Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeremy Scarbrough
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
The story of me as a professional photographer doesn’t really follow a very simple path. It’s actually pretty complicated, so I hope I don’t bore your readers. I’ve always enjoyed photography, and art in general, but that path wasn’t something I actively pursued growing up. It really wasn’t something I spent time thinking about at all, to be honest. That all began to change in February of 2007 when my father passed away after a very long struggle with heart disease, just a few months after I finished fighting my own battle with cancer. He was an amateur film photographer and enjoyed capturing nature, but it still wasn’t something I jumped straight into. That was just planted a seed for later. Like I mentioned, its a little complicated, so try to stay with me. In his will he left me our old fishing truck because that was one of the only things we loved doing as father and son when I was young. At the time of his death, I was 13 years into a 20 year career as a U.S. Marine, stationed at MCAS Miramar, California with my wife and three children. Fast forward to 2011, we were now stationed at MCAS Yuma, Arizona. I completed tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan and I was having a very difficult time mentally transitioning back home. All the while that fishing truck still sat in our driveway, unused and rusting away. After a few months working through demons with an absolutely life-saving therapist, it was suggested I find a hobby that would take me away from reality for a while. I had no idea what that was going to be, until if finally hit me. Our kids are well into youth sports and we needed a way to capture those moments, so I decided to sell the fishing truck and purchase my first entry-level DSLR camera. It was a win-win. I keep the memory of my father alive by putting the proceeds from the truck into something he also loved, and we get the benefit getting great shots of our kids. Thats how it began. I still didn’t pursue it as something I wanted to ever do professionally. I went from just shooting sports to finding myself obsessed with how the camera worked, and how to shoot landscape photography, and then portrait photography. I studied everything I could get my hands on related to photography. I really got lost in it and truly believe it helped bring me back home to my family. I began submitting photos to every contest and every fair I could find locally. Then I started to win, and I wanted more of that. I just went wild shooting every genre of photography you can think of. I would shoot landscapes, portraits, animals, sports, macro, you name it. Friends began asking me to take their portraits, their weddings, their kids’ events; as well as started asking to buy my landscape work. I still never wanted to take it to the next level as a business because it was my escape, but reluctantly I registered JKS Imagery as a Maryland business in 2013. As our children transitioned to high school, the business focused primarily on high school senior portrait and sports photography. I still sold fine art prints in several retail locations throughout Southern Maryland but the main focus was on studio and on-location portraits. When our children graduated and moved onto college, we decided to make the leap and relocate to St. Augustine where I was just going to go back to shooting as a hobby for myself, but that didn’t last long. I began being asked by people how they could purchase my fine art work, and shoot portraits. So in early 2024 I decided to register the business in Florida. I now sell my work online, and in two retail location in St. Augustine. As for portraits, I am still doing quite a bit of pro bono work to build a quality local portfolio and reputation as a serious professional portrait photographer. I know, that was a lot, but that’s about as simple as I could make it.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
This question is much easier. There are always struggles in one way or another. I think the word “business” is synonymous with the word struggle. No one in the process of business makes anything easy, and thats really what I struggle with most. I just want to make good photos, not deal with all the external stuff like marketing, and websites, and constantly staying up with social media trends and platform algorithms. In the beginning is was much easier. The only person I needed to satisfy was myself. I still look at my landscape photography the same. Its my art. If I like it, that’s all that matters to me. Portrait photography is different. Portraits have always been a source of anxiety because now I’m looking to satisfy someone besides myself. I’ve learned through much trial and error that I needed to narrow down my portrait work in order to find a balance that satisfies both client expectations and my personal style of shooting. At the end of the day, I still enjoy it enough to continue, so I guess would say its been more a challenge than struggle. The other side of this is I do not shoot photography as a primary means of income. I think that gives me the option to be pickier with my clients.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
When people ask what kind of photography I do, I tell them ALL of it, which is true because I truly love all of it…or most of it. When it comes to the business side of that question, I like to say I specialize in fine art landscape and portrait photography. Still pretty broad and ambiguous, honestly. I think my portfolio illustrates my style better than I can explain it. I tend to gravitate towards shooting normal, every day landscape subjects in a way you just don’t see them. That lends itself perfectly to long exposure photography. Most of my landscape work is captured this way. When conditions are right, it changes everything about a scene. It can convey movement in around otherwise still surroundings, such as the water moving over waterfall. When it comes to portrait photography, I am known for shooting sunrise (and occasionally sunset) scenes using a method called off-camera flash. Sometimes I like to introduce other variables into the shoot as well depending on the effect we are shooting for, such as colored light and smoke/fog.
What I’m most proud of…hmm, thats a great question. I think I’m most proud of not letting critics get to me and continuing to learn and grow. I’m also proud to know that so many people over the years have trusted me to capture their special moments, as well as those that thought enough of my landscape work to purchase it hand display it in their homes. That’s a pretty special feeling to me.
I think what sets me apart is just the way I do my thing. I don’t necessarily try to emulate others work but there are a few exceptional photographers I draw inspiration from in both landscape and portrait work. I alway strive for every next shot to be the best I’ve ever taken, and I hope that mindset never goes away.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
I am truly humbled to be sitting here thinking someone is even interested in reading my story. I just love to shoot photos. Thats the long and short of it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.jksfineartphoto.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jksfineartphotography/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jksfineartphotography/
