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

Jennifer, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

I think starting a business in general can be risky. There’s really no way to know how it’s going to go until you just go ahead and do it. Starting my business was the biggest risk I’ve ever taken. At first, I think many people thought I was crazy, especially in the field/industry I’m in. I think there’s a huge misconception of photographers and how it’s not a “real job” which definitely played a factor in me taking a risk. I had a lot to prove not only to everyone who thought I was nuts, but so much to prove to myself. It’s a ton of hard work to not only be successful, but proving all those people wrong! I also think risk comes into play over the last few years with the pandemic. Weddings were at a complete halt for a while, which was certainly risky for our industry.

Jennifer, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Sure, my name is Jenn and I’m the owner of Jennifer Nicole Photography & Films. My husband, Mike, and I are a husband and wife team who specialize in wedding photography and videography both in our local area and destination. I am the lead photographer and I handle all the aspects of business, social media, and photography, while Mike is the lead filmmaker and handles the filming and video production. We’re passionate about the kinds of stories we get to tell about our couples and transforming their wedding films into something more than just their actual wedding day. We do more than give pretty content, we make sure the content is impactful and meaningful whether it’s in the form of images or video.

I believe anyone can pick up a camera, watch a few videos and shoot, but learning about the couple and what’s important and meaningful to them is our greatest success. When you think of wedding videography, I think the most common type of video you think about is documentary based, where is the events as they happen in order and not much more to it. That type of video is great, but we don’t want to do what everyone else is doing! We’ve gone great lengths to produce unique films and have gone as far as digitizing VHS tapes to include important home videos of a passed loved one in a wedding film, and I think that’s what sets us apart from the others. We’re intentional with what we do and we hone in on what’s most important to the couple within their entire journey, not so much just the day of their wedding. In regards to our visual style, we have a much brighter and colorful editing style than what is “trendy” for both photos and videos and I think that also makes us different.

We actually started our company after our own experience with our wedding photography/videography. I never wanted a bride or groom to experience the heartache and frustration we did on our wedding day and throughout our entire experience with those particular vendors. I had a ton of photography experience, going back as far as high school when I was yearbook editor. Photography had always been a love of mine and it made sense to pursue it. Mike never particularly had an interest in photography, but when the pandemic shut us down, I had joked about him learning videography and he has since come to fall in love with it.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Social media can be intimidating for sure. I’ve done a great deal of networking and putting myself out there to get to know other businesses in my area and I think that has gone a long way. I’m very thankful for my community of vendors as I truly believe they are some of the best people out there! I’ve heard stories from people in different markets, who will say how unfriendly or unwilling to help other vendors are and that makes me so sad.

Even as an introvert, being “social” on social media needs to be the most important thing you can do. Being interactive with your following and posting consistently is what will make your name keep popping up for other people. But consistency isn’t much if your post aren’t valuable. Decide who you are targeting on social media and give them content they are looking for. What problem do you solve when people hire you? What advice or tips can you give to your ideal client? The more value to put out in the world, the most your ideal client will trust you and want to work with you.

I can’t tell you how many people that follow me on social media come up to me in person if they see me somewhere to say hi. My social media profiles have made them not only feel like they know me but made them feel comfortable enough to come say hi! That’s what your goal should be as you build your social media profiles!

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Definitely social media as I mentioned before but also giving back and offering to help others in my industry. I frequently try to set up meet ups with other photographers so we can swap headshots and build relationships. We also share knowledge and help each other with different aspects of business and life. I’ve done photos for different businesses to help with their social media content which was so appreciated. We overly communicate with other vendors when a wedding date approaches and always share content with them afterwards so that definitely makes people remember us when others aren’t doing the same things.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.jennifernicolephotography.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/jennifernicolephotoandfilms
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/jennifernicolephotofl
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDXN7da3F9UX-kv9HYtbXkA

Image Credits
we took them all :)