First off I want to welcome you to my site! I appreciate you taking the time to stop by and view my work! Please take a moment to familiarize yourself with my photography. Up above you'll see links to my Portrait gallery, Wall Art & Stock Photos, a link to a page that will allow you purchase prints of my work, as well as, a Contact page where you can reach out to me and discuss your upcoming event, project, or perhaps you are wanting to schedule a Fine Art Portrait session and together create a timeless art piece that can be passed down for generations....
A little about me...I'm 49 years old, happily married to the woman of my dreams...literally. We met when I was 16 years old and she was 19, and she has been the very heartbeat of my life from that moment on! I'm a father of 4 amazing children, 3 young men and 1 young lady that I'm very proud of and will GLADLY talk about them when we meet, just say the word!!! We have 2 English Bulldogs, 1 American Bully. These are family members!
I began photographing portraits when I was 18 years old with a 35mm film camera. (That's right, digital didn't exist yet.) Completely self taught, I picked up the camera when I discovered that my painting skills were NOT what I wished that they would have been, but as an artist, I really felt the need to express and create. With that used 35mm camera and my first roll of black & white film, I became addicted to seeing the world through a lens. A few months later I had purchased dark room chemicals and was developing my own film. Soon after I jumped up from 35mm film to Medium Format Film, capturing portraits on 6cmx4.5cm, 6x6, and 6x7cm negative film. The quality of medium format is incredible!
Prior to social media, we had to advertise our work the old-school way....print our work large and display it wherever business owners would allow us to! Soon after I began to receive phone calls and the commissioned portrait sessions began. I've never looked back. Besides God and my family, this is what I'm most passionate about! Nothing is more fulfilling to me than creating beautiful portraits of clients and their loved ones.
I'm based outside of Branson, Missouri, but I'm asked often if I travel and the answer is "YES!" I travel anywhere within the United States. I've also been asked, "What kind of equipment do you use?" My cameras are simply my tools used to create...I use 3 different medium format film cameras, as well as 3 different professional digital cameras, one of them is a medium format digital as well. I also use professional lighting equipment in studio and on location, depending on what the situation requires. But always having my own light source gives me total creative artistic freedom to create the type of lighting that I desire to see in my portrait work.
Before this turns into a very long chapter in the book of my life, I'll leave you to do what you came here for...to look at photography, right? So, take your time and enjoy my little piece of real estate on the internet, and let me know if you have any questions that I can help you with. Reach out to me anytime! Also, notice the social media links on my page, feel free to follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or Flickr.
I'm flattered that you'd choose me to capture your love, relationships, memories, moments, and I can't wait to hear from you!
Chat soon!
- Jared