The dancer turned photographer/videographer (I still dance though).

Hello, Jahdai here, or Jay-K for short, whichever is easier. My journey in this photography game begins with dance. Although I have been dancing for as long as I can remember, something about making a living though moment never really sat right with me. Then I remembered a film course I took once in high school that I truly enjoyed. From that memory it was decided I would give it a try. From there I bought my first camera in 2019 and fell in love immediately. I immediately started looking for jobs in the field and started working for a JCPenney photo studio, then eventually became a photographer at Legoland. Then Covid happened and no one was working so I decided to make work for myself. I practiced everyday, studied techniques and theories, then embarked on a freelance journey to make money for my move to Japan. Not gonna lie, I was super surprised how successful it was.

From 2019 to today it has been a constant battle of trying to balance dance, actual work, moving to Japan, learning culture, language, etc, and making time for this art we know as film and Photography. With all of that on my plate it was still full speed ahead to make this camera stuff my career. As of 2024, I have finally started finding my lane in this art. I have found a style that suits me, as well as a community that supports my journey as well.

My goals in this field are to work for magazines, specifically food magazines as my dream is to become a food photographer. But I also really enjoy street (my first love), and portraits or fashion. When I started this journey, the initial goal was to be in the film industry for television or movies as I love making videos as well. I actually knew nothing of photography when I started and only studied videos. Once I started taking photos that was all I really focused one because I was awful at it and wanted to get better. Now i’m back to making videos again for dancers and event promotions. I love all of this.

Thank you for reading a short version of my journey and I hope to work with you soon.

-LookJk