Meet Jake Ford

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jake Ford.

Jake, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I have always had a great love for art in general which had later led me to my passions in photography. During college, I had a big interest in cinema and production to one day make movies, followed by creating conceptual art for various digital platforms. As both paths did not work out as expected, I Later stumbled upon my father’s rarely used Nikon D60 DSLR camera sitting in a closet. A few snaps and oh’s & ah’s later, I was hooked!

I went to school for graphic design, which helps tremendously as a photographer. During that time I started shooting anything and everything. As I loved shooting with people and then posting photos for fun, I had received requests to shoot photos for various purposes such as events, engagements, families, and weddings. Later, I had been involved with shooting numerous fitness style shoots which have still progressed till today.

I have kept photography as a side business, though have always felt as if something were missing. I had not experimented with my creative outlook until I started noticing/following other creators on social media and fell in love with the conceptual freedom they express. I felt I needed to break free and transition my traditional practices into what I love the most to have a style of my own. I learn from others and taught myself (and keep teaching myself) new ways of editing and shooting to only learn there’s so much more room to grow. I currently shoot to explore more creativity in my work and only wish to keep growing in our photo community all while building, learning, and supporting other creators.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Not. But, worth it? Absolutely! Struggles as a photographer will always be present, which is a factor all shooters should understand from the gate. For me, I wanted to know everything right away. I wanted to know how the camera worked, how to get lush backgrounds in photos, how shutter speeds manipulate movement, or how aperture captures subjects, focusing, and so much more. The ultimate struggle was feeling restricted because of limited knowledge and experience. Snapping a photo to get an image is easy, but wanting a specific look to be perfect involves so many factors such as lighting, color, depth of field, posing, background, editing, and so much more. So, taking the time to learn and adapt was a big challenge.

Please tell us about your business.
I am a freelance photographer/creator. Most of my business specializes in shooting one-off sessions about fitness, family, seniors, engagements, models, etc. On the other side of my photography, I currently photograph in collaboration with various models to create unique and artistic content. I have yet to monetize this side of my shooting, though I may look into opening that pathway at some point.

I couldn’t say I’m known for any remarkable projects. though, I hope to spread the idea that I work to share content that shows a more creative and engaging outlook. My goal for my work is to keep creating new and fresh pieces that are always changing and a little different than before.

I’m most proud to say that I feel I’ve come a long way to find myself and my style of shooting that pushes me every day to produce a fulfilling purpose of expression. I can’t say I’m set too far apart from other creators/shooters as I appreciate all the works from so many incredible artists. I think I try to differ from the “general” sense of photography as a whole and remind myself that there’s no bounding box when shooting.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
The proudest moment was finding the style that best suited me. I decided to just shoot what I wanted and build the craft/style that I loved. In doing so, I never felt freer and full of purpose with my work.

Contact Info:

• Address: 24 N Cottonwood Dr.
• Website: www.jakefphoto.com
• Phone: 6232932850
• Email: jakefphoto2@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jacob.ford_/

Image Credit:
Alayna Ford
Paige Brown
Nadia Baxter
Marlee Bjork

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