We were lucky to catch up with Jess Blackwell recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Jess, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about how you got your first non-friend, non-family client. Paint the picture for us so we can feel the same excitement you felt on that day.

When I first started photographing homes, it was for my mother’s real estate firm in my hometown. I didn’t have to find my own work, it was just given to me whenever a new listing came in. This was wonderful for the 5 years that I shot real estate, and allowed me to get a ton of practice on a wide variety of projects.

When I decided to go independent in 2017 and start fresh with a new intended clientele of architects, designers, and magazines, I was definitely intimidated in regards to finding clients and proving myself to them. I did a ton of research into companies and individuals whose work inspired me and for whom I wanted to shoot, then designed an oversized glossy postcard to send out. I think I sent 200 that first time. I knew I could email or call, but I thought this would be more attention-getting as it’s a bit of an old-fashioned way to market and might stand out more than yet another email that would possibly end up in spam. I got my first call the day after I sent those mailers out, and to this day I still don’t understand how he possibly could have gotten it that fast! He ended up being a dream client, and I worked with him many times over the years.

For the first two years of the business, I’d update the postcard with new work and send the cards out to the same group (plus a handful more) every quarter. Time and time again, I’d hear “I saw your card come in 6 months ago but photography just wasn’t top of mind at the time. I’m glad you kept sending them, because here came another as soon as I was ready to shoot a project”. Persistence really paid off! I haven’t done it in a while as most of my business is word of mouth now, but it really worked for me when I was trying to get my name out there!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am a self-employed photographer, focusing on architecture, interior design, and editorial photography. My clients are magazines, architects, designers, builders, and marketing firms. We collaborate to capture their commercial and residential projects for their portfolio, editorial exposure, advertising, and award submissions.

I believe what sets me apart is my use of supplemental lighting in coordination with the natural light to show the space at its absolute best. I also love to incorporate people into the images (often my clients, the homeowners, myself, and my assistant) to give spaces a sense of life and scale. I absolutely love what I do, and feel so grateful to be able to make a life pursuing my passion. I hope that it shows through my work and the long term relationships I build with my clients (professional and personal in many cases).

I started out shooting real estate like many photographers in my field do, which is a fantastic way to learn, but I ultimately felt like I really wanted to slow down my process and focus on creating art, playing with the light, collaborating with my clients to craft the best image, and helping these talented creatives elevate their brands. It was a great move, and I’m really honored to get to work with the people that I do, and spend time in the spaces that I do. Every day is different and brings new challenges and opportunities to grow.

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 lesson that gets drilled into you when shooting real estate is that speed (faster the better) and quantity (more pictures the better) should be the goals of a property shoot. During a busy market, you’re shooting 2-3 houses a day, and clients want at least 36 images for most MLS entries. This equates to roughly 3-5 minutes per shot. Equally efficient turnaround times are expected since real estate is such a fast moving industry.

I was starting to feel really burnt out in terms of the workflow and also my creative growth. I realized I didn’t want to get faster, I wanted to get better, and those two felt diametrically opposed to me. I was trying to incorporate more supplemental lighting at the time instead of relying on unpredictable ambient lighting, and was paying more and more attention to styling the spaces and arranging furniture in the most appealing way for each shot and that is not a quick process. I knew I couldn’t meet the needs of my company working the way I was driven to, and I couldn’t fulfill myself creatively if I worked within the system that made sense for them, so it was time for a pivot.

When I started working with home design professionals, I still felt the need to produce a ton of images in the beginning, but at least I had a lot more time to do so, and they appreciated the attention to detail and creativity I put into making those images, but there was still an element of burnout. I also found that they weren’t needing anywhere near as many images as I was providing. My confidence in narrowing down the focus of each shot and knowing what overall and detail shots would be the real heroes grew over time and now I can shoot much slower, really perfect the shots that matter, and take the time I need to edit them the rest of the way. The process is far less stressful, I’m producing better images for my clients, and I’m incredibly proud of how much I’ve grown.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspects of my business is the flexibility and variability, and I mean those in a few contexts.

First, my schedule is flexible and variable, which works really well for me. I have a lot going on in my personal life between buying/gutting/DIY renovating a house with my husband, struggling with a long and exhausting fertility journey, and now parenting my wonderful 2 year old. My husband has a full time job in Boulder (we live in Denver), so being able to make my own schedule and work as much or as little as I want has been an absolute dream. I can load up on shoots during periods where I’m not needed as much at home, and then focus on editing or schedule time off when things are busier at home. Being able to create a work/life balance that is fluid and meets my family’s needs over time is something for which I am extremely grateful.

Second, I love the variability of the work. Every project/client/shoot day is so different, and I always ALWAYS learn something new on a shoot. There’s always a problem or unique challenge I’ve never faced before and once I solve it on site or through research afterward, I can add that to my tool belt for next time. Not feeling rushed on set and knowing that the quality of the work is the top priority over quantity or speed means I can take chances to create something extra beautiful or use trial and error to find the best way to light a challenging scene. I am also a total design nerd so getting to see all the different things people are doing in this field is constantly inspiring and exciting to me.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.jessblackwellphotography.com
• Instagram: @jessblackwellphoto
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JessBlackwellPhoto
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessblackwelldenver/

Image Credits

Jess Blackwell Photography