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

Hi Jesica, thanks for joining us today. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?

Being a wedding photographer is much more than taking beautiful images. In fact, I’d say taking beautiful images is the smallest part of my job. Being successful means I have to be an excellent photographer with an extensive amount of knowledge of all my gear, a marketer, an editor, a customer service rep, a web designer, a tax expert, etc. And I’ll admit, I’m not always great at succeeding in all of these parts of my job, but I try my hardest and my main goal is to have excellent customer service. I make it a point to provide my clients with prompt responses and deliver their beautiful galleries in a very short amount of time. For instance, full wedding galleries are delivered within 30 days of their wedding date!! I would say another part of my job that I really pride myself in is making sure I am producing a consistent style so that clients always know what to expect when getting their images back. I want people to see my images and immediately recognize them and know they’re my work. I want people to remember their experience with me as one of the best they’ve had, and leave them thinking of me as a friend who added joy, laughter, and professionalism throughout their wedding planning process and wedding day, and delivered them the best gallery with them looking their absolute best!!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I have been in love with photography for as long as I can remember-and in love with pretty much any type of art, design, or creative project. I love DIY and building furniture about the same amount I love photography. I graduated from Texas State University with a degree in Interior Design, minor in Art. I have always been interested in photography and was able to take many photography classes in college so it was always something I knew I wanted to do in the future somehow, I just didn’t know how. It’s so weird to think this, but back in college I didn’t even know what a wedding photographer did and what that all entailed.

I was able to get into the wedding photography world by second shooting for people which is THE BEST way to learn and grow! I highly recommend it when starting out! I knew nothing about how a wedding timeline worked and what all I am responsible for in that roll. It’s not just showing up and taking pictures and leaving. It’s so much preparing for the day to ensure it runs smoothly and continuing after the wedding during the editing process. It was so eye opening but I loved it as soon as I realized how it all worked. I love being busy and creating beautiful work so it is a great combination!

Shooting weddings is really a passion of mine-I love it and I think it really shows to my clients. They know how much I care and how important their wedding is to me. I think I’m really good at staying calm and keeping things running smoothly during the wedding day and preparing in advance so that that can happen successfully. I also think I’m extremely good at producing really creative work that my clients love and will cherish forever!

I am so proud to have been able to build this profitable business that I love dearly and have a tremendous passion for. Owning your own business is a lot of work, and no matter how complex it is to be self-employed, I have treasured every second of it. Doing what I love and being able to take pictures of people on the happiest days of their lives, while capturing those moments for them, just can’t be beaten. This journey has been so rewarding! Not only have I met amazing clients, but I have formed relationships with many amazing people in my industry as well.

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

Going to school for Interior Design, naturally that is what I planned on doing for a living. When I graduated from college in 2008, as most remember, the market crash effected us all. It was difficult to find a job in my field so there was a lot of part time jobs I did-including photography. I would second shoot a wedding here and there and do family sessions as often as I could and loved it so much but at the time had no idea how to go full time. In 2013, to acquire something more permanent and consistent, I decided to get my teaching certification and became a teacher and coach. That had its ups and downs, and although I loved many parts of that job, it no longer allowed me any time for photography. It was so clear to me at this point the love and passion I had for photography and how much I missed it.

I hands down have the most supportive husband. He knew the struggles I was going through with teaching and how much I was missing photography. I hadn’t picked up my camera in months and he knew there needed to be a career change. He flat out told me to quit teaching and go for it with photography! I was so happy and excited for what was ahead-even though I had no idea what that would look like and how I would do it but I was ready for the learning and work it would take and the opportunity to figure it all out!

I immediately consumed myself into education-learning from all the great educators and watching all the webinars, attending conferences, and buying all the courses. It changed my life in months. I was shocked at the amount of education that was out there and how much these successful photographers were wanting to help other photographers. I felt like I learned more in a few months about business and photography than I learned with my degree my entire time in college. It was consuming and I was obsessed. I attended a conference a few months after making this decision to switch over to photography and got to meet all these educators that I had been learning from online. They felt like celebrities to me! I heard their stories, their struggles and could relate to so many things they spoke on. I felt like I was right where I belonged. That conference will forever be a huge point in my life that I’ll never forget.

To this day, I still invest in continuing education with the same photographers that helped me years ago! They are still doing amazing work by helping photographers on another level and providing knowledge that is so beneficial to me!

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

The photography market is very saturated, so it’s vital for my business to continue to show up and stand out. I am definitely a people person and love creating long lasting relationships with my clients. A lot of my clients come from past clients who have recommended me because of their positive experiences they had with me. I want to make a lasting impact on people-and not just the bride and groom. Everyone I come in contact with at weddings is so important to me-parents of the couple, wedding party, friends, family, etc. Everyone matters and is so special to the bride and groom and I want them to know how much I care and that I’m taking good care of their people! It’s not just about showing up and taking pictures and leaving. I am there as a support system, a friend, and someone to make sure things go as planned so that we can have the best wedding day possible!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://jesicaclayphotography.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jesicaclayphotography/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jesicaclayphotography
• Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/jesicaclayphotography