Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Amaya Jacques . We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Amaya, thanks for joining us today. How do you feel about asking friends and family to support your business? What’s appropriate, what’s not? Where do you draw the line?

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Hello! My name is Amaya and I’m a freelance Model, creative, and Content Creator. I’m first generation Haitian and Trini from Brooklyn New York, Raised in New Orleans.I love reading, solo travel, and youth social justice work. On TikTok I’ve posted a lot of my solo travel journey as a younger black femme and I feel like it’s helped a lot of other girls realize they can do it too! Whether it’s lifestyle content, my modeling work, or creative work in another field. All of my work centers Black Youth and Womanhood in a multifaceted way. I started modeling by going to “photowalks” and collaborating with different photographers to build my portfolio. Modeling for me has always been a creative outlet rather than just a job. I intentionally create concepts and content to highlight Black Beauty and joy. While I model mainly I’ve recently started to step into more styling/creative direction work. I enjoy being behind the camera just as much as in front of it. My favorite type of shoot is a creative concept where I can create a story from start to finish and thru the lens capture it. I love being able to see so many different versions of myself thru my work. After I started to really enjoy being in front of the camera I got my first booking for a clothing brand and since then I’ve booked for major clients. I’m really proud of the way I’ve been able to represent myself freelance and the bigger gigs I’ve been able to get. I’ve shot for Spotify, Under Armour, Meta/Instagram, and hopefully many more to come.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

As a freelance model most of my bookings have happened because of my social media presence. Using hashtags like #neworleansmodel or #nycmodel is how a majority of clients find me. I also apply to casting calls posted by Casting agencies so social media plays a large part. I completely manage all of my own social media and honestly I feel like that’s the best decision for me.. Without an agency to represent me I’ve had to find ways to represent myself and I feel like social media is that bridge for a lot of people in the creative world. I’ve always posted on my social media in a way that represented me as a model. I use my Instagram like a portfolio. When casting agencies, boutique owners, photographers are looking for new talent to work with most people think they go straight to agencies but nowadays they’re looking for new faces online. My biggest lesson would be to take social media serious. Even now I’m trying to really do better at consistency and getting my work out there.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

My first major gig was a 2 day commercial shoot for Spotify in Los Angeles. I was in high school and local to New Orleans with no money for last minute flights or hotels. A casting agency called espirit casting dm’d me on Instagram saying a client wanted to book me for a shoot and at the time I didn’t have an agency or agent to check it out for me. I remember calling like 3 different models I knew who were in agencies and sending them the contract asking if it was legit and if I should do it. After I got some clarity that it was legit the issue of me being in New Orleans came up and I thought I was going to have to turn down the shoot. I had 3 days to figure everything out after receiving the booking and I felt defeated. I was broke, couldn’t afford the flight to LA and honestly had imposter syndrome. After talking to my friend I decided that I wouldn’t just let the opportunity go. I called one of my old mentors who was from LA and asked if she knew anyone I could stay with for 2 days. I told her I was willing to sleep on the floor if I needed to. She was such a blessing and I ended up staying with her mom in LA for this shoot. After I found somewhere to stay I still needed to pay for this flight because the casting agency told me there would be no cover for travel if I accepted this shoot. I still decided to take a shot and emailed the director directly. I told him that I’d love to be apart of this shoot and that it would be A major job for my career but I couldn’t afford the plane ticket. He emailed me back in the same hour saying that production could cover my flight as long as I had somewhere to stay. 2 days after getting that dm I was on a plane to LA to shoot my first major campaign. It was a beautiful experience and honestly gave me confidence moving forward that I can do this!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://msha.ke/amayaxclaire?fbclid=PAAaZJMYhB6Jszpm2oD3JWc1vQCAlMhmo8a2Mw2FsCbVev6Fpt4FUeCG-4DeM_aem_Aeex0YIYJ6aka0c5fEsvc4xhRWqYhysVVuRbq8c9LArYAf91_wihUNrXH2kGcXpZ-oM
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/amayaxclaire?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==

Image Credits
Rayno @thelifeofrayno Nick Shamblot @nick_shamblott Sage Hammond @crownimagesvi