Check out Marquet Jones’s Artwork

Today we’d like to introduce you to Marquet Jones.

Marquet, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist. Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
To me, photography has been a journey, a challenge, a hobby, and a way to financially contribute to my family. There is much sentiment in the photos I take. I started taking pictures as a child as a way to keep my family near to my heart. Then once I had kids of my own I knew, without a doubt, taking pictures of them was not an option but my only hope of “keeping them small”.

Now, as a wife and homeschooling mother of four my business along with my continuing education is a way to actively show my children that, through hard work and perseverance, they can pursue their passions. For me that is raising my kids and taking pictures. Hence the journey of photography. They get to see my hard work, the ups and downs, my failures and my successes.

Please tell us about your art. What do you do / make / create? How? Why? What’s the message or inspiration, what do you hope people take away from it? What should we know about your artwork?
I am a people-person. I love to chat, get to you know you, and help out in any way I can. When I am behind the camera I feel like that is exactly what I am doing. Most have put off having their pictures taken, for years even. Their busy schedules and more often than not their insecurity keep them from getting in front of the lens. I don’t blame them. There is a sense of pressure being in the “spot-light”. But I love easing their fears, making them comfortable and truly capturing the best of them. Everyone has beauty! It’s just under the layer of nerves and insecurity we all carry. I know how to get past that and remind you of your beauty.

I am truly filled to the brim with joy when I show a client their images and they are blown away at the smiles and laughter I caught. Their happiness and gratitude for capturing them especially with their family is completely satisfying and worth all the effort I put into my work.

Choosing a creative or artistic path comes with many financial challenges. Any advice for those struggling to focus on their artwork due to financial concerns?
Oh, what an honest subject! I’d be lying if I were to say “it’s not hard”. There is so much that goes into photography. No doubt our equipment is expensive and our time is precious. We spend hours on end learning the ropes, figuring out our camera, learning how to edit and the in’s and outs of business. Ultimately, we want to get paid for our time -we have to! No matter how much we love what we do we have to get paid for it in order to make a living.

It’s hard to advise the exact path you should take since we all are at different stages in life, in different financial positions, and have different means or lack thereof to support ourselves. What I can say is the majority of the talent I’ve had the pleasure of working with, including myself, started small. We had to maintain another job and as we slowly built our business. It’s ok to start small – just start! For me slow and steady wins the race. Truly isn’t that a part of what life is about anyway- making small marginal changes in all we do to refine our character and improve upon the many tasks before us?

When times get really tough (and there have been times when I’ve felt like quitting) I remind myself of my God-given talents and reorient myself toward my vision. I tell myself it’s the people that push through the hard times that make it. I want to make it!

Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
The best places to see my work is on my website at www.BluejayPhoto.com on Facebook at www.facebook.com/bluejayphoto or on Instagram @bluejay_photo. The best way to support me is to share Blue Jay photography with others. It is such an encouragement to have people call me and tell me they love what they see on my site and want what Blue Jay has to offer for their family.

Contact Info:

• Address: Southern Ca
• Website: www.BlueJayPhoto.com
• Phone: 707-416-3773
• Email: marquet.jones@gmail.com
• Instagram: @bluejay_photo
• Facebook: facebook.com/bluejayphoto

Image Credit:
Personal photo by Reflecting Grace Photography.

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