Jeff Fyke is #MadeForKnoxville.

Jeff experienced the grit entrepreneurship demands while working for his grandfather’s flooring business as a teen. These lessons were essential for the blooming entrepreneur, but he knew the business wasn’t for him. Today, after years of art lessons and international photography, Jeff knows he’s found the work he was meant for: storytelling. 

Jeff has a diverse photography background, having captured images in Jamaica, China, Uganda and Kenya. In 2016, he moved to Knoxville and launched Fyke photography, where he continues to tell the unique stories of others. He captures portraits, weddings, events and everything in between. With a global perspective driving his work, Jeff feels quite at home in Knoxville’s diverse atmosphere. Here, he’ll continue to tell stories from his lens—all while building his own.

“Knoxville is a melting pot of culture from across the globe. It is no question that my diverse and cultured background prepared me for this chapter of my life. I appreciate the culture and diversity of Knoxville, and love calling this scruffy lil city home.”

In Their Own Words..

My story did not start here in Knoxville, but in Nashville, Tennessee. My grandfather started his own flooring business and I worked with him in my teens and early twenties. I learned from him the dedication it took to start your own business. However, although working for my grandfather was a wonderful experience, installing and refinishing hardwood gym floors was not for me. Through high school, my grandmother paid for art lessons for me. I love painting and being creative. However, an oil on canvas master I am not. In high school and college, I had the opportunity to travel to Jamaica, China and Kenya. I took photos of things I found interesting, so that I could tell the story of my trip to others without having to do a lot of explaining. I fell in love with photography and storytelling during those trips. I decided that my passion and purpose was to tell the stories of others. My background in art gave me a creative eye, and my experience with my grandfather gave me business insight.

In 2012, I traveled to Uganda to work with orphans. And in January 2014, I moved to Kenya to tell the stories of missionaries and ministries through my camera lens. Immersing myself in other cultures has given me more of a global perspective. You learn that every person has a truly unique story to tell and they tell them in truly unique ways.

When I returned from Kenya (late 2014), I moved to Knoxville and started shadowing and seconding other photographers. I enjoyed learning from them and capturing families, couples, weddings, and other portraits. In 2016, I officially launched Fyke Photography. I enjoy capturing everything I can! From weddings to events to models, I am charged with telling the story of those in front of my lens.

My passion for storytelling doesn’t stop with others, it also includes telling my story. I have a heart for investing in other up and coming photographers, taking them under my wing and teaching them what I know. In this business, that is really the only way to learn and grow. I have made many friends and associates in the industry, and will continue to invest in others as long as I am able.

Knoxville is a melting pot of culture from across the globe. It is no question that my diverse and cultured background prepared me for this chapter of my life. I appreciate the culture and diversity of Knoxville, and love calling this scruffy lil city home.

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