Today we’d like to introduce you to Patrice Jackson.
Patrice, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
It was a complete fluke how I got into photography. I always admired photographs and took photographs as a kid but never knew I could make a career of it. In my sophomore year of college, I took photography as an elective and fell more in love. At that time, I was going to a lot of music concerts and started to bring my camera to document. After a while bands were using my work for their websites, I dropped out of college and have been burning both ends of the candle ever since. It wasn’t the most conventional way to go but the most rewarding.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Honestly, I don’t think any job that you love is going to be easy. It’s been very hard to become a photographer and be respected. I’m a black female in a male dominate industry. Breaking into took a lot of tenacity. It took learning to take rejection not just because your work wasn’t good but my gender and race. Even though these challenges caused a lot of tears and at times I wanted to give up, I kept ongoing. It made me stronger. The more I got rejected the harder I worked. I knew my worth.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m a documentarian photographer. I’m a fly on the wall, observing, slithering through the cracks and crevices. My job is to gain the trust of my clients and subjects in general. When someone lets you into their environment you need to respect it. You need to know when to take that photograph or put your camera down. I try to navigate a room without disrupting what someone or people are doing. The most important thing to me is making sure my subjects feel comfortable. I want people that view my to work feel like they were there when I took the photograph. They can see the narrative, they can feel the energy.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
That my family is proud of me.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: http://www.patricesharonjackson.com/
- Instagram: patricesharonjackson
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/patricesharon
- Twitter: patricesharon
Image Credits
Natalie Zimmerman
