Today we’d like to introduce you to Jess Beck
Hi Jess, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I was gifted a used camera in 2015 for Christmas, and immediately got into photographing local cover bands in dive bars.
But I wanted to try my hand at everything.
So I did weddings, high school seniors, street photography, macro…you name it, But my true passion is in concerts and boudoir, and both stem from my disability.
Having Larsen’s Syndrome and being a former patient of the Shriner’s Hospital, you experience life differently. You get bullied for looking different. You get conditioned to hate yourself because of your differences instead of being socially conditioned to love yourself because those differences exist. With photography, I get to give others the experience that I wanted to have my whole live.
Validation. Empowered. Loved. Moved.
But I also know that I won’t be around to do this forever, so with concerts it’s all about chasing down the memories of seeing my favorite bands and leaving with the coolest souvenir possible in one of a kind photos. So, after 9 reconstructive surgeries to make sure I could walk, I have to make the most of my time while I have the time to do so. If what Carl Sagan said is true, and we are here so the universe can experience itself, then I am out to make this the best experience possible both for myself and the people I get to work with!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I remember one night back in 2017. I had been photographing pretty much every local concert for about a year and was starting to make a name for myself in that scene. Well, one night I just wasn’t having it. Off night. Settings weren’t setting, things weren’t working. So I asked another guy who was there that I looked up to who was also big in that scene, and I asked him for some help.
“You should just quit,”
Dang that stung. Right in the middle of the crowd at this bar called Duffy’s (Nirvana played there once, no big deal), one of my heroes told me to quit the very thing that I loved.
After I bandaged my wounds, I made it my goal to get into bigger and better shows than he’d ever do, and to be a better person by not dragging anyone down. We all start somewhere, and none of us started out as amazing. Our first photos were likely the worst anyone has ever seen! Stay hungry and humble, because at any moment it could be taken away from you. It costs you nothing to be kind and to help others. It makes the whole industry better when we lift each other up!
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
So, currently I am a professional poker photographer, which sounds about as real as being a professional penguin dentist. But it’s a real thing, and I travel around with MGM, WSOP, RunGood, and others in connection with Poker.Org and take photos of the tournaments.
When I’m traveling, I LOVE to do street photos if I can get away for a bit. Concerts and boudoir also make up a fair portion of the work I do as well.
I’d like to think that I’m most known for my bold colors, but also the way that I treat people. I want everyone I interact with to leave feeling more positive and more uplifted than they did when they came to shoot. I’m a huge people-people, and I think what sets me apart is that I’m the most extroverted photographer I’ve ever met! I know a lot of us are introverted, and that’s absolutely cool (my wife is too!) but I think having the ability to talk to any one anywhere is a pretty neat trait haha!
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
I always tell people, “I’m not that good, I just get lucky a lot!” and I think to an extent that’s true. I tend to edit based on my mood for the day, so while the basics are always there (the composition, the lighting, etc.,) the final product has varied as I’ve grown as an artist, but I think I finally found a style that speaks to me and others, and I hope that it’ll be successful in the new year!
Pricing:
- $799 – portrait session
- 799 – boudoir
- 350 – live concert coverage
- 2399 – event coverage (starting at 2 days)
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.ragdollstudios.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ragdollstudiosmn/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ragdollstudiosmn/
