Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Marcus Jones . We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Marcus, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Going back to the beginning – how did you come up with the idea in the first place?

I’ve had a love for photography starting all the way back to high school. I was one of the editors for my school newspaper, and one of my task was taking pictures for each article. I graduated high school back in 2000, I attended Virginia Union University for college, where I majored in mass communications. Skip ahead to 2013. This is where things get interesting. One of my hobbies Is collecting sneakers. Around the time instagram showed up, people who collected sneakers started taking pictures of their shoe collection.. We competed to see who could capture the best shots. Some of us took this really seriously including myself. That year I purchased my first DSLR camera. I became extremely good and taking these images. In 2017 I decided that I wanted my talent to work for me, and that year I captured my first wedding. This was the begening of something special. In 2019 my wife would give birth to our twins. This would fuel my passion even more. I had the urge to create a legacy for my children. Between 2017 and 2019 I only captured three weddings. At this point I had fell completely in love with capturing portraits, and love in general. My business still had not taken off though. They say everything happens for a reason. Even though I only shot three weddings in that time frame I would have several other shoots a few engagement shoots, parties, etc. Then it happened in 2020, the pandemic. This would be the start of Marcus J. Photography. My day job sent us home to work. This gave me the opportunity to work my full time job, and build my business at the same time. Since 2020 I’ve captured over forty weddings, and I’ve lost count of all my other shoots which include, maternity, branding, engagement, family portraits, lifestyle, boudoir photography. This has been the most rewarding experience ever. I’m planning to go full time in the up and coming months,

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 background and context?

I am a self taught photographer, who has met a lot of great people. I have had several great mentors along the way. Especially my girl Shenna. I’m truly thankful for her everyday. She’s the one who actually taught me the business side. Without her I wouldn’t understand anything about a workflow. What sets me apart from others is my sense of humor. I am a naturally funny person. I honestly can’t help it lol. That’s the type of family I was raised in. I want to always provide my clients with the best photography experience ever, however I usually have my clients laughing the entire session. Im not one of those people that’s so serious, or so creative that I can’t have fun with my clients. I want to capture happiness, so that’s what I bring to the table.

I also go above and beyond to please meh clients. Everything is planned out thoroughly before each session, and wedding. I help my clients choose session locations, we go over styling ideas, and all of the posing is all me.

Is there a mission driving your creative journey?

My goal and mission is to make people happy through my gift. When my clients reach out to tell me how happy they are with their final gallery, it’s the best feeling in the world. My other goal and mission is to be my own boss. I’ve held a job since I was 16 years old. At some point you realize there is a ceiling and you can only go but so far working for others. There is no limit to how far you can go if you dream big and push yourself. I owe this to my children. They are my biggest motivation.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

Absolutely word of mouth. I have a every social media platform there is, but from experience I get way more clients from other clients. This goes back to providing excellent customer service. Put out positive energy and it will come back to you. This all comes down to providing an excellent customer experience.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.marcusjphotography.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marcusj_photography/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarcusJPhotography/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarcusJPhoto15