We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jenni Durnin a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Jenni, appreciate you joining us today. Going back to the beginning – how did you come up with the idea in the first place?

The idea to start my photography business came to me in college. In my freshman year, I picked up a gig photographing college students tailgating on campus before football games. It was an easy gig that required no technical skill. I was handed a very simple point and shoot camera and walked around asking people to smile for the camera. Then I would hand them a business card where they could go and purchase their photo. And I LOVED it. I went and added photography as a major that week. After college, I worked for a photography studio and learned the ins and outs of posing and lighting. But I had zero knowledge on how to start a business or market myself, so ultimately ended up putting the camera down for a “real” job. I worked in corporate for about 12 years, sitting in my taupe cubical day in and day out. Then in 2020, I was laid off. It should have been devastating. But instead, I picked up my camera and dove headfirst into opening my business. It was the best thing that could have happened to me.

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?

I am a wedding and portrait photographer based in Charleston, South Carolina. My ultimate goal with my photography is to capture moments of real emotion (I specifically love to capture joy). As a wedding photographer with a background in corporate event planning and marketing, I also try to be as helpful as possible. Wedding planning is so fun, but also incredibly stressful (and I say that from experience, having just gotten married myself). I offer my clients vendor suggestions and timeline tips and I provide wedding inspo and tips on my Instagram and TikTok. I want to make sure that my clients have the most stress-free time planning the biggest day of their lives and that they are able to actually enjoy themselves.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

Word of mouth is your best friend. And the way word of mouth happens is providing an amazing client experience. I tell people all the time to chose your photographer not only based on if their work resonates with your personal aesthetic, but also if you vibe with them personally. Your photographer will be by your side for 90% of your wedding day. If you don’t like their personality, that’s what you will remember every time you look at your photos.

But in addition to ensuring that our personalities mesh well together, I also like to make sure my client has a great experience with me. The first part of that is communication. I try to anticipate client questions and answer them before they get a chance to get asked. I also try to stay in communication with my clients before their wedding or portrait session. Nobody wants to feel like they’ve been forgotten about or aren’t a priority to you. The second part of that is providing helpful information. I want to be a resource for my clients – I want them to feel like they can ask me anything, big or small. Because my clients ARE important to me! There’s a lot more that goes into an amazing client experience, but I think those two things are the main pillars.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

Photography at a wedding is one of the only keepsakes you have from that day. The same is true of family photos, or engagements photos (or any really!). You’ll eventually discard the flowers, the clothes, the decor, but the photographs are what you keep forever. Everything, every vendor, is important on that day – I’m not saying my job is more important than others, but rather that knowing my product is the one they keep forever is the most rewarding part of my job.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.jennilaurenphotography.com
• Instagram: @jennilauren_photography
• Facebook: @jennilaurenphotos
• Other: TikTok: @jennilauren_photography