Meet Salawna Jones

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Salawna Jones. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Salawna below.

Salawna, so great to have you on the platform and excited to have you share your wisdom with our community today. Communication skills often play a powerful role in our ability to be effective and so we’d love to hear about how you developed your communication skills.

My ability to communicate effectively developed from both of my parents. My mother is the parent that corrected my speech. I would say things like, ” I don’t got no juice,” and she would yell from another room, ” I DO NOT HAVE ANY JUICE!” She also made sure I apologized for whatever I may have done, and the apology had to be correct. I could not say “my bad” or “sorry,” my mother would say, “No! that is not how we apologize. You need to say you’re sorry and what you’re sorry for and that you won’t do it again.” Then there is my father, who is very big on maintaining eye contact and being very straightforward with what you have to say. He would tell me to make sure I look whomever I am speaking with in the eye while I am talking to them. He’d also say, be bold and direct. Don’t leave them any room to wonder what you are trying to say, make sure they know exactly what you are trying to say. I appreciate my parents for instilling such a great attribute in me. I didn’t know that my profession would be photography and I would be communicating with people all day long. I must give both of my parents credit for my communication skills. Thank you Mr. Edwin and Mrs. Salana Walker.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

I am a professional photographer. I worked in the education field for 15 years. This past April, I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl and I decided I would not return to the schools but I would go full time in photography. I’ve found myself yet teaching; however, it’s been more photography focused instruction. I have been doing professional photography for 9 years now. It is an everyday learning experience. There is always something you can learn, whether it be from a mistake or just from someone giving you pointers, you learn something new everyday. One of the most exciting things about my profession, is making people smile and being able to capture such a real genuine moment in their lives. A moment where nothing is forced, and it’s not fake. In that moment, it’s realness and happiness. People come into the studio and sometimes they are upset, hurting, frustrated, sad, etc., and it brings me joy to be able to make them smile. You never know what an individual is going through, so it is always nice to be nice, That is a motto I live by and I truly believe that it is what has helped me build my clientele and maintain an amazing relationship with each and everyone one of my clients. I honestly don’t call them clients, I call them family. My business motto is “Every moment captured with love.” I make it my duty to make sure my family knows I care and love them regardless of how long we’ve known one another. My business is growing, I am expanding and getting involved in other things to help continue to grow my business. SJ Photography is more than just studio sessions, it is a company that captures weddings, birthday parties, anniversary dinners, bridal showers, maternity and newborn shoots, and much more. SJ Photography is now entering into the graphic design field as well. Be on the lookout for the upcoming change.

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?

Three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in my journey are my humor, honesty, and my interpersonal skills. These have always been qualities and skills that have helped me along the way. They have helped shape my business and my brand. I have had people come to me and want to book my services because of my sense of humor and the way I communicate and hype my client up. My advice to anyone who is early in their journey is to take your time. Gain a full understanding of what it is you are getting into. Make sure you truly know yourself. I would tell someone that it is ok to make mistakes, but it is not ok to continue making the same mistakes. Everyone is not going to like you and/or what you are doing, and that’s alright, just keep going. Be committed, stay committed, and put in the work. Get a mentor. Lastly, I would say, be willing and open to accepting help.

To close, maybe we can chat about your parents and what they did that was particularly impactful for you?

The most impactful thing my parents did for me was teach me to control my own emotions and not allow others to dictate or determine how I feel or the way my day or life will go. They taught me that people will say and do things that will upset or offset me; however, it is how I respond and deal with it that determines who and how I am. Because of such teachings, I refuse to allow anyone to upset me and have me upset all day long. I will take my moment, be upset for a second and then bounce back. No one can live rent free in my mind. No one gets to knock me off my square and I stay down. My father instilled this motto in me and it is something that I live by now. The motto is, “Don’t mess around with people that mess around.” I love this, because it has allowed me to be able to move freely. I will not be bothered with or by people who aren’t doing anything with themselves. People who don’t have anything going for themselves. I will not be bothered by negative individuals. Life is entirely too short to messing around with people that are simply messing around.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Images_by_sj
• Facebook: SJ Photography

Image Credits

SJ Photography