We were lucky to catch up with Martha Jagodzinski recently and have shared our conversation below.

Martha, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

I learned what I know from college, being on the job, and having the company of creative people. Looking back, I could have used the internet more to my advantage by utilizing online tutorials. Knowing what I know now, the internet can be such a powerful tool in gaining knowledge and skills. However, I did acquire the skills on the job quite fast and grew creatively by staying involved in the creative community. I feel like the “real world” experience has been more valuable than going to college and thanks to the advancement of social media, now I can curate my feed to sprinkle in some adobe tutorials amongst all the memes and cat photos.

I think my biggest obstacle in learning the craft was becoming the artist. Growing up with a single immigrant parent, art wasn’t always most important or regarded as the “serious” occupation. Nonetheless I was always seen as the “artistic” one growing up. I was introduced to photography and graphic design by the way of myspace and decided I wanted to make something “cool” and “moving” but no way of knowing how to go about it.

Martha, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Martha Jagodzinski and I’ve been chasing two careers since I could remember. I’m a photographer and visual communications designer in advertising. I split my creative time working at an ad agency and freelance photography on the side. On the design front, I specialize in visual identity. I’m part of the design team at an agency called Known, where I’m known to be a very loud sneezer. On the photography side, I shoot a lot of portrait, lifestyle, and fashion. I spent a lot of my time in my 20s shooting fashion based weddings and working with modeling agencies for comp card updates and model tests. Currently I’m focusing on lifestyle photography and eventually I’d like to be a fine art photographer. For fun I shoot street life and travel. I recently unearthed my old holga camera from college and I’m experimenting with double exposure photography.

I fell into advertising after going to a one year ad school post college. It felt like a secure idea and it was. At that time, photography was my main gig and it had lost its spark. An occupation that I loved was becoming a chore so I had to get out.

College helped me get involved with the creative community. I found myself when I started frequenting art galleries and conferences. I tend to go with the flow in many situations so I end up with new experiences or I get to know people I normally wouldn’t meet. Honestly, you just gotta put yourself out there in any capacity, just be present. I’m pretty introverted so I’m not great at approaching people but having a presence will widen your circle for sure.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

A previously mentioned, I was regarded as artistic growing up but my environment at home didn’t support the cultivation of creativity. I was living in a very logical, black and white world. I guess I was always meant to be where I am today. Despite not formally practicing any art growing up, art still made its way into my world (thanks myspace). I’m an only child so I spent a lot of time on my own and because of that I’ve grown to be very independent and sure of my identity. I believe in radical acceptance. Living my truth is so important to me. I knew design and photography was something I had to do with my life and there was nothing that would stop me.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

Visual communication design is an important factor when it comes to spreading a message, an idea, or movement. My end goal in life is to use my skillset for positive impact. I want to work on products whose mission is to make life easier, better, healthier. Earlier this year I was fortunate to lead a rebrand of Zeera, a mental health app, at Known. Recently, the team and I took a tour of a children’s hospital to get a better understanding of how the experience inside can translate to the experience digitally and otherwise. Excited to see how that one turns out.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.mjdesignphoto.com
• Instagram: @mjdesignphoto
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marthajagodzinski
• Other: stock photography : www.stocksy.com/MarthaJay

Image Credits

Model credits: Jason Payne, Niamh Byrne, Alyssa Hoban, Justin Kamp.