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

Jess, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’ve love to hear an interesting investment story – what was one of the best or worst investments you’ve made? (Note, these responses are only intended as entertainment and shouldn’t be construed as investment advice)

As a photographer who is running their own business, I think the best thing I’ve invested in is education. I probably spend the most on education than anything even to this day. It’s important to me to keep up with what’s happening in the industry and continuously learning new things. I will say that not all education materials or courses have been worth it. I think the best thing is to invest in the people that inspire you, and who you want to learn from. Look at that person’s business and see if it’s the way you’d like to be running your own. I’m at a point in my career now that I hire a personal business coach to keep me on track with my goals, and help me discover new ways to market and streamline my business.

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

I’m Jess, a Indianapolis based wedding, elopement, couples, and creative portrait photographer. I love to travel for elopements and explore new places as well. I have been taking photos for over a decade and got into it an early age and really ran with it since high school. I started with high school seniors and taking photos of my friends which lead me to exploring more fashion photography and eventually getting into photographing couples, which lead me to weddings. I have grown a lot over the last 6 years in building my business into something I connect with and am proud of. I am drawn to creating more fun concepts and styles for my couples, which sets me apart from the traditional and I attract the clients that I love and who trust me in the whole process. I think i’m most proud of learning to trust myself, and let go of what others think… you don’t have to put yourself into this box or mold where you think you need to be because that’s what everyone else is doing and getting hired for. If I have any advice it’s to absolutely do your own thing, and you’ll stand out from the crowd. Trust the process, trust yourself, and trust the universe that it will bring you what you need.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

When I very first started with photographing weddings, I photographed a friends wedding for dirt cheap at the time. I wanted the experience and some images to start showing my wedding work. Man… did I learn a lot…

I had no idea then that I should’ve been prepared with so many things before their small backyard wedding day. We didn’t discuss any expectations from each other at all and it really was just a go with the flow thing day of. The day went great and I thought I had done such a great job! .. Honestly looking back I still think I did a good job.. haha.

Once the day was over and a few weeks had gone by, I had packaged together a beautiful custom engraved flash drive that was inside of this gorgeous case I designed and ordered. I had really spent everything I earned on making this for them. I delivered the package to the groom who was my friend personally. I was so proud to give this to them and couldn’t wait for them to see the photos.

A few hours went by and I got a call from the groom while I was inside a CVS shopping for snacks.. I was so excited to answer in the hopes of them loving everything.. well.. that wasn’t the reaction I got. The groom said.. “Is this really all we get?” ” I sincerely regret having you as our wedding photographer” …. and hung up on me.

I was shocked… I dropped anything I had in the store and ran out of their in tears with my heart beating so fast. I couldn’t understand why they were upset.. I had delivered the most beautiful package with beautiful photos for them.. what was wrong?

Come to learn later, they were upset with the amount of photos they got, and that there wasn’t more candids or family photos.

The thing was, was that they never told me they wanted these things up front.. and I never asked either. Nothing was said day of as well about any of their wants or expectations. So neither of us were to know.

I had no idea then the amount of work that should truly go into planning a wedding when it comes to photography coverage.

I was really hurt by that experience and I lost that friend due to it. I could’ve let that destroy me and let fear stop me from ever trying again. Instead I learned to let go of it, learn from it and move on.

I’m so glad I didn’t let that first time experience ruin me or keep me from playing the game longer. It taught me a huge lesson and I don’t blame my couple at all. Looking back, I’m grateful I had a scary experience to keep me on my toes and prepare for the future.

That was a long time ago now, and I’ve come such a long way since then. But the moral of the story is not let something scary happen to you and give up. But to learn from it, and move on with intention of making the next one better.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I think the best way to build your social media audience is to show you. People are going to fall in love with the person behind the business and want to hire ‘you’ not just your work. People are more likely to hire someone they feel like they connect with than something where they can’t find who runs it. Showing up on my stories, reels and feed has really helped people get to know me through social media and it helps build that feeling of friendship without even being real life friends. I could also say that you should be posting more, figuring our your brand pillars and all that jazz…which is true if you want to get more traction… but the biggest thing I see is not seeing ‘who’ is behind that screen and running the show. Your audience wants to feel connected with you no matter if you think you don’t have anything interesting to share. People will relate to the smallest things and be like ‘oh wow.. that person does that too..’ such as having mix match socks because you can never find the matches, or the toppings you put on your toast to the fact that you also get anxiety at the gas station. Literally.. I know these things sound silly but it’s all about connection.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.justjessphotography.com
• Instagram: @justjessphotography
• Facebook: facebook.com/justjessphotography
• Youtube: JustJess Photography
• Other: Pinterest: JustJess Photography TikTok: JustJess Photography