We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jessica Hubbard. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jessica below.

Alright, Jessica thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Going back to the beginning – how did you come up with the idea in the first place?

It’s sort of a cliche in the photography world, but my story is like a lot of other female photographers in the industry. I began to seriously pick up my camera and learn it backwards and forwards when I had my first baby. There is a need for a quick, but worthy sidenote here and a huge shoutout to my parents because I have always had a camera in my hand and I have always had a sentimental soul. I’m no stranger to people telling me that I was born in the wrong decade. My parents gave me a hot pink Barbie camera that I took everywhere with me and they paid for endless rolls of film and developing. They truly encouraged my love of photos.

Back to the story- I wanted to capture every detail of every moment. Becoming a mother was easily the greatest achievement of my life and I felt so fulfilled. We had a rough start in the beginning, but it was such a beautiful journey.
I couldn’t believe how fast she was changing and I just wanted everything to slow down. I tried to capture every smile, every yawn, every cute little outfit.

Fast forward to my second born and almost 3 years of practice- I began leaning into the art of documenting my daily life. I had no idea that what I was doing was called “documentary photography”, I just was photographing my family, my friends, and this amazing life that my husband and I had built.
I had been taking photos of a few families and eventually built up a nice portfolio, but they were your standard, run of the mill family portraits. They were posed, themed, and very unlike what I was doing with my own family.

I thought that family portraits that looked posed and polished made me a “real” photographer, so that’s what I did, even though it didn’t really light my soul up. I felt like I wasn’t quite where I wanted to be and it left me constantly feeling unsettled and unhappy with my work. It wasn’t a good feeling. I knew it wasn’t right for me.

When we moved from Tennessee to Virginia, I decided to make a clean break and really give my style an overhaul. By this time, thanks to the internet, I knew that what I wanted to do was pursue documentary family photography. I knew that there were moms out there just like me who wanted deeply to hold onto their kid’s childhood and wanted to embrace the messy toddler years. I knew there were moms and dads who felt like I did, who wanted an honest look at their life, not to conform to someone else’s version of what family portraits should look like. These folks needed an alternative to the traditional view of family portraits. I had what they needed!
I just needed to find them and show them what I could do.

It’s been a wild ride since then with lots of ups and downs, I know I am right where I am supposed to be. My business has been built on blood, sweat, tears, sleepless nights, and so many prayers. I didn’t go to school for business. I didn’t go to school for photography. I didn’t go to school for marketing. I have taught myself everything or sought out the help I needed, when I needed it. I’m so looking forward to where my little dream will take me and my family.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am a wife and mom of 3. I love all things art. I like to read, garden, and be outside.
I offer an alternative to traditional family portraits for families who crave more from their photographs. I actively push against photos that look like the stock photos found in the frames at your local Target. I firmly believe that your family portraits should reflect you and what your family truly looks like, not conform to what someone else says is “pretty”.

My house my not have a Pinterest aesthetic, but it’s so beautiful to me because that’s where we live and where our memories are made. The toys on the floor and books scattered about remind me that we LIVE here and this is our safe space. I believe that about my client’s homes too.

Most of my clients hire me for the day, which allows me to make art for their family in the exact same way that I would my own family. I come and hang out with them for 8 hours and I photography what I feel led to and when I feel led to do it. It’s a very laid back session where the family just goes about their daily life, just with me tagging along.
I’m so proud of the feedback I get from these sessions. All of them love their photos, but I often hear that it was the easiest family photos that they have ever taken- the stress of family photos was completely removed.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

One of my driving forces for my creative journey is that I want to fight back against the illusion of perfection that is shoved in our faces 24/7. What we see on social media is a highlight reel, it’s not the whole story.
I want families, particularly mothers, not to give into the pressure to be perfect. I want them to see how wonderful their messy, lived in life truly is.
We’re all different, we shouldn’t strive to all be the same, and our family photos should reflect that.

We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.

I think my style of photography is particularly great for building relationships- which in turn promotes brand loyalty. I spend so much time with my clients during their sessions, it’s kind of hard for us not to become friends. I witness the good, the bad, the ugly, the hilarious, the messy, the quiet, and everything in between. Parenthood is wild and you can experience a full range of emotions in just a short 5-minute span!

These people are inviting me into their most precious moments- I’ve been honored to photograph life’s first breaths and life’s final breaths. This is not something I take lightly; it’s a privilege to be invited into these sacred spaces.
We share a mutual vulnerability.

I’m happy to say that I keep in contact with most of my clients on a fairly regular basis! It’s a blessing!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.jessnicolephotography.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jess.nicole.photography
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jessnicolephotography

Image Credits

Photos of myself are taken by The Heart of Now Photography and Rebecca Bond Photography. All others are taken by me, Jessica Hubbard/Jess Nicole Photography.