Today we’d like to introduce you to Jayde “Scooby” Graham.
Hi Jayde “Scooby”, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My story really started with curiosity. Growing up in a military family, I had the opportunity to live in different places, including Germany, and was exposed to different cultures, people, and ways of life at a young age. I think that experience gave me a natural interest in exploring the world and telling stories.
My path into the creative industry wasn’t necessarily something I had planned from the beginning. Growing up, my interests were constantly evolving. At different points I wanted to become an astronaut, work with computers, and pursue completely different careers. Eventually, I realized that creativity and storytelling were the things I kept coming back to.
One of my earliest opportunities to explore that side of myself came while living in Germany, when I interned with AFN Bavaria and gained experience working around radio and television. That gave me an early look into media production and helped me realize how much I enjoyed creating and telling stories.
From there, I began taking filmmaking and photography more seriously. What started as something I enjoyed eventually grew into Caerus Multimedia, where I’ve been able to work across photography, filmmaking, video production, and other forms of visual storytelling. Over the years, I’ve had opportunities to work on different productions, collaborate with other creatives, and continue challenging myself to grow behind the camera and as a producer.
Travel eventually became another major part of that journey. I’ve always loved experiencing new places and cultures, and that led me to create Catching Caerus as a way to share those experiences and encourage other people to explore more of the world themselves. What I enjoy most about travel isn’t simply checking countries off a list; it’s experiencing how different people live, learning the history and culture of a place, and coming home with a different perspective than I had when I left.
One of the things I’m most proud of is that there was never one perfectly mapped-out path that got me here. I’ve allowed myself to explore different interests, take chances, learn from people around me, and follow opportunities that genuinely interested me. That approach has taken me from someone simply interested in creative work to becoming a filmmaker, photographer, producer, business owner, and travel creator.
I’m still figuring out where the journey ultimately leads, and I actually like that. I don’t think creativity is something where you ever completely arrive. I’m constantly learning, evolving, traveling, meeting new people, and finding new stories to tell. For me, that’s what makes the journey exciting.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road, but I don’t necessarily look at that as a bad thing. A lot of the challenges I’ve experienced have forced me to become more resourceful, patient, and intentional about what I’m building.
One of my biggest challenges has always been time. For most of my creative journey, I’ve also maintained a full-time career outside of the creative industry. That meant learning how to build a business, work on productions, develop my photography and filmmaking skills, travel, and pursue personal projects while still handling the responsibilities of a demanding career. There have been plenty of times when I’ve had to sacrifice sleep, weekends, or simply having free time to make room for the things I wanted to accomplish.
Another challenge has been learning how to navigate creative industries without having a traditional roadmap. A lot of what I know came from doing — taking opportunities, making mistakes, teaching myself new skills, working alongside people who knew more than I did, and gradually becoming better at my craft. There are times when you’re investing your own money into equipment, projects, travel, or ideas without knowing whether any of it will eventually pay off. You have to become comfortable betting on yourself.
I’ve also had to learn that progress doesn’t always happen at the speed you want it to. There have been projects that didn’t work out, opportunities I didn’t get, ideas that didn’t go anywhere, and periods where I questioned whether I was moving forward at all. Earlier in my journey, I probably viewed those moments as setbacks. Now I understand that they’re part of the process.
The biggest lesson I’ve learned is not to measure my journey against someone else’s timeline.
My path has never been completely conventional, and I’ve learned to embrace that. I can have a career, run a business, make films, travel the world, create content, and explore other interests without forcing myself into one box. The challenge has been figuring out how all of those pieces fit together, but that’s also what has made the journey uniquely mine.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
My creative work has always been difficult to put into one category because I genuinely enjoy working across different mediums. I’m a filmmaker, photographer, producer, and the founder of Caerus Multimedia, where my work ranges from portrait and event photography to video production, music videos, promotional content, behind-the-scenes production, and filmmaking. I also created Catching Caerus, my travel platform, which allows me to combine my love of travel, culture, and storytelling in a completely different way.
If there is one thing that connects everything I do, it’s storytelling. Whether I’m photographing one person, working with a production team on a film, or sharing an experience from somewhere across the world, I’m always thinking about what I want someone to feel when they see the finished work. The technical side matters to me, but I’ve never wanted the equipment or technique to become more important than the story itself.
I’m particularly proud of how far I’ve come as a filmmaker. Having my work recognized with five awards at the Austin Capital City Film Festival was an important moment for me, not simply because of the awards themselves, but because filmmaking is something I’ve continued developing through experience. I’ve learned by creating, collaborating, making mistakes, studying other filmmakers, and continually pushing myself into situations where I have something new to learn.
I think what sets me apart is versatility and curiosity. I’ve never felt the need to stay in one creative lane. I can be behind a camera one day, helping produce a film the next, photographing someone, building a creative business, or halfway across the world learning about a place I’ve never experienced before. Each of those experiences influences the others and gives me a broader perspective when I create.
Ultimately, I don’t want to be known for simply making things that look good. I want my work to feel intentional. Years from now, whether someone is looking at one of my photographs, watching something I’ve helped create, or reading about a place I’ve traveled to, I want there to be something in it that makes them feel, think, or become curious themselves.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
The most important lesson I’ve learned is that you can’t spend your life waiting for the perfect time to do something. At some point, you have to take the opportunity in front of you and figure the rest out along the way.
I’ve learned this through almost every part of my journey. Some of the best experiences I’ve had came from saying yes before I had everything completely figured out. Whether it was pursuing filmmaking, starting a business, traveling somewhere unfamiliar, or taking on an opportunity that pushed me outside of what I was comfortable with, growth usually happened when I was willing to take that first step.
That’s actually something reflected in the name Caerus. It comes from Kairos, the Greek concept of the opportune or decisive moment. I’ve always connected with the idea that opportunities don’t necessarily arrive when everything is convenient or when you feel completely prepared. Sometimes there’s a window in front of you, and you have to decide whether you’re going to take it or watch it pass.
I’ve also learned that taking an opportunity doesn’t guarantee success. I’ve made mistakes, had things not work out, and taken chances that didn’t lead where I expected. But even those experiences gave me something — knowledge, perspective, relationships, or a better understanding of myself.
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve become much more afraid of regret than failure. Failure can teach you something and you can recover from it. But always wondering what might have happened if you’d taken the chance is harder for me to accept. So when an opportunity comes along that genuinely matters to me, I’d rather take the chance, learn from whatever happens, and keep moving forward.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.caerusmultimedia.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/catchingcaerus
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CatchingCaerus
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@caerusmultimedia
- Other: https://www.catchingcaerus.com/
