We were lucky to catch up with Jesslyn McCartney recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Jesslyn thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s talk legacy – what sort of legacy do you hope to build?
From the furthest back my memory goes, I have identified as a photographer. At the core of my identity, the one thing I have always known to be true about myself is that I was put on this earth to document life. It comes as second nature to me, I see the light hitting my best friend’s hair in a certain way, I see two strangers looking at each other with unique emotion, I drive past a flower dancing in the wind and I think “that would be a timeless photo.” When I was younger I used to wrestle with the idea of living in the moment vs. wanting to document everything. I have come to the conclusion that documenting the world as I see it is the most honest and true way for me to live in and appreciate each moment. Before I ever knew what I wanted to do with my life or who I wanted to be, I was in love with taking photos of the people in my life. I remember being so in awe of the photographers I admired. I would wonder how people make unreal, cinematic images. I figured out that the best way to make photos I will cherish forever is to simply do it. It sounds so unhelpful, but what I love about myself and my photographic journey is that I get up and take the damn picture. I carry a little camera with me in my purse every time I leave the house. I make sure I never go more than a week without creating. Some of my favorite photos were taken on days where I thought about staying home, and I’m so glad I didn’t.
So, what do I hope my legacy will be? My legacy will be leaving behind my photographs. I have always known this to be true on a personal level, but through my career I have found deep fulfillment in giving other people the most unique heirlooms they could possibly have – their precious moments fossilized into art to keep and pass down until the end of time.
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?
I started taking photos with my mom’s point and shoot camera when I was about ten years old and I quickly became obsessed. I used to make my friends play America’s Next Top Model and convinced them to let me take their photos. When I was in middle school, I moved in with my grandmother in the middle of nowhere rural Virginia. I was hours away from my friends and found myself alone in nature. I began taking conceptual self portraits inspired by fine art photographers I admired. This is when I taught myself color theory, how to manipulate light, and how to make photos look cinematic/unposed. Being alone most of the time, I was really into posting my photography on instagram and I found a little community of other photographers my age who became my internet friends. I grew a little following on instagram and was known as the only photographer in the small town I was raised in. I started taking photos for my friends’ families and their older siblings’ senior portraits. I was so excited to share my craft with others and have them ask me to take their photos. When I was thirteen, my mom bought me my first DSLR canon camera so I could take her wedding photos with it. The same year, I photographed a family friend’s wedding as well. When I was seventeen, I was hired for my first wedding by somebody I didn’t previously know. I was ecstatic. It was one of the best days of my life. I felt so overjoyed with gratitude and love. To be trusted to document people on their wedding day, loving family and friends all around, is the greatest privilege a photographer can have. I was able to take my personal passion and make my art into photos that these people will cherish and look at for the rest of their lives. I had so much fun and made money off of my art for the first time. Since then, I have photographed many weddings off of word of mouth alone – perks of growing up in a small town. This year, I was able to quit my day job and fully throw myself into my business and art. I never thought I would make photography a full time job for many reasons. I was scared of making the leap, didn’t think it was possible, wanted something more stable, etc. All the excuses I had in my head stemmed from a fear of failure. Now I know there is nothing I would rather be doing. If one day, for whatever reason, I was no longer able to photograph weddings or run my business, I would still consider myself successful because I have created countless photos I will be proud of and look back on for the rest of my life. Each wedding I photograph ingrains a deep loving gratitude and appreciation in me I never thought would be possible through a career. I genuinely love what I do and not a day goes by where I don’t think about how in awe I am for this journey and life.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
Growing up, I learned that in order to be successful, make money, and live a good life, I needed a reliable and stable job. I feel like we have all been there, where we google “top paying jobs for success.” I thought that if I turned my passion into a job, it wouldn’t be fun for me anymore. I didn’t want to put myself in a position of measuring my art’s worth based on how many clients I’d have, how much money I’d be making, how other people would feel about my photos, etc. I have always been so proud of my art and so in love with the process, I didn’t want to ruin it for myself. I felt like in order to make money off of my photography, I’d have to “sell out” and make photos the way other people wanted me to. Within the past year, it’s almost like a switch flipped in my head. I realized, the reason why I love my photos so much is because I do my own thing. I make photos that people can tell were made with love. Being myself and showing my personality in my work and business has attracted the right people. I have learned there is a certain magnetism that comes when you start believing in yourself. It sounds so cheesy, but once I decided I could be successful in my business by making art my way, it started to actually happen. Once I decided I wanted to be a full time photographer, I told myself I had to try. No matter what happened, I’d be okay, but I’d never forgive myself if I didn’t give it all I’ve got. I had to take a leap of faith by quitting my old job that guaranteed work and money so I could dedicate every single day to my craft. Once I started investing all my time and energy into my business, it blossomed like I would have never imagined. The saying “what you water grows” is so relevant to me. What notions/rules/limitations you feed into will become your reality. Just like when you believe in yourself and your craft, trust the process, and show gratitude for every step of the journey, your own personal success will find you. At the risk of being overly cheesy, there really is no destination when you love the journey, so you don’t need to worry about never making it.
What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?
Growing clientele is a beautiful snowball effect. Some of the best advice I could give would be, if you’re not making the kind of client work for hire you’d like to, go out and make it anyways. Even if you have to work for free for a while, every time you make work you’re proud of you will push yourself further in the right direction. I worked two jobs for over five years while I was a full time student. I know it is a privilege to be able to work for free. For so long, I felt like I had been doing the grunt work to get to where I saw my future self. It’s so challenging to navigate creating for the love of the craft while learning how to make money to support yourself. I believe when you make work that aligns with your vision, work you are genuinely proud to make, the clients will come naturally. That being said, I have tried just about every form of advertising just short of putting my face on a billboard. I have always been disappointed with the results. In my experience, the best way to attract clientele is by putting your work out there over and over and over until they find you.
Contact Info:
- Website: JesslynMcCartney.com
- Instagram: JesslynMcCartney
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jesslynmccartneyphotography
- Other: https://www.pinterest.com/jesslynmccartney/
Image Credits
All images by me, Jesslyn McCartney Photography!