the jessica of all trades
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Photographer, designer, branding professional, baker, crafter; creative dog momma.
I started drawing with my dad as soon as I could hold a crayon, and ever since then the arts have been a huge part of my life. I will list the experience below that has helped to mold me into the jessica of all trades that I am today, but the long and short of it is that I have always had a lot of different interests and the voracity to follow wherever my curiosity lead me. Through high school and up to the point when I chose to go back to school to earn my masters degree, I consistently held at least 2 (and up to 4) jobs at a time, ranging from soloist singer at local churches to business owner. I've never been terribly good at sitting still, so I found and scheduled plenty of work for myself that provided for me a rich and greatly varied set of skills that carry into my work today. Many people will tell you (as they told me) that when you go into business for yourself you need to have laser-focus that allows you to do one thing, and only that one thing well. With that in mind, I tried to ignore my other passions to focus solely on lifestyle photography - only working other jobs to support myself while I grew my business. If I'm being entirely honest, I did that until I graduated with my Master of Arts in Mass Communication degree and realized that I was boxing myself into a corner that did not and should not exist. I do not advocate spreading yourself too thin or wedging yourself into fields where you are not suited for the work. HOWEVER, I do wish someone had told me earlier that it is okay to be passionate, deeply, intensely passionate, about more than one thing. And it is okay to purse your passions as long as you go into every endeavor with eyes wide open and a great (but flexible) plan. Dear creatives of the internet: IT IS OKAY TO BE MORE THAN ONE THING. None of us are "just" anything. Once I realized this, I began working on a plan to bring more of my passions to life. I had been growing my lifestyle brand, Memories by JMF, allowing it to evolve for about 6 years when I decided that I was ready to add on a second brand. Weddings by JMF grew out of my long history in the wedding industry and my experience as a bride which helped me realize how much I want to be able to help couples capture their love on "film". Of course, we (my husband and I) photograph weddings through this brand, but I also was introduced to another opportunity through this brand: commercial product photography. I began working with jewelers and florists to help them create images that they could use for marketing purposes and absolutely fell in love. I mean, who could blame me? Playing with jewelry and flowers, creating images that show off their beauty for local businesses is a wonderful way to spend a day. Organically, the product photography lead into creating marketing materials like brochures and calendars (things I had been creating for my own business for many years) for the companies, and now I am here. Writing a bio on my personal branding page. This site showcases the photography, branding, and design work I have done up to this point. Please use the form below to get in touch if I can help you with any of your creative needs. Cheers! JMF |
Favorite Experiences
Education
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Are you working on a new brand? Want to reach a broader or different target audience?
Looking to build a photo library or need refreshed images? Send me a note :) |
