J + K = WOJ Series | How WOJ started|
As most teenage boys, Jerico spent much of his time & money on his cars (he's had 10 different cars by the time he was 23). In 2006, he took up car photography for fun on an old fuji point & shoot which used to be his dad's camera. In 2007, Jerico's mom got him his first DSLR, a Canon Rebel XT (he told her he was going to use it for school). After work, he would meet with a group of friends and explored different areas of Jacksonville to take pictures of their cars.
From 2007 to 2011, Jerico's photography was mostly of Me. Since he was in the military, he didn't pick up his camera too often. Most of our pictures during this time were taken on our phones.
In 2012, our son Malakai was born and he quickly became Jerico's muse. After Jerico got back from his deployment in 2013, one of his first purchases was a Canon T6i with a kit lens.
In 2014, Jerico was discharged from the military and we moved back to Jacksonville. Since he now had more time with us and we were able to travel, he decided it was time to upgrade his camera. Jerico made the transition from Cannon to Nikon and purchased the D610. We explored all over Jacksonville with that camera and took it on vacations. I kept encouraging Jerico that he could to do photography as his job but he kept saying he didn't want to, he wasn't good enough, and that he just wanted to take pictures of me and Kai and our travels.
The following may seem like it has nothing to do with photography but I PROMISE it all ties together, just hang in there with me.
Jerico knew he needed to go back to school to get a degree. If not now, then never. He got his AA from FSCJ within a year. He then applied to UNF and received his acceptance letter! WOO-HOO! We celebrated! He was on his way to having a career. Our plan for our future was coming together!
A few days later, Jerico received another letter from UNF. I will never forget this moment. I was at work and got a picture text from Jerico. I opened it and it was another letter from UNF. Apparently, the acceptance letter Jerico received was just accepting him into the school, not the program. The letter continued to say that he missed the deadline for the program and wouldn't be able to re-apply for another year. Tears immediately rolled down my face...Usually I would freak out and start thinking up a plan B but in this moment, I texted my life group ( a group of women that go to my church) and asked everyone to pray for our current curveball, we desperately needed guidance. I was overwhelmed with peace and replied to Jerico's text with "It's okay, that just means God has something better in store for you, for us!"
Jerico wasn't working while he was a full time student. He was using his GI Bill to cover the cost of college and it also included housing allowance. They do not, however, cover living if you are not a full time student. We could not live off my income alone. Jerico insisted that he get a job while he waited to re-apply to the Health College at UNF. But I kept telling him that if he were to get a job now, it would be super hard to transition back into a full time student in a year. Also, we would have to put Kai in daycare, we would never have time together as a family.
"The biggest opportunities of your life are often just inches on the other side of discouragement."- Lewis Howes
My life group leader, Felicia, was always raving about the pictures Jerico has taken. Talking with her really opened my eyes of the possibility of Jerico doing photography. The following was the conversation I had with Jerico:
K- "Babe, you are really good and shouldn't hide your talent. I think you should take pictures of people, of fmailies!"
J- "OK, I'll do it, but ONLY if you do it with me."
K-"YES! I know you can teach me, I'll do all the talking and you do your magic. I already know who can be our first family!!!"
J- "Okay, let's do this, I'll order you a camera."
It was like I was back in elementary school. Jerico wrote out vocabulary words for me like ISO, exposure, shutter speed and aperture. I had to memorize the words and their definitions before i could ever touch the camera. He then made me practice daily on Kai, on him, inside our house, outside, every opportunity I had, I was practicing.
April 17, 2016 was our very first photoshoot. It went well and since it was our friends, there wasn't too much pressure. We learned we had more to learn but we realized we LOVED doing this! We were hooked.
What seemed to be a failure, Jerico not getting into UNF, was actually a blessing. Had Jerico been accepted into UNF, he would not have had the time to continue learning an developing his photography skills. Through taking these pictures, Jerico realized THIS was his passion. Jerico and I were able to chase our passion & use our creativity and our talents to bless people through photography.
Jerico then realized that he didn't want to be a PT because it wasn't his passion, it just made sense for him to be a PT because he cares about health and fitness. Within days of the first photoshoot, Jerico changed his major to business and applied for classes that would start the following semester at FSCJ.
So we began our adventure of starting your own photography business...
Jerico and I have both verbally said "we will NEVER do weddings". Mainly because we thought they would be stressful, we enjoyed slow paced family photoshoots that can be rescheduled if needed.
One of my closest friends got engaged and had asked me if we would do her wedding. I was hesitant and she knew we have never shot a wedding before but she continued to say that it will be more of an elopement; just her and her fiancé, no guests. Hey, why not? It'll be just like a regular photoshoot but she'll be in a white dress.
Anna and Zach got married on August 26, 2016. This was the most fun, most relaxed, and easiest shoot we have ever done! They both looked so stunning that they could have just been standing there and it would have been a great image.
After that day we were convinced that we wanted to pursue wedding photography.
A week later I saw a fellow Russian photographer (I knew of her but didn't know her personally) post something along the lines of "Looking for a last minute second shooter, wedding is in two weeks in St. Augustine, must have your own gear and know how to use flash." I looked at Jerico and said "Hey, look at this post. What if we tried?" Jerico looked at me with a look of confusion and said "umm, sure?!" Haha what a moment. So I messaged the amazing & talented Viktoria Chuprov and sent her some images from Anna's elopement. I don't know why, but SHE PICKED US! She had several talented & well established photographers who have been shooting for years respond to her post, but for some reason, she chose us! We couldn't believe it! She pretty much changed our lives forever and we will always be grateful for the opportunities she has provided us with.
Wedding Day = Nerves, Butterflies, & Excitement. And I'm not talking about for the bride & groom..
I was Viktoria's personal assistant, and I was totally happy to be that. I carried her bag, watched her work, listened to her, followed her around and helped her in any way possible. It turns out, a wedding day doesn't have to be a stressful day, well for the photographer at least. The way she handled every situation with such grace shocked me and made me understand that my stereotype of wedding photography wasn't correct. Jerico was the second shooter and enjoyed every minute of it! He too, was surprised at how much fun he was having. You get the opportunity to spend the day with people on their happiest day ever.
(Second Shot for the incredibly talented Viktoriya Chuprov).
We fell in love.
We fell in love with wedding photography. The kind of love similar to the early stages of dating, where butterflies fill up your stomach from the amount of excitement built up.. On wedding days, we are excited to be there, honored to be a part of the family, sharing a beautiful and special day. I cry at every wedding because I soak it all in. I just love weddings. Families gathered, friends reunited, a father giving away his daughter, a mother gaining a son, a beautiful white gown, smiles, tears, two becoming one. After each wedding, we come running to the computer, excited to see the beautiful moments we were able to capture on such an extraordinary day.
Things will happen that may seem to throw you "off track" but what if it's actually re-directing you back ON track?! Figure out what makes you happy, what motivates you and helps you grow. DO something that you love, something that doesn't feel like work! When you already put in the 100 hours that week you still have energy to keep going because you're doing what you love! DO that! Do it on the side, do it on the weekends, if that's all you can afford. You really are holding back on your happiness if you are not pursing your passion and your dreams!
"Too many of us are not living our dreams because we are living our fears." Les Brown