Meet Jamaal Murray

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jamaal Murray.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Jamaal. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I’ve always had dreams to move to Hollywood and become an Actor. That was the 10-year-old Jamaal talking. I’m from Baltimore, MD –but I knew that I needed to be in Hollywood. This seemed like a long shot because I was painfully shy. A quiet introvert that would just sit and observe the world around me. I didn’t began acting until I got in college. And soon discovered the freedom of being on stage portraying a person that was not Jamaal. These characters would do and say thing Jamaal could never do. I dove into acting full speed ahead. Do extra work and theater in Baltimore.

Once I graduated from college (literally two weeks later), I moved to Los Angeles. You may be wondering how I became a photographer. That’s the interesting part. I’ve always had a camera since I was a child. I had a Polaroid, disposable cameras, I had an old 35mm camera that my Grandfather owned, when I was a teenager I beg my parent to get me a 1.3-megapixel digital camera that was $700. That’s all I got that Christmas. I had an interest in photography. I was a solo sport. I didn’t have to talk, I could sit in the background, I could go unnoticed. This was perfect for the introvert.

If I did take pictures of people –everyone loves a photographer, but what people don’t realize is, they are really responding and interacting with the camera, not the photographer. Sometimes happens to a person when they know they’re being photographed. It was a natural progression to pick up photography in LA. Everyone wants their photo taken. I realized the power and magnitude it is to be a photographer — people are vulnerable in front of the camera. I realized that I would have to use everything I’ve learned in my quietness to intuitively maneuver from person to person.

Some people are confident, some people are shy, there are so people who feel that that photos that I take are the shots that will help them accomplish their dreams, I keened in on that and began to ensure that whomever I work with, I am there to serve them and to help them achieve a goal.

Has it been a smooth road?
Everyone knows it’s expensive to live in Los Angeles and one of my biggest struggles was balancing regular work life and my creative endeavors. I always say one of my biggest mistakes was putting the job to pay the bills ahead of my passion and reason for moving here. I tell people all the time. “If you know, YOU KNOW!” You’ve got to believe in your gift strong enough to know that It will be. No matter how difficult it may seem. I believe God gave me this vision at a young age. It was a thought and dream always. I had to fully realize I am where I am supposed to be.

We’d love to hear more about what you do.
I am a Headshot and Portrait photographer. I specialize in getting actors into those auditions. Without fail — everyone says how comfortable they are and how much fun they have on my shoots. I will tell anyone, I’m not the best photographer, but I am the best Jamaal. That’s what sets me apart from anyone else. I connect on a human level 1st: not Actor and Photographer or Model and Photographer.

I have a conversation, I find out what makes the goal, what are their hopes and dreams. What drives them..? Those things connect us more than you’d imagine. I want people to win just as much as they want to win for themselves. I align myself with there dreams and try my hardest to make a worthy contribution.

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
The need for headshots will not go away. Lately, I’ve been photographing medical professionals, lawyers, speakers, teachers. We’re in a visual day in age, and everyone needs a photo. I think that the interest in photography will increase with the cell phone having powerful cameras, every day people are creating beautiful art.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.PhotosByJamaal.com
• Phone: 818-308-5675
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/photosbyjamaal
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PhotosbyJamaal
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/JamaalDM

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