We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Chris & Jessie Hay a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Chris & Jessie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s been one of the most interesting investments you’ve made – and did you win or lose? (Note, these responses are only intended as entertainment and shouldn’t be construed as investment advice)

When we started our wedding photography company, we had a broad artistic vision and only a vague idea of the direction we wanted to take our business, but didn’t have the business experience or understanding to know how to get there. At first, we knew we needed to grow in two major areas. First, we knew we needed help narrowing our artistic focus so that we could create work that was unique and somewhat identifiable as our own. Additionally, and almost more importantly, we needed to learn the marketing side of business- something we were both majorly lacking. We knew that it didn’t matter how great our work was, it ultimately needed to be seen in order for us to thrive as a business. We knew that our most crucial investment would be into our own education.

Naturally, as artists, we gravitated towards solving the first issue- refining our artistic expression. We researched and read about the endless array of courses to finally settle on the one that we felt aligned with our vision, which was TWOMANN University’s “Metanoia” – a course that spoke directly to our hearts and what we value as artists in the wedding photography industry. We learned how to hone in on our own artistic strengths as well as how to voice this openly in our marketing. This allowed use to grow in our craft so that we can be discerning in our choice of clients. The education we received in this course was geared towards photography but actually has helped us to grow and develop on a a personal level.

Our second best investment was also in education- but this time it was a course in marketing. We dreaded this aspect as we knew it was not our strong suit but was necessary if we wanted to make our business work. Again, we researched and decided on “Six Figure Photography”- a course by Ben Hartley. While marketing seemed daunting, we found this course to make it manageable and gave us actionable steps to build a marketing framework that became self-perpetuating. This was an invaluable investment to help us not feel like we are constantly fighting an uphill battle with trying to market ourselves in an industry that is quite saturated with a wide variety of photographers.

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.

We were both lifelong artists with a variety of expressions. Prior to become wedding photographers, Jessie was a professional fine artist- creating large resin ocean seascapes as well as mixed media abstract paintings. Chris had a long list of careers that ranged from being a band roadie to metal sculptor, to an officer on a mega yacht but he always had a camera in his hand since childhood. When met, we instantly began creating together- from large paintings to fine art travel photography. We loved the process and wanted to create something that was timeless and meaningful but also marketable- which is how we arrived on our current pursuit, wedding photography.

Initially, we knew we didn’t want to be typical “wedding photographers”- in fact, we were quite apprehensive about the industry as a whole. We decided if we were going into it, the aim would be to create photos that aligned with our values. Prioritizing capturing authentic moments above all else and to focus on the beautiful over the pretty- those are the mottos we repeat to ourselves as we go into every wedding, so we don’t get swept up in the pageantry of it all. We are inspired to always be curious, always be watching, searching for the little moments and connections that are unique and are not only be seen visually but also felt deeply. We are constantly striving to grow as artists and as humans through our craft. We work to connect with our clients, to be honest and human so that they can be vulnerable, intimate, and embrace their day fully while allowing us to shoot those moments from the “inside.” These are the precious memories that we are committed to capturing. Sure, we love the time to create beautiful portraits, but the photographs of the interactions, reactions, and emotions between loved ones, the ones that cannot be recreated, those are the real treasures. More important than a record of how everything looked, our photos remind couples of how their wedding felt.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

We definitely wish we would have invested in learning about marketing earlier in our journey. This would have saved us a lot of frustration and overwhelm when initially trying to get our work “out there.”

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

We think wedding photographers and creatives are misunderstood on many levels. A lot of people don’t understand how much mental and emotional bandwidth we put into our craft. The wedding day itself is a beautiful, fun event but it’s also full of curveballs that we’re constantly dealing with. (bad lighting, weather, personalities of guests, etc). However it doesn’t end there for us. We spend the days/weeks afterwards reliving each wedding. Going through the thousands of images over and over, picking out the best of them to tell the story of the day, deciding what style of editing looks best, critiquing our own work and questioning what could we have done better. We’ve delivered hundreds of thousands of images but don’t forget each one has been mindfully captured, chosen and edited by us. We really strive to give our clients something to cherish and having them appreciate everything that goes into that process makes all the difference to us.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.wildeyedphotography.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_wild_eyed/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Thewildeyed
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@wildeyedphotography

Image Credits

Photography by Wild Eyed Photography