My mission is to create photos, videos and websites for your brand that not only look pretty, but truly give visitors a sense of place that invokes the feeling you’ve always intended your business to.
Welcome to my little online corner! Jakfruit Creative is not my first business - that seat belongs to Jacquelyn Portolese Photography. I began as a wedding photographer just over ten years ago. While on my journey, I did everything myself from web design and client management to SEO and marketing. But it was once I started paying attention to the way I visually and passionately presented myself and my value that I started seeing the success I always dreamed of.
I know exactly what it feels like to be so damn proud of your business and what you’ve created. To watch your brand grow and develop its own identity is such an exciting and unmatched feeling. With every brand comes a story, and each one deserves to have impassioned imagery that can tell it.
My mission is to create vibrant visual creative for like-mined business owners that not only look pretty, but give their visitors a sense of place that invokes the feeling they’ve always intended for their business to.
The Studio
My sunny studio in Capitol Hill offers a nine-foot white backdrop, natural and studio lighting, and a quirky, spotted assistant.
The Kitchen
Whether you seek clean, studio-style or more in-home lifestyle imagery, the charming, sunny table top studio brings food and product to life with stunning natural light.
The Grounds
The perfect combination of urban and natural. The vibrant greenery in the spring and summer and the glowing gold in the autumn make for a gorgeous backdrop for any portrait or product.
Every person is beautiful, unique and a curious mystery. Allow me to show you how I see you. I promise we'll have lots of laughs and fun during the whole process!
The majority of the people photographed on this website are not professional models - just genuine people with genuine reactions. These are business owners, their staff, their friends, and friends of mine.
I specialize in photographing food, product and interiors in a naturally lit environment. I want viewers to feel like the scene looks and feels so real, they can step right into the photograph.
No idea or location is off limits. I only ask you to bring your best mood and I'll do the rest.
As seen in my interview with Shotkit about what’s in my kit!
Canon 5D Mk IV (x2)
I’m dual-wielding two Canon 5D Mk IVs on either side of my camera harness. I rock two of the same body because I use both equally and love the consistency while I edit. I’ve been a Canon gal since day one, so it only makes sense I would choose Canon’s leading camera for wedding photography.
What started off as a novelty toy for outdoor adventures quickly worked its way into my brand as something I’m known for. I love photographing natural patterns from a bird’s eye view, and bringing that into wedding photography has been such a blast.
While its photo quality, max resolution and dynamic range is nothing to write home about, the Mavic Pro’s ability to shoot in RAW makes it possible to push and pull those imperfections into something you could consider a masterpiece.
AKA the love of my life and always at my right hand. For years, I was shooting weddings and engagements almost entirely with this one lens and couldn’t have been happier. It produces incredible portraits, both up close and at a distance.
A big part of my personal style is having plenty of environmental context, so the ability to get up close and personal with my clients and still maintain that background detail is important to me. Not to mention it’s tack sharp, fast as all heck and performs wonderfully in low light. Even in the tightest ceremony and reception spaces, it’s oftentimes as wide as I ever need to go.
Where have you been all my life? This is my most recent lens purchase and has joined my Canon 35mm on the left-hand side of my harness as my other half.
The 85mm focal length has been a perfect middle ground between bokeh and still maintaining that background detail I love so much. My favorite time to use this is in full-body portraits, bridal party and family formal photos. It also lets me get up close and personal at ceremonies without physically being up close and personal!
My go-to for candid photos at cocktail hour and wedding receptions. I find the 85mm is a little too close for comfort, and guests inevitably end up noticing me. Being able to “snipe” from afar makes getting those natural reactions to scintillating conversation that much easier. Additionally, it’s really good at making far away things (e.g. mountains) look really big!
Ever since the 85mm came into my life, the 50mm has, for the most part, stayed in my bag during weddings. But I hold onto it dearly because there’s just something about the 50mm that no other lens has. It’s no surprise that this focal length, being so true to what we see with the human eye, is so excellent for those close crop portraits. Its lack of distortion makes it superior to all my other lenses when it comes to stationary and wedding detail flatlays (and I love my flatlays!)
What a game-changer it has been to switch to a flash with a rechargeable battery. The Li-on R2 almost never runs out of juice, and you could probably get away with shooting three or more weddings in a row without even having to charge it. The built-in receiver is also a very welcome touch.
I don’t know what it is about the MagSphere, but it just diffuses the light so beautifully.
