Today we’d like to introduce you to Jay Brans.
Jay, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
When I visited my friend for vacation, she wanted some photos to update her modeling portfolio. I did her makeup, photographed her and posted the photos online. It really snowballed from there, and I started doing photography and makeup full time four months after that.
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?
I don’t think anyone would say that their path to success is easy. Everyone has struggles and hardship–for me, that was getting over my social anxiety.
Being a photographer and makeup artist is not all about skill; a big part of the job involves client management and networking.
I used to struggle to even send out emails because I was consistently worried about how my words might be perceived, but I finally got over that by defining what is important to my business, which has everything to do with learning and growing, and little to do with sending out emails.
Please tell us more about your story. What do you do? What do you specialize in? What sets you apart from others?
I am a photographer and a makeup artist that specializes in commercial beauty photography.
I think being able to play two different roles on set help me improve both of my different skill sets–as a makeup artist, being able to see my unedited/unretouched photos right after the project aids in my improvement as an MUA; as a photographer, thinking about what aspects of the makeup I did not photograph the best is important, especially when it comes to beauty photography.
What were you like growing up?
I never planned to be an artist. I actually grew up wanting to be a medical researcher for the longest time. In fact, I started interning at a research lab since I was 17. When I was in college, even though I was an art major, I was focusing on the pre-medical program (most people end up in a career that isn’t related to their major, so I went for my hobby).
Life is full of surprises!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.jaybrans.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/jaybrans/
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/jaybransstudio/
Image Credit:
Photo of Jay Brans courtesy of Linda Drake
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