than need-based scholarships).
2019 Update: Okay so apparently Alabama will waive tuition if you have a 32+ ACT and give you $10k if you're an engineering major, I really should have gone there. Sigh.
How much money have you made from this website?
Approximately negative $80. You'll notice there aren't any ads on it because I don't have enough text on the website for Google Adsense. Also I have to pay Wix $40/year or so to have my own domain linked.
2019 update: I don't know, probably a decent bit from senior pictures but who knows how many of those are from people finding the website vs talking to friends. At this point I've put so much time into it that I keep it for myself.
Do you play sports?
Yeah! I play ultimate frisbee, racquetball, volleyball, and in the past I've played soccer, basketball, cross country, and done marching band. I also go to the gym regularly and play volleyball weekly (while in Greenville)
Marching band isn't a sport though...
Sure it is, you're doing something athletic outside for >7 hours a week. Sounds like a sport to me.
Are you single?
Nope! Shoutout to Zoe Iorio for being a great girlfriend that loves adventuring on hikes and semi doesn't mind when I stop replying for hours when I'm working on one of my projects
Do you have a favorite TV show?
I don't really watch many TV shows... I've probably watched less than 15 seasons total of shows. Never more than 2 seasons of something before I get bored. I like Marvel shows like Jessica Jones and Iron Fist and Luke Cage and such. Agents of Shield got too cheesy in season 2 or 3 for me to keep watching it.
My "Need to watch list" includes Star Trek, Rick & Morty, Stranger Things, The Office, the second half of The Blacklist, Breaking Bad, and probably a lot more. Will I ever watch them? Who knows
...How about a favorite movie?
Once again, I don't watch many movies. I like the Marvel movies, I've seen a lot of them in theaters. Other than that.... idk, I watch movies with friends but that's about it. I will always happily watch Disney movies.
Are you ADD? These questions don't follow any order
Nope, and I know. Makes it more fun.
Do you know [Insert person name]? He/she also goes/went to Clemson!
No probably not, sorry. Unless the person asking this question is a good friend. I might know them if they're in my grade, in the honors college, and/or in my major, photography club, or plays ultimate frisbee.
Also, I'm really bad with names, so they might know me and I don't know them. This seems to often be the case for club teams I've taken pictures of like Volleyball or Gymnastics, or for people in ECE that have used my microcontrollers tutorial etc.
Dogs or Cats?
A year ago I would've said cats, but now I like dogs better. They're just so much more friendly to people. Cats don't seem to like people much, and you can't play with them after they're more than a few years old.
Dude, how do you have time to do all this?
I really don't know, work gets done somehow though.
Do you cook?
I started cooking for myself when I moved into an apartment for my co-op. I've cooked pork kebabs, tons of scrambled eggs, burgers, chicken crescent squares... yeah I cook.
2019 update: Yeah, I still cook 1-2 times a week
Can I learn to cook?
Literally anyone can cook. I hate it when people say they can't cook. Like bitch, if you can follow the rules of driving a car or literally any college lab, you can cook. The recipe says exactly(usually) what to do. You follow it, don't forget to set timers, and ta-da you cooked something. During the school year it's hard to have time for cooking though.
Anything else you want to say?
If you have kittens or puppies you want pictures taken of, I will happily do that for free. Playing with kittens and puppies is payment enough.
BBQ-bacon pizza is the best kind of pizza. Pineapple does not belong on pizza. There used to be a month with 32 days in it, I swear. Self-driving cars are going to change the world and make it safer. Fracking is going to be the lead paint or asbestos of our generation.
PBR beer tastes like bread. You're drinking bread. I don't care if it was only $1 at TTT, you paid $1 for awful tasting bread in a can. Shock Top is great, Bud Light Orange is weirdly awful, but the lime is fine (a little tasteless if anything). Cider tastes like wine without the vinegar (which it basically is) and is pretty solid. Aldi wine is amazing for the price.
What's your middle name?
Andrew
Why isn't the website JacobThompson.com?
Because someone bought that domain and keeps renewing it even though they don't have anything on it and they haven't responded to any of my attempts to contact them to buy the domain from them. So for now this is the best I can do. I'm going to keep trying for it though.
Is this really the end of the FAQ?
Yeah, sorry, it has to end somewhere. Email/message me if you want more. Snapchat is @jakabo27 (Also instagram and paypal and venmo and everything but twitter because SOMEONE had to take my username on twitter before I made a twitter sigh)
One more question?
no