We were lucky to catch up with Jakob Holmes recently and have shared our conversation below.
Jakob, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Going back to the beginning – how did you come up with the idea in the first place?
During the summer of 2017, I was feeling both disappointed, and genuinely unfulfilled with where my career was going. I was working in places that had nothing to do with my own interests, and time was passing me by faster and faster. For some reason, I never seriously considered trying to make a career out of anything creative or artistic. When I think on it, it’s probably because I didn’t have any examples in my life of someone that had decided on a career path like that, so I just didn’t see how, or even that it could be done. One day that summer, I was sitting and playing some music at a park with one of my best friends, lamenting to him about all this, and asking for his perspective. I’ll never forget what he said: “Haven’t you always liked making videos and stuff?” He was correct, of course. I had always enjoyed that sort of thing and had even dreamed of being a movie director one day, back in my teenage years. Honestly, from that moment, a chain reaction started in me that continues to this day. That same week, I researched some affordable camera gear, and made a small investment, with nothing else to rely on but new inspiration, and a desperate eagerness to change course. Seven years later, I have learned more than I could have imagined, and have had so many experiences creating meaningful things for people, that brings so much pride and fulfillment to my life.
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?
My name is Jakob, born and raised on Southern California, and I have always expressed myself through photography, video creation, and music. This business endeavor is honestly the most interesting thing I think I could be doing to make a living, as it involves all of the creative processes that I’ve come to know and enjoy over the years. I absolutely love this art form, as well as the technical side that comes with it. I have been taking photographs since childhood, and still enjoy learning something new about my craft every day.
Taking the risk back in 2019 to quit one of my jobs, and eventually pursue this full-time, is something that has had its challenges, but is something I don’t think I can ever regret. For the most part, I tend to focus on capturing people’s weddings and portraits. This includes wedding videos as well, which I really enjoy making. Other photography services I often do are family photo sessions, engagement sessions, and personal one-on-one sessions. It’s important to me to give my best work every time. I spend a lot of time scouting locations, getting to know my clients, and trying to create an experience that is both convenient and satisfies their vision. I enjoy working closely with people, and feel strongly about establishing personal and loyal relationships with my clients, beyond just business. One thing I notice as I talk with other people in this industry, is what an outlier I am for choosing to edit my own work, particularly videos. I have become rather proud of the fact that I am 100% involved in what I deliver, from start to finish.
I use a lot of my off-time to further educate myself about other related skillsets, from story writing, to visual FX, which enables me to provide a wider range of services and expertise for my clients. I also offer more video-centric services like music video production, promotional material, and post-production work, such as color-grading, editing, and VFX.
I am and have always been sort of a people-pleaser, which hasn’t aways benefited me in life, to be honest. I have always been way too empathetic and straightforward to be very effective on the sales floor, so I really never saw much success in that department. If I can’t personally get excited about a product, it’s very hard for me to fake it. This was admittedly my greatest hurdle at one point, but now that I’ve started this business, I am proud that I never stopped caring about people more than my bottom line, and can genuinely be excited about the ‘product’ I can offer. Running this business on my own is an incredible amount of responsibility, but allows me to be myself, both morally and creatively, and has introduced me to lifelong friends, all of which is absolutely invaluable to me.
How do you keep your team’s morale high?
As my event gigs have gotten bigger in scale over the years, it often requires more than just myself to be present. I have to put together and manage teams a lot, and there are several things I have found are necessary for our success. There’s no avoiding that there may be a lot of different, even opposing ideas, when a handful of creatives are working together, so the first step is to find the right people whose visions are in line with your own, and who are always looking to learn something. What I find keeps morale up, is that everyone on my team feels useful, and has the creative freedom they need to be excited about what they are doing. If there is something I prefer done a certain way, I would rather elaborate on the reasoning behind these decisions, than simply require obedience. I can’t say it’s the most original idea, but treating your team with the respect you would want, really never fails.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.
Personally, I think creatives are just people trying to get what they want out of life, whenever they possibly can. Speaking for myself, nearly every job or class I ever had, made me feel like I was missing out on the world, and that I was just sitting there, wasting away. I think creatives find it very hard to feel productive or satisfied, if not engaged in something they are genuinely interested in, which is something I have received a lot of criticism for in my life. Something I feel that is misunderstood, is that creatives tend to value the experience more than the pay-off, and are willing to put themselves through what others wouldn’t, but are also terrified of what others may find easy. For instance, I would rather spend all day on a movie set, constantly having to improvise and solve-problems, than to spend one hour in an office making cold calls, even if the pay was the same. To me, that hour in the office will always feel longer and more grueling than the entire day of creative work where I get to learn something new about what I love.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.jakobholmesimages.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jakobholmes_images
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jhimages90
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@JHIvideo
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/jhi-photography-and-cinematography-murrieta
Image Credits
Jakob Holmes, Kassandra Andrade