El Jong: Insider Tips on Photography, YouTube and the Creative Hustle

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In this week's episode, Gemma sits down with El Jong—a multi-talented photographer, videographer, and YouTube content creator who’s mastered the art of turning passion into a full-blown creative hustle. El Jong dives into his journey from film photography to building an authentic brand behind the lens. He reveals how he strategically plans his content calendar, repurposes videos into daily shorts, and keeps his channel consistently growing. Plus, he shares insider tips on prepping for dynamic photo shoots and creating portraits that truly capture the subject's personality—reminding us that consistency is key to creative success.

📖 Resources & Links:

• Explore El Jong’s Work: jongclemente.com 
• Watch El Jong TV: YouTube: El Jong
• Dyson V7:  Check it out!

🐾 Connect with El Jong:

• Instagram: @el_jong
• TikTok: el_jong

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• Follow us on Instagram: @tailsandtasselspod
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• Email: TailsandTasselsPod@gmail.com

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Transcript

Gemma Smith (00:02.136)
Welcome back kitty cats to another episode of Tails and Tassels, the show where you pounce into the lives of burlesque and nightlife performers, their craft, their cats, and how the two worlds intertwine. I'm your host Gemma Smith. By day, I work at a kitten nursery. And by night, I host the Catbaret , New York City's cat themed variety show.

Today is our final guest interview of season one and I'm so excited for you to hear it. I've really saved a juicy interview for last of this season. But before I introduce our special guest, a quick reminder, we'd love to have you join us at the next Catbaret in New York City or via live stream so you can watch with your cats on your couch across the country, across the world.

We're gonna celebrate spring and kitten season, so save the date, Thursday, April 24th at Caveat on the Lower East Side. And as always, expect cat-themed comedy, music, we've got drag and burlesque, aka purr-lesque Plus we'll be adopting, we'll be promoting adoptable kitties from Rescue NYC and Koneko Catbaret Cafe. All right.

Let's get into today's conversation. I'm positively delighted to chat with another a meowsing creative and one of our expert guests, El Jong, aka Johnel Clemente. Jong is a multi talented photographer, videographer, digital marketer based in Brooklyn, New York by way of Manila, Philippines. His work

captures the magic of nightlife, performance, and creativity in New York City. You might know him from El Jong TV on YouTube, where he showcases live performances, shares photography tips, and hosts Fun Shoot Podcasts, chatting with fellow creators, uh, fellow creatives and creators about their artistic process. I got to be one of his lucky guests. It's a blast, yes?

Gemma Smith (02:14.575)
And he also happens to be the incredible photographer and videographer behind the Catbaret So if you've come to a show, you've likely seen him throughout the night capturing shots from all different angles. He's all over the theater and he has the quickest turnaround time out of anyone I've ever worked with. So welcome to the podcast, John. Thank you so much for being here.

El Jong (02:37.889)
Well, thank you for having me, Gemma This is such a treat to, you know, both be on the other side of the content creation process. And I've always liked all of your productions from shows to your fun clips, your TikToks, and of course, your podcast as well. So thank you very much for having me.

Gemma Smith (02:57.742)
Well, it's an absolute pleasure to have you and you're such an inspiration because I learn from you as I'm seeing your work and digital marketing is something I'm very interested in and everything that you've done really inspires me. And so I want to learn. know you in real life, but I don't know a lot about your background. I'm doing a bit of research for this episode. I noticed on your website.

You have a background in legal management and IT. So how did you transition to photography, videography, or was this something that was always a passion?

El Jong (03:34.21)
Yeah. Well, first of all, thank you. And also you guys inspire me as well, particularly to you. I remember doing the first hell phone, photo shoot of your production too. with, Lorna doom and the, venue, the production, the MCing, the cast was so nice and well, well, well managed. you know, I always look at working or I always am inspired with working with people that are such pros with.

positive intent, but in terms of directly answering your question. photography has been my passion since I was very, very young. And it's not because I'm particularly artistic. I actually took the photography classes in college because I like the chemical process of it, the developing of the film of it.

I was actually, or still am pretty camera shy. I don't like being in front of, or I'm not the most comfortable in front of the camera, despite all the videos. So in high school and college, I'd be the person that will run to let me take the group photo. And then I just parlayed that into a photography, like an elective when I was in college, I really, really enjoyed the developing process, the chemical, the magic process of.

making light, printing it into a negative. So that's what really got me into it. I just continued on learning bit by bit from film, black and white film, which is a little bit easier to develop and then colored film, which is a little bit more difficult to develop. then as the years in college went along, digital photography made it a little bit easier to capture stuff. And I just continued doing it bit by bit until I truly fell in love

or I think people started encouraging me and my friends at Tech Photography as well to do it a little bit more and was able to get lucky enough to work with both fellow photographers that are fun to hang out with because if you do stuff with fun people, you do it more. And then when you do it more, you get more reps. Hopefully you get better. as you get older and more responsibilities come in, you find more and more.

El Jong (05:58.902)
some solace in things, people, places that will make you at peace or happiest. And photography has always been that thing. And I just decided on certain genres that I love the most, which is portraiture, course includes model portfolios, lot of, of, you know, implied and art nudes too, that kind of a second fun for me to do as well. And really just continued the muscle of getting bit and bit better around that. So.

That's kind of like, you know, most of my day job or most of my training has been a little bit more corporate, a little bit more straight. And then this was kind of, all right, a creative part of the brain. And hopefully that kind of balances out like the day to day whenever I do things. So yeah, that's the background of how I got into it.

Gemma Smith (06:48.237)
It's exciting to hear your journey and also inspiring for folks out there who want to start a new skill When you started photography, it's so interesting that the science of it drew you to it and that makes sense. I think it's cool I've never done Actually developed my own photos I can see how that's a really cool process and then bit by bit The hours you spent doing it the community that you were around inspired you to keep going

El Jong (07:04.909)
Mm-hmm.

Gemma Smith (07:14.174)
And now you have this big body of work and you mentioned portraiture. And I see you have stunning portraits on your website, on your Instagram. And you've taken mine and I love them. So what drew you to portraiture and what do you love about it the most?

El Jong (07:25.783)
Yeah.

El Jong (07:32.37)
so I guess a consistent theme in everything that I do is I want everything to be, you know, I want to do things that make me happiest. And what makes me happiest is producing good work, good stuff, or not wasting time because that's the only resource that we can get any more of. I got into portraiture because it, has all the elements to make me.

like doing it more because it's the easiest for my type of lifestyle. Right. So, I like traveling. like, hiking and like going to places, but you know, it's not the easiest thing to do. So if I decided to become a landscape photographer and if travel is not my one a priority after work or family, then I won't be able to improve learn.

practice as much as I could. I love events. I do yours, right? But also, know, with, with, with, with, you know, our, the things that we could do in this wonderful city of ours, it's not, it's not something that I would spend one day a week doing. But things in the studio are, can be efficient even in a small apartment in Brooklyn. So.

Gemma Smith (08:36.779)
Thank you.

El Jong (08:57.869)
That's where it's convenient for me to do. It is something that you don't know what you like or don't like yet once you start doing it, but the more that I did it, the more that it was fun. It also, for the subject, requires a little bit less preparation. Had I had a bigger studio space and access to a stylist, a makeup artist every shoot,

I might be a fashion photographer, because I like those too, but I don't. Usually, you know, with our community, it's not, you know, it's not easy to get your hair done or have your makeup all the time. So being considerate on the subjects as well, because you can pop in with nothing or with everything and we could take a portrait. And that's the fun thing about, or the thing that I love the most about portraiture is it is, you know, you are...

connecting with your subject on a one-on-one basis, most of the time if you're doing like a one-on-one portrait, but also the landscape of emotions that that picture or that image can provide the audience can have a billion and different one interpretations. Something simple can be super engaging and something super complicated can look super simple. you just need a wall or a backdrop or if you wanna do it outside, you can do it as well.

That way I can do it a lot. I can squeeze it in any type of shoot that I want to. I can technically do it wherever I am. I just prefer to do it in my apartment studio. So that's what I kind of like planted my flag on and will continue to get better at because I, you knowing myself, I'll never be satisfied the way that I shoot stuff.

there's always newer and newer things to learn, new people to copy and to emulate. So it's also the best thing about portraiture too is like, I think everyone needs it. Like whether it's LinkedIn, putting it on Facebook or putting it on Instagram, you'll just like, you use it all the time. So that's something that I, know, it kind of all the ingredients in making it a fun genre for me to.

Gemma Smith (10:51.348)
He

Gemma Smith (11:00.906)
Yeah.

El Jong (11:15.125)
really, really invest my time and resources in. It's like, all right, easier for easy for me to do easy to get subjects to do it. And then the utility of being able to use and share it. That's the triumvirate. It's going to be very efficient and useful. Let's work on that. So, and I'm sure other people will have, can do the same kind of like template and thinking around what they are spending their time on. This just fits my lifestyle.

Gemma Smith (11:39.464)
That makes a lot of sense. And I think it's important for artists here in New York City, many of whom we're wearing different hats. We have day jobs. We're pursuing our art outside of certain hours. And so it makes a lot of sense for you that you're like, this is how I can do it consistently. And for our listeners, I've been to your apartment when we did Fun Shoot Podcast, and you took my portraits. And yeah, you have all the backdrops, the lights.

El Jong (11:47.095)
Mm-hmm.

El Jong (12:01.196)
Yeah.

Gemma Smith (12:06.49)
You have a good size apartment, but you're right. You have your own apartment that can be a studio, and that just makes so much more sense and ease, and you can continue your work and your art at your own schedule.

El Jong (12:17.719)
Yeah.

Yeah. And there are geniuses out there that will probably have a skill or a talent that they can do on command. But for 99 % of the people, it's practice, it's reps, it's being able to receive and ask for feedback to get better. And the more that you could create an environment for reps, for practice, the more that you can just...

have fun and get better, but also finding the thing that you like. cause it's like, even if it's annoying to move my entire living room to change it into a studio, whenever I do shoot, whenever I do shoot, I, you I yearn for it. So it's, it's not as much of a chore if, if it were like, Oh, I have to set up a desk so I can work for my day job. You know, I, I'd still love doing it, but it's nowhere near as pleasant as like, okay, I'm gonna.

sweep, and I'm gonna vacuum, I'm gonna move my couch, I'm gonna put my backdrops in, I'm gonna set up two lights, and then we'll do a photo shoot. All those is just like, it doesn't even feel like it's a chore because you're excited to do something like that. it's kind of like a carrot too, like the more that you can do it, the more that it's fun. But you have to find something that makes you really, really happy doing first.

Gemma Smith (13:42.409)
Absolutely, and you mentioned, you for new photographers out there getting the reps and getting the practice and you actually share photography tips on your YouTube channel L-Dong TV a very strong following puts my measly My measly YouTube is like to shame you've over 20 as of the other day over 25,000 subscribers Wow What led you to start sharing your work there if you just like want to talk a little bit about?

El Jong (13:59.668)
Now.

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah.

El Jong (14:09.805)
Mm-hmm.

Gemma Smith (14:11.345)
your YouTube, the tips that you share, and then how you got so many followers.

El Jong (14:17.517)
I love sharing this too. It's kind of like, it's not a secret, but not a lot of people really take advantage of because they don't understand the word algorithm. Right? So people think that it is some daunting AI thinking to kind of trick people to watching your stuff. First of all, the reason why I started the YouTube channel was because during the pandemic, everybody was getting

you know, learning a second language, baking bread, you know, taking care of plants, none of which I'm good at, nor enjoy doing. But I already had cameras that were amazing for photography, but also, you know, equally as good, sometimes even better for videography. So, and I wanted to learn, continue to learn new skills, and editing was one of those things that I begrudgingly needed to learn because...

Unfortunately, the past what five, six years, everything is moving from imagery to video. That's just what, what we're pushing right now. And, know, don't have to discuss it right now, but video is being pushed by a lot of these platforms because it's easier to plug in ads on a video than a post or a photo. Right? So if you're watching a video, you're probably watching two or three. You can just like squeeze in a little ad there so that the platform can make money.

And now, you know, they can get more advertisers. So that's the reason why I actually was like, I kind of, I think we talk about it too, when we were hanging out. like, it sucks that I have to do it because, you know, photography is my thing and photography, and I don't like doing things that aren't great. And usually there's way more people that are way better at video than I am. but again, just finding bits and pieces of

of way that you can make more utility out of the things that you're learning, particularly during the pandemic. Shows were a little bit more difficult to produce or there's not a lot, even if there were shows then, it was limited capacity. So covering that will be probably a not only incentive for performers to continue performing because they'll get content, but we could

El Jong (16:37.441)
continue to share their skills and their art form to people that may or may not be more comfortable or not comfortable enough to go to shows yet. So I'm getting to support local businesses, support my friends. Usually I'll bring friends to hang out with me while I document my other friends. So that's three birds with one stone. Plus I get to, again, most importantly, reps, right?

Gemma Smith (16:54.695)
Heh.

Yeah.

El Jong (17:05.141)
documenting live art performances is, is, you know, it requires a lot of care. But when I started, just like, I just need to learn how to splice music together. And that's it. I just need to do it and plug it in and then I'll build from there. so that was kind of one aspect of what I wanted to do with it, because my ultimate goal was to be, you know, not necessarily be a, a YouTube personality, but to get free stuff from

photography companies that I spent so much money on. So I figured like if I get to X number of subscribers, you usually you can either reach out or automatically these companies will reach out to you. I just didn't realize how difficult that was. doing photography reviews or camera gear reviews is probably the second most difficult genre right behind finance.

Gemma Smith (17:35.302)
Hey!

El Jong (18:01.783)
topics on, on YouTube too. And these are easily searchable on just Google on types of like what CPM or like cost per thousand views people will give you every time you watch a video. And usually photography is very, very low because one, a lot of people do it. And two, the people that do it are actually videographers that already that's their training. They're, they're working on film. can cut videos really quickly with awesome B-roll and sound effects, which wasn't me. And,

I just wanted to kind of like, right. I tried doing camera views. It was difficult. Took me so much time because I'm not good in front of the camera plus I need to learn how to edit. So I switched to something a little bit easier to grow the following there. So, uh, now like the part of the channel is, or the main thrust of the channels is showcasing performers because that's just dope. Um, uh, you, they get content, I get content, we get to promote.

a wonderful piece of art, more people. And then now that the base of the viewers are big enough, eventually a small percentage of those will be interested on how those videos are made and how those videos are made about those people. And then most of those people have photographed. And then I take behind the scenes stuff about those shoots as well. So my goal there was to make a little...

you know, make my two to three days a month of production. That's because that's when I actually can only devote time to my passion because of the day job. I just needed to make it like super duper efficient. So, you know, I go to one or two shows a month. I can either enjoy it, just hang out with friends. I can cover it, get content. So that's an efficient way.

Gemma Smith (19:43.427)
Yes.

El Jong (19:53.996)
And then I still love doing photo shoots. So when I do photo shoots, I want to make sure that, all right, I'm doing a photo shoot anyway. And I've learned enough in, in filming where I can unobtrusively put a couple of extra cameras to document the shoot. And then, so now I'm making photos. I'm making a different type of video. All I have to do is either add a little bit of commentary a bit how I did the shoot, which is hopefully one, can help other.

Gemma Smith (20:09.145)
Love that.

El Jong (20:23.923)
starting photographers to not be intimidated in doing a shoot in a smaller space or a word limited resources but also to show people that you don't need. you know if because sometimes like people go to the apartment and if you're a seasoned subject or a seasoned model it's like just two lights or just one light and the tiny space. They don't understand that it's not about the gear it's you know

Gemma Smith (20:51.226)
Hmm.

El Jong (20:53.461)
It's how you kind of like match the idea to how you could produce it. So I always try as a one A is do good work. One B is like show those giant studios out there that I, you you don't need 500 lights and three assistants to do this shot. I can do it with one light, with a little bit extra elbow grease, but you know, that kind of is another bucket of things that I could do in, make it efficient.

And like what we did with yours, like we did a photo shoot and then let's just chat for 35, 45 minutes and then make that into content, which is again, I'm also still continuously learning. know enough that, you know, just consistency is the most important thing. Um, but secondarily, like what we both do here, it's a, it's also both, uh, it's not extremely selfish to learn.

Gemma Smith (21:26.661)
video.

El Jong (21:50.23)
or take as much expertise from your friends or your acquaintances and use it for your benefit. Because if you document and share it out, more people will benefit from it. So that's kind of what I try to encapsulate in all of these things. Like yes, artwork production, the output is number one, but I really do enjoy the maximizing of like, I have X number of hours a month to do this.

Gemma Smith (21:53.688)
You

El Jong (22:17.485)
how much content can I produce in my two to three days of content production. And right now I think I'm at the best input output kind of thing. you know, I do, you know, maybe I'll film two to three a month or I'll do one to two shoots a month. And then that can give me close to month and a half, two months of content weekly.

So that's the other thing too, you know, understanding the algorithm. Algorithm is just like produce something, know, produce your content consistently as much as you can. Double it if you can, because in the end it's the, you know, the content is the content. Content will always, always win, but sometimes you can't improve on the content that quickly. What you can improve on is the production. like, okay, I have at least two videos coming out.

Gemma Smith (22:56.835)
Hmm.

El Jong (23:14.281)
on my channel every week, one for live art performance and one random thing. There's going to be a reel that is from the performance that comes out daily as well. And just pack that in until, you know, however long I can. Like right now until August, I have stuff. So everything that I do now is either I can, I can massage it. Do I double up per week or extend my comfort? So like, all right, maybe I'll,

Gemma Smith (23:24.057)
Yes.

El Jong (23:42.584)
plug some stuff till September so that I don't need to rush right now to film something. yeah, that's kind of like the long winded thing of like, yeah, this YouTube channel is pandemic born operations management practice. But you know, more importantly is it's trying to fit it in a very, very both busy day schedule, but also like, can't, you this is, I love photography, but you know,

Gemma Smith (23:56.417)
Hahaha.

El Jong (24:12.749)
I have friends, I like to travel. know, it's, there's only so much time that you can, you know, plug in in a day. So I really enjoy balancing all those out.

Gemma Smith (24:14.185)
Yeah.

Gemma Smith (24:22.998)
Yeah, you dropped a lot of nuggets there. I like the maximizing. And I've noticed that from you. Like when I went to do your podcast, we did a photo shoot. You've got, then you have your podcast and you have all the clips from the podcast, which now I was like, when I have a podcast, because being on your podcast made the wheels turn about creating my own. And I learned from you. So you're right. And the behind the scenes, I've seen many of your behind the scenes videos. I find those fascinating. And I'm sure other photographers.

El Jong (24:34.669)
Mm-hmm.

Gemma Smith (24:50.413)
do even more so and like you said, how showing what you can do with more limited equipment than these like big budget folks, that's super inspiring. I also meant to mention at the intro, I realized like halfway through our conversation that you're a cat dad and we are gonna talk about your cat Whisky. I forgot that, of course people, if you're listening and you're like, where's the cat talk? We'll get there, okay? You're gonna learn about photography, maybe a tip for pets, but.

El Jong (25:06.061)
100%.

El Jong (25:10.261)
Auf re!

El Jong (25:19.241)
Mm-hmm.

Gemma Smith (25:20.075)
I wanted to then go more into your podcast, because that's also on your YouTube. before we do that, actually, I wanted to ask you, do you have like a content calendar for yourself then? Because you said you have content through August? I'm curious.

El Jong (25:33.358)
Yeah. So whenever you Google like what is a good schedule to pump out stuff, there are a couple of different articles with a couple of, because all of these quote unquote algorithms on what platforms push differ changes from month to month, it seems. the end, the most, the least common denominator on all those is consistency. So

once a week for longer form content. which is YouTube kind of stuff and daily for shorter form content, which is reels and tik tok and, YouTube shorts. Actually, I just read a couple of days ago, like tech talk now, because people are coming back and after the, the short band, like three days, three times a day is, is one of the factors that they will push more. Cause

There's a lot of like, a lot of this algorithm is just basic human experimentation. I'm going to show your stuff to 200 people and if they like it a lot, I'll show it to 10 more. If they like more, it's just basic stuff. So content will always still win, but put your content in a very good place so that it can be seen. and it's not quote unquote blocked by the platform. So my thing is I can only, the maximum thing that I can do is once a week that, or like,

the maximum planning thing that I can do is once a week. So if you have four weeks in a month, my goal was always to kind of like break it out into fostering my content that can be monetized. So I forgot to mention live art performances because they use commercial music.

Gemma Smith (27:19.714)
Mm-hmm.

El Jong (27:26.133)
I can't say I can't monetize them, but the CPMs or the revenue that I get from them is extremely, extremely, extremely small. If ever they do allow those music to be used. So most of the time use commercial music and that's it. But again, I maximize that as like a lot more people would want to see, you know, very beautiful people performing. So you just use that and then convert that into the content that I can monetize, which are.

behind the scenes photoshoot, camera reviews, and something random like a vlog. So that's usually my breakdown. Four weeks in a month. Every week, so every Wednesday, we'll always have some live art performance coming in. That's weekly. Sometimes I double up if I have, you know, I shot something last year and I haven't published it and it's a good theme that's coming up. So like I'll plug it on Christmas or...

Usually I've shot Menorah Hora for years and years and I just pumped those out during the Jewish holidays to kind of like, because a lot of people are searching those terms anyway. So that's like, yeah, that's the base. You know, all of these are common sense that you don't need like a sumer, a super, you don't need a course to understand all of these. Like, yeah, people will be searching 4th of July stuff around the summer.

Gemma Smith (28:37.249)
So smart.

El Jong (28:54.519)
do a little bit more patriotic, US centric and dependency search stuff around there. But, so the base of the channel, the one that garners a lot, the most views will be the performances. I just pump that out once a week. And then I try to do one, camera gear review, for one week, one behind the scenes for another week, and then one podcast for the last week. So that's kind of like, all right, so every week there's something.

kind of new around one or two shoots. I also personally know I can optimize that a little bit more. Podcasts typically work better weekly, right? But I just can't. mean, as much as I would want to, it's just, it's too much work. And also when I sit down with the person, much like what you're doing right now, like you invest a lot of time, but also like you do a lot of research and you want to make sure that the subject or your guest is

you know, have, an amazing platform as well. So I'm not going to just like phone in a weekly conversation with people because that's just not my, my, my type of content. My type of content is, is having, you know, the, the guests talk about their process of creativity and like living in New York, you know, we joke around, like we work three or four jobs just to get to the fifth job. So it's like, you know, that's.

That's not a conversation that's easy to just like pop out. need that's why I do it. Most of my stuff I do it live too. So that's my content calendar. And then because you have one new video per week, that video gets then spliced up into. So, uh, short form content. So I, I, and I use, uh, uh, uh, uh,

a semi-automated service that just dump it. So you dump a video, it generates around 11 or 12 different clips. Most of them suck, but you'll get three, four, and I use those to continuously put one short or reel on YouTube daily so that there's always like one short every day, maybe one or two long form videos every week. That way your channel is always active and it's

El Jong (31:10.411)
being seen so you're gonna get into some or higher of the the front page of let's say YouTube a little bit more often and that will kind of just by the virtue of being shown a little bit more than 80 percent of of the channels out there more and more people will just click right and that's it.

Gemma Smith (31:31.168)
You've inspired me. So after today, because I am starting out with YouTube, but what I hear from you and what I'm really taking away from this makes a lot of sense. Consistency is key. And that's a good thing because that means, OK, look, you don't have to stress over, is this the perfect short every time you post something? It's just being consistent. And I hear you. And that resonates.

El Jong (31:47.659)
No, no.

El Jong (31:51.854)
Yeah. And there will be some like technical things that, you know, we can work on one on one too, just to make sure that when you upload a YouTube short, make sure that it links to the long form video. It's, it just shows YouTube that you know what you're doing. You already put hashtags or like metadata or keywords on your videos as well. Just making sure that you use every single quote unquote feature that they do.

shows that you are kind of like a platform expert. That's why they'll put on your first. And the great thing about that is you have one season of Tails and Tassels already. I think the stat is like 93 % of people that start a podcast stops at like episode three.

Gemma Smith (32:42.908)
You're right, I read that stat and I go back to that stat to feel better, to feel like good about myself despite this growth. You know, it's great to keep that work. Hey, we made it.

El Jong (32:46.657)
So.

El Jong (32:52.149)
Mm-hmm.

And the good thing about it too is like it, you know, my, my, mentioned my channel right now is at a 25, six. Um, it took me a full year to get to 100 subs because again, I didn't know my content to start. was like doing camera gear reviews and I was doing vlogs and I did not know what I was doing. And that

And my own, first goal was like, just want that vanity URL because like you can't get your, your custom URL until you're a hundred subs. And then the next milestone is a thousand when you get, monetized. So the first hundred was so difficult. Like 60 of those were literally direct friends and family. and then the, the more subscribers or the more views that you get, the more that you, the, the, the platform pushes your content.

It's exponential, you know, between year two and right now I'm on year four, you know, maybe second year I got to like 1500 subs and I was super duper happy. I was about to quit. And that's when I kind of like, you know, that's when the pandemic really, really hit. And then that's when, okay, this is where I'm going to start, pumping out content, because I just needed a place to put where, where I'm

filming these shows, I just needed a place to put it. and then from year two to year three took me like, it was like 5,000. And then the rest, like the 20 grand was year three and a half and above, because that's how, you know, exponential viewership and growth work. So it just takes a couple of things. So the important thing there is like, once you do get maybe a

El Jong (34:45.633)
great piece of content that people will watch a lot or share a lot, or you have like a very, very popular guests that will like, you know, you know, a celebrity or somebody that has a big following and all, and a fraction of their followers go to your channel and subscribe. Then they can get to see like, you got 50 other podcasts that I can listen to. So I can just like pop that in, in the background and continue listening. Now your older and older content gets resurfaced again. And then we go through the cycle again.

So that's, you think, mean, that's what happened to me. Like two of my videos got like a couple of million views and it just like, it got all the other performance video kind of popping. And then with my podcast, like my first guest, was a cheat. you know, my friend Sarah was in America's Next Top Model and she was the first quote unquote plus size model at size two in a,

Gemma Smith (35:34.394)
El Jong (35:41.87)
uh, weird, uh, in America's top model. So she, and she's a comedian, so she's an engaging personality. So having like a first episode with that kind of eyes on it was kind of cool. it's, it's just consistency. we talked about it so I'm gonna tell all my friends. We can't get, we can't hit Homer's all the time. You know, it's not going to be a hundred percent all the time. If it's at 75 % push it out.

Don't let perfect be in the way of good because content is key and we can just do better.

Gemma Smith (36:15.421)
Yeah, that's my favorite quote. I love that you did that quote. I agree with you because if we wait for things to be perfect, they're never gonna get out there. And what you're sharing is really encouraging for artists. There's a lot of very talented, whether they're burlesque performers, actors, comedians that maybe aren't so great with YouTube or with creating content or maybe don't really love navigating social media, but you know.

If you are doing the work anyway and you find ways to share what you're already doing and maybe some backstage tips or some behind the scenes looks, you too could share your art with the world. then eventually monetizing is something I think we'd all like to do. It's a way to help fund your art. And so these are really valuable tips for any artist wanting to grow a following.

El Jong (36:49.463)
Mm-hmm.

El Jong (36:58.039)
Mm-hmm.

El Jong (37:04.365)
Yeah. Yeah. It's the least friction because in the end we don't want to discourage ourselves when it's too difficult. Like I do that all the time. There's a bunch of other topics or genres or things that I kind of started and then I let go because it was just either not, it couldn't fit into...

my workflow or my day-to-day process, because I wanted something to be easy. And I do that in every single thing, like working out or trying to get fit. I'm trying to finally trying to get fit in my, my first, it's, it sucks so bad. And it's really straining everything else because the time that it requires takes a lot. So I'm trying to find smaller and smaller ways. So now I have a flow where I can,

Gemma Smith (37:34.684)
Honestly, me too, because I'm on a journey too.

El Jong (37:51.586)
I have to wake up a little bit early so that I can take that walk, go to the gym, bring my work, stop by a coffee shop on the way back, take my work, get groceries every lunchtime so that I can walk more. finding those little spots and making it fun. So I may not like working out, I may not like walking, but I do like that I live across the parking and get to see it. And if you are, again, a performer, you wanna do those.

Getting ready with me stuff. Yeah, just get it flowing, get it easy. then the most important part is like, don't stop there. Like, sure, yeah, make it, you know, do it, but, you know, get a little bit better at it more and more. Like, okay, be a little more articulate, maybe do a little bit more.

editing here and there, put it in a length that is easier to absorb. So that's kind of, you know, you can't get better until you start and you can't start if it's too difficult. So build up, build up, build up because it's not, it's not that, you know, if, I got to this number, um, it's a lot of hard work, but it's like hard work that I would have done regardless just because of the craft itself. So it didn't really require me to do other stuff. didn't buy extra gear to do things I didn't do.

was gonna buy it because I like photography and videography anyway. So if you're just gonna buy makeup anyway, and you are gonna tell your friends your opinion on why this brand or this color is better, and if it's not too much trouble to prop up your phone because 95 % of the time your phone is fine, maybe just plug in a mic because audio is actually, will up-level any video super easy, then Bob's your uncle, good.

Gemma Smith (39:38.715)
Thank you for saying that. I'm gonna get a little mic, because the notice sometimes I want to do little TikToks when I'm walking in the city and like the sound is so bad. So thanks for saying that.

El Jong (39:47.35)
Yeah, it's small things like those will improve you. You'll get from like 40 to 60 percent and now get to 75 percent and eventually you'll get to 90 percent and then when you get to 90 percent it's like okay how can I get to 90 percent more consistently then that's where the hard work really comes in.

Gemma Smith (40:06.534)
So many good tips for creatives who want to share their work. And going into some more tips, as a photographer, you are an expert. a lot of performers, some are very natural in front of the camera. Some might be a little nervous. But we could all do to hear from a photographer ways that we can make the most out of a shoot. So what, in your opinion, makes a great portrait a promo shot for a performer?

El Jong (40:19.052)
Mm-hmm.

El Jong (40:33.325)
Well, thanks for asking because like I think about I still consistently think about that too I guess that's number one whether you're in front of the camera or in the back of the camera You know be thankful and happy with all the content that you make because you know, that's you regardless of the quality that's still

something that not lot of people have and something to collate and grow from and you know, kind of remember point of time in life. But what makes a portrait image period, I always look at very, very foundational things. So one, it should be foundationally sound. You know, it needs to be sharp where it needs to be sharp.

bright when it needs to be bright, dark when it needs to be dark. And a combination of those, I look at it as, you know, has some dynamism. So it's not super flat because if it's too sharp and too clear, it's a passport photo. If it's too dark, it means like you don't know your stuff technically. So if it's a clear and sound image,

That's the baseline of anything. Doesn't matter how artistic it is, how pretty you are, how amazing your makeup is. If you can't see it the way that it needs to be seen, that's, you know, it's off. You need to work on it a little bit. The number two about that, so like just the technical foundation is always kind of going to be a baseline for pretty much every art form anyway. Like, you know, I know we need, there's people that can bend or break the rules, but that's exception, not like the standard. Like you need to...

Take a sharp, take a clear, sharp, well-colored, well-lit photo first. secondarily, it needs to be personally specific, right? It needs to be you, right? It, it, and because of that, you know, you don't want to, you, you want to develop either, you need to be closer to the brand that you're building or to the brand that you're transitioning towards. Right? So if you're doing a LinkedIn shot,

El Jong (42:40.845)
and you are doing a corporate portrait, corporate headshot, maybe your backstage burlesque makeup and headdress and boa might not be the correct thing there. It needs to be specific to what you intend to do. Conversely, you want to be, if you're trying to apply for a burlesque festival,

You're not going to put a two by two photo of your face. You're going to put, you know, possibly a little bit more, costume, right? You know, a little bit more of your personality, a little bit more brand. So that's very important because sometimes we don't, a lot of times it's fun to just shoot to shoot, right? But it's sometimes good to shoot with some form of output in mind. So it's useful. You're not, you know, you're, you can doubly maximize the, thing that you're doing. So, and

I think lastly, people, a lot of people forget, it just needs to make you happy. So forget about my rule number one and rule number two. If the shot makes you happy, that's the most important part. And that's the, that's the thing. It's like, you know, if, if, if you've always been not comfortable with your body and then somebody took a little bit more of a risque photo of you and you enjoyed it, doesn't matter who else thinks, technically sound it is, or if your pose was not X, Y, Z or your flabs are showing.

If you like it, that trumps any other rule that anybody can say. So a combination or the presence of all those three would be ideal, but I would never sacrifice the subject's personal take, a personal happiness about that shot over anything. So if I think the pose is off and I don't take the lighting and I think it's out of focus, but you like it, we're going to do your shot.

We're going to post it. We're going to be happy about it. We're going to amplify it because in the end, know, the subject's happiness needs to be number one. Maybe your tastes will evolve in the future, but if you're not happy, it won't evolve to anywhere anyway. So those are kind of like my three main tips in good images or I think in the end, good work period. If you're trying to build a house, pretty much the same thing. It's like, sure, you need the bones to be nice and you need to be...

El Jong (45:04.477)
should fit your needs, but you you need to be happy with it. So if you want a pink house, get a fricking pink house. All right, that's it.

Gemma Smith (45:10.617)
I absolutely agree. it's for our listeners who haven't tuned into Fun Shoe Podcast. At the end, you ask each creative guest to share their favorite photo of themselves. So what you're saying really is in line with your philosophy. You love amplifying performers and their favorite photos. And I really liked what you said also about folks figuring out like their brand, because that's the important part of the work that the performers, the creatives, whoever is being photographed.

has to come into the session kind of prepped thinking about what am I wearing? What is this used for? Who's my audience? So on that note of thinking other tips for subjects in front of a camera, any other prep tips, posing to help performers feel confident in front of the camera?

El Jong (46:00.365)
Yeah, the easiest, lowest lift, lowest hanging fruit when you're preparing for a photo shoot or anything that will cap your performance or imagery. Just stand on the shoulders of giants. Go through, you know, go to Google, type in best poses.

Make a Pinterest board or copy the images of the poses that you personally think are nice. That's baseline. Make a little... Organize it so it's a little bit easier to find like, okay, these are full body shots. Half body shots. First body shots. That's super easy because that saves so much time. Because there might be things that you're just not comfortable doing or you don't aesthetically like for other people.

Ostensibly, you wouldn't like it for yourself as well. And we get to see, like you and you're working with a photographer or a stylist or a producer of a show or whatever, you get to kind of like narrow down the focus like, okay, this is what I like. How about you, your expertise, let's combine there. And then we can quickly narrow down and try to copy even those lighting or poses because it's never going to be one of stone anyway, right?

different photographers, different models, different angles, whatever, but at least you have a very, very quick baseline to do stuff. But the important thing is like, again, pick good shots. I'm not saying like stand on the shoulders of the people that are your same size. No, take the giants, shoot your, like, aim high, like look at the best models, the best photos, the best shoots, and then you'll develop.

style that you like and then it's going to be easier to research the things that you can't prepare for for a shoot. So maybe first it's poses, then it becomes makeup, maybe styles of clothes. So that kind of like builds in your personal brand and personal taste so that it's a little bit easier to number two, improve. Because again, you might think it's good, but maybe not a lot of other people think it's good or

Gemma Smith (48:07.16)
You

El Jong (48:14.761)
It might be good for them, but maybe for your stature, your complexion, your hair, your makeup, your style, might not be work for you. So developing and refining your taste is a two-way street. you know, prepare to ask for feedback, collaborate, you know, talk to your friends, see like, Hey, is this, you know, does this work for me? like, what do you think works for me? It's always good. Like refining your taste and improving your, your

I in terms of what is good and then secondarily what's good for you and then what you can shoot for is number two. things that you can actually, we're going to say again, asking and, you know, asking for feedback is very difficult. Receiving feedback is also very difficult. So if you have old shoots that you can review with an unbiased third party friend,

partner, other photographers, other models that you can sit with. It's like, let's just like power through all of our shots. These are my choices. What do you think? It's like, oh, maybe somebody would say like, oh, you should have picked this, but you know, and everybody's taste is different. It's just developing your library of eye. And then, and also, again, I think lastly and above all again, just have fun. know, if you're not having fun preparing,

or you're not like super, the goal is you should be excited to work with something or someone. So if you're not having those like, I have to do this, maybe it's not the right type of shoot or right type of photographer or right type of time to do it. you know, fun is a key ingredient in developing good work.

Gemma Smith (50:08.001)
These are all really great actionable tips for folks who still have some nerves or just want to better themselves for the next shoot. I've learned, because in the last five years, I've had more photo shoots when you need promo photos for certain shows you're doing, et cetera. it's just like being behind the camera in front of the camera the more you do it. Like, you're going to just continue to get better. You're going to learn poses that you like when you're looking at the photos, like you mentioned, refining your taste.

El Jong (50:27.565)
Mm-hmm.

Gemma Smith (50:35.616)
So lot of actionable steps for you all listening. And then just doing a little segue into our Whisky chat. And Whisky is Jong's cat. Do you have any tips for cat parents? And then we're gonna learn more about Whisky. But do you have any tips for cat parents on taking photos of their kitties? Because when you sent me the last batch of Catbaret photos, it was so cute. You snuck in a photo of Whisky. I guess maybe before you left for the event, you like took a photo of Whisky. That was so cute.

El Jong (50:42.125)
Mm-hmm.

El Jong (50:51.105)
Yeah.

El Jong (51:01.729)
Yep.

I was calibrating my colors to make sure that it's there, but yeah, I was like, I forgot to format my card, but you know what? She's cute. You and your friends might be way better at taking more cat photos or pet photos than I am, but I, again, I always try to...

Gemma Smith (51:13.768)
I loved it.

El Jong (51:29.143)
take an opportunity to get better at everything that I do. So whenever I do have off time, you know, in between meetings at work, know, tinkering with my camera calms me.

That's the thing. So what better subject that I have that is both accessible and people like than my cat. So if I want to mix different colors or if I have a new camera that I'm like getting to know, I just like spam it and just like take photos of my cat all the time. I don't post it all the time, but yeah. So that's kind of like my thing. It's like, again, the best camera is the one that's with you. And you know, it's not the taking photos that is the difficult.

Gemma Smith (51:58.847)
We get it.

El Jong (52:10.991)
part. The tips when taking pet photos is not technical about shooting it. The tip is whittling it down. So my exercise has always been, you know, if not every day, almost every day, I'll probably have a few photos of Whisky. But I don't post them all the time because one, I get jealous because Whisky gets more attention than any of my other shots. But also two, it's like, you I want to...

save space in my phone. So I, you know, maybe I'll take five, ten a day and then I'll save one and then

when I think of a cute caption I'll post it. that's the other part too. It's like one thing that makes it difficult for people to really appreciate the mundane photography. Like there's always great images everywhere, but if you keep taking photos and you have like 75 of the same shots in your phone, you don't know which is the best one. in the same line of refining your taste, like even with Whisky photos, like, you know, I don't know if she's off frame right now, but

She poses super duper well on the couch. So it's super fun. Like I'm lucky that she poses that way and it's great. And it calms me to take a break to appreciate the calmness of your pet. Right. That's another thing too. It, you know, we're stressed every day, but look at, you know, this little fur ball.

sleep 16 hours a day. And when I look at it, it's like, that's the life. That is the best life. And capturing it a little bit, maybe I'm outside, I'm in the office, I'm tired, I pop in my phone, I have a cute photo. that's the main, like, one of the main benefits of having pets or things that you love accessed. So yeah, that's a tip. It's like, enjoy it, but to maximize the enjoyment, like, yeah, curate. Curate to a few things that...

El Jong (54:16.533)
will either really hit your heart, like this was the shot when I was like, okay, was, it was a rough day and then you were snoring and then I took a picture. I remember that and that's gonna be good. Or it just makes it easier for us to post it on Instagram stories, which I post.

Gemma Smith (54:31.38)
Yeah, yeah, if you tag Tails Tassels pod for sure and I'll be sharing when this episode's out we'll be we'll be sharing Whisky photos all over along with yours too. There's a cute one of you and her on your website that I was gonna use for the promo if that's okay. Can you share more about just how she came into your life? How old how old she is her personality?

El Jong (54:47.627)
Yeah, of course.

El Jong (54:56.109)
Whiskey is nine years old. She just had her ninth birthday a few days after this recording. Her birthday is March 3rd. Whiskey is actually my second cat. My first, I was never a cat person first and foremost. I was always a big dog person, but being in New York and even when I was with my partner, it...

Our hours were just so long that it was going to be inhumane to have a pet where you can't see for 12-14 hours a day. Or a dog in specificity. with my, my ex-wife, she was able to whittle me down from a husky. That was my dream. I just wanted a husky. We live right across the park. I'm sure we can rock it, but, she was able to whittle me down from a husky down to...

a chihuahua at that point, so I might as well get a cat, but I've never really had great experiences with cat. All my friends' cats are too skiddish or ruins furniture or doesn't play with them. So my experience with cats initially was not great until one of our friends had a...

a cat was like a dog and that was kind of my templates. Like, some cats are just chill, they will love you and cuddle with you, it's great. and then they clean up after themselves. You just have to clean the litter every day. So it's not too bad. So I was roped into and convinced to visit a bunch of shelters. And at that time we were able to get my first cat, the first cat, his name was Bacon.

Gemma Smith (56:40.979)
cute.

El Jong (56:41.025)
cute little technically he he was listed as an American Shorthair but he was he was very long hair so so that was my first cat but when my ex and I divorced nine years ago ten years ago now it took me

Years to recover because that was that dude was my homeboy like every every day We would be playing video games together and he was just right beside me It was my calm and it really the divorce was technically fine. It was a very applicable divorce it was a I was a happy it was you know, you don't really break up with somebody and and kind of like, you know, everything is up from there So the only thing that really really scarred my heart was having a connection

with a pet that had unconditional love. That consistency sucked. So it took me a really, really long time before I was even ready to look for a cat.

And even when I was ready, it took a long time. me and my other friend Elise would do monthly shelter dates where we'd go to a new shelter once a month. We'll do brunch, we'll do Sean Casey, we'd do brunch and we'd go to some ESPCA. We'd do brunch, we'll go to a pet girl and Union Square. So to look for cats. And I got close a few times.

Gemma Smith (58:01.073)
Yay.

El Jong (58:07.949)
But you one time Zach, the cat was a little too old. like I mean I want some cat that was super duper young so we could both grow together. One time I found a cat but I needed to get the cat and the sister. It's like I don't know if I can handle two at the same time. So knowing my limitations. And just weirdly by some serendipitous chance the...

I used to take photos of bacon and send it to the shelter that we got Whisky from up in Westchester. And then they just emailed me one time and was like, is everything okay with bacon? We haven't seen bacon in a year. It's like, oh, no, no, no, no, it should be fine. It's just like, he's no longer with me, so I'm not taking pictures anymore. I was like, oh.

Well, you know, that same litter has, you know, a new kittens that needs to be re-homed. I 100 % went up there thinking that I was going to get Bacon's sibling or whatever, right? But luckily when I got there and played with the kittens, I was like, might not be good for me to...

be stuck in the past to get a bacon replacement. That's not fun. just coincidentally, a small litter of British short hairs was there as well. And I got to play with that litter. And then I was considering, it's like, but they're white. I own everything in black. So this might not be dip. I was being very picky because the standards were high and Whisky was actually the only kitten that did not play with me.

Gemma Smith (59:38.033)
You

El Jong (59:49.546)
because there was a little litter not play with me as I was about to leave then she came over and then just like walked around my feet and I just didn't I there was something there like I felt like this is gonna be my dude and then right then and there's like I'm taking this dude's like you can't they have to be spayed spayed first

Gemma Smith (01:00:04.561)
you

El Jong (01:00:10.865)
and came back like a week later and we've been inseparable ever since. I got so lucky because she thinks she's a person so...

She doesn't destroy, the, she doesn't scratch a lot of stuff, easy to feed, loves everybody, not skittish at all, but not too clingy. So she doesn't sleep on my face or my chest. So she sleeps right beside me. think the only, the only, very, very small negative is like she has white fur and she sheds a lot and it's everything I own is black. So I have a subscribe and save on lint rollers and I vacuum.

every eight minutes because that's just how it's going to be in our life right now. But yeah, that's Whisky. Actually, I'm going to get her. She's just sleeping.

Gemma Smith (01:00:55.505)
Yeah, see, she's so cute for our listeners. She has this adorable, from what I remember, little like munchkinny little face. So there's, we're gonna see her. Yay, she'll be a clip for sure. She's beautiful. She's really beautiful. Her coloring on her head.

El Jong (01:01:15.529)
I... She's super calm. She's also... She's not loud. I've been teaching her to say hi to people. Can you say hi? No, she's too chill. She loves being carried like a baby. like, you know, every day I'll just, like, walk around the apartment while watching TV and I'll be like this.

Gemma Smith (01:01:27.729)
her belly.

Gemma Smith (01:01:37.787)
She is so cute and she is chill. I wonder if it's her breed. British Shorthairs, if they're a little more like chill than the average cat.

El Jong (01:01:45.364)
They're apparently they're calm, they're intelligent, right? And having a white one is or having a calico one is slightly rare because they're either super white or super gray. Yeah, she's the best.

Gemma Smith (01:02:00.399)
Yeah, I see the calico coloring on her head, but then her whole body is white and she's very, just very adorable and she does seem like a chill, chill cat. Regarding the hair, do you have a special vacuum? Maybe we'll share it in the show notes that you recommend.

El Jong (01:02:18.669)
Yeah, I don't know if this is an indictment, but I loved with the past tense my, think it was like a V7 Dyson. It was the animal one. It was great. It was like an amazing investment, but I think I used it ragged and I broke it. So now I just have...

Gemma Smith (01:02:31.471)
Gemma Smith (01:02:38.829)
El Jong (01:02:42.093)
like a generic knockoff of some Dyson cordless vacuum just to make it easy to, you know, in between calls or in between chores, I'll just like whip it out and then like vacuum and do some vacuuming of the couch back there because she was chilling the entire time there too.

Gemma Smith (01:03:01.689)
seems like you very mindfully went about this process and got the perfect companion for you. And I just have to say, I think we're on similar timelines, because in 2016, I also got divorced and I kept the two cats. And so it is good that you're sharing this for fellow divorcees or people who are broken up. You're not alone when one spouse gets the pet and you don't split. I've seen when I worked at a vet clinic some...

El Jong (01:03:13.172)
Mm-hmm.

El Jong (01:03:20.972)
Mm-hmm.

El Jong (01:03:27.607)
Mm.

Gemma Smith (01:03:27.894)
Exes split like custody of their dog, but that's it's hard. You can't really do that with cats They want to be in their one home versus dogs Yeah

El Jong (01:03:30.572)
Yep.

Yeah, cats don't travel well. And you're right in the mindfulness part of it too, because not necessarily my ex-wife, but I've had girlfriends, ex-girlfriends, get attached to Whisky. And I'm not ashamed to admit, most people probably like Whisky more than I do. Most people like Whisky than me. So if I have exes that are in the air, like, can I hang out with Whisky? He's like, no, no. You know what?

We're good. You know, it's like you can go on with your life. It's best to, I'm a clean break kind of person. I don't want messy entanglements. I want to make sure that, you know, everything is growth oriented. you know, pets are very, very important. I didn't think that I was going to be that, a dude.

Gemma Smith (01:04:12.43)
Mm-hmm.

El Jong (01:04:30.727)
super duper in love with a shelter chubby cat with a snaggle tooth like Bacon was. those were the photos that I think I looked at the most the years after I got divorced. I had great memories, still have with my ex-wife, but the love that you get from a pet

Gemma Smith (01:04:39.311)
Hmm.

El Jong (01:04:55.181)
with no expectations and consistency because that's the most important part is like I was during that time I was just getting good at my career and was very very long hours very time extremely stressful but being able to know that okay as soon as I get home I'm just gonna grab a bite to eat I'm gonna play an hour or two of my video game and I have my dude right beside me

that if you can count on something like that, that will get you through a lot of other stuff. which, you know, and you're right too, I think I was, it's just meant to be that I found Whisky. Because now I don't, the amount of conversations that me and Whisky have at night, I think is the reason why I've...

not necessarily thrive, not just survive, but thrive the nine years that I've had her now. So it's good to have a real pet companion that you take care of because you know yourself too. They take care of you most of the time as well.

Gemma Smith (01:05:56.078)
Yes, oh it really sounds like it with you and Whisky, a special bond and the perfect companion for you and your life. And before we wrap, I was curious if there's anything else that you wanted to share about Whisky, about your work? Yeah.

El Jong (01:06:07.373)
Mm-hmm.

El Jong (01:06:17.101)
I think the last few bits is again, you know, a lot of my passion time is, you know, is devoted to photography and El Jong TV, the channel. But, you know, appreciating friends and companions that kind of helped grow the community and the channel itself. Whiskey is a giant part of it because I'm very, very lucky that

she is also a draw. you know, I'm not, you sure, I know what I'm doing most of the time. But at the very least.

When people come to a stranger's place, cause that's how photography is. You have to go to a studio. You have to be with a person and with the types of photos that we do, it's a little bit more risque too. So there's a lot of apprehension that comes with the subject. Rightfully so. You don't want to be too loose and too okay with everything. You need to have your guards up, particularly in New York. It's great to have.

of an awesome.

tool to disarm people because I have like a cute cat that loves everyone. you know, probably we'll walk up to stranger and you know, I maximize that where, you know, play with the cat. The cat will always, join the shoots. you know, you know, she'll probably have one or two shots before she becomes a diva and requires, air, her massage in her bed too. So that's, that's the, that's the lucky part that I have with Whisky as well. So that does not

El Jong (01:07:54.776)
you know, that's not lost on me because like, know, sometimes you have bodega cats, you have studio cats. They're just there being fed and whatnot. No Whisky is a host. She makes sure that, you know, she, I don't know if it's in frame, but most of the time she hangs out on the couch and every time I stand up and go to the bathroom, she looks at me and say, go back to work. And same thing with doing photo shoots. You're like, you know, okay, where's my set? And then she'll come in, take a photos, every model that, that picture.

her up, you know, was able to shoot with her, you know, the only issue again is for her. But yeah, that's, that's my Whisky. So that's I give her a lot of props as well. She is a huge part in the success of my photography.

you know, my day job, my sanity. So we give back by taking care of our pets, but also like, you know, main reason why, you know, I'm so drawn to Catbaret , because not only is it such a fun place, but in a little, in my own little part, you know, I know that I only

I only document or do shoots for events if there is a cause behind it. That's just, you know, for me, it's like, I, because I have limited time, I want to be able to say that, cabaret, you know, helps, you know, get pets adopt.

adopted. So I was like, oh, that's great. Plus I love cats. Plus it's a cool show. There's like hot performers. And then there's going to be fun things happening there. Great prizes. Also, caveat is also a great space. So it's like, everything checks in. It's like, then let's do that. So it's not, it's not difficult to do things that actually has some goodness within it too. So that's my little bit part there. It's like, oh, let's take a, you know, at least there might be one or two photos that the cat

El Jong (01:09:46.59)
museum might use or you know all the places might use so I was like all right this is a great opportunity for me so it's it's it's it's been a fun a fun time of like Whisky helping me out and hopefully I can help more cats and cat parents and people out as well

Gemma Smith (01:10:04.909)
Well, I absolutely love having you at this show. You have such great energy. Your photos are amazing. I'm always going through them. I'm so excited when I receive them and there's so many to choose from. And one time you had mentioned earlier, you sometimes bring friends to shows.

El Jong (01:10:11.949)
Thank

Gemma Smith (01:10:20.48)
Yeah, you brought all your coworkers to one of my Mealloweens once. That was awesome. And I wanted to say I can attest to the fact that yes, Whiskey greeted me at the door when I came over for the shoot at your place. She was in a couple of shots. She's very sweet, friendly, chill. So it really is the right fit. She's more, she's a host. She wants to come up and be involved and then do her own thing.

El Jong (01:10:23.245)
Yeah.

El Jong (01:10:30.999)
huh.

El Jong (01:10:34.605)
That's it.

El Jong (01:10:40.94)
Yep.

El Jong (01:10:44.608)
1000%. Yeah, she's the best. I got lucky. That's the thing too. So, you know, when you get lucky like that, you don't lose your chance. So she gets brushed every day. She eats healthier than I do. So that's just how it kind of goes.

Gemma Smith (01:10:58.772)
Yeah, we take care of them, they take care of us, and our mental health definitely is better. I love being at home with my, if I'm home alone, I like being at home with my cats. I hear them purr, I can be present for a moment and take a break from our work, so yeah. I want everyone to follow you and make sure that they're listening to your podcast. Can you just give all the links?

El Jong (01:11:09.549)
Mm-hmm.

El Jong (01:11:14.733)
100%.

El Jong (01:11:23.917)
Well, you can look at all my work at www.johnclemente.com that will house all of my photography, YouTube channel podcast stuff, but the main bulk of my energies are in the YouTube channel, youtube.com slash El Jong.

weekly live art performances. You can get camera gear reviews, as well as behind the scenes of other shoots. That also houses Fun Shoot Podcast, which is in all of your favorite podcasting apps out there that you use. Again, conversations with image makers and life shapers about their process of creativity and how weird and difficult it is to do in a big city like New York. But also my socials, you know, I'm always on Instagram. The handle there is at Eljong at

same thing on Twitter or X, same thing on Blue Sky, same thing on YouTube, on Facebook. So branding is there. So I like sharing my work, not because I necessarily want to be famous, but we have so many cool and talented friends. So I'm very, very lucky that they're in my orbit. So I just want to make sure that...

they get shown more because it's very difficult to become a be a creative in New York. So if you can, if you see something that you like, a clip of a show or a performer or a model, I guarantee you they're performing at some point, some somewhere very near you, you know, follow us so that you can support them, bring your friends and family. It's going to be a grand time. Go to Catbaret go to Reali-Tease they go to all this stuff. It's like, it's a, it's a hoot.

Gemma Smith (01:13:10.002)
Yes.

El Jong (01:13:13.403)
That's the thing. For a relatively low lift too. It's not going to be hundreds of dollars, but you'll have a memorable night when you go one of these things for a couple of bucks that you go for a and throw at the performer. So, them while improving your craft.

Gemma Smith (01:13:34.685)
Yes, absolutely. Thank you so much for all these nuggets of wisdom and inspiration. Thank you for amplifying and highlighting the Burlesque Nightlife community in New York City and different shows and projects that you have a connection with or for a good cause. really like I wanted to say I like that you mentioned that earlier and we're all going to follow you. I'll also put all the links in the show notes and that's a well thanks for being here. I appreciate it.

El Jong (01:13:51.405)
Mm-hmm.

El Jong (01:14:03.137)
Thank you very much for having me. You're the best.

Gemma Smith (01:14:05.896)
And that's a wrap for this episode of Tails and Tassels. We love hearing from you, so feel free to send us an email at talesandtasselspod at gmail.com or some listener questions. There'll be one more episode next week where I'll be answering any questions about the pod, about our guests, about Catbaret . Thank you for listening, and don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review our podcast. Also join our community on

Instagram at tails and tassels pod for more updates and behind the scenes fun. Until next time, take care kitty cats.