We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jasmine Baetzel a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Jasmine, appreciate you joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
When I first started capturing weddings, I had no intention of shooting film because like everyone else, I am spoiled with the instant gratification of digital photography. However, I adore it and was always trying to find a way to give my work a ‘film’ look. During the lockdown in 2020, I had some free time to experiment with different film cameras and film stocks and fell completely in love with the process all over again. However, film takes a lot more work for very few photos and given how comfortable we are with the ability to capture thousands, I knew if I wanted to offer my clients film services I would have to find a way to emulate it digitally. I mixed up my lenses and started using a blend of analogue and digital equipment which did a pretty good job of replicating the movement and textures of film but I struggled with the colors. That’s when I came up with my in-camera color grading process and since then, I have been able to emulate the bold colors of Fuji and Kodak film stocks without lab or film costs all while providing clients with a few hundred photo galleries instead of 80. There are a lot of underwhelming options out there but overall it really hasn’t been done before so I initially didn’t think I would be able to come close to meeting my high expectations, but every day I discover more possibilities this process introduces and I still get butterflies when it crosses my mind. It will probably take me a few years to fully grasp its potential but in the meantime, I’ll be tinkering with cameras, studying color theory and capturing the nostalgia of film through the comfort of technology and who knows? Maybe one day it will have the ability to bring discontinued film stocks back from the dead.
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?
My name is Jasmine Baetzel and I have been a wedding photographer since 2018. In 2017 I was in school part-time when a wedding photographer offered me a cash job as an assistant photographer. I was hesitant at the time because I had midterms coming up and I reflect on that often, but I went for it. Everything after that feels like a blur, I was completely obsessed. I dropped out of school and spent most of my time assisting until I felt confident enough to start my business in 2018. For two years, business boomed until covid hit in 2020. I almost lost it all but the unexpected free time was the opportunity I needed to expand my research and ultimately discover a way to emulate film. All of my work up until 2020 was digital and very editorial so learning how to capture weddings with analogue equipment broadened my horizons. With knowledge of both, I can adjust my style to match my clients even if they are unable to communicate the proper terms and I strongly believe that’s how I build a strong connection with my clients, ultimately erasing the camera.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
Advertising. From 2018-2021 I was advertising with the lead wedding industry advertisers who were very expensive but also very efficient. One day I received a vicious review from a person whom I’ve never met, or ever photographed. I flagged the review and sent over the emails between the lead and I to prove the allegations were false. The company, for whom I paid $10k+ a year and who also held my reputation in their hands, was unable to come to the conclusion that they were not an actual client of mine.
I refuse to ever do business with them again and for the last year, finding clients organically and independently has been a big transition. I am still searching for what works best for my business but the bright side of this experience is that I no longer spend hours writing emails for price shoppers and now work with clients who genuinely appreciate my work.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
The wedding industry during covid was havoc. Between 2018-2020 I solely relied on advertising for lead generation and in order to stand out as a new photographer from very heavy competition, I had to be cheap. So in 2020, I had about 50-60 weddings booked and when lockdown happened in March, I had a lot of cancellations well throughout 2021. Hundreds of thousands of couples were scrambling to salvage their deposits for vendors and if I wasn’t available the one and only day their venue was available, they were going to cancel because their venue deposit was much more than mine was. I shot double the amount of weddings I normally shoot in both 2021 and 2022 because of rescheduled covid weddings and I’m still suffering the financial, editing backlog and inflation repercussions from it. I’m looking forward to a clean slate in 2023.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.jasminebaetzel.com
- Instagram: @jasminebaetzel
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jasminebaetzel