Today we’d like to introduce you to Jasmine Crawford.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Jasmine. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I am Jasmine Crawford and I am 22. I am originally from Chattanooga, Tennessee. I am currently a senior at Middle Tennessee State University. My major is public relations and I am minoring in photography. Ever since I can remember I have always had a camera in my hand. Everywhere I went when I was a kid, I had a disposable camera with me. I always felt the need to capture everything. I’ve always had a love for photography, but I didn’t realize I wanted to pursue it until last year. I have always had a creative mind that I wanted to express, but I always struggled with finding ways to express myself. Throughout middle and high school, I danced. Dance helped me to break out of my shell and taught me how to express myself, but towards the end of high school, I began to lose passion for it, so I began searching for a new creative outlet.
Going into college, I loved taking and editing photos and coming up with concepts for fun little photoshoots that I would do with my friends. I would take photos and spend hours editing them. One day my friend said to me, “You take all this photography and editing stuff way too seriously.” At first, it offended me, but then I thought maybe I should take photography seriously. The more work I put into it I begin to get comments from people saying how much they loved my content and it really made me feel much more confident about it. I graduated community college and transferred to middle Tennessee State University in the fall of 2019. When I got here, I had to pick a minor, so I decided to give photography a try. That fall I bought my first professional camera, once I started taking pictures with a real camera and learning all the creative things that I could capture through photography, I developed a deep passion for it and I knew it was something I could see myself doing for a long time.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I had a very strict upbringing. I am an only child and my parents had me when they were in their 40s. I’ve always felt so different from everyone else and that no one could relate to me. When I was little the kids thought I was weird, and I didn’t fit in. Being an only child made me extremely socially awkward, I never knew what to say or how to say anything to make other kids like me. For so long I found myself doing everything to please everyone else just to be accepted. I had no idea who I really was. I just wanted to make everyone happy, which only hurt me. Starting college, I chose a major solely based on what I was told I should do and I hated it, my grades are slipping and I ended up on academic probation, I wanted to give up because I had no idea what I wanted to do. When I looked at myself, I didn’t even know who I was because I spent most of my life doing for others. I was told I just needed to go to community college in my hometown and get a regular 9-to-5 and that nothing good would come from me leaving home to pursue my dreams, but I knew that wasn’t what I wanted I knew I had the potential to do more. I realized that I was going into my 20s and it was time for me to take control of my own life.
The next year I promised myself that I would finally start doing what made me happy I changed my major and I decided I wanted to go to a university to better my education. I noticed that once I created these goals for myself my grades were better than ever and I really begin to be more comfortable with myself and build confidence I never had growing up. If I never left my hometown, I probably never would’ve found a major I actually liked or begin doing photography, I haven’t looked back since.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
I recently started a small photography business. It is called Flashbyjas. I specialize in portrait photography. I am so proud of my photography because I just started a year ago, but I have already made so much progress from the time I first used my camera until now. I take my work seriously and I want my photos to tell a story.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
One advantage to being an only child with older parents was I got to travel a lot. Almost every year I got to travel somewhere new. I’ve been to New York, Canada, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Haiti, and the Bahamas. Traveling as a child really made me want to travel for a living as an adult. It is my dream now to travel and do photography all over the world.
Image Credit:
The one of me @pixbyalina
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