We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Tan Jennings. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Tan below.

Alright, Tan thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. One of the toughest things about progressing in a creative career or as an entrepreneur is that there are almost always unexpected problems that come up – problems that you often can’t read about in advance, can’t prepare for, etc. Have you had such and experience and if so, can you tell us the story of one of those unexpected problems you’ve encountered?

The most unexpected problem would be getting my camera & equipment stolen. I’d just decided to pick my camera back up and start photography again. This was the same year that the COVID-19 outbreak had everyone quarantined. I’d lost my job a few months prior. I couldn’t find a job and after back to back rejections, I figured maybe that wasn’t the way I was intended to go. During that time, I was heavy on wanting to be happy with my career. I was cleaning one day and came across my camera and remembered how happy I felt behind my lens. How amazing it was to capture such beautiful memories. It was exhilarating to capture peoples memories, milestones, and accomplishments. It put such fire in me that I realized that was the career I wanted. My severance checks would last for maybe another 2 months or so, I started hustling and reaching out to previous clients and was in the beginning stages of marketing that I was back in action. Before I stopped, I was shooting for maybe 2 years for an extremely reasonable fee and had explored a handful of niches. I’d captured baby showers, maternity photos, engagement photos, kids, family photography. The only reason I stopped is because like any artist, I would compare myself to other photographers (and not in the positive way) and figured it was just a hobby because I felt I wasn’t good enough to even call myself a true photographer. If I can recall, that next week, my family and I came home to our door busted open and all of our electronics gone. Yes, that included my camera bag with all of my equipment. I was completely devastated. I didn’t know what to think. A flood of frustration, disappointment, disdain, and disgust from the invasion washed over me. I couldn’t help but to think I wasn’t ready yet? That happened June of 2021 and it took until this year for me to finally start back again. That was partly because of financial reasons and the other part trying to find myself and be sure that photography was what truly I wanted to do. Over the last year and a half, I started working in the beauty industry and I connected with so many creatives. Working in the industry, brought back so many memories of me collecting and raving over beauty & fashion magazines (Ebony, Jet, Elle, Vogue). Which helped me to bring quality to my photos. Most of my peers needed headshots/professional photos of their clients & THAT is what pushed me to buy a camera & actually start again.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Well, I have a couple of alter egos (haha) but I am a 32 year old photographer & graphic designer born and raised in Memphis, TN. I am transgender and started my transition 3 years ago. I find beauty in everything. I enjoy experiences and traveling. In my free time, I listen to music, garden and explore different parts of the city. I consider myself an altruist. I genuinely love people, helping others, and want happiness for everyone.

Art has been the gateway to my peace and sanity. I started drawing when I was in middle school. I would draw in the margins of my notebook paper in school. It helped me to remember what I was being taught in school. That lead to tracing my favorite cartoon characters until it developed into more freehand art. I was introduced to digital art in college and I am completely self-taught when it comes to drawing & learning software like Adobe Illustrator.

Capturing moments and memories has always been a huge thing for me. One of my favorite memories growing up, was going through family photos. At family gatherings, when the photo albums came out, I was always there absorbing the memories. I have always loved taking pictures. When I was old enough to get Facebook, I would use it as my cloud to purge because we didn’t have the option of having anything more than 5MB back then (haha). I read a ton of magazines growing up. Magazines and America’s Next Top Model were my first introduction to photography. As a teenager, I expressed myself through fashion and editing photos. Picnik was my go to editing software (haha).

The feeling that I get when being apart of something memorable is what drew me to photography. I attended and graduated from the University of Memphis with a Bachelor’s in Art. Once I reached my junior year, I needed art electives and decided to take photography. That was when I bought my first camera. It was a red Nikon d3400. I used every penny of my refund that semester to buy it.
Going from just taking photos on my phone to photography was a difficult process for me at first. I was the only one in the class that was just starting out in photography. Everyone else had their cameras and knew the ins and outs of photography. Majority of them chose the course because it would be easy for the, but that just made me work harder to learn and essentially catch up with the class. I caught up during the next semester when I took Photo II and that was when I had my first gig. I agreed to photograph a baby shower event and her maternity photos. Then, I was extremely timid but behind the lens I became a completely different person and I took note of that passion that grew inside of me. The photos came out beautiful and I got so much praise for them that I decided to continue taking gigs during college and after. After about 2 years of shooting, life happened and my confidence and passion for it dwindled, so I strayed away from photography for a couple of years.

I got back into photography while working as a fragrance sales associate. I wanted to help the friends that I made, who are makeup artists, to build their brands and business portfolios. My passion rekindled daily watching my friends make people feel beautiful and confident through makeup. Through them, I remembered what it felt like to bring people such joy and realized how much I love photography and decided to start a photography business. With my Nikon being long gone, I saved up my money and bought a new camera and started shooting immediately to help them.

My business caters to businesses that need professional, quality photos at a reasonable price. There are so many businesses that are just starting out that need high-quality photos or simply don’t have the means to do so. Since I have experienced just that and my passion for photography as well as helping others is much more important to me, I help out those that truly just want to get started. Just like any business, I value quality work and my clients deserve nothing short of that. There are a ton of photographers out there that charge so much money for quality work. I just feel like everyone despite their stage in their business, deserves the chance to market and promote on a professional level.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I would say the most rewarding thing about being a photographer is when clients are super happy with their photos. It’s something about the satisfaction and extreme gratitude of seeing themselves being captured in their most vulnerable state. Being in front of a lens can make some people feel a little awkward but when a photographer can capture their client in a way that they’ve never seen before, it’s so surprising to them that they can be seen in that way. For art, the most rewarding thing would be when I complete an art piece. Whether I end up liking the piece or not, it’s so satifying completing my projects.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

Surprisingly, the best source of new clients for me has been word of mouth. It may be old school, but I generally take the traditional route and I market myself through meeting people or being referred. Of course, society now relies on social media and don’t get me wrong, social media is very effective. I’m not a huge social media person though. What works for me is word of mouth & free/paid networking events.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://voltagegraphics.squarespace.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/voltagegraphics?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==
• Other: Tikok: https://www.tiktok.com/@voltagegraphics

Image Credits

These are all my original photos, all credit goes to me, Tan Jennings | Voltage Graphics