Life & Work with Jordaun Marie

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jordaun Marie.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I was born and raised in the struggle with no guidance and no one to look up to. A lot of people around me existed, but I can tell they weren’t living much. I always knew from a young age that I aspired to be different, yet I didn’t know how to be. Waking up daily felt as if I was in a constant cycle of someone else’s life story with no way out until I discovered the power of my own creativity. I kept a journal full of suppressed emotions that I desperately needed out along with short stories, songs, and poems from sad to happy. I also wrote notes to myself about my future and how it would be full of success, but in that moment I was only a product of my environment wanting to be shelved somewhere different. It wasn’t until my favorite uncle came across what I considered an outlet that he made me realize I was creating art. He fueled a fire in me that was nearly impossible to ignite regardless of what was going on around me and who tried to extinguish it. My mind was power. He made sure I knew that.

Continuing on, I found myself eventually taking pictures of views with my phone. That is when my love for photography started to form. At the time I was up close and personal with the “ugly” that life had to offer, yet with every snap of a photo, I found the beauty in it. I loved photography so much that I eventually started to take pictures of the people around me. The passion only grew stronger when my uncle nearly begged me to take a picture with him. I was in a hurry to leave the house and start my day but something told me to take the time out and take a picture with him. He knew, but I didn’t that the photo taken would be the last one ever. He passed away months after but I still have the memory captured and can look at the picture and feel the moment.

So when you ask me WHY I decided to stick with photography and eventually start up my own photography business (Creative Hands Productions)…know that DJ had a lot to do with it and I absolutely love stopping time for a moment by capturing a memory-filled photo. It feels great to know that I am responsible for someone being able to look back in time by using a picture that I took for them. Besides our memory, photos are really all that we have to recollect a moment good or bad and remember those who are no longer with us.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The road to starting up Creative Hands Productions was a bumpy ride. I remember the very first moment that had me discouraged was someone closest to me stealing my very first camera. I saved my money and even took a Lyft just to buy the camera at my local Target. I was determined to get my hands on it after taking pictures on my phone of people and views for years. When I finally got my hands on the camera, I would take it everywhere with me. I continued to take pictures of views and people. I even started to vlog my daily life and had plans on throwing the videos on Youtube. The loss of my camera was the very first time I sincerely felt all of the passion and love I had for photography leave my body. I felt depressed for months thinking about all of the lost footage and photographs I would never be able to recover again. I spent the first couple of months thinking about how hard I worked toward my first camera and viewed it as “pointless”. For three years I decided not to touch another camera again but the love I have for photography brought me back to it after realizing I should NOT dwell on what happened in the past.

What do you do, what do you specialize in, what are you known for, etc. What are you most proud? What sets you apart from others?
I am a photographer/videographer. I specialize in lifestyle and family portraits. I am most proud of the progression I have seen from the moment I started to now and staying dedicated to what I love. The fact that I move with passion and not the benefits set me apart from others. I am not looking at what I can gain materialistically. I am looking at the ways that I can serve others by using what I was gifted with. I am a photographer/videographer, I know there’s a lot of us out there but what sets me apart is the way that I put together an edit based off of my own perception and creative ability. My art is my creation.

Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
The hardest pill to swallow is the fact that no one is obligated to support you, not even the people closest to you. It is all a choice. The people who choose to invest in you and take the time out just to support you (big or small) are truly your people and want to see you win. Support is free. It is very much necessary to get rid of those who choose not to support you. Really think about it…what IS the point of having them around? There will be times when business is busy and there will be times when business is slow. Slow business used to discourage me until I looked at them as “rest periods”. That is when I take the time out to brush up on my photography skills, study the big names, and see what I can do differently to bring in more clients. The most important overall lesson for me was to never allow someone else to impact me so negatively that THEY steal my passion. I now jump over roadblocks in my journey, I do not let it stop me.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/creativehandsproductions?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/creativehandsp?s=21
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@CreativeHandsProductions