We discuss Jendra’s “overnight success” 20 years in the making, being based in NYC, how an innovative headshot led to creating an iconic personal brand, managing personal finances as a filmmaker, and landing and shooting her first TV show as a cinematographer.

Aug 2023, Filming Music Videos and TV Shows with Jendra Jarnagin

Jendra Jarnagin is a film, tv and commercial cinematographer whose projects have played at Sundance and Tribeca and have streamed on Hulu, and Paramount Plus.

She also recently completed work on the Warner Brothers television show, East New York.

But before working as a cinematographer, Jendra began her career as a gaffer and electrician.

In this episode, Jendra explains her path to becoming a cinematographer.

We then delve into her approach to lighting and filming projects such as the music video, "Oprah," for the music artist Rhapsody, and the show East New York.

We also discuss how approaches to cinematography and lighting are changing with new advancements in technology.

May 2023, On this episode, we had the great opportunity to speak with veteran Film and TV Cinematographer Jendra Jarnagin. Jendra has worked on an extensive list of top shows and films including “The Sopranos,” “Sex and the City,” “Law & Order,” “Gotham,” “Mozart in the Jungle,” “My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman,” David Mamet’s Spartan, Spike Lee’s She Hate Me, Noah Baumbach’s The Squid and the Whale, Asking For It, and “East New York”! An amazing conversation covering her roots, education at NYU, experiences on a variety of independent film sets and large-scale television shows, on through her lensing the series “East New York”. An inspiring and educational chat; thank you Jendra for joining us.

April, 2022, Jendra Jarnagin returns to The Cinematography Podcast after 7 years to talk about her latest movie, Asking For It, a female vigilante revenge thriller, about women who exact revenge on men who have abused women. First-time director Eamon O’Rourke wanted it to be a female exploitation-style movie without the exploitation, and he and Jendra were influenced by films such as Switchblade Sisters, Belly, True Romance, and Natural Born Killers.

Jendra also discusses her recent work on a 2020 commercial featuring former First Lady Michelle Obama. It was shot soon after production started returning after COVID lockdowns, and the directors had to work remotely. One of Jendra’s skills is understanding how to light women, and she is very proud of her work on this commercial. She had limited time with Mrs. Obama and knew she would not be able to tweak the lighting again once they were rolling.

December, 2019, In this long-form, conversational interview, Jendra discusses her recent shoot in Oklahoma, for the feature film Asking For It (podcast host Brad Grimmett was the A Camera/Steadicam Operator) as well as lighting for moving camera, the pros and cons of working with 2 cameras, some of her past projects, and working with a camera operator vs. operating yourself.