Jody Patterson - Photographer and Learning Disabilities

Today’s guest is Jody Morrill, owner of Jody Rae Photography , and Astoria Boudoir Photography in Astoria, Oregon, and Black Swan Boudoir in Seattle, Washington. Jody has a learning disability which, she shares, has strengthened her capabilities as a business owner. She is the mother of four, including twin boys and two girls, and is a photographer extraordinaire!

Our featured author today is Melissa Eskue Ousley,  Award-Winning Finalist in the Fiction: Fantasy category of the 2021 International Book Awards.
 

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Find me on my website: jan-johnson.com

Transcript

Jan

0:11

Today's guest is Jody Morill, owner of Jodi Ray photography in Astoria, Oregon. Jody has a learning disability, which she shares has strengthened her capabilities as a business owner. She's a mother of four, including twin boys and two girls. And as a photographer extraordinaire settle in for a great conversation.

Okay, tell me about your family, you’re back in Brownsmead, you grew up in Knappa, you went to Knappa High. Tell me about your kids. 

 Jody

I have four kids. An 11-year-old. And I have twin boys who are 18 and a 19-year-old daughter. 

 Jan

Very nice. So, you're kind of on the cusp of having a smaller household? 

Jody

Yeah, I think so I think the twins are going to go off and do their thing next year. And my oldest is living at home and going to community college right now. So that's exciting. And then the 11-year-old she learned how to make quesadillas. Apparently, she's been doing this for a little while. So last night, when I got home, we were hungry and wanted a snack and she made a quesadilla and I was like, great. You're on your way. I think you could just move out now. And she reminded me that I can't she can't get a job. So I was like, I guess you have to stay here a little longer. Which is good. Because she's cute. 

 Jan

She's 11. 

 Jody

Yeah. So there's that too. I guess we got to finish what we started. Right.  

Jan

So you're not quite ready to be empty nest things? No, no, I keep thinking like maybe one more. And that's a bad idea for my health, you know, and nobody drops babies off on my doorstep. I don't really ask for it. Like I never said like breathing. My want to be careful about saying that on a podcast where maybe somebody would have an idea of bringing one and dropping it off. I hope that would not happen. But yeah, so sometimes I think I want just one more. I missed that baby stage. But the good the good stuff is coming. Like the old stuff. The older kids. They're great. And that's fun, too. Yeah. Yeah. plastic gloves. And then you would take them out and you could I got a job at a retirement home. And I absolutely love that. That's my happy place. If I could live in a retirement home right now. It would. Yeah, it's just like having four kids. They don't really welcome that. And also, I think they have like an age limit. Yeah, they serve soup a lot there. Yeah, there's always activities. Yeah, they played bingo.

 Jan

 Yeah. I mean, they put together puzzles. It's amazing. exercise class So I worked there. And I had when I was going through college, or high school, my last year in high school.

 4:13

Somehow, I managed to graduate early. And so in January, I was finished with all my, my classes at the high school, so I didn't go anymore.

 4:24

And so I worked full time during that year at the retirement place. And one of the nurses came to me and was like, Hey, did you know you could be a CNA? And we'll teach you to do that for free? And I was like, No, I didn't know I could take that class for free. Sign me up. Yes, free education. I did that, but I didn't take the test in time. I was not certified. But somehow that worked out in my benefit, because when I went to go apply for the retirement job, they're like, Well, you're not certified so you can pass medication, and that's what they needed. And so I became a medication distributor. I would see all the people in the retirement home and make sure that they took their medication on time. So we bought that house. We moved here specifically because the twins wanted to live somewhere where it was small enough that they could be big fish in a little pond. And they wanted to live somewhere small enough that they could have relationships with the people that they played sports with. And I had homeschooled the kids for a while. And they wanted to play sports and go to school with the same people that they played sports with, so that they could build relationships with them. That relationship is important. 

 Jan

It is. So that's maybe something you'd pass down to them? 

Jody

Maybe, yeah, I love that. 

Jan

That that is kind of always been my biggest goal, once I retired, is to build relationships. I  put a big effort into building relationships. 

Jody

That's amazing. Yeah. How do you intentionally do that? 

Jan

Podcasting? I try and get out to lunch or coffee or something with people on a more regular basis. Now, building relationships, I think that's my biggest goal in life. 

Jody

That's a beautiful goal. I love it. 

Jan

I was thinking back to when I first knew you and I had started substituting and I think I subbed in your special ed classroom at some time and got to know you there. Tell me about that. What was that like for you? Having a type of a learning disability? How was school for you? And how did you navigate through that? 

Jody

So, I think one thing about having twins is that if I asked them, what would it be like if you didn't have a twin? And they always answered the same thing. I don't know what it would be like to not have a twin because I've never experienced that. Right. So, I've never experienced not having my learning disability. So, I don't know how my experience might be different than someone else's experience. Or to think that, wow, that's a different experience. Right? So it's just, that's my experience. That's who I am. I think a child with a learning disability, realizes that they have a learning disability at some point. And they realized that maybe they're a little bit different than their peers. And I think that I had an understanding of my learning disability, probably by the time I was in second grade.

 7:55

I think that's when I was first aware of, hey, like, this isn't going very well for me, but it's still going. So I don't really know how to explain that. I do have funny things about that, like from my childhood. So I always first like to say to people who talk about it, that I was really lucky to be born into a family, with two parents who, my dad, I think experienced what it was like to have a learning disability without having advocates in his life. For a long time, when I talked to him about it, I think that he really didn't read very well until he was in eighth grade. And I don't think that people knew that about him. And I know that he had trouble hearing and some other things with him that weren't perfect. And I think he struggled in school, but always did well enough to do well enough. And by the time he got to high school, things just clicked for him. And he also I know from having a close relationship with my grandmother, when I was little that her youngest son had quite a learning disability. And by that time, in that history, people had realized that a learning disability didn't mean that you couldn't be educated, or that you couldn't be successful in life, you just needed the tools to make it easier for you to learn or even not easier. Just you needed tools to learn, right, because you learn differently. 

And so, I know that she had him in private school, and I think she advocated for him to, to learn. So, by the time that my parents had me, maybe intuitively or they're just like awesome like that. They knew that they had to advocate for me, and my mom was very good about going to the IEP meetings to recognize that, hey, this child is really bright, but there's something not quite right about how she's learning. And then how do we give her access to education? By the time  was in third grade, I was attending my IEP meetings. My mom didn't ever tell me that I was limited in the things that I could do. But she said You are different in, here's the tools we're going to give you to make education accessible. And so, I just had really great advocates. And I'm incredibly thankful for that. But I think that how that has affected me in my life is that everything was an uphill battle. Everything I did was hard. When I went to school, I math was hard. It took a long time to do math, reading was really hard. I didn't understand the words on the paper, I can't spell. They put me in classes all the time. So, I never learned how to write cursive and I can't read cursive. 

Now. I'm like, gosh, at 40, I really probably should learn how to do cursive because maybe those pathways that still help you to learn how to write like that created in my brain again. And I know that that like helps you learn and understand things. So, they took me out of the population so that I could get more individualized education. And then by the time I was in sixth grade, I think it was more back in the regular classroom. And at that time, computers were thing. And my parents and I had learned how to type on computers from toddlers in third grade. So, I didn't have to write anything. And to this day, like if I write stuff, you would be better off having a kindergartener write notes than me and a handwritten stuff. But I do type pretty proficiently.

 Jan

And isn't it wonderful? The kind of technology there is now. I mean, honestly, it's made for everybody's spell check. I'm going to tell you if this is right or wrong, and I can just speak into the mic and it types. 

 Jody

So, for me, it's crazy. Yeah, the amount of access to tools that that we have to help us do the things is pretty incredible. Yeah. 

Jan

In your job as a photographer, how does that work with things? How does it hinder you? Or how does it help you to adapt? 

Jody

The photography, stuff? In photography, you math all the time, that's what you're doing? Because you're trying to figure out how to balance light. And so, you're always mapping, which is funny that that is like, yeah, you're trying to figure out an equation to get your meter to balance out light and paint things and bring forward what you want. That sounds scary to me but you don't know that you're doing that the entire time, right? Because you're just like, Well, I'm just balancing lights. So that's not really a math equation, but it is.

 12:53

So, I don't think necessarily the part about you know, taking the picture is what molds or what I use my superpower from having a learning disability, I don't think that's part of it. It's actually the running the business part of it, where the challenges come in. Because when you're a photographer, professional photographer, business, in the creatives, I feel like you, you go into it, and unless you like work for someone else, and you have a job that is that way, you run everything on your own. So, what even like writing emails can be scary for me. blog posts, you have to know how to mark it, and everything is in the written language. Words matter, right? I use a lot of tools. 

Yeah, I have talked to tech software on my computer. I learned how to outsource things that ask for help when I need help. Math can be hard and difficult for me to do. So, I have software that does that. For me. I think just being a business owner on its own. You're always like faced with whatever challenge and you have to go figure it if you have to go figure out how to fix it. Right? Or how to make it work. Right. And I've been doing that every day in my life for a long time. So, you know, those problem-solving skills. 

Jan

So in some ways, you're probably better off than a lot of other people, because you've had to do more of those avenues switching around and figuring out things. 

 Jody

Yeah, I don't know. There's lots of studies that say, you know, there's like different people that work well in their positions or do things well, and people with learning disabilities are really great CEOs. Because they think about things differently. They've always had to navigate troubles or like climb a mountain and do that. And then they're really good about finding the right kind of people to help support them and bring them forward and do the things so or with disabilities. I think there's lots of statistics that show they own their own businesses more than people without. I found that really interesting. Yeah, I think it's their tenacity. I think that's probably right. Yeah. So let's talk about your journey into being a photographer. What started that. 

I'd like to say like my first plastic camera, when I was eight, my dad, I, there was a little store near where we lived, and they had plastic cameras, and I wanted one. And so, we bought one. And I started taking pictures then. And then in high school, they had a photography class, and I met Justin when I was in high school when I was 15. And he took pictures, I think, so I learned how to take pictures with a manual camera, and I loved it. And then when we got married, I had a Pentax camera, which is everyone has a Pentax K 1000, that's where everybody starts, I think. And it was in my suitcase and got stolen. Oh, when I flew back home for my wedding. So, I did not have a camera for a long time. And it was when the digital cameras were coming out. And they were really frustrating to me because they wouldn't work fast enough. So, I was missing all of the connection and all of the things that I like about photography, because this thing would have to think, oh, and then it would be like three seconds later and take the picture. And I'm like, well, that's great if you're a landscape photographer, but I like people in relationships. And I'm missing all of this connection. And so, I kind of stopped taking photos for a really long time. But he had done all this research because he's an engineer, and they research. And he found out about DSLR, that I could shoot everything in manual. So as a digital camera, but I could manipulate it the way that I was used to. And I always like to share that because when I got the camera, I was ready to be in manual mode, and do all the things. But I couldn't figure out the light meter in the camera. And I didn't know that it was called a light meter. So, it's very novice in all of my things. But I knew when I used my pen techs that I could make the light meter go to the middle, and that would balance out and expose the things that I wanted to expose. I didn't know how to do that in this camera. And I just kind of had this camera for a while and I didn't know how to use it. And so, I set it aside. And then finally, I don't remember how I figured it out. But I learned that the light meter was the line that I could see. And I could manipulate it with the buttons two different ways. And as I talk, I still am holding my hand and manipulating the buttons in the air, which is hilarious. So, it became muscle memory for me to be able to do that. But finally, that opened up the world of photography fee to me again, in the digital realm. So fast forward a couple years I got obsessed with it. Because when you when you're passionate about something you want to learn and want to learn everything about it. So, I learned everything about photography that I could took lots of pictures of my beautiful children.

 18:09

And my sister was approached by this woman that she worked with, who wanted to take some photos that reminded her husband that she was still feminine. She had asked my sister to take some pictures, and my sister was like, Well, you know, Jody has a camera and she's actually pretty okay with it can do you want her to take your photos? And they were like, Yeah, let's do this. When she got her album, The look on her face was priceless. And I was hooked. And I wanted to do that forever. I wanted women to see themselves painted in this light, to feel beautiful, to feel feminine to own all of that. And I feel like it probably is what a hairdresser feels every day she goes to work, and she just kills it or he just kills it and make somebody feel beautiful. And like that is addicting. I'm not gonna lie. Yeah, I know. I know that feeling that you're talking about. You know, there's just certain things that I've done that I stepped back from and it just like, Whoa, this is so right. This is so it's energizing. It's kind of a high. So, I loved that feeling. The Astoria boudoir was graded. And I had a lot of fun with it. I did it for a while I learned photography. I learned how to manipulate my camera and push it to the ends of its abilities. And I also found out that I really liked business. Yeah. And probably because my mind likes to solve problems and do those things. So, as I was learning about photography as learning

Jan

Yeah, I know. I know that feeling that you're talking about. You know, there's just certain things that I've done that I stepped back from and it just like, whoa, this is like this is so right. This is so it's energizing. It's kind of a high. 

Jody

Yeah, it is.

So, I loved that feeling. The Astoria boudoir was great. And I had a lot of fun with it. I did it for a while I learned photography. I learned how to manipulate my camera and push it to the ends of its abilities. And I also found out that I really liked business. Yeah. And probably because my mind likes to solve problems and do those things. So, as I was learning about photography as learning More and more about business. Yeah. So fast forward a bunch of years, we were in Houston. I was, at this point in my life where I ended, I needed to go make money. And I had a really good understanding of business. And I knew how to market things at this point.

 At this point, I had figured out how to use the Google's and also, there's an interview with me a long time ago, and I feel like I should get like royalties for those. coined the term YouTube University. Oh, nobody really knows that about.

Jan

Yeah, well, you know, I wrote Twinkle, twinkle little star to awesome. Yeah, I was three.

Jody

Yeah. I feel like we should get gold stars for those things. But nobody's really handing out guys gonna validate you for that. 

Jan

Thank you. 

Jody

Yeah. at my funeral. I would like it if people would say Jody coined the term, YouTube University, and then everyone would be like, true. Yeah, true. So, I did, I learned how to use the Google's and the YouTube. I started shooting weddings. I think I ended up shooting 20 weddings in six months or something. I had a friend who was meeting with other women who were photographers up in the Portland area. And I met my friend because she was a photographer and, had read about me in a newspaper. So, she took me to this women's photography meetup. And while I was there, we heard about one of my favorite mentors that to do the photography, business. And the things that I've learned and the way to run my business resonated with me so much that that is like the business model that I follow now. And they are all about connection and making sure that you do whatever it is for your clients that they need. And I really, I love that. Yeah. So that drives me. And I feel like, gosh, it's so selfish, because I get so much from doing my business, it comes from such a place of like, wow, that really makes me happy.

 Jan

Yeah, it puts you in a happy place, because that's what your passion is.

Jody

I think it's neat. That you have that, that drive and that goal to do something. And it's kind of never ending. There are so many possibilities with it. It's true. Yeah, many facets of it. 

Jan

So it's not like, Okay, I've done it all now. And let's go on.

Jody

Yeah. I don't know if there is anything in life like that we’re there. But is there really anything in life that doesn't have an end to learning? Like, you could always learn something new about whatever it is. That is your passion? Right? 

Jan

Yeah. Lifelong learning. Yeah. I know. And I just, why would you want to stop? It just seems like in my life, I feel like every little path that I've gone through has all built up to being —Oh, I could use this, I could do that. I could do that here or in how to network it. So that oh, I've got this skill. But I see Oh, Jodi's got that one maybe I can get her to match with who she needs. That is kind of one of my superpowers is connecting matching connecting people . 

Jody

In Astoria I manage three brands. So, I have a studio in downtown Astoria, and it has my family brand, which is Jodi Rae. And then I have Astoria Boudoir Photography, which has been my longest running brand. I've had it for 12 years. And then I have a studio in Redmond that I co- own with a friend called Black Swan. And so, I'm in two different places.

 Jan

All right, what else do you want people to know?

Jody

I love to share the story about my studio. My tagline in my business this year changed. And it is helping people experience divine connection. And then the person that helped me come up with that said, dot dot dot forever. And what my mentor and this business coach have showed me is that I see the world in connection. That's how I see the world. And when you walk away from my studio, I want you to feel more connected to the people that you love. And also, to maybe yourself to be able to show up and so I you come in and we photograph you and a photographic experience can be so much more than just photos. So When you initially get a hold of me to book a session, if all the things are firing, right, and I get back to you, which I try really hard to, and I can get you on the phone and talk to you, what is going to happen is I'm going to talk to you, and I'm going to discover what it is that you need. Because what you need is really not just photos, right? So, I photograph people, and that is, I am out at Cannon Beach a lot of times to photograph things and people definitely want that rock in their photo. And I think that yes, you do want that. But when you walk home from your vacation, you're not going home and telling your friends about rock about the rock, right? You're like I woke up and I saw the rock today. And that was my vacation because that's not your vacation. Yeah, well, your vacation is reconnecting with your family spending time with your spouse, or your dogs or whatever it is that you brought to Cannon Beach to make that memory with, right? Like, that's, that's what you want. Yeah, you want me to capture that. But you don't know that. What you really want, or what you really need is you need a photograph of the people that you love. You need it to speak to your soul. And you need to put that on your wall somewhere so that every day when you walk by it, you're like, Oh, I remember. Yeah, I remember why I love this person. Or you need a beautiful photo of your child. Because your child needs to wake up and walk by that photo. And remember, Oh, this is a place I belong. This is my home, right? So, when you walk into my studio, right now, I have a huge collection on the wall, to the left side, and my desk actually can kind of see it out of my peripheral. And it reminds me why I do what I do. So it's a photograph of a mom and her daughter. And they but when I interviewed them to come in and be my models, I said what, what do you love most about this relationship? And what do you think your daughter needs to know? What do you want to do? Why? Why should we take these photos? And at first is because I had a really cool dress that I had rented. Yeah. And the dress was a lot of fun. But it came from this place of this little girl is a princess warrior, right? And she's also a middle child. And when you're a middle child, you kind of get lost in the ebb and flow of the world. Now you have 12 kids, right? 

Jan

10 

Jody

Oh, my only 10. Sorry. And then the littlest, maybe everybody like remembers them, but all this stuff that happens in between, they're like the middle children, right? So, they have a family of three. She's legit, the middle child. And her mom said, you know, I really, I want her to know that I love her. Our relationship is special. And I cherish it. She's not the baby. She's not the oldest one. But she is my only daughter. Yeah. And I cherish this relationship. And sometimes she gets lost in the mess of the chaos of family. Right? So, the photos that I have are of her wrapped in her mom's arms and looking at each other, and they're touching hair and those things. And what those photographs remind that little child, and that mom is of that relationship, right?  

And that's what you come to my studio for. Yeah, but you don't know that until you get your artwork back. A couple of years ago, I took a stand in my studio and in the way that I do business, and I make sure that even if you come to me for business photos, most of the time, if you come to me for family photos, always you're gonna walk away with something physical in your hands. Digital files are fantastic. The digital world is great. But we're gonna put those up on Facebook or Instagram. We're going to get some like some thumbs ups, you know, those kinds of things. And it's going to last like 20 seconds. And those photographs live on the nether land, right? For those 20 seconds, you get that great dopamine feeling, whatever, for a short time. But if I create artwork for you, and you hang that in your home, that lives a lifetime. And that artwork is one of a kind. It is art. It celebrates the relationship between you and your family or the relationship between yourself. Yeah, for my boudoir clients, right? And you get to walk by that every day. And for a child that gives them belonging, right for a woman who does the boudoir photos. That helps them see who they are. They wake up if you wake up to a photo of yourself looking your most confident, beautiful, sexy self. And you can show up every day like that. Can you go out and change the world? Yeah, I believe so. Yeah, I really do. I think so. And if that's the possibility, I'm going to show up to work every day.

 Jan

I know, when I've seen some of your photos on the wall, the thing that strikes me most is. First of all, it's not just everybody's sitting and lined up the right way and smiling. But it's the action in there. Because you can see more to their family relationship. And what they mean to each other just in what you capture in their sparkle, or there’s just a little glimpse. I love it. 

Jody

That's awesome. That makes me so happy that you feel that way when you see my work, because that is my end goal. Right?  

Jan

Yeah, it's really something special.

So if you need to experience that in your life, and I think everybody does, and you would like to schedule a session with Jodi Ray photography or Astoria, boudoir photography, or you're in the Washington, Seattle area and you want to schedule a boudoir session with Black Swan Boudoir, Jan will link all that information below, on the podcast, one page or wherever that lives on the Googles.

Okay. Well, I think we're about out of time, and that this has been really fun. So glad that you have taken time to let me interview you and even get to know you better.

Thank you for having me. It was so much fun to be here. Yeah. Yeah. I hope you get to share your story soon. I think your story is so worth sharing. And your podcast listeners are gonna want to hear it. You need to tell it.

 Jan

Yeah. Little pieces here and there. We'll do that sometime. Thank you, Jody.

 Next is our featured author Melissa Eskue Ousley.

Hi, this is Melissa Escue Ousley. I'm an award-winning author on the Oregon coast near Seaside. My latest book is called Constellations of Scars. And it's about a young woman who grows pearls under her skin, which as you might imagine is both a blessing and a curse. She starts screaming the pearls when she's about 12 years old and her mother's afraid that she'll be abducted for her gifts. So, she ends up kind of locking her way Rapunzel style and keeping her hidden from the world. And so, when the main character Amelia grows up, she realizes she's become her mother's captive and ends up escaping and running away to Seaside where she joins a museum of people who have oddities. And I said it in Seaside because it's just one of those really delightful tourist towns that seemed like a good fit for a story like this. And I was I was inspired by marine life. One day I was driving down the road. And there were piles and piles of oyster shells. And so, I thought about, you know, that would be really interesting if it was a human being growing the pearls and it would also be really terrible and painful as well. But you know, it's just kind of thinking about dark fairy tales. One of my favorite fairy tales is about the goose that lays golden eggs. And that story is about a couple that have a goose that seems to be magical, it lays golden eggs and so they get rich by having this this goose but then they get greedy and decide to get all the treasure at once and end up killing the goose only to find out it's just the goose wasn't really magic. It was just a regular goose and in being greedy, they've lost their treasure, so I was thinking a lot about that and when I wrote the book, it is available at local bookstores and pretty much anywhere books are sold. You can ask for it or go online there's lots of great booksellers but otherwise feel free to check out my website, Melissa Eskue Ousley. I'm also on social media and I would love to hear from readers