We recently connected with Janis Foley and have shared our conversation below.

Janis, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about how you got your first non-friend, non-family client. Paint the picture for us so we can feel the same excitement you felt on that day.

I still remember dreaming of becoming a photographer ever since my 10th birthday when I was given my very first camera. I fell completely in love with photography ever since that day. I dabbled in photography though out my life. I always had a camera in my hand even in high school. I still remember my friend Kelly asking me to photograph her first baby, Trevor. I was excited to do so since I never thought it was actually possible to earn a living doing what I love. I photographed her baby with black & white film. I took that film to a black & white lab in Little Italy in San Diego called In-House run by a great man named Gene Nocon. I came in so excited. He asked me to tell him all about it.

“Well, I photographed my friend’s baby, now I want you to process the film. I want a contact sheet made. I’m going to pick out a photo which I will have you print an 8×10 on matte fiber paper. Then I’m going to take oil paints and hand tint it and frame it for her!” His response was, “That’s awesome! What did you charge?” I excitedly said, “Fifty bucks!” He smiled and said, “I’m very proud of you… But you know when I’ll REALLY be proud of you?” I asked when… He said, “When you come in here and tell me you made fifty bucks – an hour!” I thought this man had lost his mind! I guess he believed in me before I believed in myself.

I look back on that memory and cherish his kindness…

On October 7th of this year… We are flying to Dallas, TX to photograph that family again… The baby from that very first portrait session is going to be a groom! Full circle! It absolutely means the world to me that they have decided to hire me to photograph his wedding. I am SO grateful that I get to do this for a living. I am grateful to every client that ever trusted me to capture some of the most important days of their lives.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I got into the wedding industry kind of by accident. Early on in my career I thought I would be photographing babies and kids… Until one day, another friend asked me to photograph their wedding. I am always honest with people if I’ve never done a particular type of project before. But they had faith in me. Thank goodness for that! After that first wedding, I realized how much I enjoyed it. I assisted a photographer friend of mine for maybe 3-5 weddings and next thing you know, I was already booking my own. It really felt like a whirlwind adventure. I specialize in weddings and portraits now. I’ve photographed well over 600 weddings in my career. I’ve been to Arizona, Florida, Montana, Nevada, Texas, Washington DC, Hawaii, Jamaica and of course all over Southern California.

To be honest, I’m probably most proud of and grateful for is the connections I have made with clients over the years. Some people have been able to keep in touch via social media. There are some that come back for their anniversaries and get photos taken to celebrate milestones.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I think working hard, loving what I get to do for a living, going above and beyond, paying attention, using my intuition are the things that helped me build my reputation within this market. It’s not difficult to take the time to ask the right questions, figure out what people want and deliver it to them.

I also do my best to pay attention and notice if a client is not the right fit for me. I get along well with almost every person I come across, but once in a while, there is a mismatch. I have learned over the years to gently let those clients go. I invite them to search for someone that will truly suit their needs if I don’t think I can deliver a product that they will go head over heels for.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

A lot of my new clients come from word of mouth. I have managed to be lucky enough to have built strong connections with past clients who rave about my business, so when their friends need a photographer, they refer me. I am also lucky enough to in an amazing group called San Diego Women In Photography. It’s a group of 100 women who all rally and support each other with our businesses and also sometimes life. We refer each other, we help each other, it really is an amazing community. I am absolutely lucky to be a part of it.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.janisfoley.com
• Instagram: Instagram.com/JanisFoleyPhotography
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/janisfoleyphotography
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janisfoley
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKnVylxegVZyST1l3mjnVqg

Image Credits
© Janis Foley Photography