We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jamie Beal. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jamie below.
Alright, Jamie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.
An example of a risk I took in my creative career was deciding to publicly present myself and my work.
I came from a small town in Iowa, where it was out of the norm to promote yourself and your work online. Growing up, I had begun a YouTube channel with a few friends at the time. This was my entry into a creative outlet, and I spent many hours dedicating myself to filming, editing, and posting videos relating to fashion or beauty. However, it became something that people would joke about and eventually turned into something that I became embarrassed about. I private all of the videos but one, and left the YouTube channel.
After some time had passed, I realized I missed having a creative outlet. I was also going through some big life changes, and I needed somewhere to funnel my frustrations and pain. I had always been interested in photography and started attending school events and taking creative portraits with my small Nikon camera given to me as a Christmas present. Eventually, the time came when I took the leap to share these images with the world, and I posted these images to the same Instagram account that I had associated with my past YouTube channel account. From posting my images, I was asked to take paid sessions with people in my small town and to join the school yearbook committee, first as a member, and then as a senior editor.
Growing up, I was quite shy and relied on those around me to help me come out of my shell. Venturing into new experiences enabled me to shatter the limits I had imposed on myself, granting me more opportunities than I had ever imagined.
Because of taking the risk to share my creativity with others, I found a passion for graphic design and photography. I am in my final semester of college and ready to dive headfirst into a job where I can fulfill my full potential. I will always be thankful for that young girl who started a YouTube channel.
Jamie , 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?
Jamie Beal is a multidisciplinary creative with an emphasis on graphic design and photography, With a meticulous approach, Jamie’s work is known for its clarity, impact, and ability to capture attention. She translates concepts into compelling visuals that make a difference.
Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
Any free resource – whether it be mockups, fonts, or presets!
I am a big fan of Creative Market’s weekly freebies.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
My social media has truly been a jack-of-all-trades account for me. Many people will tell you to niche down and separate your accounts for different genres, but all of my work makes up who I am – why wouldn’t I want to have them all in one place?
My biggest advice for starting is to just start. Even if you only have three likes regularly on your posts, that is like three people walking up to you and saying to your face that your work is great! Everything changed for me when I started putting it into that context.
Another piece of advice is not to let your work be defined by the analytics. You posted it for a reason. You should be proud of it!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.JamieBealCreative.com
- Instagram: @JamieBealCreative
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamie-beal/
