Today we’d like to introduce you to Roderick Jackson.
Hi Roderick, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My photography career started in 2009 while I was on a break from college. While on break a friend of mines who DJs (DJ Eso) asked if I’d accompany him at an event and take pics with his camera, which I did. I’d say that was my first gig.
After which I held onto his camera doing a variety of amateur photog work around the city (Cle) for 6 months. By then I had saved up enough to buy my own camera and return my friend his camera back. After that purchase, I vowed to take my photography serious. Mistakenly thinking I was becoming a Pro, I started to book shoots with creatives, professionals, and business of all sorts. I was shooting events and weddings but mostly ecommerce Photography for local brands, and portraiture for Music Artist. Even though this was great practice, and somewhat prepared me for what was next, what came next was not expected.
After 2 years of amateur freelance photography, I was contacted by Hallmark Institute of Photography and was offered to start my professional photog career with them. At first, I was hesitant because school was in MA about two hours from Boston, somewhere I never planned to visit. Nonetheless, after being accepted I made plans to move to Western Mass and continue my photography journey.
Hallmark Institute of Photography is where I learned majority of what I know now, my roots are within this institution I can say. Here they taught me all aspects of photography which I was very unaware of beforehand, primarily focusing on using studio photography, commercial photography, and fine art photography. Although Hallmark focused on various industries of photography (wedding, fine art, editorial, journalistic) I chose to perfect my talents in Product/Commercial Photography.
After graduating from Hallmark, I moved to New York City for a position with Quirky inc as a Product Photographer. Quirky inc, was a product development company that created products based on invention ideas submitted by the online community it generated. After working for Quirky, I continued to practice and administer my talents using these photo products as a Freelance Product Photographer. In addition, for 2 years I worked for various studio rental companies as a Studio Assistant. As a studio assistant, I repaired lighting equipment often, assisted shots for big-name retailers, and generally maintained the studio and its contents. Over the last decade, I have produced product photography for clothing brands, jewelers, athletes, educators, environmentalists, and even musicians throughout New York City, Cleveland, Ohio, including some other major cities throughout the east coast.
I currently have a photo book series (2 volumes) sold in 3 boutiques and online. I am consistently capturing images for this product. I am always updating and creating content for Shotsbyrod.co. I plan to independently shoot media for musicians, publications, and fashion brands throughout my career. I also own and manage a studio house
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
My photography journey has been a rocky one, many times I was convinced it had reached its destination, but I was always corrected by a new client or venture. Within my first year, I really had the mindset that I knew as much as I could learn about photography. it was really a blessing that Hallmark recruited me. While in school I was able to study, practice and grow my talent with a wide variety of resources. After that, I moved to NYC with a job lined up, so that part of my career was smooth. After a few years into my career things became rocky, mainly because I wanted to build my own Photo Studio, which has been rocky but extremely fulfilling. I had worked for a variety of companies administering my talents, I came to a point where I wanted to have what I saw my mentors have, a business of their own. So, I started that transition and noticed how much harder it was to stay motivated and inspired. My work got noticed more but I inevitably shot less because I and still do fulfill all the administration duties of my company. The scheduling, bookings, rentals, equipment handling, client care, retouching, mood boarding, graphic design, and marketing is all done by me. I’ve come to learn running a photography-based business, is no different than running any other business. Owning a studio and renting it has its perks but it also has its woes, which can make for a bumpy road. With all this being said, I’d like to say, “Calm waters, never made a good swimmer”
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Shots by Rod L.L.C. & Cleveland Sky Studios?
Both my photography and my studio rental fall under one organization, Shots by Rod. You should know that outside of freelance Photography, I do studio space & equipment rental thru my studio (Cleveland Sky Studios). Even though I specialize in Commercial/Ecommerce Photography, I am still well-trained in event, fine art, and portraiture photography. I’m known for my portraiture even though my best work is commercial. I think we sets me apart from other is my knowledge, experience, and versatility. Brand wise I’m most proud of my studio, it has received the most recognition and traffic out of all my photog endeavors. I’d like readers to know that my brand specializes in creativity, and lives by customer service.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
I see my industry growing, I don’t ever see it declining because imagery runs the world. People like to see things, we’re visual. Our minds read images before we read words. Photography is basically imagery. Photography is always needed. As far as my niche, commercial lifestyle photography, I believe it is growing to a more broader audience. What I mean by that is statistics show more businesses and individuals are recognizing that photography is and always will be a prominent part of their business.
Contact Info:
- Website: shotsbyrod.co
- Instagram: shotsbyrod
- Facebook: shotsbyrod
- Linkedin: shotsbyrod
- Twitter: shotsbyrod
