Today we’d like to introduce you to Janelle De Groot Brooks
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Ever since I was a kid, I knew I felt things deeply. I knew I wanted to do something one day that would help people feel as deeply as I felt about their own lives. In the summer of 2017 I had a photographer as a roommate and became interested in the photographer life but limited it to thoughts as I kept telling myself; “I feel deeply but I’m not creative.” Then in Feb 2018 my husband surprised me with a 50mm lens to fit his canon rebel from high school and said “try it out. if you like it, great, if you don’t, great. express yourself and see if you enjoy it.” I was flattered but again, thought I wasn’t creative enough. It wasn’t until fall 2018 that I took a chance to actually learn and shot my coworkers wedding for $150 with all of the absolutely wrong settings (including shooting in jpeg) yet the photos weren’t that bad that made me realize, “ya know, I might actually be pretty good at this”. Once I verbalized those words to my husband, two weeks later there was a sony a7iii and a tamron 28-75 2.8mm lens in our house just because he saw the spark in my soul and wanted to fuel it. He didn’t buy me the gear for the possible money, but simply because he knew I found something that lit my soul on fire, that allowed me to share the feelings of my soul. And that’s exactly what it did. 3 months later, I launched Brooks + Pine in Nov 2018 and I’ve been going ever since, ups and downs, ebbs and flows.
But what really changed the game for me was Feb 2019 when I put together my first styled shoot all for me; everything went to absolute crap – hmua canceled the morning of, models canceled night before, our backdrop basically broke on the car and we couldn’t drive out to the little sahara like I envisioned – but at the end I was able to figure things out, make it work and create something I LOVED. I knew I could do it; be creative. That belief changed everything. I quit my 9-5 January 2020 right before covid to jump into my own work as well as some branding on the side to keep the money consistent. But now I work solely Brooks + Pine, traveling all over the world to photograph the moments and experiences of others. This business of mine is a joy; an absolute exhausting gut wrenching joy because I get to express those feelings I have deep in my soul.
Alright, 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?
Oh boy, absolutely I’ve had my fair share of obstacles haha covid emerged right after I quit my 9-5 job which caused about 85% of my clients canceled their weddings. Most eventually rescheduled, but 2020 was an incredibly stressful year because of it. Since then, it’s had it’s ebbs and flows. Being an artist can be a hard world; finding the right clients who see your vision and trust you entirely can be difficult, but when you find them, it changes absolutely everything for the better.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m a documentary, experience focused photographer. I photograph couples, weddings, portraits, and small families; but specifically those that understand the emphasis I have on documentary and trust my eye. When I asked my following what they see most from my work, it was a resounding response of “you capture feelings in the moments rather than typical poses.” I feel like I can do this because I get to know my clients on a level that allows me to document them personally. I don’t shoot based on an instagram feed, monetary gain or to flaunt the places I get to travel. I do it for my people. Do I make money? yes. but that’s not my driving factor. do I get to travel? yes. but I don’t go just to post a picture and say: look where I went I’m so cool! I do it to explore the areas I travel, immerse myself in the culture so I can have a more humble outlook on this world, people’s stories, and reflect that in their imagery. I prefer to focus on experience.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
I find joy in learning about people’s lives and cultures. There’s something so inspiring to me about how someone became who they are, what factors shaped them and what I can learn to apply it to my own life, family and home. I also love the outdoors, the mountains, the rain, camping, running, being active, hanging with my husband and my puppy and the people I love.
Pricing:
- wedding packages start at $3500
- hourly sessions start at $750
- film photos and super8 available for add ons
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.brooksandpine.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brooksandpine
- Facebook: Brooks + Pine Photography
