Jerry King with J. King Images

Intro: [00:00:07] Coming to you live from the Business RadioX studio in Woodstock, Georgia. This is fearless formula with Sharon Cline.

Sharon Cline: [00:00:18] Welcome to Fearless Formula on Business RadioX, where we talk about the ups and downs of the business world and offer words of wisdom for business success. I am your host, Sharon Cline, and today on the show we have the founder and president and CEO of J. King Images, a headshot photography company that helps create just the right image for you to promote. Welcome, headshot and commercial photographer Jerry King to the show.

Jerry King: [00:00:43] Thank you. Thank you for having me.

Sharon Cline: [00:00:44] Thank you for coming in to the show. It’s funny, we have a lot of people that we know, but we’ve never been introduced. So like, I’m talking about people that you’ve known for like ten years, you know? And so we work in the same circles or we interact with the same circles, but we’ve never really been like introduced, I guess.

Jerry King: [00:01:01] True.

Sharon Cline: [00:01:02] And I was recommended to have you on the show by two different people. So I was like, That’s it, I got to contact Jerry. So thank you for coming in.

Jerry King: [00:01:09] No problem. Obviously the checks cleared. Yeah.

Sharon Cline: [00:01:12] Yeah, right. Nice. Yeah, I’m slipping a 22. Whoever recommended me to anyone. So let’s talk a little bit about your business. You’ve been in business quite a while now.

Jerry King: [00:01:23] I’ve been in business for about eight years. Yeah, technically, nine, but I would call it eight.

Sharon Cline: [00:01:29] Yeah. And we were talking before the show how life has so many different twists and turns to it, and yours is no exception. You were born in Mississippi and came over here to Georgia, and initially it was funny. I always feel like such a stalker, but I try to get some information about who I’m having on the show. So initially I did a little research and found out that you used to be in the Army. Thank you so much for your service. Thank you. And you were in law enforcement. Was it the Swat team you were on?

Jerry King: [00:01:58] I was on DeKalb County Swat team for about 11 years.

Sharon Cline: [00:02:01] Ooh. Ooh. And now you’re a photographer. Yeah. Tell me how this happened.

Jerry King: [00:02:09] As far as from being from Mississippi, let me preface it. Like I said earlier, I can read and write. So my God, how I got into photography was an impulse buy. I went to Best Buy in April of 2011 and I couldn’t convince the kid to sell me an iPad two and iPad two back in the day. Got you. And as I was leaving, I saw the canon rep and she sold me a camera.

Sharon Cline: [00:02:34] You just she just was like, Hey, I’ve got this great equipment right here. You’re interested?

Jerry King: [00:02:38] Yeah, that’s exactly what she said. Like a drug dealer. But no, she sold me a camera. Money was burning a hole in my pocket, so I was going to leave the store with something, and I left with the camera. Went to the Renaissance Festival that weekend. I will deny it to this day, but fell in love with it so much that I went back Monday, returned the camera, threw some more money at it, and got a professional grade camera.

Sharon Cline: [00:02:59] Wow. So what was it about that weekend and taking photos that just moved you?

Jerry King: [00:03:04] So I just love taking pictures. So it was just I sucked. I was just I just fell in love with it.

Sharon Cline: [00:03:11] So why do you say you sucked? Why?

Jerry King: [00:03:14] I mean, if you saw the pictures I took. Oh, no, it was horrible. Really. In fact, I joined a photography club shortly after, and the president of the club told me, You suck. You need to find a new hobby.

Sharon Cline: [00:03:26] Why? Why? What was it that you were. What were you just taking a picture of? Like a leaf or something? Like what makes a photo bad?

Jerry King: [00:03:33] Just everything about it. Whatever I did.

Sharon Cline: [00:03:36] Composition wise, composition.

Jerry King: [00:03:38] Wise, exposure, you name it. And. But two years later, I was back giving that same photography club lighting classes.

Sharon Cline: [00:03:48] Well, how did that feel?

Jerry King: [00:03:49] It felt really good.

Sharon Cline: [00:03:50] Yeah, I bet it did. So when you joined this photography club and you started to really understand some of the mechanics behind why something is a great photo, what did what were some of the things that you learned?

Jerry King: [00:04:03] Well, I really didn’t learn anything from the photography club, okay. In fact, it kind of discouraged me from joining photography clubs because it seemed like everyone had an opinion and everyone for an art that’s supposed to be so subjective, everyone was trying to tell you how it needed to be done. Interesting. And I just couldn’t get with that. So I got all my education outside of the club.

Sharon Cline: [00:04:26] So where did you go for your education then?

Jerry King: [00:04:29] Youtube University.

Sharon Cline: [00:04:31] That’s where I go to fix things in my house. So you were able to watch some videos and really kind of understand different ways to look through your lens and what to look for. That makes a good photo. And so did it just come naturally to you then to start seeing things differently?

Jerry King: [00:04:47] I don’t think it came naturally to me. I just kept I was like a parrot. I kept seeing other photographers and kept trying to replicate what they did, but I failed miserably and kept doing it. And I think that developed into my own style.

Sharon Cline: [00:05:01] Interesting. So I don’t know a lot about photography and I didn’t. I mean, I. Yeah, yeah, your business. Okay. But I guess I’m thinking of famous photographers that like, oh my goodness, I can’t think of her name, but she did the one with Miley Cyrus and it got all kinds of Annie Leibovitz. Yes. I knew it was an something. Okay. Annie Leibovitz. So she has a certain style. Yes. Right. And so and like Andy Warhol. Right. He had a certain style. So I’m thinking of different people that must have had you know, they they have their calling card, so to speak. Like if you see a photo, you may know who they are. Yes. Do you feel like you do as well something identifiable for you?

Jerry King: [00:05:40] I don’t. I really don’t. But people tell me they can see it.

Sharon Cline: [00:05:45] So what do they say?

Jerry King: [00:05:47] They say I just have a very distinct look and they can recognize it from far away.

Sharon Cline: [00:05:52] Do you not know what that look is then?

Jerry King: [00:05:54] No, I think the fact that I supposed to wear glasses and I don’t wear glasses when I shoot or edit has something to do with it.

Sharon Cline: [00:06:04] Wait, wait. Okay, hang on. So just give me a second. So you’re a photographer, but you don’t wear So do you focus with your lens?

Jerry King: [00:06:12] I focus with the lens, the diopter and the lens, but I just.

Sharon Cline: [00:06:15] Yeah, the.

Jerry King: [00:06:15] Diopter. I feel funny with another piece of glass in between me and the camera or in between me and the screen I’m editing on. So I feel like I’m actually not seeing it.

Sharon Cline: [00:06:24] Interesting.

Jerry King: [00:06:25] So I figured if my vision, once I got my glasses and my vision was corrected, I, I would not edit with them because whatever I was doing was working.

Sharon Cline: [00:06:33] Okay, so you go to YouTube University, so to speak, and you start to understand a little bit more about photos. And then and then now eight years later, you have this business and I mean, I’ve seen your photos on your website. They’re absolutely beautiful. And what’s wonderful is how many different ways people can use these photos. So you could touch kind of almost every business out there that’s available. So what got you from YouTube University to your your successful business now?

Jerry King: [00:07:07] Do you have a minute?

Sharon Cline: [00:07:08] I have a let’s see, we have about 30 more minutes.

Jerry King: [00:07:11] So I’m going to need about 32.

Sharon Cline: [00:07:13] So I might be nice and let you have that, too. We’ll see. We’ll see. See.

Jerry King: [00:07:18] Just start playing around with it. Like I said, YouTube University and someone saw my work and recommended me to shoot for a museum. The mighty eighth Air Force Museum in Pooler, Georgia. I was still in law enforcement, only been a photographer for two years, and I did that project a calendar and some other materials for the museum, and I thought I was the cat’s meow. I was like, Oh my God, I’m awesome. These people are paying me all this money. They’re paying me trips back and forth to Savannah. I’m like, This is great. You know, Atlanta Art Museum. I’m like one of the guest of honor for the thing. And and I was still in law enforcement at the time, so I decided to resign from law enforcement to pursue it full time. But it wasn’t the smartest move because I didn’t have a website, I didn’t have a presence. I didn’t know how to market myself. I knew nothing about business. So $40,000 of savings burned up down to my last month and a half of living expenses. I was laying in the fetal position on the couch and I sat up one day and said, Headshots. And so that weekend I went out and found 12 different people said, hey, go ahead, I’m sorry.

Sharon Cline: [00:08:27] No, no, go. I’m just so fascinated. Pleased.

Jerry King: [00:08:30] So I found 12 people. I said, you need a headshot. And they were like, No, I can’t afford it. I don’t want it. I said, No, I’m going to do your headshot for free. So I did 12 headshots, put them on my website. I guess Google gave me this artificially inflated SEO over the weekend, and at that time a VP at Cox Enterprises was looking for headshots and they booked me for two. I shot that two the following weekend and then they said, Hey, we like these, can you shoot our whole office? And so that was a good payday, especially when you’re about to be homeless. And back then it was hit and miss. Every once in a while I was just getting enough to eat ramen and keep the lights on and keep the car fueled and but nothing big. And so, you know, Covid hit eventually and, you know, things went south. And but I managed to work during Covid. It’s kind of like a drug deal. People would call me up and say, do you do headshots? And then I from six feet away. Yeah, yeah. And I literally, you know, back alley of the studio have a man, you know, because you know people were if you worked you know people got upset with you and if you didn’t work people got upset with you.

Jerry King: [00:09:34] So it was an odd time. So I didn’t really hit any success until 2021. So I was six years in the business driving around in the car with a busted transmission. Every intersection I got to, I was wondering, is this going to be the most embarrassing moment ever when it dies? But I had a job in Buckhead, had no gas, just enough gas to get there, hoping they paid me that night so I’d have the gas to get home. Had to blow out on the way. 75 just north of 285. By the time I got there and completed the job, they paid me for the whole job. I netted $100 basically by the time I got my checking account back into the positive and got new tires and and got gas in the car. So and then six months later, I was boarding an airplane, going to Dallas, Texas for considerable amount of money per day for a tech firm.

Sharon Cline: [00:10:28] Wow. Wow. Talk about fearlessness. Think about this, though. You believed in yourself enough to leave law enforcement and to really put yourself even if you weren’t prepared and you wish you had known something different in the beginning, you still put yourself out there with the belief in yourself. But that’s pretty remarkable.

Jerry King: [00:10:51] I think it was pride. I didn’t want to go back to law enforcement and have everyone tell me we told you.

Sharon Cline: [00:10:58] That can be very motivating, can’t it?

Jerry King: [00:11:00] Exactly.

Sharon Cline: [00:11:01] There’s like positive pride that we all have, right? Like self esteem. And then there’s pride that can keep you from doing things because you just don’t want to fail. But it sounds like you struck a nice little balance right there.

Jerry King: [00:11:12] I did. I did. So pretty happy with it. Things have been going quite well. Congratulations. Thank you. You’re welcome.

Sharon Cline: [00:11:21] So when you say that you asked people to do headshots and you randomly found some people, how did you know how to kind of make a web, a headshot that was specific enough or good enough to be marketable?

Jerry King: [00:11:35] Well.

Sharon Cline: [00:11:37] Because I’m thinking a headshot, like I phone headshot. Do you know what I’m saying? Like, just quick, you know, what is it that I don’t know about? Do you want to share? Because those are probably trade secrets.

Jerry King: [00:11:46] No, it’s nothing secretive about it. When I see a person, when I see anyone, I put them in front of my lens. I want to create their hero. So I always see somebody and I’m like, I hate my photo taken. I mean, I just don’t like having my picture taken. So when I look at someone, I want to make them proud of who they are and make them see the hero that I see in them. The thing with and the thing about a headshot, it needs to stand out. So yeah, you can pull out an iPhone, you can anybody can take a headshot. But to make it unique and eye catching, because the human eye, the first impression is like nanoseconds. So you want to have someone stop just long enough to read your resume or to read your bio? If your headshot looks like everyone else, then you’re lost in the mix.

Sharon Cline: [00:12:36] Do you think most people are using their iPhones to do headshots now? Have you seen.

Jerry King: [00:12:39] Yeah, a lot of people are using their iPhones and I think if it’s done well, there’s nothing wrong with it. I have clients reach out to me and say they need a headshot and I’ll go to their LinkedIn or go to their Facebook and see their current headshot. And sometimes I’ll say, I’d like your headshot. Is there any reason why you want to upgrade it or update it? You know, and if it’s a valid enough answer. I’ll say, okay, I’m your guy.

Sharon Cline: [00:13:04] But sometimes you feel like they’re good enough.

Jerry King: [00:13:06] Sometimes I feel like they’re good enough, you know? But someone might say that my hair is different, you know? I’m 20 pounds lighter.

Sharon Cline: [00:13:14] I definitely want a new headshot.

Jerry King: [00:13:16] Five years old. I gotcha.

Sharon Cline: [00:13:19] Do you know a guy? I gotcha. Gotcha. So how important is lighting? Tell me about lighting. Because. Because I think about and the reason I ask that is because people who are having their phones and they are taking their own headshot may not have the access to studio lighting or know that there’s a certain way to set something up to bring out the hero in themselves.

Jerry King: [00:13:39] You know, lighting is very subjective. You know, it just is. I mean, what’s appealing to someone, maybe not to another, but as far as an iPhone, you can do it with a lamp and a roll of paper towels to diffuse the lamp. You can go to a window. I mean, there’s just so much you can do. I mean, I think you can look at a photo and see how it’s lit and possibly reverse engineer it if you’ve got the time.

Sharon Cline: [00:14:04] Oh, interesting. I never thought to do that.

Jerry King: [00:14:06] Yeah, well, the problem is, is most people don’t have time and that’s what that’s why I have job security because if someone had the time to learn. When I do, then they wouldn’t need me.

Sharon Cline: [00:14:16] Truth. Um, when you talk about the fact that anyone could kind of take their own photo, there’s obviously something very special about the way that you do.

Jerry King: [00:14:26] Well, there’s things you want to capture, and there’s just traits you want to capture in a headshot. And things I look for is approachability, confidence and professionalism. So you’re just trying to get that you and there’s certain techniques that you can use to pull someone out and be in their natural state and look engaging. So a lot of times people will take a picture and it looks cute, but it’s not professional. It’s not, you know, your friends might like it, you know, your girlfriend or your boyfriend might look at it and say, Oh my God, that’s so you. But they’re seeing you sitting across from a kitchen table. They’re not seeing the executive view. So I always tell someone, don’t let your girlfriend, boyfriend or spouse pick your headshot.

Sharon Cline: [00:15:04] Oh, wow. Okay. Interesting. Good advice. Because you’re right, if you are wanting to appeal to a particular audience, you need to have that audience in your mind as you’re deciding not not your grandma or your mom who thinks you’re wonderful.

Jerry King: [00:15:17] No matter what.

Sharon Cline: [00:15:19] All right. So during Covid, you clearly were still busy, like you said, under the table. But how how important was that time, given that people were working from home? Everything kind of changed in the business world?

Jerry King: [00:15:32] I think it was important because everyone needed a face. You know, people weren’t meeting face to face. People needed representation online virtually for someone to see them outside of rollers in a housecoat and, you know, a t shirt and tank top. So I think it was very important for people to have an image that kind of let people or wanted people to get to know you.

Sharon Cline: [00:15:54] So how do you not me, though? Don’t use me, okay? Because it’ll make me feel uncomfortable. Okay, So anybody. So when you’re looking at someone and how do you decide what they are in terms of your mind, like what their hero image is?

Jerry King: [00:16:06] Well, just like I’m sitting here talking to you, I’m studying you the whole time. So I’m saying no, no. So I’m seeing your I’m seeing your natural resting. I’m seeing like you’re engaged in conversation. So when you’re talking to me, you’re projecting forward. Okay? You’re not leaned back away from me, you’re engaging me. Okay. But for some reason, when that magnesium, I lift that magnesium up in your face, you back away from the camera. People tend to back away instead of engage as if it’s someone.

Sharon Cline: [00:16:34] Why?

Jerry King: [00:16:36] Because they’re uncomfortable getting their picture taken and they’re looking at the camera as just this weird experience photography, when they need to look at the camera as if they’re engaging someone, if that camera is someone themselves.

Sharon Cline: [00:16:47] So is it shame? Why don’t we. Don’t we like?

Jerry King: [00:16:53] I don’t think it’s shame. We all have something about ourselves we don’t like. So when we pull away from the camera, we think we’re hiding it, but we’re actually accentuating it. So when you lean forward towards me and everything like that, I see all this confidence. And that’s what we’re trying to bring across in the picture. But if you lean back, no matter how good you look or how good you think the picture looks, just your body language is going to say you’re disconnected from your audience.

Sharon Cline: [00:17:17] I have to think about that. How much do you tell people they need to really engage? Is it is it almost everyone is like, oh, gosh, I’m getting my photo taken.

Jerry King: [00:17:25] Yes, almost everyone. And during my sessions, it’s pretty much like what I’m doing with you, just talking to you, getting to know we might talk more than we shoot for the hour session. You and I might spend 30 or 40 minutes talking, you know, used to like when I first started out, I’d take like 3 or 400 images of you and we’d hope for the best. And now, you know, we shoot about 60 to 70 and we, you know, they’re usually all pretty good, but we’re just looking for that one.

Sharon Cline: [00:17:52] How important is that time getting to know someone?

Jerry King: [00:17:55] Very important. We have to establish some rapport. I mean, because you have to be comfortable in front of me and. And then you have to trust me. So I do a tactic or I do a process that a lot of photographers I’ve talked to kind of question why I do it. But I will actually take a photo of you and then I will sit down and I will analyze the photo with you, and then I will actually edit that photo in front of you. So a lot of times people don’t like the photo because not that it’s not a good photo, but they don’t like how their eyes look or they there’s this, they’ve got acne or they maybe have a double chin that they’re not happy with. When I show, I can like manage that for them, the shoot goes well.

Sharon Cline: [00:18:35] So you take a photo and then you show them what you can do so that they feel like no matter what, their best self will be represented.

Jerry King: [00:18:41] All I need from them is expression.

Sharon Cline: [00:18:44] Okay. What kind of expression?

Jerry King: [00:18:46] Their true expression like that. What you’re giving me right now.

Sharon Cline: [00:18:49] What am I giving you right now?

Jerry King: [00:18:51] You’re smiling your eyes. And so we want to capture that. We want to capture your natural feel.

Sharon Cline: [00:18:57] So smile with your eyes kind of thing. Kind of something that you can tell if someone isn’t right.

Jerry King: [00:19:02] Exactly. And a lot of times people come in and they want to show teeth. They don’t have to show teeth. You know, sometimes you can see someone’s their personality just with their mouth closed.

Sharon Cline: [00:19:12] So you’ve got all of these neat techniques and things that you’ve got ready to go for people. And then now as you as your business has grown and I’ve looked at your pictures, they’re absolutely beautiful. You do have really unique lighting, I think, And it doesn’t even have to be this big scene outside where it’s it can be very simple and but effective. Did that sort of help develop your style into as you learned these techniques, developed your style into what you have now? Yeah, I.

Jerry King: [00:19:42] Think my style developed because initially when I started it was all about me. Oh, look at my light, Look, look how I can do this, look how I can shoot. And as time went by, it’s more about the individual. So I kind of want people to see the image and just see my subject and not, Oh, my God, look at the lighting. Oh, my God. You know, look at look at this composition. I want them to look at it and say, Oh my God, John looks great. You know, Susie looks amazing.

Sharon Cline: [00:20:06] Not look at this lighting.

Jerry King: [00:20:07] Not look at this.

Sharon Cline: [00:20:08] Lighting. Interesting. Do you think any of the things that you learned in the military and in law enforcement has informed you as a photographer?

Jerry King: [00:20:16] I yeah, quite a bit. I deal with a lot of executives, CEOs, tech firms and things like that. So my military experience and my law enforcement experience brought me into like whether politicians or generals or colonels or whatever. So I learned early on at a young age that everyone puts their pants on just like I do. So when I’m talking to an executive, I’m talking to him as if I was talking to anyone else and establish that rapport like it’s his company. He’s the tech guru and everything like that. But it’s my set and I’m the professional here and it’s my job to get the best thing out of him.

Sharon Cline: [00:20:51] Dang. So I never thought about that, that you could potentially be intimidated by some very big names in whatever world they’re in. But this. They’re in your world. Yes. So I bet they can feel that energy shift.

Jerry King: [00:21:05] Yeah, people can tell. I try to tell new photographers or teach sometimes that you’ve got to show a little bit of confidence. And, you know, there’s certain things I do like if you’re giving me your all and I mess up, I tell you, I mess up, I’ll say, Hey, you did a great job at your photographer screwing up right now. You know, let me adjust this. Yeah. And if, you know, if I’m comfortable with everything going on set, then you can sense that. And I’ll always keep a dialog. You know, if I’m shooting, if you’re seeing this look on my face, like, I’m, like, worried something’s going wrong and I haven’t communicated with you whatsoever, then you start doubting the process.

Sharon Cline: [00:21:42] I’d be doubting myself, Oh, no, he doesn’t like what he sees. I’m trying to imagine what’s in my head if I were to see that that’s true and be like, He’s not happy, it’s me because he’s the professional. So yeah.

Jerry King: [00:21:52] Always keep the communication going, talking and everything like that, you know, I’ll tell people, I’ll sit there and I’ll go, okay, I need to get this shot. Okay, roll your shoulders back. Put your hands out by your side. Put your face forward like a turtle. Dip your forehead just a little bit. Yeah. And tighten those eyes just a little bit. I like that. All right, now stand on one foot and, you know, usually gets people laughing. And then.

Sharon Cline: [00:22:11] Then you get a good.

Jerry King: [00:22:11] Shot. You get a good shot.

Sharon Cline: [00:22:13] Um, I had another question for you. I saw that. Well, obviously, because this is my show. Sorry. I get distracted in my brain. All right. So you have obviously a huge clientele. You’ve got actors and models. Executives. You do lifestyle shoots, but you also did a shoot with the Holly Springs police here in in Cherokee County.

Jerry King: [00:22:37] That was a while back.

Sharon Cline: [00:22:38] It was a while back. Oh, the photos are gorgeous. But tell me how that happened. I’m curious how as obviously you were in the in the police world. So you’ve been able to relate to probably what they go through.

Jerry King: [00:22:50] Law enforcement and military are still dear to my heart. You know, I pray for the guys every day and happy that and glad that someone’s still willing to do it in this day and age. But I just you know, my thing was I would see these police officers in law enforcement and these heroic jobs and and larger than life jobs. And then I’d see these photos of them that were just so tame. And I just wanted to, like I said earlier, you know, display the heroes that they truly are.

Sharon Cline: [00:23:20] When you say tame, do you mean like as if it’s a high school yearbook? Look.

Jerry King: [00:23:24] Yes. Or just a snapshot of them leaned against a car or something like cheesy.

Sharon Cline: [00:23:31] Somewhat cheesy. Very cheesy. So what was it like to film them in a way that made you feel proud?

Jerry King: [00:23:39] I guess. I don’t know. I just wanted to depict them in a very professional and very larger than life, you know, setting or theme or vibe like.

Sharon Cline: [00:23:52] They were some in their car, you know, as they’re out doing things. So it’s almost an action shot, I guess.

Jerry King: [00:23:58] So I think she was sitting in a parking lot and I had lights behind the car and in front of the car.

Sharon Cline: [00:24:03] And oh, wow. No, it looked like she was heading someplace important. Yeah.

Jerry King: [00:24:06] So, yeah.

Sharon Cline: [00:24:08] So that must have been satisfying for you then.

Jerry King: [00:24:10] It is. And, you know, it’s just one of those things you want to, you know, hopefully. Or one day I plan on kind of making a switch to do more commercial style, you know, style shoots as opposed to headshots. But headshots will always be be a part of taking images.

Sharon Cline: [00:24:26] So you haven’t obviously just stuck to headshots then like you’ve grown some.

Jerry King: [00:24:30] I haven’t just stuck to headshots. I do life style for business executives and everything. Expanding to Dallas, Texas last month was the first test run out there. How did it go? It went pretty well. It went pretty well. So we’re going to start or I’m going to start setting dates out there, too, for every couple of months to go out to Dallas, Texas.

Sharon Cline: [00:24:54] Wow. So. All right. So is there anything that you sort of know now, now that you see in your now expanding and growing, anything you wish you could go back and tell yourself in 2013 or 2012?

Jerry King: [00:25:10] No, I don’t think I’d want to screw up the time continuum. I think I’m happy with the path that I’ve. That I’ve taken. I mean, there’s a lot of things that would have made it easier, but at the same time, I think. I don’t know. Some things, no matter if you hear it or not, you’ve got to experience it yourself.

Sharon Cline: [00:25:30] But that says a lot about you because there are lots of people who say, Oh, I wish I had known that I should have had a year’s worth of savings in my bank account. And of course, that’s a positive, everybody. There’s never enough money. Never enough money. I will say that the fact that you feel like you learned everything in the right order and that you needed to learn it the way that you did, there’s something very peaceful about your journey then, or accepting about your journey where you don’t beat yourself up so much about the things that you wish you had done differently.

Jerry King: [00:25:56] I think it would have changed the trajectory of the way things are. I mean, if I had enough money, maybe I wouldn’t have pushed myself as hard if I wasn’t starving or wondering where my next meal was coming from, I might have taken it easy. I might not have taken the chance or the opportunity to to do another job or to take on a job that I didn’t want to take on. But actually it led somewhere.

Speaker3: [00:26:17] Wow.

Sharon Cline: [00:26:18] But that’s I love that you’re reframing your experience as not just being I had this dream. I decided to go pursue it. You actually can see how the different things that you went through propelled you forward. I think I’m in a similar situation where I have more voiceover work to pursue, but I haven’t but I but I actually really need to be doing that as opposed to things that I find joyful or just fun and that I don’t think I would have the same drive to continue to pursue and work really hard if I didn’t have a real need to do it. You know, it’s fascinating to me because it does reframe it. And I and I’m lucky because I get to do it. It’s not like I need to do it. It’s like, Oh, I have to. It’s like I get to which I really like it makes it a positive.

Jerry King: [00:27:06] I mean, if you told me I was be a photographer 20 some odd years ago, I would have told you you were crazy. I mean, I said, you’re high. There’s no way. If you said I’d actually be making a living at photography. You know, when I originally got out, I said, I can make half the money I made in law enforcement and just be happy doing something I love. But now that I’m actually traveling for a change and you know, my camera is like a passport into people’s lives, I never would have got to meet half the people I’ve met if I hadn’t had a camera. I mean, you know, I mean, I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t have a camera. I wouldn’t have met Dan if I didn’t have a camera.

Speaker3: [00:27:43] Or mutual friends.

Jerry King: [00:27:44] Yeah, I wouldn’t have met any of those folks. I wouldn’t be in Woodstock.

Sharon Cline: [00:27:47] Where would you be, do you think?

Jerry King: [00:27:51] Probably. Still in law enforcement.

Speaker3: [00:27:55] You think.

Jerry King: [00:27:55] So? Probably still in law enforcement.

Sharon Cline: [00:27:58] And now you get to use a different part of your brain. Creative side is so fun. Do you know what I mean? There’s something so cool about creating something that didn’t exist like five minutes ago.

Jerry King: [00:28:07] It’s true. And for me, I think I. Put away the creative side of me when I joined the military because I had to do what I had to do and I kept it locked away until I bought that camera, you know, many, many years later.

Sharon Cline: [00:28:23] Do you think that there’s been a project you’ve worked on that has just been the most satisfying and fun? Is there something that stands out to you where you’re like, This is why I do what I do? Oh, I know this moment. Okay? Not just this moment. Okay. Any other moment besides this one.

Speaker3: [00:28:41] Okay.

Jerry King: [00:28:43] Projects? No, I haven’t found that project yet. I’ve got a couple in the works that I’m in discussions with my girlfriend and we’re looking at some projects, but I think the biggest joy I get out of photography now is like, I will put my camera in gear in my car and just go hunt for people. And as soon as I see someone who’s interesting, I’ll pull over and ask if I can photograph them. And to me, that is so fulfilling because I get to, you know, holding that camera. People share a lot of information.

Sharon Cline: [00:29:13] Has anyone ever said no?

Jerry King: [00:29:16] I’ve had people say no and I walk away. I’ve also had people say no, and then someone beside them say yes. And then the other person walk up to see the back of the camera. And then they go, Oh, I think I can do this now, you know, So but usually you kind of observe people, see how they act, everything, start a conversation with them. And I used to just ask, Hey, can I take your photo Now? I actually start up a conversation with them like, there’s a gentleman in my hometown start talking about talking to him. Older gentleman said, Did you serve? He said, no. But in 1966 he was at Fort Polk going through, you know, in processing, and he had a waiver. He got deferred because he was in college and didn’t have to go to Vietnam. So hearing a story, I said, do you mind if I take your portrait? And he agreed and they think I’m going to whip out my phone or something. But when I’m setting up lighting equipment and everything like that, it’s just. A different thing.

Sharon Cline: [00:30:09] What is it like to capture one exact moment that could never be captured again? Ever? 100% the same way.

Jerry King: [00:30:18] It’s amazing. Sometimes I’ll just look at it in the eyes. I always look at the eyes and it’s just and you know, even though they’ve shared their story with you, you still want to know more. And sometimes I’ll look at photos of people I’ve in passing that I’ve taken who are much older, and I wonder if they’re still with us or what they’re doing now or if they’re okay. And yeah.

Sharon Cline: [00:30:43] Do you think you’re a people person?

Jerry King: [00:30:45] I’m a people person, and my therapist says I’m a people pleaser.

Speaker3: [00:30:48] Pleaser. Dang. So so.

Sharon Cline: [00:30:52] I’m a people person and, well, so am.

Speaker3: [00:30:54] I.

Jerry King: [00:30:55] So I have been working on that. And and it is amazing when you find value in yourself and stop people pleasing as much.

Sharon Cline: [00:31:05] But it’s like this balance too, because you want them to be happy with what you’re doing right and you want them to be happy with the product. So you want to please them.

Jerry King: [00:31:15] Yeah, but you can’t fill their cup of yours is empty, right?

Sharon Cline: [00:31:19] Right. So you take care of yourself first.

Speaker3: [00:31:20] Yes.

Sharon Cline: [00:31:21] That sounds like a very good therapy quote.

Jerry King: [00:31:24] Yeah, it is. I learned. Quick know, I had a friend of mine who’s a commercial photographer and he reached out to me. He had a quote for a company. He says, you know, I got to write this quote for them and it’s coming up to be about $10,000. And I know that’s going to be above their budget. And he said, but I’m just trying to be fair. And I stopped him right there. And I said, How can you be fair to them if you’re not fair to yourself?

Sharon Cline: [00:31:45] Stops people in their tracks sometimes, right?

Speaker3: [00:31:48] Yeah.

Sharon Cline: [00:31:49] Where would you like to see your business go If you had like a five year projection, where would you like to see yourself?

Jerry King: [00:31:57] Shooting. Shooting less.

Speaker3: [00:32:02] Uh.

Jerry King: [00:32:02] But shooting. More powerful. Projects, more meaningful projects. I would like to travel the US or the country. You know, travel the country or the world just photographing a subject that. Or people that means the most to me and still be able to keep the lights on.

Sharon Cline: [00:32:23] Do you find that, as you’ve gotten to know, lots of different people from lots of different walks of life, that there are some common themes amongst people? What have you learned about people or the human experience?

Jerry King: [00:32:38] Most people feel that they’re in this alone and everybody wants to be heard. So I’ve noticed that when I talk to people, a lot of people are holding a lot of things in and it comes across, you know, like you take a photo and I’m rambling now, but you take a photo of someone and they’re withdrawn and then they project something. Their real self is hidden away in there. So I think that. How do I articulate this? And I think the commonality is everyone is everyone just wants to be a part of a part of the world.

Speaker3: [00:33:14] Be valued.

Jerry King: [00:33:14] Yes. Thank you.

Sharon Cline: [00:33:16] Yeah, I think I love that about this show is it’s my very small attempt to give a person a moment to be heard and to be appreciated in a different way. Like I was saying before the show started, my goal for you or anyone on the show is to feel like there’s a part of you that got to be expressed that you don’t normally get a moment to share because you’re busy, you’re doing your own work, you’re you have a purpose. But for this moment, to help me and anyone else who’s listening to see the reasons behind why you do what you do and and to be able to connect with you because you’re human. I’m human. You know, you’re not just business person, but there’s a reason you get up every day to do what you do, what your goals are, and how it impacts you. There’s just something that I think there are common themes between us in this way and that you want someone to be very, very happy with your work and get, you know, feel proud of what’s out there. Well, who doesn’t want to feel that? Who doesn’t know what that’s like to do something and you’re proud of it. So I’m glad that there’s like an opportunity at least, to get to know the person behind the camera for a moment.

Speaker3: [00:34:24] So what?

Sharon Cline: [00:34:25] She said I finally stopped talking.

Speaker3: [00:34:29] No, no, no, no.

Sharon Cline: [00:34:30] I’m, like, thinking on the fly cannot sometimes do so well for me. But sometimes. Yes, but. Well, you’ve. Who’s your ideal client? Like who you would love to have who in your studio.

Jerry King: [00:34:46] Wow, that’s hard. I mean, it’s really hard. I mean, a lot of times business, they say, oh, my ideal client. But usually it’s from a financial standpoint, you know, people give the answer. You know, it’s like, you know, I want to have a client who makes six figures and is the leader of a Fortune 500 company or seven figures. And I think my ideal client is someone who actually wants to create and actually wants to not be the norm. Really to break out to break out of their shell because I don’t like cookie cutter.

Sharon Cline: [00:35:15] So someone who’s creative, maybe.

Speaker3: [00:35:18] Yes.

Sharon Cline: [00:35:19] When you say cookie cutter and when you say creative, visually, what are you meaning?

Jerry King: [00:35:23] Well, cookie cutter is. You know, I am not a rule follower when it comes to photography. You know, some people look at my pictures and might say that’s underexposed or that might be overexposed or I had some photographer out of the blue comment said, Hey, you might want to think about using the rule of thirds and and and, you know, and you know, it’s funny because I think people don’t understand the rule of thirds. And because it was centered, he was like, that’s not the rule of thirds. But that is a rule of thirds also. It’s just a perspective. So when it comes to cookie cutter, I think. People tend to as a medium photography. I can’t talk about videography or painting or anything else, but people seem to rules and they stick within these rules. And I think if everyone stayed within those rules, we’d have no uniqueness. It would all be the same. So when I say cookie cutter is there are certain styles of photography out there. I’m not going to say it because there are photographers out there and that’s their bread and butter. But I just when people look at my work, I just want them to see that it’s it’s different.

Sharon Cline: [00:36:32] So when you’re saying rule of thirds and yet you put something right in the middle, right, that impacts differently.

Jerry King: [00:36:38] It impacts differently. It definitely, you know that I wanted to bring more focus to the individual, you know, and less to the environment or to place them in the environment, but have them the central focus of it. You know, if I take a picture of someone I’m not worried about your your landscape or your yard or your building. In fact, I just want you to be the focus. I don’t want anyone to sit there and go, oh, my God, look at her. You know, her Prius in the driveway.

Sharon Cline: [00:37:02] God, I have a Prius in the driveway. That’s funny. Yeah, I got you. So the goal being that person is what you want. You don’t want anything else. So the way you frame it can impact whether or not that’s seen in the background.

Speaker3: [00:37:15] Yes.

Sharon Cline: [00:37:17] You know, I do the rule of thirds because I have a grid, you know, on my phone.

Jerry King: [00:37:21] But there’s nothing that says you have to stick with it. Right.

Sharon Cline: [00:37:25] But when I went to Kennesaw State University and I did take a visual communication class, which was fascinating, they did talk about rule of thirds and why that is more impactful or why it makes someone feel the way they feel where your eye naturally wants to go. So I never really thought about it in terms of, well, what if I want a different impact?

Jerry King: [00:37:43] That’s where light comes in.

Sharon Cline: [00:37:47] Well, how about that?

Speaker3: [00:37:48] Yeah.

Jerry King: [00:37:48] Because if you’re lit and you stand out.

Speaker3: [00:37:52] Who cares? Who cares?

Sharon Cline: [00:37:56] How can people get in touch with you, Jerry, if they’re interested in finding out more about you or would like to book a session with you? What’s the best.

Speaker3: [00:38:03] Way?

Jerry King: [00:38:03] One 900. No, just kidding. Oh, gosh.

Sharon Cline: [00:38:06] That’s a different show altogether.

Jerry King: [00:38:09] My website, Jay King images.com. You can book directly for a headshot if you need something else Commercially done or a larger project, just contact. Hit the email and my studio manager will pick up and she’ll get she’ll connect you to me.

Sharon Cline: [00:38:24] Well, Jerry, thank you so much for being brave because I kind of last minute was like, Hey, I had a cancellation. You want to come on the show tomorrow? And you said yes.

Speaker3: [00:38:33] And it was not. Yes.

Sharon Cline: [00:38:35] Yes, you did. You enthusiastically said yes. No, actually, I knew that this was a leap of faith or whatever for you. But I want to thank you for being brave, because some of the best things that have ever happened to me have been when I’ve just said yes, even though I’ve been afraid. So thank you for using your own fearless formula to get here today.

Jerry King: [00:38:53] Thank you so.

Sharon Cline: [00:38:53] Much. You’re welcome. And again, this is Sharon Cline for our fearless Formula Friday, reminding you that with knowledge and understanding, we can all have our own fearless formula. Have a great day.