Hey, I'm Jalen!
I've been developing my craft for over 7 years and I would love to help bring your vision to life. Keep scrolling to read more about our story!
How it all started...
In the summer of 2015, after finishing my freshman year of high school, I found myself bored with not much to do. My dad, the founder of Three20 Media, had been growing his media company and I was curious about the industry.
I saw an old camera of his laying around, collecting dust, so I asked him if he was doing anything with it. He told me that he wasn’t doing anything with the camera anymore and that day, he let me take the camera and use it.
Here are a few pictures from when I first got my camera. I thank God for growth-Lol
After playing around with my camera for a while, my dad bought me my first camera, a Canon 60D with a 50mm prime lens. I kept learning, shooting, and slowly started acquiring more camera equipment. I would go on shoots with my dad as his lighting assistant and eventually worked my way up to being his second shooter for multiple weddings.
Young me bored at home, trying to figure out cameras
Me shooting a wedding with my dad
When I decided I wanted to take photography seriously, I knew I needed a name for my business. This began a several-month journey of finding the right name. I tried everything: JustJay Media, Jalen Vernon Photography, Digital Jay Media, and many other names that were much worse.
Finally, we arrived at Proté-Jay Productions. I don't remember who came up with the name but it stuck! I was a protégé of my dad and my nickname is Jay, so merge the two and there you get Proté-Jay Productions.
Part of our vision, outside of just helping clients bring their vision to life is also helping younger creatives advance their craft and provide them with the necessary resources to reach their goals.
In high school, I became known as the photographer and would begin doing photoshoots for my classmates and their friends. Prom season was lucrative. Throughout high school. I continued to shoot portraits, proms, weddings, events, and a lot of other projects. I learned a lot about myself and was able to narrow down my niche.
Fast forward to today, I am always seeking to learn and perfect my craft. I mainly shoot portraits and events. Up next, I am looking to open a production studio, with space for photography, video, podcast, and other recording studios for our company and other creatives.
We would love to work with you and help bring your vision to life! Head over to our portfolio to see more of our work and if you already know you want to book a shoot, book now!
-Jalen