We recently connected with Jennifer Sapountsis and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Jennifer thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What do you think it takes to be successful?

The most important thing to remember is, for success to occur you must fail first. Without failure, without mistakes, and without a setback comes no full growth. One must be able to fall or trip in order to know how to stand taller. The concept we are taught as kids still applies to our success stories in business.

Just as important, when one is in their growth path they must keep their head held high. Don’t look backwards, as you will trip over your mistakes you should be learning about.. Don’t look sideways at what every one else is doing, as you won’t be able to focus on your own tasks. Instead, keep looking forward at what the future could do. Let that light shine right in your face.

Dedication is another major key to success. When times get hard, or when you feel like “you just can’t anymore”, trust me you can. Cry, scream, write, exercise, pray, and get back to it. Feeling your feels is all a part of the dedication process. Dedicate yourself not only to your business, but to yourself. Have the confidence in your business, and that will bring people to you.

Lastly, don’t fall into the stigma and trends. If you don’t like a certain “trend”, don’t do it. It’s that simple! Instead, put that effort into your business in another direction. The time spent doing something you love will show in the long-haul.

Remember, every success story is different. We all grow differently.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

Hello! I am Jennifer Sapountsis, and I am a natural light, storytelling photographer. My main focus is the motherhood journey which includes: Maternity, Newborn, Milestone and Family. My goal with photography is to capture the emotion in time with each family and moment. I have a college degree in Behavioral Psychology, and this has helped with pulling emotion out of each of my images.

I have always been in love with photography, videography and the arts. I grew up singing and dancing on stage, and would look forward to looking at/watching the videos and photos. My parents got me a camera when I was in middle school, and it was such a fun passion of mine. I have so many memories to look back on, which I can pass on to my kids! It became an expectation that I was going to come with a camera while growing up. This continued into my adulthood, and even to this day. I love to freeze memories and relive the connection.

In 2016, my first daughter was born. I left my job of 10 years, and decided to invest in a “big girl” camera. I captured milestones with my daughter and family, and taught myself Manual mode, settings, editing, and business basics. Yes, I am 100% self-taught! Having being self-taught, I have had to experience all of the highs and lows that fall into building the business I have today. Experiencing these have helped share my knowledge with others. I am a firm believer in community over competition, and love to spend my time getting to know others within the community. I love hosting local socials to bring other photographers together, and grow with each other.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

Having been in the photography business for over 6 years, I have found the most effective client growth strategy is word of mouth. Giving each client that “one-of-a-kind” experience can naturally grow your business in a positive direction. Certain steps I take to accomplish this are:

1. Listening to your clients. Each client is different with their vision for the session, their style, their expectations. It is your job to capture these memories, as a photographer, and leave them feeling heard.
2. Customer service should always be unique and consistent with your clients. Quick replies, style guides, prep guides, consistent communication, and quick return build a good rapport.
3. Treat each client like they are your family.
4. Make each experience memorable and fun, leaving them with smiles. Leave them wanting to come back solely for the experience and results they receive from choosing you.

These simple and easy strategies leave my clients happy and grateful. Happy clients share your images, tag you, and tell every one they know! It’s important to always do your best work with each client. Being consistent with experience and workflow from start to finish will create a positive outcome that they will want to share.

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

One of my favorite quotes is, “We rise by lifting others”. People can take this in any general direction, but for me it’s a deeper meaning. Successful people link and come together; they don’t bring each other down. I am a firm believer in community over competition. Some of my best memories as a photographer have been made with fellow creatives within my community. I reach out and help those who need advice, have other photographers shadow me, and put together social events such as “shoot-outs” for photographers to build their portfolio. There’s room for everyone in the community. We all have different visions, emotions, mind-set, and creativity that set us apart.
I love to be a positive influence on my community, and someone for people to look up to. When others reach out for simple advice, I listen and give my best opinion to help.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.jenniferalyssaphotography.com
• Instagram: www.Instagram.com/jenniferalyssa_photography
• Facebook: www.Facebook.com/jenniferalyssaphotography