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

Jenn, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. In our experience, overnight success is usually the result of years of hard work laying the foundation for success, but unfortunately, it’s exactly this part of the story that most of the media ignores. So, we’d appreciate if you could open up about your growth story and the nitty, gritty details that went into scaling up.

My journey to success has been a largely slow and incremental process. I started out doing family photography and portraits and it took a few years for me to build up a solid client base of amazing people who return to me year after year for their photography needs. I really wanted to break into weddings and I had a gut feeling that it was something that I could really excel at but (understandably) people want a highly experienced photographer to capture the most important day of their lives! I had to build up my wedding portfolio and I had to get creative. I recruited friends who were already married and asked them to put on their wedding clothes so I could practice wedding portraits. Then I got lucky and a dear friend with a tight budget took a chance and asked me to photograph her wedding. I still wasn’t a full-time photographer at this point but a family that I was nannying for connected me with an established photographer who saw enough potential in me that he was willing to take me on as an unofficial apprentice and I started shooting weddings for him. Eventually I built up a beautiful portfolio that I was able to leverage and market into a really successful wedding photography business.

Even with that success, there was still so much more I wanted to do. I was feeling really drawn to boudoir photography but I didn’t have a studio and paying to rent spaces and hotels can quickly become very expensive. So my husband and I decided to convert the second bedroom in our home into my studio. It was amazing. It was a small space but I was creative and determined. I made it work. I was booking tons of clients and I wasn’t having to commute or pay rent! I rapidly started increasing my monthly income and was feeling so creatively fulfilled.

Then the pandemic hit. Every business owner and creative in the world knows what that struggle looked like so I won’t go into detail but my husband and I realized that we needed to take this weird and chaotic time as an opportunity to invest in my business so that it could thrive in a post-pandemic world. With the shutdown it became apparent that having my clients in my home wasn’t going to be sustainable… I needed a dedicated space. Our focus shifted to our backyard, more specifically- the garage. We knew it was time to tear that thing down! So we did. We tore down our 100 year old garage and it’s place we built an absolutely gorgeous 675 square foot studio with 12 foot ceilings. Every detail was built to my specifications. Light and windows everywhere, power sources within arms reach wherever you’re standing and an ideal station for makeup artists to work on my clients. When things started opening up again, I was ready! Having this beautiful, dedicated space to work in has allowed me to take on a larger variety of clients and shoots and to really make my clients feel cared for and pampered when they come in. It’s also allowed me to have a much greater work/life balance. When I’m not shooting weddings my commute is a 10 second walk out my backdoor!

Jenn, 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 have always been a visual artist but prior to becoming photographer, I worked in education administration for many years. I was working as a preschool director here in LA and was experiencing the burnout that befalls so many educators. As a bit of an outlet I would bring my camera to work and would take beautiful portraits of my students that I then framed and displayed in the halls of my school. Eventually, parents started hiring me to take pictures of their families and I realized that I wanted a different career path. It’s been 11 years since I left that job and I don’t regret it for a single second.

I am a photographer who utilizes both natural and studio lighting and the focus of my business is weddings, boudoir and creative portraits. I get to be present for and document some of the happiest moments in people’s lives and I LOVE that. With my boudoir work I get to empower and lift up women as they reclaim their bodies as their own. I get to help all of my clients by showing them how incredible they look when they aren’t viewing themselves through their own (and often judgmental) lens. I think that is the thing that I am most proud of… when my clients look at their photos and say “Oh my god, I look AMAZING!”

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I think there are a couple of things that really helped me build up a great reputation but the first started with being good person! My clients feel cared for and respected because I genuinely care for and respect them! I’m punctual, organized and considerate of an individual’s needs. I take great pride in protecting my clients privacy and never hassle them if they choose to keep their photos private. I have clients that I have built up treasured relationships with- I’ve documented their love stories, captured the first photos of their newborn babies and never lost sight of what an honor it is to be present in such intimate moments.

I’ve spent years developing a successful workflow and having a studio has really allowed me to stay focused on my clients from start to finish. I don’t think that there is an artist out there who hasn’t struggled with procrastination but there is absolutely no room for it when your art is your business! My clients don’t wait months and months to see their wedding photos, they get everything on their one month anniversary. My clients know they can count on my professionalism that alone has brought me so many referrals and helped me grow my business so much.

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

This is perhaps the most tragic chapter in my success story. My initial capital was actually the life insurance money that my father left me after his sudden passing. I already had a camera when he passed but I was able to do some significant upgrading on my gear that brought me from a hobbyist to professional photographer. My father was an incredibly hardworking person and while I would give anything to still have him here with us, I have no doubt that he would be so deeply proud that I was able to use that money to support myself and my family.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.jennspainphotography.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/jennspainphotography
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/jennspainphoto
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/jenn-spain-photography-los-angeles

Image Credits
All photos taken by Jenn Spain