Today we’d like to introduce you to JP Pratt.
Hi JP, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Honestly, I never sought out photography. In 2014 I was working in the corporate world and just going through the day to day, but always felt like I wanted to do something different. My whole life I had been involved in music and various forms of the arts, and in college I had played drums in a band and toured for a bit, recorded a couple of albums and loved it. When I graduated college I started getting interested in photography, but more as a hobby and just taking photos on my phone. I would do various photo challenges and do photo meetups to just take pictures of stuff for fun, and when we welcomed our first kid into our family my mother-in-law bought me a camera so I could take photos of my son. Shortly after that I met a friend who introduced me to the reality that photography could be a career. He had been doing it for about 5 years at that point and he invited me into it by having me shadow him at a couple weddings. I had NO interest in it when he brought it up, but after one wedding with him I was hooked. He had me along for a few and then he started referring people to me that needed a photographer. That was the fall of 2014, and by February of 2015 I had photographed my first wedding on my own, and by April of 2016 I was full time.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I don’t know if owning your own business is ever a “smooth road”. There are big ups and big downs when it comes to being self employed and working for yourself. I wouldn’t trade it for anything! I think some of the biggest struggles in any industry, but especially a creative industry, is comparison. I once heard someone say “Comparison is the enemy of contentment” and that quote has resonated so loudly in my life. The biggest struggle, I think, is being confident in who I am as an artist, but also realizing that my job is not my identity. It’s a job, and one that I love, but it isn’t my identity.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I specialize in photography of people. That sounds generic, I know, but I do it all. I love photographing weddings, but over the years I have grown to not just photographing weddings, but photographing commercial brands, headshots, families, and so much more. It’s been a ton of fun watching all of it grow!
How do you think about luck?
Well, that’s an interesting question. I don’t really believe in “luck” per se, but I do believe that God has put me in this job and brought me the success that I have. Being able to go full time within the first full year of owning a business and then being able to stay full time for almost a decade has been an incredible blessing. It has given me opportunity to be present with my family, friends, and do something that I really love.
The other part that has brought me success has been the incredibly kind and gracious clients that continue to use me and recommend me to other people. Word of mouth is KING when it comes to marketing and people have been so kind. I also think that I have been given a gift not only with photography, but with people that has helped this thing grow from just an idea to a full blown business.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.jppratt.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/thejppratt
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jpprattphotography
