FROM FUN TO BUSINESS
Jeremy Cranford, also known as Jermme, is a self-made photographer on his own path to success. The 25-year-old Inkster native picked up his first camera five short years ago with no real intentions. Jermme first started out by doing fun photo shoots in his basement and creating music videos for local rapper and friend J.Reed.
““I would see other people’s work and just thought it was a challenge I wanted to take up. I started off doing shit I thought back then was super sweet, looking back on it it’s lame as hell, but it was fun.””
What started off as fun has blossomed into a real business for the young creative. Always seeing photography as an opportunity to make money, it wasn’t until a year ago that Jermme quit the 9-5 and embraced his craft full time.
““All my life I’ve always thought of ways to make money, I always bought and sold anything that would make me money.””
TAKING IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL
Now a full-time photographer, Jermme is always thinking of ways to take his business to the next level. One of the ways he does this is through service to the Inkster community, contributing his talent and passion for photography to community members & organizations.
““I love working with kids and helping out my community any way I can, I’m happy I can take my photography with me to do that.””
Jermme often works with non-profit organization Starfish Family Services, shooting their events and helping them build their website. In fact, most of the photos on the Starfish website were taken by Jermme. Due to his partnership with Starfish, Jermme’s photography can be seen all around Inkster. Over the summer, he shot three billboards for the non-profit, which were posted on Michigan Ave, Inkster Rd and Van Born. The billboards each featured five photos, which would rotate every so often. He's also had the opportunity to work for athletes at the University of Michigan, shooting lifestyle photos for football wide receiver Devin Gardner and gymnast Stacey Ervin. Jermme’s work doesn’t stop there; he also teaches photography and recently teamed up with Dennis Belton, of Belton Media Group, to teach a class on the basics of photography.
““Teaching classes, I think, is what my ultimate goal is. It’s where I can be a benefit to the overall community, to be able to teach what I learned and dumb it down so people can do what I do. I think the future is very bright for me if I stay in that lane.””
Another lane Jermme is interested in exploring more is wedding photography. He has already shot a few weddings and hopes to continue his brand as a wedding photographer.
““One thing I like about shooting weddings is that it’s a mixture between lifestyle photos, portraits, and journalism. I get to tell a story through my work.””
SETTING HIMSELF APART
We live in a very technology-driven world, where it may seem like just about anyone can be a photographer as long as you have a camera. This can make it hard for any professional photographer to set themselves apart from the majority.
““What sets me apart is knowing the technicalities of photography, knowing the lighting, knowing all the settings for the camera. But that’s only half the battle you need to be creative as well, you can’t be all-technical and not have an eye for things. I think having a combination of both sets me apart.””
Having that eye is exactly what has gotten Jermme where he is today. He has launched his website, Jermme.com, where you can see all of his photos, set up your own appointment for a shoot, and even purchase some your favorite pictures. On his personal blog, he walks through his photoshoots, even breaking down some of the technicalities - continuing to “dumb it down” so that more people can understand and be involved with this craft.
CLEAN & TRUE TO LIFE
Recently, Jermme has been into headshot photography. He admires the work of successful headshot photographer, Peter Hurley, and hopes to create his own legacy one day. Jermme considers his photography style “clean and true to life.” Emulating the images seen in advertising campaigns for companies like Nike or Chrysler, he continues to cultivate his art in order to meet that standard.
““I’m not an over the top photographer... When you see my images, they aren’t over-processed or over done. They look very real. I want people to be able to identify my head shots from anyone else’s. I want people to be like, ‘oh I have to get a Jermme headshot’ because it looks that nice.””
Jeremy ‘Jermme’ Cranford will soon be a household name. Follow him on Instagram and check out more of his work on Jermme.com to keep up with all that he has in store.
