Today we’d like to introduce you to Torie Jae Coombs.
Hi Torie Jae, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
The story of my photography begins when I was around 10 years old and my mom first got a flip phone with a camera in it. I loved that flip phone and I took it with me. Absolutely everywhere just taking pictures of food of flowers of my family I was finally gifted a point-and-shoot when I was about 13 years old and I loved it. I took that with me everywhere too. I’ll never forget the day that I lost and I was devastated. I finally saved up for my first DSLR a Canon rebel T5. That was when my passion for photography really took off. I started my business which at the time was called Blonde Influence and I had so much fun taking pictures of people. When I graduated high school I enrolled in Daytona State College for their photography program however unfortunatelymy living situation got extremely complicated when I was kicked out when I turned 17 years old and had to end up dropping out of school because of living in my car. My mental health issues worsen during this time. And before I knew it, I found myself in the psychiatric hospital of Halifax. After that moment, I didn’t pick up my camera again for years. But the love was still there, it was just like my inspiration and creativity had died. Around November 2024 I started getting the itch to be creative again. I asked my family to help me buy my dream camera a Canon 5D mark IV because black Friday and Christmas was around the corner and Best Buy had a lot of deals. They all declined and told me that they didn’t think I was ready for a camera that nice. So I took the plunge alone and a leap of faith and bought one off of Facebook marketplace. I named her Serendipity because I got her for $600 with a lens worth that as much. I took her to Kiwi cameras in Orlando, and he cleaned up all of my old lenses and made sure she was in perfect condition. And that’s the beginning of Serendipity Studios. Even after I had my new camera. It was still hard for me to prioritize being creative when I had a lot of things going on in my life. I was very overwhelmed and emotional finally, when I found myself at a car dealership, and my body started revolting against me with auto immune conditions, a friend gifted me a 6D mark II, and I said to myself well if this isn’t a sign this is the path I need to be taking. I don’t know what it is. I quit my job at the car dealership and committed full-time to my photography. I had told God if this is the way you want me to go with my life, make it abundantly clear to me. A friend of mine reached out to me and asked if I wanted to do a pop-up event with Photo Booth for a farmers market, and God has been repeatedly pushing opportunities into my lap. It feels so good to finally have broken free of a rat race and to be working for myself building something beautiful and that is completely me. I’m removing all of the things from my life that are negative influences are holding me back from the woman I’m supposed to be, and a big part of Serendipity Studios is giving back. I wouldn’t have my cameras if it wasn’t for people being kind. I wouldn’t have it my business if it wasn’t the Lord’s plan. So every opportunity that presents itself to me to try and help someone else I take advantage of. Another big part of my story is how much time I spent feeling uncomfortable in my own body. Learning photography and how to capture images of myself at angles accentuate. My best features has really helped with that. If you feel like you’re not photogenic you just don’t have a good enough photographer if you catch me at any of my shoots, chances are you’ll see me with a massive bow in my hair wearing something hyper feminine. It’s what I feel most comfortable in and what makes me feel my most beautiful and it sometimes might look a little out of place, but I think it encourages my clients to wear what they feel most authentically beautiful in!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It is absolutely not been a smooth road! I have a severe case of ADHD, bipolar and bpd amongst my mental health issues and lupus hyperthyroidism for physical identified ailments. It really limits my ability to do things sometimes. If I have a flareup, I’m pretty bedridden which works really well for my business because that’s the opportunity that I take to just not book any more shoots and lay in bed and edit. I’m really proud of myself for not pushing my body to its breaking point anymore and listening to what it needs and doing something that works with my ailments and makes me really really happy!
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I specializing in creative portrait, photography. I love doing events, but just taking pictures of people one on one is my favorite. They’re such a challenge in being able to capture the essence of a person in a split second. A lot of times I’ll tell my subjects to do something really really crazy and they don’t understand why. I’ll tell them say “Torie is a crazy photographer!” And the split second after they do they laugh (because it’s so ridiculous) that is the moment that I love to capture. The candids. When your joy is at its most authentic, and it’s not staged. Constantly seeking those candid moments is my favorite. I also really enjoy just coming up with crazy ideas with fun, lighting, and cool accessories. Making you feel beautiful and uniquely yourself. Serendipity means something fortuitous that happens by chance. I found my dream camera by chance. With my emphasis being heavily on candids, I have to say just the right thing to by chance get you to have the perfect reaction for me to get the perfect shot. My next goal is going to be getting the new Canon mirror camera because I think it will help me expedite my work and save a lot of time.
How do you think about happiness?
What makes me happy? I love to make people feel beautiful, looking at themselves and confident; which I feel a big part of comes from my own mental illness. But I also love spending time with friends. I’ve gone through a really interesting phase of my life recently where I’ve analyzed all of the things in my life that are good for me and ask God to remove the things that are bad for me. Ever since he removed toxic influences of my life and made my path clear everything in my life makes me happy! The things that he’s left me with and the people that I spend my time with today are my whole world. They’re so supportive of my business. They come out to every event that I do and cheer me on and encourage me. It’s a beautiful thing to have people in your corner you know without a doubt are there for you! Besides that I’m obsessed with reading thrillers and I love to put on an audiobook on Netflix in the background while I edit my photos. Another big thing that makes me really happy is going to my favorite bar in the area Driink Kava bar. I love being around the people there and Kava community is so wonderful and uplifting. It’s centered around having fun without alcohol. I don’t drink, and it’s such a blessing to surround myself with like-minded individuals who are focusing on bettering themselves while still having a good time. Every aspect of my life right now makes me really happy. I finally am living the life that I’ve prayed for.
Pricing:
- My pricing for shoots depends on the location and the event
- I typically start at $200 for a portrait session
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/SerendipityxStudios
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/serendipityxstudios
- Contact number: 386-623-0606
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/torie.jae
