Wedding Photographers Paulina Jūrė and Matas Jūras: “From Avocation To Vocation: How I Turned My Hobby Into A Career”

An interview with Phil La Duke

Everyone struggles with similar things. If it seems that someone did it easily — you don’t see the whole story. There’s no shortcut to something. First — define what success is for you. Money, freedom in time, a certain lifestyle, clients you love, etc. Then take the risks and never give up. If one way doesn’t work, try doing something different. If it doesn’t work again — try another thing. And you will finally get there. When everything seems overwhelming — take one small step at a time. Every step in the right direction counts.

As a part of our series about entrepreneurs who transformed something they did for fun into a full-time career, I had the pleasure of interviewing photographers Paulina Jūrė and Matas Jūras.

Paulina Jūrė and Matas Jūras got married right after their studies at “ISM University of Management and Economics” in Lithuania where they have met. Initially, they pursued careers in finance and marketing. But after a few years of office jobs at Ernst & Young and a law firm they understood such career paths are not for them. Inspired by their wedding photographer — Paulina and Matas launched their own brand together — “Jūras Duo Photography”. 10 years into the business they are certain this decision was a life-changer. They have photographed more than 200 weddings around Europe and won significant international awards. Knowledge and experience enabled them to expand the business into photography education. Over the years Paulina and Matas hosted numerous live (as well as online) workshops helping new photographers start their careers in weddings.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a bit about your “childhood backstory”?