We recently connected with Jackelyn Marcos and have shared our conversation below.

Jackelyn , appreciate you joining us today. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?

When I first started my photography business, I was working full time and in the process of obtaining a bachelors degree in an unrelated field this was almost 14 years ago. It wasn’t until I was getting my masters degree that the business sort of took off a little. By then I was still working full time, finishing my masters and taking on photography clients every weekend and any free afternoon I had in between. I joked that I had two passions; higher education and photography. Once I finished my masters, JMP was doing great but I still thought the safe route was pursuing a traditional 9-5 career. For the next 5 years I hustled so hard – I worked 40 hours at the university, and took on 4-6 sessions every weekend, and sometimes during the week if I could get to the location before sunset. By 2020, I was ready to leave my full time job but something told me to hold off. Thankfully, I listened to myself because the pandemic hit and while I wasn’t able to take on photography jobs, I still had a steady income. Fast-forward through the next 3 years and the uncertainty of the world, plus the flexibility the office job was giving us with remote work, I just couldn’t get myself to leave. Finally after the New Year in 2023, I decided to take the plunge.

I started this as a hobby/side hustle – sometimes I wish I would have gone full time a lot sooner, but I also learned how to be a professional, and how to work with people while I was working for other companies. I’ve used a lot of the skills I’ve learned throughout my working career to navigate some of the trickier aspects of the business side of photography.

Jackelyn , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I think I was always meant to be a photographer – it is literally in my blood. I recently learned that I had a great uncle in Cuba who was a famous photographer. I have another uncle who was a photographer in New York. Without knowing any of this, I randomly begged my middle school yearbook teacher to let me be photo editor without having ANY experience and he let me! (I was horrible). In high school and early 20’s I was my the friend group historian always with a camera in my hand taking photos of everything and anything happening around us. In my mid 20’s, I was a little lost after a break up and I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life – I remember one girls night just blurting out “I’m going to be a photographer” – I had never taken a class and I didn’t even have a camera when I said that – but I said it so now I had to do it. I bought my first canon rebel at best buy, and my mom bought me a groupon on “how to get out of auto mode” for my birthday – I haven’t looked back since then. At first I thought I would be this big famous wedding photographer, and then I realized that would mean giving up my weekends and having to stand up for 8+ hours with 20lbs of gear on you at all times and quickly said no thank you. Then one day a friend posted her newborn photos on facebook and I became obsessed with wanting to learn how to pose these tiny little babies in the cutest way. I went to a few newborn photo workshops, bought the equipment I needed and took it from there.

I realized my passion lied in family portraiture – maternity, newborn, and special milestones or just regular fun family photos. As the years progressed, I became more and more enamored with wedding photography – specifically couples and engagement portraits. I started to branch out and fell in love with elopements and small micro weddings. The pandemic surely helped this along since most people were opting out for these smaller ceremonies. While the majority of my business is still family and newborns, the couples, engagements and elopements side of the business has fueled my creative passions. I now go into family and lifestyle sessions with a more documentary style approach that has stemmed from the elopements and small weddings. Many of my clients have expressed this is why they’ve chosen me because I don’t photograph families and maternity sessions the same way a lof of other photographers do traditionally.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I love making Moms cry… lol I love to capture their family as they are in that very moment; everyone’s personalities. From the brand new little newborn cuddling in moms arms, to the rambunctious 3 year old, and the quieter pre-teens/teenagers. When a parent messages me after receiving their galleries telling how they are crying happy tears over their gallery – it makes ME want to cry happy tears. The most rewarding aspect of this job is connecting with people from all over the world who trust me to capture their sweet memories. The best part is when the clients are returning and their kids remember me and how much fun they had and are excited to do it again. I love when a frazzled mom shows up to their session, I’m just there to be a calming presence reminding them to just be in the moment with their family and let me do the rest. I love when clients trust me blindly from location, time of day to outfits and overall vibe. I’m fully aware of the investment my clients make when hiring me, and I take that so seriously.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

The most effective strategy for growing my clientele is being authentically me. When you visit my website or instagram, you will know exactly what you are getting and who you are getting it from. I show up for my clients in many different ways – from holding their hand through the creative process of planning out their session, to making sure the actual photoshoots are full of fun and chill moments. I set expectations from the start, and I’m very sure I communicate everything to my clients about what they get with their sessions, best locations for the dates they chose, or time of year, and when they can expect to receive their galleries. I build friendships with my clients and just because our session is over does not mean I disappear. To this day, I have clients who booked me years ago who send me memes on IG or christmas cards even if I havent seen them in a while. When I show face on instagram I come as myself – sometimes I’m funny, sometimes I’m snarky, sometimes I’m doing a fun giveaway – I share unrelated memes, and outfit ideas etc – I want my clients to feel like they already know me before our shoot and it’s always amazing when they ask how my dogs are doing, or what happened that day in the park I fell and scraped my knee – all because they saw my instagram stories and feel like we are old pals

Contact Info:

• Website: www.jmpmia.com
• Instagram: @jmpmiami_
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jmpMiami/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackelyn-marcos-m-ed-2a13bab1/
• Twitter: @jmpmiami_