We recently connected with Jenee Mackiewicz and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Jenee thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How do you feel about asking friends and family to support your business? What’s appropriate, what’s not? Where do you draw the line?

When starting a business, especially when you have two children at home and you just left a 9-5 job you worked your whole life to get, you have to lean on the people around you. I was a school counselor and felt called to be a wedding photographer. I had no idea where to start or even begin getting clients. I knew that I left a career that I spent 6 years getting educated for and was leaning heavily on my friends and family to help spread the word and allow me to take the beginner photos of their families. I can honestly say that if my friends and family did not love me and trust me to capture the timeless moments of their lives I would not be here. They put the word out about my business and who I am and allowed others to find me and from that word of mouth my business exploded! I have so much gratitude towards every single one of my family and friends and thankful that they helped me get to this point in my business!

Jenee, 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?

I grew up with photography NO WHERE on my radar. I knew that I wanted to be a counselor and especially a counselor of teenagers. I went to college and got my graduate degree in school counseling. I works as a school counselor for 3 years and loved it. I loved my school district and loved the children that I was able to counsel. Well my friend and photographer of my wedding (Autumn Locke Photography) asked me to start second shooting for her! And to say that I thought she was crazy would be an understatement. I had zero creative ability in my body and my iphone pictures stunk. I had never touched a camera until the week before I second shot my first wedding. Well I went to that wedding and fell head over heals in love with everything that involved being a photographer. Every single aspect excited me and I knew that I wanted to do this job! I came home to my husband pitched him the idea and he luckily was totally cool about it! So for two years I second shot with my friend and she taught me everything I know now. After two years I started my business under a name Always In My Arms Photography. Well that name didn’t really stick because lets be honest it was wordy and hard to remember! So I rebranded to Jenee Mack Photography and my business has been going strong for the last 6 years!!!

I primarily do wedding photography and that is honestly my heart and soul! I also do some family sessions and newborn sessions, but watching couples get married and being able to cheer them on brings me SO much joy! My focus for my wedding business is to offer my clients love. I want my clients to feel an unmeasurable amount of love from their photographer and know fully well that they forever have someone in their corner cheering on their marriage and someone excited to watch their marriage and family grow!

I am most proud of being able to watch so many stories unfold! I get the chance to hear so my beautiful love stories and see it come to the climax of their wedding day! And to be honest I cry at every single wedding I do and I am crying even writing this. Hello massive sap here! Their story is why I do this job because their love story deserves to be told and highlighted!

I am most proud of….My brand and let me tell you I get nervous even saying that because talking about my brand makes me nervous because my clients are the main stars in my business! But the best way to describe myself is that I do not take myself too serious. I communicate primarily in sarcasm and love to make people laugh. And when you are in a business that more often than not people do not like getting their picture taken. I make it my goal to allow them to have fun doing something that normally is not that fun! So in my business my clients and I laugh a ton, we get to know each other and I have become very good friends with many of my amazing clients! And just being able to fully embrace who I am in my business is the truest blessing!All while creating and giving my clients timeless images that they can have on their walls for the next 50 years and it gives me chills that my clients will be showing their grandkids the images that I took of their wedding day showing them what love is and just how long it can last!

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

A good relationship I truly believe starts with getting to know the whole story. Really getting to know your clients and know their hearts and not just see them as dollar signs or a source to build your business. I keep in touch with my clients through an email list that keep them updated with all things my business and what is coming up that they can be apart of! Instagram is a real source to foster brand loyalty by encouraging their life and marriage even after the wedding or the family event! When clients/friends know hey she really cares I have noticed that is what keeps families coming back and its just the best. When I have taken a couples engagement pictures, wedding pictures, materinty pictures, newborn pictures, and family pictures for years it brings me joy! I get to literally watch their family grow and get to know their kids and seriously what is better than that?

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

Going above and beyond! As a photographer during a wedding day. I am constantly looking for more and more ways to love my clients and their families more and more. Grabbing a drink for the bride and groom, asking the mother and fathers of the bride and groom what images they would want and if there is anything I can help them with, and doing the things that people just don’t see. It is a heart change of serving people and being a massive help to have their wedding run as smoothly as it possibly could!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.jeneemackphotography.com
• Instagram: Jenee Mack Photography
• Facebook: Jenee Mack Photography