Jaclyn Raymond points her lens at the couple embracing in front of her as she balances on red rock. Her finger hovers over the shutter button as she focuses in on the sunset, Sedona mountains and the nose-to-nose pair. With a swift click, she captures the love and excitement of the recently engaged duo and turns it into a still memory.
At 25, Raymond is running her own photography business and is in the process of adopting four children.
“I never once thought that (photography) would become a career for me,” says Raymond. “I was always focused on changing the world, being an idealist.”
Time at ASU
Raymond majored in political science with the goal in mind to become the next president. Raymond was interested in political science but she found her peers were too self-serving for her tastes.
Everything changed her sophomore year when Raymond was a community assistant at Barrett’s dormitory. One of her resident’s friends reported she was sexually assaulted at a fraternity party. This incident inspired Raymond to take action and start ASU’s I Always Get Consent program.
Raymond described consent as something that was “very much swept under the rug.” Unlike today, ASU didn’t discuss consent out of fear of scaring freshman and their parents, Raymond says.
I Always Get Consent focuses on teaching students how to prevent sexual violence and the importance of consent. The program became Raymond’s passion and it lead her to drop her last year of her sorority, Kappa Alpha Theta, so she could focus on the cause.
“My little sophomore self decided this is what I was going to do with my life and I (was) going to do sexual violence prevention and education training at colleges all across the country,” Raymond says.
Her work with the consent program influenced Raymond to study social justice and human rights for her master’s degree, where Raymond could tailor her coursework and thesis work to sexual violence prevention.
During this time, Raymond was taking senior portraits for high school seniors on the side. Raymond had always loved taking pictures but she never saw it more than a hobby.
By the time Raymond was writing her thesis, sexual violence prevention and education became a nationwide focus when the White House launched their “It’s on Us” campaign, which aimed to end sexual violence on college campuses.
“It was a huge hot topic issue across the country, everybody was talking about it, ASU was pushing for it,” Raymond says. “I felt like this issue already had a voice and it didn’t necessarily need me anymore.”
The Move
Raymond was a graduate assistant for Changemaker Central when she learned about the Teach for America program.
Teach for America places individuals in low-income areas across the country to teach students in a classroom.
Raymond applied for a position with Teach for America after graduation and was accepted into the program. Raymond and her husband, Aaron, packed up everything they owned and moved to Memphis, Tennessee.
“Teach for America is easily the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life,” Raymond says. “I had kids who were little third graders, and they were depending on me to teach them how to read. On top of all that, you have the emotional aspect where you have kids coming in who hadn’t been fed since you gave them a snack yesterday.”
Raymond did not touch her camera once during the time sh e was in Memphis and “was 110 percent engulfed” in Teach for America.
Raymond had planned to stay in Memphis for the rest of her career, but when her husband was offered his dream job working for a residential home building company in Flagstaff, the couple left Memphis early and headed back to Arizona.
Raymond went the summer of 2015 without a job and experienced what she described as a quarter-life crisis. Her husband reminded her of her love for photography and suggested she try to start a business before they had more responsibilities.
"It was the perfect time because we had no kids and we had the freedom of being young with minimal debt. The risk was low and the reward was high," says Aaron Raymond. "It just made sense."
Raymond knew photography was something to pursue but she still felt a sense of guilt. It was hard for her to grasp how she could just take pictures of people when she had a passion to help others.
Without shooting any pictures in Memphis, Raymond had to find her groove again. Raymond started by offering free photo sessions to her friends on Facebook so she could gain some practice and start a portfolio.
“I would see engagement announcements from people I haven’t spoke to in years and I just reached out to them saying, ‘Hey, would you be willing to have me take your photos for free,’” Raymond says. “It’s kind of scary to make yourself feel vulnerable and to put yourself out there and I was just amazed everyone, everyone, said yes.”
After setting up a website and social media accounts, Raymond’s business “just spiraled out of control” in the best way possible.
Her business grew overnight and now Raymond’s receives requests to shoot engagement announcements, weddings, portraits and family shoots weekly. Raymond has more than 8,000 followers on Instagram and more than 3,000 likes on Facebook.
"I first found Jaclyn’s website through a friend and absolutely loved her romantic, airy photography style," says Nikki Hoch, who had Raymond take her engagement photos and plans to have Raymond as her wedding photographer. "Her passion for both people and photography truly shines through when you meet her in person and when you take a look at her work."
Perhaps the reason for Raymond’s success is her ability to capture natural moments without incorporating added staging. Couples and engagement shoots are Raymond’s favorite to shoot because she gets to capture “authentic, genuine human connection.”
"Jaclyn is an amazing photographer and a kind, funny and genuine person," says Marisa Mulligan who had Raymond take her senior portraits. "I highly recommend her to anyone who wants gorgeous photos."
Becoming a Mom Overnight
In April 2016, the Raymonds' life took a turn when they got a call asking if they could take in four children from Memphis.
During her time with Teach for America, Raymond became close with one of her students who had four brothers and sisters. The summer after Raymond left Memphis, she flew out all of the kids to come and visit and figured they could continually visit each year.
When the mother was no longer capable of taking care of kids, she called the Raymond’s and asked if they would adopt the children so they would not be broken up in foster care. Without a doubt the Raymond’s said yes and flew out four children in June and they are currently in the process of adoption.
"We can already see the changes within the kids and their outlooks on life," Aaron Raymond says. "They have always been positive children but to show them new places, or teaching them to swim, or playing on a sports team has really opened their eyes to the world and it is really an amazing thing to watch."
Working as a photographer allows Raymond to have the flexibility “to be a soccer mom.” Being able to create her own schedule lets her take the kids to soccer games, go to school lunches and still have a growing business.
“I wake up everyday and I can’t think of a more purposeful way to live my life than to help these kiddos find their own purpose and to give them a life that can nurture all of their curiosities,” Raymond says.
Every life change Raymond and Aaron have made has led them to this exact point, Raymond says. Even though Raymond isn't particularly religious, "this whole journey feels so faithful."
“Did I imagine having four kids and a somewhat successful photography business at 26?" Raymond says."Never in a million years would I believed you if you told (my) 18-year-old college freshman self."
Raymond's ultimate goal is to merge her love for photography and her love for social justice and create an annual scholarship for families and children in need.
Everything has changed for Raymond's this past year; their schedules, finances and the way they look at things, Aaron Raymond says. One of the things Raymond had taken away from her life so far is that anyone has the power to do anything they want.
"You can do anything you want to... I never thought in a million years I could have a successful photography business," Raymond says. "Don't be afraid to take that risk before you have serious life commitments like mortgages and kids, totally go for it."
