We recently connected with Jefferson Mathis and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Jefferson thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

Just the thought of forgoing your typical 9-5 job to pursue one’s dreams is already risky. To actually turn those thoughts into reality is 100x more risky in my opinion. Where do you start? Are you actually ready for something like this? Why leave something secure for something that you could easily fail doing? These were all in my head as I decided to move to a new state to chase my dream.

Let me back up. I started with photography when I was about 16 years old. Back then, it was just my friends and I skateboarding and wakeboarding all the time and I used photography as a way to document our riding and progression. Not only was it serving a purpose but it was something I really enjoyed doing and also something I seemed to have somewhat of an eye for. As time went on, I began to get a few photos published in magazines here and there which only fueled my passion for it more. People actually liked the photos I was taking? It was a great feeling. I kept shooting, kept getting photos published, and starting to book more and more jobs. So when I got a call to become a magazine editor for Alliance Wake in Orlando, FL, it was a dream come true. But that also meant uprooting my whole life and taking a chance at something new. I ended up going for it and it was a lot of fun while it lasted but once COVID hit, the magazine business went belly up and I was back to square one. Luckily, I had made plenty of connections and started doing my own thing again. It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster ride but at the end of the day, if you want something, you just have to go for it. Yes, you may fail but that’s better than never knowing.

Jefferson, 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’ve been a photographer for about 20 years now if I’m counting before I actually turned “professional”. It honestly doesn’t feel like that long but to actually write it out is crazy. Anyway, my main focus in my photography has been action sports, specifically wakeboarding. It’s something I’ve loved since I was young so to take photos of it just made sense to me. I grew up on Lake Martin, AL so I was always around the water and I had a group of friends that loved it just as much as I did. As we all got better at riding, my photography seemed to get better too. Before I knew it, I was taking photos of my friends to be published in wakeboard magazines. It was pretty surreal. From there, I was able to book more jobs with bigger companies that would have me travel to shoot locations to work with their athletes and I’m lucky enough to still be doing that today.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I think what really helped get my name out there and to get a good reputation was to not think you’re better than anyone. When I was first shooting, I was willing to go out and work with really anyone who would ask. I never felt like any job was “beneath me” and I just wanted to get as much experience as I could. I’ve always been someone who wants to “under promise and over deliver” so I feel like that mentality has helped me out a lot as I was starting to gain traction.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

Word of mouth for sure. The way people talk about you and their experience with you dictates if they’re going to recommend you to someone else. Why would they if they had a bad experience? No matter how good your work is, if they don’t like you, they won’t want to help you out. It’s really as simple as that.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.jeffshotthat.com
• Instagram: @jeffshotthat
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jeffshotthat/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jefferson-mathis-5658a485/

Image Credits
I took all of them so @jeffshotthat