Jasmina Kimova
Creating Legacies In Portraiture
story by WENDY NILSEN POLLITZER photos of Jasmina Kimova by SUSAN DELOACH
studio photos by JASMINA KIMOVA
Jasmina Kimova is a gifted portrait photographer who creates art and radiates joy by way of the soul. Her mantra to “be all you can be” is present with each of her creations, and her clients adore the stunning imagery that encapsulates their personal stories. By finding her passion in life, Jasmina knows how emotional and spiritual well-being can flow into a better tomorrow. And that energy and philosophy has been passed on to thousands of clients.
Before she was a photographer, Jasmina was a lawyer and owner of an award-winning advertising agency in Europe. This is when she was exposed to photography and realized her passion of telling a story to a larger audience. In 2008 she left Macedonia with her 4-year-old son and two suitcases determined to pursue her dream and make a new life in the United States. She wanted to reinvent herself, professionally and personally, so before she embarked on this new journey, she asked herself three questions: 1) What would you do if you were not afraid? 2) What is the life you want to live? 3) What do you need to do to have that?
And so, her enthusiasm for portraiture began to emerge. She started her portrait studio in Sarasota, FL. She started photographing neighbors and friends, and everyone loved her original style and the manner in which she spiritually connected with them. Her soul was alive again, and it felt good.
“I get so much inspiration from my clients. Everyone has a story to tell,” Jasmina explains.
An endearing asset that Jasmina communicates well is her ability to ask the right questions and listen. She sits down with her clients weeks before the actual shoot to learn about their stories. She will ask questions like, “When was the last time you felt beautiful? When was the last time you felt seen? What are your passions and interests?”
She will also ask you about your personal stories and favorite objects in the house that hold emotional value to you—since that can be part of the storytelling and sometimes a key element to your shoot and story. It could be an old book that your mother used to read to you as a child, a love letter, a favorite piece of art, a random souvenir from travel. It can be anything if it puts a sparkle in her clients’ eyes and brings them joy. Emotion, after all, is the key ingredient to art and life.
The universe provides an infinite source of light, and it’s always there in abundance. Jasmina allows her clients to connect to that energy of light through their own transformation. Her sessions are designed to be healing, because they start from within. She uses a technique she refers to as mirror therapy. She invites her clients to look within themselves and evaluate who and what they see. She then asks them to describe who they want to see in the mirror and what kind of image they are envisioning in the future. “Who you see in the mirror can drive your whole existence, and by changing that image, you can change everything. You are the master creator of your own life, and how you see yourself will determine how you are perceived by others,” explains Jasmina.
One of Jasmina’s main goals is to work with her clients in the consult and styling stage to help them reinvent themselves and see themselves in a new light and get closer to who they always wanted to be. She asks her clients, “Are you the best version of yourself? What do you love about yourself the most? What would you like to change the most?” She will challenge the perceived perception of what is a perfect weight, body type, and facial structure, and encourage her clients to embrace themselves as they are. The transformation and healing starts at that moment, when we stop looking for what’s wrong, and start finding what is right.
Jasmina believes that we should all learn to welcome our existence and live our lives to the fullest potential. We should shed the guilt and shame that we are not enough—that we are not valuable enough or successful enough or pretty enough. Every person on the planet deserves their own love and attention the most, and we should all be worthy to put ourselves first. After all, everyone who loves you will one day look for a photograph of you. Who you are matters. Your life matters. Your legacy matters. You Are Loved.
If a potential client is uncomfortable to get their portrait done, Jasmina will explain to the person that the more uncomfortable they are, the more they need to do it. One day their children and grandchildren will walk by and look at their portrait with pride and tell their story.
Also in the styling stage, Jasmina consults about her client’s wardrobe, even contracting costume and hat designers at times. On the day of a typical 8-hour shoot, she hires professional makeup and hair artists and transforms her studio into the fantasy world of storytelling each client embodies. The creative direction depends on the mood and feeling they both want to create. Her clients experience a magazine-style Vanity Fair photo shoot and become models for a day.
But the day is not only about hair and makeup. It’s about the person. It’s an opportunity to self-reflect and a reminder of self-care. A photo shoot with Jasmina Kimova is an experience that allows a person to nurture an internal dialogue, to wash away negativity with regards to money, relationships, and status. It’s about self-love and quite the opposite of being selfish.
“Sometimes we have to rearrange the house we live in, the same goes with our minds. Mental cleaning out of what no longer serves us is important. Who we are and what we want to be is important. Many people are trapped in lives and thoughts that are not even their own. Everyone deserves a day to be pampered and reminded of their own beauty. Only when you remember how to love yourself can you love others,” smiles Jasmina.
One day, Angel, Jasmina’s son, asked her why she didn’t have a portrait of herself in the house. She realized she wasn’t listening to her own advice. She used all the excuses that she didn’t have time or she is too tired. Then one day, she looked in the mirror and decided she needs to do it for him, if not for herself. She painted a portrait from a self-image as she was looking at herself in the mirror, using advanced skills in pixel editing. She hung this portrait by her front door and sees it every day. As a single mom who works, provides, creates, and ensures her son is happy, often times she struggles with balance. When she needs that extra bit of energy, she looks at herself in that portrait and says, “That’s me. You are awesome. Now pick yourself up and Go! You can do this!”
An experience with Jasmina is so much more than photography, styling, or an opportunity to escape from one’s reality. It is a gift to find yourself again or even recreate yourself in a new reality of your choosing. A new dream is always waiting to be unrevealed. Jasmina smiles, “Never be afraid to dream.”
Jasmina is now fulfilling her dream with time to think about the next chapter during the last two months of quarantine. She is reinventing her art once again. Although she will continue to create portraits, she also wants to pursue her passion for interior transformation and add interior design to her services. “When I go to my clients’ homes to help them hang their painted portraits, we often rearrange an entire room. We create a new fresh space that focuses on emotion and things they love. I want to help my clients live in an environment that will be an extension of their personality,” she explains.
If Jasmina says it’s her next chapter, it will be. Her favorite song is “Take It to the Limit” by the Eagles. If any song could describe her zest for living, it’s that one.
Jasmina Kimova’s gifted natural talent is finding that courage in all clients and empowering them to dream a bigger dream. This love and passion for life and art are seen in every portrait she creates. Beaufort is fortunate that she was called here. Her art is hung on many walls in the Lowcountry and beyond, including mine. Jasmina helped us discover multifaceted layers of personal depth, and for that she has created legacies of eternal art.
