We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jen Naugle. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jen below.

Jen, appreciate you joining us today. Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?

I attending Ringling College of Art and Design, and as a freshman I had to take an introduction to black and white photography class. Armed with an old 35 mm, I absolutely fell in love with the art of photography. I was often in the dark room until the 2 am closing time, and really loved the process of shooting something and the excitment of seeing it unfold in the darkroom. I was a Graphic Design major, and as much as I wanted to change to Photography, I thought it would be easier to earn a living and have a successful career in design, as digital cameras weren’t very relevant at the time.

After graduating, I was working at Raymond James Financial in their marketing department as a Graphic Designer. I purchased my first DSLR digital camera in 2005, with the idea of doing portraits on the side.
I slowly built up a steady client base, and after about 5 years at RJ, I decided to take the leap of leaving and starting my own photography business. I am grateful for my time in a corporate job, I learned so much about business, working with people, time management and working strategy that I believe really helped me to succeed when I branched out on my own. I was able to continue to do freelance design for them as well as I continued to grow my income as a photographer.

When I first started, there really wasn’t much I would turn down for a job. I photographed weddings, newborns, toddlers and families, business portraits & events. Over the years, I have narrowed my scope of work and currently focus on business portraits and family photo sessions. I think having a clearer focus at the beginning of my business would have helped me have a better marketing strategy and I may have seem quicker growth, however, I am glad I was able to experience photographing lots of things and the time to learn what I truly love and what I never want to photograph again – weddings!

Jen, 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 am a commercial and fine art photographer located in Tampa, Fl. I fell in love with photography while attending Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, FL. After receiving my BFA, I worked as a designer for a large company before starting my own portrait photography business in 2005.

I absolutely love working with, and getting to know other people. It is very rewarding to work with people to create beautiful portraits they love. It isn’t easy for everyone to feel comfortable in front of a camera, and my relaxed way of working & interacting helps put people at ease, enabling me to capture those beautiful natural smiles. Many of my clients become my friends, and I love cheering them on and seeing their successes in life.

I am currently working on adding a new line of photography – underwater portraits! I am very excited to be learning something new and have something unique to offer. I will be creating kids portraits as well as women’s portraits, all underwater in a natural spring! Stay tuned for more details on that!

While the commercial side of my business focuses on branding and family portraits, I recently began developing a body of fine art macro photography work. Using mostly things found in nature, I enjoy exploring the smallest parts of objects to create abstract work focusing on color, light and textures. I love the world of the abstract, and taking something so tiny and textural and blowing it up to a large piece where the original whole object is unrecognizable. Beauty really is everywhere, and I love being curious about objects to see them in a new way.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I work with an organization called the Jack and Jill Late Stage Cancer Foundation, who sends families with children under 18 on a vacation when a parent has been diagnosed with late stage cancer. I photographed one family who came to Clearwater Beach, the mom had only a few short months left with her husband and three teenage boys. She had beautiful blonde hair, a contagious laugh and her skin was tanned from the time in the sun. It was such an honor to be there to capture their family portrait, and I think about them often and wonder how the boys are doing. I have photographed other families in similar situations over the years, and it is a reminder to me of how precious life is and how important the photographs we take are.

One time I ran into a mom and her daughter that I had done a family portrait for years before. Her daughter was telling me how much she still loved the portraits that were hanging on the staircase and how happy they still made everyone. It’s an amazing feeling to have your artwork of another family hanging in their home, holding special memories.

I have another client, who I absolutely adore, who struggles with some issues with her appearance. She is the most beautiful person, inside and out. We talked about the things she did not like, what she did like, and we worked together to create the most beautiful portraits that she loved and was so proud to use in her marketing. Showing someone how beautiful they are through my portraits is such a gift I cherish.
I believe my work is as important to my clients as it is fulfilling to me. Whether someone hangs a family portrait on their wall, uses images in their marketing, or purchases a fine art print from my macro work, there is no greater feeling than creating art that others will enjoy for years to come.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

One of my biggest lessons, both as a business owner/photographer as well as life in general, has been to stop looking at what others are doing, and look inside of myself and figure out what is right for me and my goals. There are a lot of photographers out there. I mean, a lot. Every year there is a new crop of people entering the marketplace, and over the years, marketing, social media, sales, pricing, etc has changed drastically. Whether it is selling digital files only vs products, in-person vs online proofing, pricing strategies, etc., there are a lot of passionate photographers sharing their views. I would have coffee with a fellow photographer, attend a networking event, go on social media, etc and get caught up with what others are doing, causing me to second guess myself and the decisions I had been making for my business.

Once I learned to start trusting myself and my intuition, everything in my life has changed dramatically and for the better. While I still go on social media and attend events for photographers, I rely on a few trusted friends/fellow entrepreneurs to brainstorm and get advice from. These women have been a solid rock for me over the years, and getting advice from authentic people who know me and my personal goals has been a game changer. While earning a living is certainly important to me, as a creative, I get so much fulfillment from what I do, and to me that is the most important thing.

Contact Info:

• Website: jennauglephotography.com
• Instagram: jen_naugle_photography
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/jennauglephotography

Image Credits
Jen Naugle