Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica Dozier.
Jessica, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I am a natural creative. Math and science never suited me, but I have done just about everything creative that could possibly come to mind — dance, piano, violin, choir, theatre, guitar, and of course photography. Photography was a creative outlet that started in my high school emo days when I wanted to artistically represent my emotions….and to boost my opinion of myself (as one often does in their teen years). Nevertheless, it was something I never thought I could pursue because it didn’t always come very easily to me. Music, though, was something that did come naturally, so I chose instead to focus on that.
In college, as my camera was collecting dust, I started dating my now husband who is himself a creative. He was someone who challenged and pushed me creatively, making me pick my camera up again and start taking it with us when we traveled. During our first year of marriage, I spent time taking pictures everywhere and trying to learn and get better at it as I went. Then in January of 2019 I put myself out there for the first time as a tiny business. It was crazy how much support I received from friends and family, but also acquaintances and even friends of friends. I have several photographer friends who immediately took me under their wing and gave me opportunities to second shoot and learn from them. Before long, I began booking some clients. I got my first wedding inquiry shortly after starting which was seriously so humbling.
Something interesting to note is that for some reason my husband and I tend to be a package deal when it comes to creative things. We are both musical and so we have led worship for years together at church, and since he does videography full-time we also randomly filmed a wedding together for some friends. So when I got my first inquiry and was trying to put together a package guide, I asked my husband if he would be alright with me offering videography in case they wanted to take a chance on both of us. Not only did they book us for both photography and videography, but nearly every wedding we have booked since has been for both services.
That has brought us to today — launching our freelance creative business together and offering photography, videography, graphic design, and a few other creative services. It’s crazy how fast and wild this ride has been so far, but it’s been such a blast to learn and grow and have so many people encourage us and support us along the way!
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It definitely hasn’t always been an easy road. We have never started or grown anything like this before, so there are so many things we didn’t know going in that we had to learn very quickly. One of our biggest struggles has been building this business and finding a healthy and sustainable workflow, all while working other jobs. We both work at a church as our primary source of income and we love that we get to do that, but starting a business on the side makes for long nights and filled weekends in the beginning stages as we are setting foundations for what we want this business to look like. I gained so much respect for photographers and videographers who do this well because it’s much harder than I anticipated!
We’d love to hear more about your work.
We are a husband and wife freelance duo who have combined our creativity and our love for people into a small business called JDozier Creative. We specialize in documenting important benchmarks in people’s stories, from weddings to family sessions to small business product branding and everything in between. We feel so privileged to use our gifts of creativity to help others tell their story and see their dreams come to fruition.
Working with newly engaged couples is especially meaningful for us. We got married right out of college, and thankfully we had a strong community of support to help us transition well into married life. We are so thankful for all of our brides and grooms who have trusted us to be a part of that hugely pivotal moment in their story. They have allowed us to begin to “pay forward” the kindness that we were shown, and hopefully they will pay it forward too!
What were you like growing up?
As a middle child, I was a loud, naturally outgoing kid. I was always someone who loved being around people and wasn’t one to know a stranger. I was also caught in a tug-of-war between fitting in and doing my own thing. As a result, I flipped back and forth between doing things just for the sake of being different and going along with what everyone else was doing. Bottom line, I was (and still am) somewhat of a people pleaser. I did dance for most of my life, and that remains the only athletic thing I have ever done. I mostly focused on music, splitting my time between school choir and leading worship at church.
Contact Info:
- Website: jdoziercreative.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: instagram.com/jdoziercreative
- Facebook: http://facebook.com/jdoziercreative
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