Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jesus Duran. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Jesus , we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?
It has not been easy but day by day my confidence and self-esteem improves. I think the first thing I had to stop doing to start feeling confident in my work was not compare myself to other photographers.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
My love for photography started in 2015 while I was in college. I started by taking free photos of friends and family to starting my business 2 years later. In 2017, I created my business and named it Pure Snap Photography. The meaning behind the name is very special to me because growing up I wasn’t the most handsome and I got bullied a lot, so when I was coming up with my business name. I told myself, I want this name to represent the pure beauty of people without all the editing and hard retouching.
2018, unfortunately, I went through a hard time in my personal life; dealing with my mental health, relationships and family issues. I was making the decision to quit photography altogether and get rid of my equipment. With everything I was going through, it just felt impossible to continue what I fell in loved to do, but my friends and family never gave up on me and told me that I should go strong and not give up. I did just that. I kept working on photography and I used it as something therapeutic while I was going through my hard times.
Fast forward to 2019, I overcame all my hardships and I had this ambition to succeed as a photographer and make it my full time job. I was booking more clients but not as much as I wanted so I continued my 9 to 5. When the pandemic start, everything shut down and so did my business but I didn’t give up. Instead, I took the risk and upgraded my equipment. Not knowing how the world was going to leave us financially, I still took the risk to spend the money to improve my work. By the middle of 2020, I was booking for 2021 and by December of 2020, I was fully booked for the following year. During the pandemic, I also took the risk to move out and get my own place. Taking all this risk taught me a lot; it taught me how to work harder, taught how to appreciate more and it showed me who was really with me through all this. I got a lot of people telling me how crazy I was to take all these risk during this time. I didn’t listen to the negative and continued through my pans.
2021 was my most busiest year, traveling to so many states for photo sessions and just overall expanding my business. As I was working all year I was also writing down all my goals for 2022. I told myself I want to be able to be financially stable and slowly leave my 9 to 5 and be a full time photographer.
Now, I’ve quit my job and only do it once or twice a week. My business has become more successful, booking months and months in advance and even booking for the following year, and still work very hard each day to improve in my art.
I am excited to say that I’m expanding my work into real estate photography and offer more services. I have also deiced to add videography services to our business. So we definitely have a lot of work on our hands! We cannot wait to start these new ventures!
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
I think discipline, work ethic and staying grounded is something that really has helped in my business and growing success. Number one, staying discipline with yourself when you become an entrepreneur is very important. Being a business owner is not as easy as people may think. We don’t have a boss or rules so I had to setup a schedule, focus on business even when I didn’t want to. It has not been easy but will eventually become a part of your lifestyle as you do it more. Having a good work ethic is very important, especially when you run a business with a schedule and work closely with clients. You have to understand how to talk to people, choosing your words wisely and making sure your schedule is running smoothly.
Finally, when is comes to success and coming up in your business, a lot of times we see people lose themselves because they focus more on money and success and forget the business part of it. We have to remember to always be grateful and stay humble for the success we have received.
Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?
My sister has been a huge part of my success and business development. She has always been there giving me advice on finances, business plans and future goals. I know that anytime I need advice or just someone to talk to about a challenging obstacle, I can call my sister and she knows what to say.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.puresnapphotography.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/puresnapphotos
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/puresnapphotos
Image Credits
Pure Snap Photography
