Just Jess Things

I hardly ever talk about myself on here, so let’s change that.

My name is Jess and I am your local photographer. Picking up a camera has been the best thing that has ever happened to me.

It has opened doors I didn’t even know existed. I’ve been welcomed into the space of a local domestic violence shelter and worked with them side by side on some projects. I have photographed your local military service members during their most vulnerable homecoming moments. I have captured births. Weddings. And the most intimate family moments you could ever experience.

I had no idea how much life was out there until I set my anxiety aside and walked into the social scene. As much as I love people, I have crippling social anxiety that I have learned to mask well over the years. At the beginning of this journey I absolutely let it stop me from following this ever fleeting dream I had created in my mind. I was scared to respond to messages let alone meet someone for an actual session. I had no idea what I was missing. What was waiting for me.

It took years of letting my guard down and allowing myself to be seen to finally accept that I was worth something in this community. That I had real talent that others were worthy of experiencing and I needed to stop hiding from that light.

Three years into photography I finally put myself out there. I mean really truly put my ass on the line and made something of myself. That was the same year I went full time. The same year I was fully booked out and this wasn’t just some hobby I picked up. It was the same year I stopped making bullshit excuses for myself and became the version I created of myself in my mind. I brought her to life.

That is who you are experiencing now.

Kiddos get bummed sometimes. Or even run you absolutely ragged at your session. And that’s okay! My advice?

Lean. Into. It. Yep. That’s the tea. That’s the secret. You lean into it because chaos is what I do best and sometimes kids just won’t always fall in line with your original expectations. It’s 1000% normal. Let the wild run it’s course because 9 times out of 10, it passes.

“Do you plan on putting together a workshop or a course of some kind for photography?”

Yes!

At first, I thought I would just get a small

group of people together and maybe just hold small workshops like that every one in a while. But more recently, that plan has totally shifted and for the better.

It is so hard trying to plan something at the perfect time and the perfect place. Everyone has different schedules and different needs. So I sat and thought really hard about what photography education looked like for me.

I can’t give away all the fun details, but there is something currently in the works for education! I have made tons of changes to my business recently — all for the better — and this was one of the things that got changed and moved and adjusted.

What fun would it be if I gave it all away?!

What does it mean?

DSLR cameras come in crop sensors and full frame options. It’s the physical size of the sensor. When shooting on a crop sensor, there’s an immediate difference. It enhances the lenses focal length by about 1.5 times higher than the lens itself.

So for example, I primarily shoot on a 35mm prime lens. If I were to shoot on a crop sensor it would shoot more like a 52.5mm.

I have a preference for full frame cameras because it keeps the lens honest. It also gives me so much more room to crop later if I need to without losing important quality. Have you ever cropped a photo and all of a sudden the quality is just shot? That’s pretty typical.

It also gives me the freedom to add more surrounding details in your images. I can be as close or as far away as I need to be with a full frame camera. I have so much more flexibility with it and creative freedom. Which is exactly what we’re going for here!

Why does it take a while to get my gallery back?"

On a standard gallery (excluding wedding and birth) I have a two week turn around time. I have to cull through all the images to decide which ones are worth keeping and have the utmost potential.

Then I have to get them all over to Lightroom. I do some standard editing but then I like to do some touch ups. Cropping, taking random objects out of the picture, curing the stray stands of hair over your eyes.

I take a little breather to give my eyes a break. It ensures the consistency in your session and keeps my eyes fresh. Then I like to give your teeth a little glow since I edit a little warm. Soften the skin a little where you're glowing from this insane heat causing everyone to sweat like mad.

I take my time to make sure that the images you get are complimentary. I never rush. Never skip a beat. And always triple take every move.

Let's talk about why you should hire a professional photographer.

I'm gonna start from the very beginning. When I first picked up a camera, I just wanted to take nice pictures of my kids. I was also soooo over my phone storage filling up every .7 seconds. I quickly realized how many photos I wasn't in. And then I started to wonder how many other moms also weren't in the pictures.

That's when I started to offer family photography. Now it's my speciality. I wanted to see more moms in the pictures. With their kids. Just having the best time hanging out and spending more time in the moment and less time editing and getting everyone to look at her.

You get to be in the moment. No chaos causing anxiety getting everyone to sit still. I never pose, only occasionally prompt leaving you to lean into your free spirit and your children's wildest adventures.

Professionals cameras are expensive. But that's also why the quality of your photos won't deteriorate over time like they would from a cell phone. Also, you get print quality images. There is such a vast difference in cell phone prints versus DSLR because cameras preserve the quality so much more efficiently. It won't compress the image to a point of becoming unrecognizable.

When you hire a professional, all you have to do is show up. I'll give you a style guide, help you pick a location, you'll have a consultation so you can tell me all of your beautiful ideas for your session. And you get to handpick all the images that get edited after. And I will l edit them for you. You won't have to spend hours of your time doing that yourself. I will even help you pick images for prints and help you shop for them.

Because you should be in the picture. The high quality print worthy picture.

Hey it’s me, Jess.

I’m a thriver in chaos and my soul loves the hustle and bustle of life. I guess that’s what becomes of you when create four small, wonderful, beautiful humans. They keep you on your toes.

I became a mom at an exceptionally young age — 17 to be exact — but I have never let that define me in the sense that it altered my life for the worst. Obviously having a baby before your brain is fully developed is insane but society has this inherently negative view on what happens to your life when you have a baby before it really begins. I know from experience and from some of the things people have said to me.

The only difference between me & the woman who planned and plotted her motherhood journey for over a decade, is that my journey started sooner. I got to experience the depths of motherhood with a head start. Experiencing unconditional love from such an early age is an invaluable experience.

I have had the sheer honor of growing up with my almost 11 year old since I was 17. She’s taught me more than I could probably ever teach her. She has healed my inner child in a way I didn’t even know I needed it. And if I didn’t mention how much I learned from her birth it would be criminal. It altered the way I saw everything. From birth itself to the way I saw the world.

I became more forgiving.

I was emboldened with a sense of empathy I had never felt before.

I saw unconditional love.

I was no longer afraid of what was out there because now I had everything I needed. She exceeded everything I ever thought I wanted.

Because of Paisleigh I knew exactly who I wanted to be and what I wanted to do with my life the split second they put her in my arms. Sure I’ve had an identity crisis or two since then, but the one thing that has never changed is my deep sense of gratitude for motherhood. It opened doors for me I didn’t even know were there. Much like this one.

Your age doesn’t define your motherhood. It never has and it never will.

With growth comes change. I used to be so afraid of change, it scared me so much. But these days I have ran right into it, arms wide open.

As my business shifts & blooms, I have to shift and bloom with it. This means making lots of decisions. Some come easily and some take time to make. This was one of the tougher choices.

Effective immediately, my investment prices will be increasing. There will be a massive shift in my package options. Clear, concise, black & white packages that will make booking easier and much faster. I have completely removed any guess work that has previously come with scheduling. Working out the kinks has been time consuming, but completely and 100% worth it. This means that payment plans will be making a comeback! My goal is still to remain accessible but creating a one-size-fits-all business has exceeded its growth.

I am grateful to be in a position that I can raise my prices. I’m thankful to have grown this much and that you have all entrusted me with something so precious. You will always be the reason that I am where I am in this journey. Please be patient, there are many changes happening right now as we speak.

I love you all so much. I cannot wait to show you guys what’s been happening behind the scenes.

“Don’t do anything for free.”

“Don’t discount yourself.”

“You should value yourself more.”

Valuable advice in this industry. But there is a balance and every photographer has to find theirs differently. No two photographers are the same, and that’s the beauty in all of this.

But incentivizing my clients doesn’t mean I value myself any less. Connecting with very special families in my community and creating free sessions doesn’t mean I can’t achieve the goals

I have set for myself and my business.

It means my clients reap the rewards of talking about my business. And word of mouth is my absolute favorite. When friends talk to friends about the experience we shared and it ultimately builds my business, they deserve appreciation for that. They are the reason I get to be here doing this in the first place.

It means I get to make genuine connections with the people around me and in my community. That I get to share a space with someone who feels safe with me & being vulnerable for a second. In a world where everything seems broken, I get the opportunity to create something spectacular for them and show them there is still some good out here.

I love people. I love connecting with them, I love hearing their stories, and I love being able to tell those stories in snapshots that I get to curate just for them. My clients are special to me and they make my business go round. This job is so much more than just an invoice and a contract. It’s a relationship that forms between every single person that has ever stepped foot in front of my camera and allowed me the privilege of being the person that gets to create the visuals to the story they’re telling.

It’s an honor and a privilege to be here with them.