Jackie Beale
“In culture right now there's not a lot of really strong relatable role models about how to live your life. I just aspire to be honest with the journey. ”
Jackie Beale,
Photographer, Toronto, Canada
The life of a photographer seems fairly amazing to someone who doesn’t have the eye for it. Travel, documenting the world, having fun. What most people don’t see is the hustle that it takes to get into that position - shooting with that person, or at that amazing location. For a lot of people that hustle might be the thing that means they never get there.
It also means that at some point you have to believe and have faith in yourself to make a jump, to go on a trip without being paid for it, just to make the connections or see how it all works. You also have to love the hustle and the actual work itself. Jackie is someone like that.
We first met on a trip to Europe and as she arrived, she had a couple different cameras hung around her neck and you could see straight away that she had both sides of the coin. The love of photography itself and everything it takes to get you there. I included a few of her images here as i love her work.
Jon Weaver: I wanted to chat about your journey and how to inspire other people who may want to follow your path?
Jackie Beale: I think about this a lot. One of the main problems in culture right now is there's not a lot of really strong role models about how to live your life. I think there's a lot of aspirational role models of what you would desire in a dream world, but in terms of like, relatable role models, there isn't that information. I just aspire to be honest with the journey.
That’s true. It’s easy to see people on social media thinking they have made it but that seems fairly shallow.
Yeah, if you decide to do something productive, people find a way to criticize it. For example, Greta Thunberg is an amazing role model and she should be someone that a young person would want to follow as an example of somehow who deals with a lot of negativity and backlash while speaking her truth and standing up for what she believes in. We must never forget the smoke and mirrors of viewing and sharing our lives on the internet.
Politicians criticizing her. It’s unbelievable really. So, to your journey did you study?
Growing up, doing sports was sort of all that I cared about. So even when it came time to apply to university, I didn't really know what direction to go in because I couldn't figure out whether I wanted to go somewhere to play a sport, which was what I knew, or whether to explore other avenues. It came down to either athletics or photography, neither of which I was entirely qualified. I remember when I got into Ontario College of Art and Design it was like in the movies when they run with the acceptance letter, everyone’s like, “you made it.” It was ironic as I never really put a lot of time into my studies, so I managed my expectations when it came to university.
But then you went into more of an arts college than a sports college
Yeah, so I went to like the main design university in Canada. I started going for photography, and that's what I applied for and then midway through the first year I was really struggling because it was a lot of drawing and fine art — of which I had never practiced. So, I actually switched and did a full degree in design. I went for environmental design, which is like a branch of architecture and a study of our built environment. I was really interested in the role that architecture could play not only within our city infrastructure, but also in terms of quality of life.
So, I graduated school and I was really tired. You do a thesis and you start with passion, enthusiasm, a strong desire… and just felt like I had nothing left. This was in 2010, which is when Instagram became a thing. What interested me about photography from the beginning was this idea that you could use it as a storytelling mechanism. Instagram was an opportunity for everybody to have an outlet. I guess my passion for photography was kind of reignited because I saw that there was a place for it. One day I was babysitting for my mom's friends’ kids when I felt so lost, I had a horrible concussion from Muay Thai, and my sense of purpose was really in question. While I was there, Daniel Switzer from Nike called me that there's an event happening in New York, the anniversary of the AF-1 shoe. It was crazy like he just fell out of the sky and called me whilst I'm sitting there contemplating life. That was probably the first and last time I had just waited for something to happen. I took it and I ran with it.
That must have been divine intervention. It’s a weird time though, the middle of your 20s. Unless you're doing a trade or studying to become a doctor, or lawyer, there are four or five years where you're just still figuring it all out. The pressure of figuring things out is a lot on someone who didn't expect it.
I think the way that your early to mid 20s is portrayed, the way that we see it in the media, or the way that we expect it to go, is that things slowly cascade into place and you fall into success. However, finding your place is a lot of very small, seemingly trivial steps that lead you to where you're trying to go. I worked at an agency for a little while and I was doing social strategy and I hated it, but I kind of needed to do it to see that I hated it. You know, I would have never known that I shouldn't work in an agency had I not tried it when I was 25.
The ironic thing is the blueprint that is expected of you isn't necessarily the one that is going to work for you. The only way to establish what works for you is to figure out what doesn't work. There's going to be more things that don't work for you, than things that do, you know. So you have to work through that process and this is what I say to my sister all the time. Every day isn't going to be the best day ever, but it will hopefully lead you to your best days.
I was reading an article, basically it was talking about how, like, a lot of people define their level of success with their purpose and usefulness. Our happiness is determined by our usefulness and is that, for some people, is quantified by the impact that you have on your peers or giving back to your community.
So, what’s been your highlight so far?
So, I guess there’s two things. One is having an audience and notoriety, but two…. Sometimes I'll be traveling for work and I'll be standing somewhere and I'm like, I can't believe that I am here right now because somebody wanted me to be. Yeah, it's a very humbling process and I'm constantly humbled by opportunities that come my way and I never take them for granted, whatever it is. I did this thing for Red Bull where I'm standing on an island in the middle of Portugal shooting cliff diving, I cannot believe that I’m there. Somebody asked me to come here, I'm starstruck, that was at Red Bull Cliff diving in Portugal. I just feel fortunate and motivated to continue learning and growing and never becoming complacent with where I am. It is such a privilege.
What advice would you give to your teenage self?
You don't just have to do one thing. I feel like life is so long and short at exactly the same time that I don't feel we have time to waste or just experience one thing. I fundamentally believe that everything in our life is a sum of its parts, that’s what makes us who we are.
It's very daunting to be 17 years old and having to make decisions that impact your whole life. However, if the narrative was shifted around so that decision wasn’t finite in impacting your whole life, it wouldn't feel so daunting. It’s possible that you can go to school for something for four years and then do something else, and that's totally okay. So, I don't think it's bad to have to make choices, I think it's bad how those choices are positioned to younger people. Don’t let anyone try to tell you what kind of person you need to be, and don’t let anyone steal your joy. Wear what you want, do what you want, enjoy what you want, love who you want. The world is yours, for you.
What would you suggest to someone who's going to try and get into photography?
Sometimes you have to spend a little money to make a little money, as they say, and I really believe that that's true. A lot of the opportunities that I had were because I didn't let my ego get in the way. I remember when I was maybe 25, I had just quit the social strategies job and I was living in my mom's basement not really sure what was next. My friend was Kendrick Lamar’s stylist and she was like, “we're doing a video in New York, you have to come,” and so I bought a plane ticket and went along with her. I didn't really do anything, but the exposure to that industry added to the knowledge base I was building. Be humble, don’t quit when it’s hard. Don’t let your ego get in the way of this opportunity that can open so many doors for you. Just go and do it.
