Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jacq Seitter. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Jacq, appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

My most meaningful project by far was a photoshoot I did with my grandparents last spring. I am so lucky & thankful to have grown up less than 2 minutes away from their house — a place I whiled away countless hours through all phases of life thus far. When I was in elementary school, due to scheduling conflicts, I spent every single school day morning at their house. Grandma made me breakfast while we watched cartoons together (an excellent early 2000s lineup of Jimmy Neutron followed by The Wild Thornberries), & then Poppy emerged from his garage workshop to drop me off at school. Even when I moved onto high school & didn’t need the supervision or rides anymore, I still spent many weekend hours filling them in on my daily life.

As it tends to do, time has passed, & they have aged quite gracefully over the years. Within the past year, however, Poppy has shown signs of memory loss. There are good days & there are hard days, & it’s a harsh reminder that nothing is forever. He’s in his 90’s & Grandma isn’t too far behind, & the fact that I am 31 years old & still have a set of healthy grandparents is not lost on me at all. I am so wildly grateful that they were willing to step outside of their comfort zones & do a photoshoot with me. I will cherish the photos of them laughing together at home in their backyard forever, & you would be hard pressed to ever find a shoot that means more to me.

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.

I was never a stranger to photography, as my dad has been an enthusiast his entire life. Growing up (& still to this day honestly), he was always taking photos, & we have BINS of prints that are always a genuine delight to sift through. My older sister was naturally inspired by him first, & she took film photography classes in college. Being the younger sister, I was often recruited to help her with assignments, either as a subject or simply someone to tag along. It only made sense for my interest in photography to be piqued as well, & I started off with my dad’s old Polaroid from the 70s & a very early generation GoPro. After a year or two, I was gifted an entry level DSLR, & that’s when I really fell in love.

Aside from photography, my other main passion is the ocean. This lead me to pursue a degree in marine science, which in turn has lead me to some pretty incredible parts of the world. I would never dream of traveling without my camera & have truly had a blast photographing different wildlife & landscapes over the years. Several years ago, while living on Maui, I decided it was finally time to upgrade my camera & splurge on an underwater housing. Being in the ocean photographing marine life is without a doubt my absolute favorite thing to do in my absolute favorite place to be, & I was notorious for accidentally spending 3-4 hours at a time snorkeling with my camera.

While I fully intend on settling back down somewhere tropical in the future, I am presently on a massive road trip with my partner in a self-renovated shuttle bus that is now our home! So far, we’ve been exploring the East Coast, but our plan is to hit every state (minus HI but including AK!) & every National Park that is accessible by road. We’ve been off to an incredible start these past few weeks, & I can only imagine the photo opportunities I’m going to stumble across over the coming months. I have prints available for sale, but more than anything, this is just really something that brings me immense joy.

After leaving my very public facing job on Maui (I worked as a naturalist/crew on whale watching boats), I was surprised to find that I missed those interactions with our guests more than I thought I would. This realization inspired me to branch out into portrait photography. As someone who had only ever focused on wildlife & landscapes, it was a fun new challenge to tackle. I’m hoping that portrait photography will allow me to work while we travel, as well as meet new people & find beautiful new locations.

In all of my photos, I strive to highlight the organic beauty & elegance of my subjects. I do not shoot portraits indoors, as I prefer to work with both natural light & backgrounds, & tend to find those photos to be more visually appealing. There is a variety of shoots that I offer, & I am always happy to consider something new upon request. I try to streamline the process for my clients as much as possible by sending out a small questionnaire & a little bit about me to ease potential nerves, as well as being readily available leading up to the shoot & providing specific details on how best to be prepared.

I love taking photos & cannot conceive of a time when I would willingly stop. There is always room to grow & improve, & I hope to never stop doing either. It’s crazy to look back at photos I took years ago & see how far I’ve come. To think that I started as a 15 year old with a GoPro Hero 3 & am now 31 with a much more legitimate setup, doing an interview with a photography publication, is really humbling. I sincerely look forward to all future opportunities photography will lead me to & can’t wait to see where I go from here.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I’m going to answer this question in two parts, as I consider wildlife/landscapes & portraits to be two completely different animals.

My ultimate goal & mission in photographing wildlife & wild spaces is ALWAYS conservation. We live on the only habitable planet that we know of & it’s home to the most incredible forms of life. As a species, we humans sometimes forget that & have unfortunately distanced ourselves from nature, often to our own detriment. I think it is of vital importance to protect wild spaces & all species of wildlife while we still have the chance, & I think educating & spreading awareness through photography is a great way to do it.

My main goal with portrait photography is to connect with others & provide them with photos that they will cherish forever. Like I’ve said, I grew up in a very photography focused household, & I know how meaningful photos can be to people. Being allowed to capture moments of couples & families through all phases of life is such a sweet privilege that I do not take for granted. I have photographed an entire extended family after learning about the patriarch’s devastating cancer diagnosis. I have photographed my grandparents while they were still in good health & able to do so. I have photographed my baby niece for her first birthday, & in the coming weeks, I will photograph her for her second. I have photographed friends, family, strangers, & strangers who became friends & family. I hope to continue to connect & make beautiful photographs with people all across the country.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect of being a creative is definitely seeing my clients’ positive responses. I am always proud of my work — I wouldn’t send it out if I wasn’t — but my opinion only means so much if my clients aren’t happy. Seeing photos that I’ve taken shared across multiple posts & platforms, used as profile pictures, etc. is always such a treat. I have received multiple thank you/holiday cards using portraits I’ve taken, & knowing those clients loved the photos enough to send them out to loved ones was incredibly flattering & rewarding.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: jacqseitterphoto
• Other: The Instagram linked above is my wildlife/landscape page, the following is for my portrait work: @jacqseitterportraits

Image Credits
Jacq Seitter