We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jaclyn Liberator a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Jaclyn, so great to be with you and I think a lot of folks are going to benefit from hearing your story and lessons and wisdom. Imposter Syndrome is something that we know how words to describe, but it’s something that has held people back forever and so we’re really interested to hear about your story and how you overcame imposter syndrome.
I don’t think you ever truly get over imposter syndrome. There is always someone out there that you compare yourself too and therefore devalue your own self worth. I think you grow stronger and more confident in yourself as you learn more with your skills. I swear I learn something new constantly. With that I’ve started to flip my brain into thinking “Wow, look at what I just learned and now can utilize moving forward” instead of “Ugh, I can’t believe I didn’t know this. I should have known how to do this.”
There are so many people out there and we all are worthy of doing what we love. The ONLY person you should be comparing yourself to is your past self.
Tell yourself:
– I am worthy of doing this.
– I am GOOD at doing this.
– I am capable of doing this.
Here are a few things that might help:
Next time you find yourself doubting your own skills and capabilities because you’re looking at someone else’s life or work – turn it into a productive task you can work on. WHY do you like their work or life so much that you find yourself thinking this way? In my case, as a photographer, I think:
– Okay it was the pose I like.
– It was the viewpoint they had.
– It was their coloring.
Its a constant battle, but its just a battle – not a war. One by one you fight off these thoughts and find that they are far and few in between. All I can say is you’ve got this and keep going!
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
Well my name is Jaclyn Liberator and I am the owner of The Jaclyn Photo. My focus is primarily on weddings and couples – although I do dabble in a little bit of everything.
I have always loved art in every form – but photography called to me the most. I LOVED my high school photography class and hoped to pursue it as a career. However, that was not the case. I went to college and got a degree in Art History and started a customer service job shortly after graduation. It wasn’t until a few years ago that decided to take a leap of picking up my camera again.
I started second shooting for other wedding photographers was learning fast. Next thing I know I am booking up my own weddings left and right. It has been SO exciting and I truly love everything about my job and life. I love all of my couples I work with and strive to make their experience with me an absolute blast. My goal is for them to want to come back to me for all of their life milestones. That would be the greatest achievement because I WANT to see their next milestone! I want to photograph and support them in all that they do!
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Learning manual in a camera. This is super important because it gives you more power and control over your settings which can impact your photographs. Learn what your ISO, Aperture and Shutter Speed are and how they work together. The amount of videos I watched or cheat sheets I looked at in the beginning… that’s okay!! Learn it and it will help you!
Attending styled shoots to meet other photographers and practice photographing the type of content I wanted to get into. This was key in helping me grow. It was also a great place to make friends and honestly, ask questions if I needed to. Once I had done a few of those, I stepped into the world of second shooting. I took it upon myself to be as helpful as I could to those main photographers. Your job as a second is to help and get the scene from different viewpoints. They aren’t wanting the same photo that they already have captured.
Client comes first. No matter what you want to do to get the photos, overall, its their wedding day and what they want to do is final. While you can advise your professional opinion for the best photos, don’t force them to do things they don’t want to do. It just makes you look pushy and they end up turning a negative opinion on you. As a photographer our businesses can thrive on word of mouth. That word needs to be a positive one and not a negative one. Instead be helpful, kind and work with them. Their day is already a stressful one – be accommodating and make their experience great.
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
Always! I think this is such a fun way to meet and build relationships within the wedding industry. As a photographer, I would love to partner with other brands – whether that’s florists, dress shops, other photographers etc. However we can help each other. I am a big proponent of community and collaboration and I would be thrilled to work together
Anyone reading this and would like to work with me can reach out through my website contact form! I’d love to see what we can do together!
www.thejaclynphoto.com
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.thejaclynphoto.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thejaclynphoto
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100070064327373
Image Credits
All images are my own.
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
