Today we’d like to introduce you to Chloe Jackson
Hi Chloe, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I have had a camera in my hand when I was 16 years old. My dad had given me his old Nikon D50 with a few lenses to practice with. I used that camera constantly. I took photos of flowers, sunsets, animals, my friends, my friends cars, etc. That camera really opened up a place in my heart that I didn’t know exisited and allowed me to explore that place in so many ways. In my senior year of high school, I was one of the student athletic trainers for the Football team. I had a sports pass that allowed me on the field for that and got permission to use it on my days off so I could take photos of the students who played for our High School team. I did this for fun, really. Occaisionally people would give me a couple bucks to take photos primarily of them during the games, but I couldn’t help but capture any moment, of any player, whenever I could.
After high school, I moved out of my parents house and went to college for a semester or two. My photography skills weren’t paying the bills, so I took a job in retail. This job and my passion for photography didn’t align well, so I spent a lot of my time working my retail job and hung up my camera for while during.
After working many jobs in retail, going back to college in my later years, and even attempting to make a name for myself in the financial management sector, I realized I wasn’t being true to myself. I am a visionary. I am a leader. A creator. A go-getter. I realized in 2024 that I had all the skills, and now knowledge, of how to make a business of my own successful and couldn’t find a good enough reason to not go for it.
The same month I re-branded my photography business, I also started up a boutique with my grandmother. I have never been one to choose the easy route. I decided that opening the Boutique (under the same LLC) in a Painted Tree location, would give me another way to advertise my family photography sessions.
Since October, both of my businesses have been beyond successful for what I thought we would achieve in only a month and a half.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The journey through self-discovery is never a smooth road. However, I do feel as though the struggles along the way are less daunting and debilitating when you’re determined to see yourself succeed.
After high school, when I stopped taking photographs, I became a store manager of a large retail company (bareMinerals). I learned many trivial things during my time in this role that’ve helped me become the business owener that I am today. Things like inventory management, customer service, professional marketing techniques/strategies, the power of running sales, CRM, etc. Without my time in this role, I would still be the girl who loved taking photos who was missing many opportunities for growth because of my lack of knowledge. I also had a lot of fun in this role because of the people and the product.
However, when COVID-19 struck, the retail space was changed for a very long time. I decided it was a wise choice to exit the retail space and transistion into something more stable in terms of schedules, work/life balance, etc. However, I went from a role that fulfilled me, to a role that I was trying to fit into to badly. I left this job a year and a half in because of some inappropriate behavior I experienced from other employees at the office and took a job working from home. This was the ideal set up for me since I am still a full-time student at Louisiana State University (online).
That said, even now, doing what I love- It is not without struggles. Just last night, I had a paper due, 4 shoots to attend, 3 client galleries to edit, a house full of chores to do, and a to-do list a mile long. But even so, I felt an immense amount of gratitude, because I am truly so grateful that I get to do this work and make an income while doing so.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I do still work a full-time job unrelated to my photography business and boutique. However, my goal is to eventually transistion into this creative space full-time eventually.
I am a huge reader. In fact, in 2024, I have ready over 130 books. That’s where the name Epilogue came from. We all have a story. My passion is capturing the epilogue of them. When people book sessions with their partner, their family, their babies, their wedding day, they are capturing the happiness and love that their story has gotten them to. I feel so honored and priviliged that my clients allow me to do. Seeing the shine in a mans eyes, the infactuation a baby has for their mom and dad, the silliness I can provoke out of a couple in love, makes me want to take more and more photos. These parts are what keep me going when burn-out creeps in.
I think what sets me apart from other photographers is my personability. Clients and I can meet, then 30 minutes later, we’ve laughed, joked, and made plans to get together again. I really make it a point to be authentic around the families I shoot because it makes them more authentic in the facial expressions, manerisms, and smiles.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
If you have an idea, hobby, or passion that you love to do… try to make money doing it. Whether you’re crafty, bookish, funny, imaginative- Find a medium in which you can provide a service or product to someone and sell it. Money is something we all have to have to survive. However, the way in which we make that income IS up to us.
If you attempt to start a business, and it falls flat, it is not because you’re not meant to be a business owner, it is because you’re not meant to be a business owner of that. Reimagine, readjust, replan and try it again.
If you think to yourself “why haven’t I been doing this all along”, you’ve found it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://epiloguecreative.glossgenius.com
- Instagram: @theepiloguecreative
- Facebook: Epilogue Creative
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Ph: 817-269-4899
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Email: chloejackson12321@gmail.com
Image Credits
These images are mine (Chloe Jackson, Epilogue Creative)
