Jessica Vargas began her first photography class in 2015. She had already had a few successful careers by then. She served in the Marine Corps between 2001 and 2005. After she left the Corps, she got her esthetician's license and was then running her own aesthetics business in Las Vegas.
She began taking photography classes as arts requirements for a business degree. She was looking to expand her aesthetics business, but accidentally stumbled upon a new passion. Her first teacher gave her a self-expression assignment, to photograph herself and tell the class something they didn't know before.
"It was really hard because I was not a vulnerable person," Vargas tells Military.com. "I didn't like crying in front of people. I didn't like showing emotion. Everybody sees this pretty girl, this happy girl, this smiling face, this young, successful woman, but they're missing the pain that's inside. I've been to war."
Before that day, Vargas had no way to express that pain. Unable to suppress it anymore, photography became her outlet. She fell in love with the art.
"I started seeing things differently," she says. "I started seeing the world, the beauty that it has to offer, not just the darkness."
When Vargas joined the Marine Corps in 2001, she wanted to become a legal services specialist. A delay in her enlistment forced her to enlist under an open contract, so the career she ended up in was food service specialist. It wasn't so bad; being a cook during her two deployments to Iraq gave her the chance to do so much more.
"Every Marine is a rifleman," Vargas says. "We moved forward so fast that I got to see more action than most females at that time. I got to help medics. I did a lot of humanitarian work. Once we got our equipment, being a cook definitely came with its perks."
She had grown to love aesthetics while serving in the Marines, but the road to learning it wasn't as clear as she'd hoped. The Transition Assistance Program (TAP) classes at her home base didn't fully prepare her for leaving the military. Her back-to-back deployments to Iraq also left her with post-traumatic stress symptoms, ones she didn't realize she had.
Vargas achieved her dream of being an esthetician by 2009. Within two years, she had her own business. She liked it well enough, but soon found herself looking for something more, which led her to the business school and the photography class that changed her life.
As a working mom dealing with her PTSD, and soon to be divorced, school was just too much. She didn't finish that degree -- but she didn't have to. Her passion for the craft and addressing her mental health carried her through.
Today, Vargas has turned her love for photography into her own thriving business. She still renews her esthetician's license, because it's good work to supplement her income, but her focus is on her photography, one she practices as both an artistic hobby and a business. Here are a few tips for veterans thinking of doing the same.
1. You don't need all your own equipment, but it helps.
Vargas recommends buying a camera body and at least one good lens (she invested in three to start). Depending on the kind of work and how much it pays, photographers can rent equipment like studio lights, different lenses and other gear for reasonable prices. It allows them to venture outside the limitations of the gear they own and expand their portfolio.
"Realize that that photography equipment is very, very expensive," Vargas says. "All the software subscriptions like Adobe, along with cameras and lenses, can add up. Start with your own camera, your own lens and then reinvest in the business."
2. Find what you love, but be open to new gigs.
"I was really stubborn when I first started picking up gigs," she says. "I was going to do fine art photography."
Vargas' early determination worked for her. She sold two pieces for $888 and $555, respectively. She even loaned a piece to Nevada's junior senator, Jacky Rosen. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, her strategy changed. She turned to doing portraits, something she never wanted to do.
"People were buying toilet paper, not fine art," she says. "I kept getting requests for portraits, I kept getting hired and it was paying the bills. I kept getting referrals, so I just decided, 'OK, I'm a portrait photographer now. Find what you're really good at and lean on it."
3. Network.
Vargas doesn't want to work for a company, because she noticed that friends who do tend to do the same things every day and get burnt out. To mitigate this, she goes to events, introduces herself and her work to people and relies on referrals.
"Go network," she says. "Put yourself out there and let people know what you do. Connect to people; use your creativity to get referrals. Just keep doing it."
4. A degree in photography is not necessary.
"I always loved photography, so when I first took the class, I guessed it would be easy," says Vargas. "I was wrong. It's more than point and shoot; there are many technical aspects."
She didn't finish her degree program, but she did learn photography. Even after learning to use the camera, there's a lot more to being a professional photographer. Photo editing techniques and the most common editing software are just a couple of post-production things any professional will need to learn. For the determined aspiring photographer, there's a free source of training: YouTube.
"There's so many YouTube videos nowadays," Vargas explains. "You can teach yourself photography. Actually, sometimes it's better than going to a classroom. One day, I would like a degree in communications, but not right now. A photography degree is great, but not necessary."
5. Invest in marketing.
"I haven't invested in business cards, but I have invested in a website," says Vargas. "If you can't afford a website, use social media. I avoided Instagram for the longest time, but it's a necessary tool. When I get a business card, I usually lose it. A social media presence shows your work.
"Sometimes people want to hire the artist, not just necessarily just a photographer," she continues. "They fall in love with the person, the personality, the artist. And that matters."
For more of Vargas' fine art photography, visit her website or follow her on Instagram.
-- Blake Stilwell can be reached at blake.stilwell@military.com. He can also be found on Twitter @blakestilwell or on LinkedIn.
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