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

Jara, appreciate you joining us today. Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?

I have been a professional photographer for about 15 years now, earning enough for a full-time living for many of those 15 years. Of course, it took some time in the beginning to gain enough clients to have enough work and I have moved and taken breaks to have children or to be at home with my kids during the pandemic. Each of those breaks I would say was minor set-back, but I have managed to quickly build my business back each time.

I did not always know I would become a professional photographer. It was not my path in college. I would say I have always loved photography, even as a child. But as a 17 year old leaving home for school, I was encouraged by my parents to steer from the arts and focus on business, and as a first born child, I obliged. Looking back, I would tell that young girl to follow my gut, at the same time, I think the jobs and careers I had after college helped me gain other skills necessary to start and build my photography business. I learned Photoshop, image composition, what makes a great photograph and more from the jobs I had.

I’m a millennial, so I’ve been through a recession already and it happened to be shortly after I graduated college. I had moved to Dallas, TX after I graduated and had positions in marketing, copy-editing and visual presentation. Because I was young and in more creative business positions, I would be among the first groups to get laid-off; and I got laid-off a few times. Getting let go (especially 2-3 times back to back), is incredibly defeating and stressful, plus interviewing and job-searching was difficult during that time. But these hardships made me re-evaluate what my career path would be. I did a lot of soul-searching to figure out what I really wanted to do in life – asking myself what do I even like to do? I kept coming back to photography, but I had no photography training and at the time, it wasn’t as popular of a career. Online classes and resources were not easily available like they are now. So I ended up enrolling in some classes at SMU and another smaller community college to learn more.

From the classes, I knew I had the “eye” and an affinity for photography. It felt like something that clicked and came naturally to me. So honestly from there, I began. I started shooting things for free or very low prices to build a portfolio. A family friend put together a website for me and my husband’s family printing company printed some mailers I sent around, but my business really took off through word of mouth and social media.

I definitely think perhaps it could have been easier if I had majored in Photography in college and immediately started searching for careers in photography. But 25 years ago, you didn’t hear about many people having careers in photography. There were no “mom-togs”. It seemed like you had to make it big – photograph models for magazines or get lucky and find a career with National Geographic – it did not seem as attainable to become a professional photographer. However, I do feel like I was one of the few in the early digital photography wave of the professional togs to make a living out of taking photos of kids and families and working for myself. I was a mom-tog before I even became a mom.

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

I’m a Lifestyle and Documentary digital and film photographer in Fayetteville, AR. I’m married with 3 kids and have my own one-woman-show photography business and happily work for myself. I almost feel like I manifested this career, although 15+ years ago, I didn’t know what manifesting was. I became tired of working for “the man”…in a cubicle… driving in traffic then getting laid off multiple times – so one day I decided I wanted to become a professional photographer and then I did it.

I mostly photograph families, children, motherhood and elopements. I find beauty in ordinary details and moments and I strive to capture images in an artful, meaningful way to deliver honest, high-quality photographs that help tell a piece of my client’s story.

As a lesson I’ve learned by just being a human being, I cannot and will not please everyone. I can be really good, my work better than a competitor, but still some people will not like me or my art. Realizing that, then letting that be what it is, freed me from trying to create from a place to please everyone and just create from a place that felt authentic to me. This made me level up in my work more than anything else. If I could have tapped into this realization earlier, it perhaps could have saved me a lot of heartache and energy, but it also gave me the skills to be able to photograph many different genres and styles and pushed me out of my comfort zone. It also helped me hone in on what I love best about photography and allowed me to find my own style that is unique from the many other family and wedding photographers out there.

People often tell me they are drawn to my film and film-style of editing and the authenticity of my photographs. I want to capture for my clients what it actually felt like in the most honest way, so that when they look at their photos, they can truly remember what it was like. I am not a photographer for perfect and over-done because I believe true beauty lies within what is real.

The clients that come back to me for photos year after year, I’ve become friends with – gotten to know them and/or their kids. They come back not only for the photographs, but for the connections we’ve made as people. Parents of young children also tell me I’m a calming energy for them. I know for a lot of folks, family photo day is very stressful and I really try to make my sessions the opposite of stressful. I want my clients to have fun and enjoy themselves and to always know I’m there to observe and capture what is, not ask someone to be something else for a picture.

The overall goal for me with each session is for it to not feel like an obligation or to feel forced. I want them to have a wonderful experience during the session as much as I want to deliver to them beautiful photos. I believe I have to have both for clients to continue to want to come back and work with me. I can make pretty images out of almost any situation but if my client remembers the experience of getting the shots to be difficult (which with young children, it is not always smooth and easy), it can be a hinderance for clients when deciding to book again. So I not only feel like I’m a creator for my clients, but also a director, mediator and a bit of a therapist at times (haha). My keen observation skills and intuition into truly seeing people, I believe, sets me apart.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I started my photography business when I lived in Dallas, TX from absolutely nothing and no experience in running a business. Looking back, this seems incredibly brave, of course at the time I did not feel brave, I felt more desperate. But with time, I built my business, gained clients and became a better photographer and editor with each shoot. Then I had a baby, and my husband and I shortly after went through some really difficult, personal issues. He was also pivoting in his career and we decided to move to Fayetteville, AR. Upon moving, I basically had to start over in my business. I traveled back to Dallas to my clients there for a time, so I could have enough work to continue running my business. Eventually, my name became more common around Northwest Arkansas and I no longer had to travel back to Dallas. At the peak of success in my business and two kids later, the COVID pandemic happened. My middle child is autistic with a rare genetic condition and was starting kindergarten in the height of the pandemic, so I decided to take a pause on my business and stay home with her full-time to help her with school. I took off a full year of taking on clients while other photographers in the area continued to work and I lost clients because of it. But I slowly came out of the pandemic and began again.

With each break and time I had to start over, I think these tough times made me pivot and put more of myself out there, essentially “cutting the fat” out of the business. Understanding more of who I was as a person, a photographer and what I wanted for myself and my business. I also believe because of my personality and how I work, I thrive on breaks. The family and wedding photography business is very seasonal and although that can be hard to manage, for me it is critical to have the rest and slow, in-between seasons so that I can recalibrate and become inspired and more creative again.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

This probably seems like a very simple and underwhelming goal or mission with my creative journey, but it is to continue to charge more per session and take on less clients. My three kids are 14, 10 and 6 now. In addition to running my business, I am also the primary parent for my kids, mostly because I have more flexibility in my day-to-day than my husband does. But wow. Time moves so quickly and as far as I know, I only have 4 more years of my son living at home with me. I want to be able to be more present with them while I can. Even though it can be very overwhelming at times, I am incredibly grateful and lucky to be able to be both (somewhat) a SAHM and a full-time business owner, doing what I love to do. I am not sure there is such thing as a life/work balance these days. If my business is thriving, I have to take a step back from mothering, and if I’m (in my mind) nailing motherhood, my business will take a hit. But getting as close as I can to finding that balance before my kids are too big would be a huge win for me.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.jarahill.com/
• Instagram: @jarahill_

Image Credits

Myself (Jara Hill)