We had the good fortune of connecting with Jung Fitzpatrick and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jung, how do you think about risk?
I quit my former career in nonprofit management at the age of 34 to pursue my dream of becoming a photographer. I had no technical training but I had an eye and that inner calling that wouldn’t go away no matter how many times I tried to ignore it. I also feared that if I didn’t take the jump then, I would neither have the energy nor courage later in my life to make such a huge change. So risk played a central role in my career as a photographer. And it has been a part of every major decision I’ve made in my life.

When I think about risk, I think about it as a matter of weighing relative trade offs: immediate and long-term, small and big, financial and time, and emotional and logical. In taking the leap into photography, I knew I’d be giving up stability but I was also deeply unhappy at that point in my life despite working with great people, helping wonderful causes, and being very good at what I did. I had wanted to pursue photography after college but my considerable student debt scared me away from an uncertain livelihood as an artist. But every job offer, every move, even a free ride to grad school triggered an existential crisis about whether I needed to take the leap into photography instead.

By my mid-30’s, I felt like an essential part of me was slowly suffocating and dying. It sounds dramatic but it’s true. The “big” risk of leaving an established career and steady income suddenly became very small in comparison to the thought of being on my deathbed and regretting not having given myself a real chance to pursue my dream.

I’d say I’m a very strategic and practical person and that I take measured risks (I had paid off my student debt and had some savings when I took the leap), but to others my decisions may seem wildly risky, foolish, and/or slightly crazy. For example, after grad school (before my photo leap), I moved to SF with $5K to my name and student debt from undergrad still in tow. I did not have a job but I knew I wanted to be in the Bay Area and I knew that I needed a break after an intensive graduate experience, the National Urban Fellows. I was looking for a specific type of position and I took about 3 months to recover, explore the city, reconnect with old friends, and do a bunch of informational interviews. That’s what eventually led me to my last official salaried job at the 11th hour.

So that was the right move for me at the time even though I eventually left that company to pursue photography. Perhaps where I take risks is with valuing my time over money. Income is important, clearly. But having entered into photography later in life, I view my decisions through the lens of time. Most aspiring photographers get their start assisting other more established photographers and I’ve followed that route as well. However, I am very intentional about how, when, and for whom I assist and have become even more deliberate over the years. Because my goal is to be a full-time photographer, I say no to many assisting requests. It’s not always easy. Assisting is a good way to learn and earn a livelihood when starting out and if you’re a great assistant, it can easily become a full-time job. Like any other job, when the money is decent and steady, it can be hard to say no when the opportunities are flowing in, especially with the “feast-or-famine” nature of freelance work. For me it has been less about saying no to immediate money and saying yes to more time to invest in my own portfolio, clientele, business, and eventually, my own long-term/future income. Ultimately, time is my most precious resource and I plan on making the best use of the rest of my life to pursue my ever-evolving definition of success and fulfillment.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am an editorial and commercial photographer specializing in portraits, product/food, and travel. I love collaborating with fellow creatives, entrepreneurs, and changemakers to create thoughtful and beautiful images that help them tell their stories. I am most proud of cultivating authentic relationships with my clients and colleagues, and supporting and promoting them in my own work. Integrity is paramount to me and I am known for being fair, honest, and trustworthy in my community.

Making a mid-career transition into photography has been challenging and rewarding. For the most part, I believe that nothing worth having is ever easy or free unless it’s sunshine and really good dark chocolate – I will take those at any time, thank you! While I wish I had the benefit of youth and time that comes with starting earlier in a career, I am grateful for the experiences in my former professions that have made me a wiser and more mature business owner and photographer. I’ve had to hustle and hustle smart because I’m not a spring chicken in my 20’s with boundless stamina. And to be honest, most of my challenges have been self-imposed and internal.

As a late-blooming artist and latecomer to photography, it has taken me almost 7 years to quiet my inner critic and self-doubt. Am I good enough? What am I doing with my life? What does my art say? Will I have enough time and energy to get to where I want in photography? I’ve overcome these challenges/fears by really facing them – journaling about them, sitting with them when I meditate – and sharing them openly and honestly with my family, close friends, mentors, and the help of professionals (therapists, business coaches, etc.). It is impossible to succeed alone. I have been surprised to tears by the generosity, kindness, and support of so many people within my community and beyond to casual acquaintances and complete strangers along my journey. That has kept me going when this path felt so hard. I’m grateful for all of it.

I’ve learned so much about myself in becoming a photographer and so much about being a photographer and business owner in this chapter of my life and career. The first two lessons are the same and on-going ones that I’ve learned since childhood. The last two are more recent realizations.

1) Practice gratitude for the big and small things. For me it’s related to operating from a principle of abundance because it makes me recognize what I do have and to focus on the good and positive in my life and work. Especially in this day and age of social media, it is very easy to go down the rabbit hole of scrolling and comparing myself to others and feeling “less than” in my progress and success. Of course, I have my moments when I forget the sisters of gratitude and abundance but I always come back to them. I’m also grateful for the hard stuff because there’s always something to be learned.

2) Community and collaboration over competition. Coming from the nonprofit world, I already knew this but as a freelancer and solopreneur, I have experienced it from a different perspective. Making a living as a photographer is a bit like being in the Wild Wild West. Photographers tend to be a vary diverse and independent-minded set, which makes us very creative but it can also feel chaotic and lonely as a newcomer, especially with ever-changing technology lowering the barrier to entry, hobbyists can now become photographers without any formal training or apprenticeship, the general public and customers don’t understanding the amount of work and skill required in creating good photographs, and the value for professional image makers seems to be on the decline, etc. Trying to figure it out on my own has often been the harder, slower, and/or more painful way. I’m grateful for and have benefited from the wisdom, advice, and help of others who are more seasoned and experienced than me through different photography groups. If the photography community were more secretive and competitive, I know I’d be struggling more and believe we’d be weaker as an industry. The saying, “a rising tide raises all boats,” is true. When we help and teach each other, we all gain by maintaining standards and upholding the integrity of our work and profession. It’s also been important to me to give back to the community through participation in these photography groups, sharing resources with and connecting colleagues, doing informational interviews with and mentoring photography students.

3) Nobody really knows what the heck they’re doing. We’re all figuring it out as we go. Making a big mid-career change really brought this into focus for me. Working within an organization provides a structure that can give a false sense of certainty about one’s role in life and where one is headed. Outside of that structure, there’s limitless choices and decisions to make for oneself on a day to day basis. Also, I decided to just make a go of photography with a general strategy of going to City College of San Francisco and letting my intention and intuition guide me from there. Whereas before, I had always been such a planner, always needing to know what my next step was going to be before I took it and having multiple back up plans. This time I had no back up plan. I simply knew I had to immerse myself in the pursuit of becoming a photographer. Anything else would be a distraction. As I shared my story with and met others in the field or who had made major life changes for one reason or another, I learned that most everyone else was doing their best to figure out their life path as well. So really life and my business are an experiment. I’ve only recently come to embrace this. (Did I mention that I was a recovering perfectionist?!) Perhaps some of this is the grace and wisdom of aging but I now allow myself to accept that there is no right or wrong way to do things (unless it’s illegal, of course!). There is no one path to success as a photographer, freelance creative, and small business owner. So I get to make it up as a I go, which feels much more exciting and less scary these days, and I get to try different things out to create the life I want. I get to define my own success.

4) Reputation is everything. I spoke of integrity earlier and the longer I’m in business for myself, the more I realize that my reputation is the most valuable thing I have as a business owner. In the end, my photo business is me. I am my brand. I endeavor to be the same person behind and away from the lens in all my interactions and relationships. I take pride in being a professional who guides and partners with my clients to create the images that tell their story and make them shine, and in being a good member of the larger photo community who supports my colleagues on their journeys. But as I’ve been learning, being a professional with integrity and a good reputation is not just about the easy/fun/feel good stuff.  It’s also about having the difficult conversations that are honest and keep me in integrity with the values that define who I am and how I am as a professional and a person. It takes a lifetime to build a good reputation but no time at all to damage it.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?

Here’s a list of things I’d suggest and try to squeeze in with my best friend visiting from out of town:

Day 1 (Monday): The Crosstown Trail (https://crosstowntrail.org/) – a 17 mile trail that connects the SE corner to the NW corner of SF. It takes you through city parks, community gardens, scenic vistas, and little known paths in various neighborhoods. It is split into sections if you want to experience it in parts or you can tackle it all at once, which takes a full day. I’ve done all of it except the northwesternmost section. There are plenty of sweet little coffee shops, pastry places, and eateries along the way. We would definitely have to take a slight detour onto Clement St to pick up a book to add to our reading list from Green Apple Books (https://www.greenapplebooks.com/) and then grab some cheap and yummy dim sum from one of the many restaurants before continuing on to the last section of the trail.

Day 2 (Tuesday): Imperial Day Spa (https://stage.imperialdayspa.com/) – Spend a half day or more to pamper ourselves in the Korean style sauna and spa after a day long trek through the city! But first, we’d cross the street to visit Japantown and go to Benkyodo (http://www.benkyodocompany.com/), a family-owned Japanese bakery that handmakes mochi everyday except Sun and Mon, when they’re closed. They’ve been around since 1906! We have to go beforehand because they regularly sell out before their official store closing hours. After a few hours at the Korean spa, we would go back to Japantown to eat and shop at the many businesses there. Ramen, sushi, bento, origami, ikebana bud vases and supplies, beautiful ceramic ware, Korean cosmetics and beauty, you name it!

Day 3 (Wednesday): Take a street car down Market St to Ariscault Bakery (https://arsicault-bakery.com/home) downtown for one of their amazing croissants for breakfast. Then continue onto the Ferry Building and hop onto a ferry to cross the Bay. I love being on the water and the ferries are a fun way to experience the Bay. We’d head either east or north to explore Oakland’s Jack London Square and downtown/Chinatown area or Sausalito on foot. Grab lunch before returning to the city via ferry. Browse the Ferry Building’s Marketplace – perhaps picking up fixings for dinner – before heading home.

Day 4 (Thursday): I volunteer at the SF SPCA (https://www.sfspca.org/) and as a volunteer, I can take shelter dogs out for a few hours on a “doggie day date” (DDD). We’d select a pooch and take him to one of the many wonderful dog-friendly parks in the city, depending on the dog’s needs. (Some are reactive and I’m not allowed to let them off-leash.) Two of my favorite lower-traffic parks for DDDs in the city are: McLaren Park or Candlestick Point Park. After returning the dog to the SPCA, we’d walk down Valencia St to grab something to nosh on, maybe from one of the vendors at the Thursday afternoon Farmer’s Market.

Day 5 (Friday): Do a guided walking tour of the city through the SF City Guides (sfcityguides.org) nonprofit. I’ve done at least a dozen of their neighborhood/themed walks as a resident and love learning about San Francisco’s history, secrets, urban planning, architecture, and random trivia. I also appreciate the passionate volunteers who share their love and knowledge of the city with their group. Afterwards, hang out at one of the new cafes/eateries we’ve learned about on the walk in that neighborhood.

Day 6 (Saturday): Take the MUNI light rail to Dogpatch neighborhood in SF, home to my favorite contemporary art gallery space, the Minnesota St. Project (http://minnesotastreetproject.com/). After getting our fill of art in the galleries at MSP, we’d eat at Besharam (https://www.besharamrestaurant.com/), a vibrant woman-owned restaurant that serves fun and delicious Gujarati-inspired dishes. It is conveniently located just inside MSP! Then we’d walk around the neighborhood to check out the community garden, waterfront, parks, and small local shops before heading back.

Day 7 (Sunday): Pack a picnic blanket, board games, kite, books, whatever else sounds fun, and bike to the Heart of the City Farmers Market (https://heartofthecity-farmersmar.squarespace.com/) at the UN Peace Plaza at Civic Center to buy some affordable seasonal produce and delicious goodies. Then head back down Market St to Golden Gate Park going through the “Wiggle,” a relatively flat zig zag bike path that avoids the steeper climbs of the city. Most of Golden Gate Park’s (GGP) streets are closed to vehicles on the weekends so it is a biker/pedestrian paradise. Cruise through GGP and stop along the way to visit our choice of Botanical Gardens, Conservatory of Flowers, Rose Garden, or one of the museums (DeYoung, CA Academy of Sciences). Then find a picnic spot either in the park or at Ocean Beach at the end of the park and enjoy a fun picnic.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
This shout out is to my family. For raising me by example and teaching me to work hard, be kind, and value people and community; for supporting my career choices of “noble” and then “artistic poverty;” for being there for me through thick and thin, for helping me to thrive, and for their unconditional love.

Website: https://www.jungfitzpatrick.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jungfitzpatrick/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jungfitzpatrick/

Other: https://g.page/jungfitzpatrickphotography?gm

Image Credits
Xiaofan Fang

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