We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jessica Faehnle a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Jessica, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s been the best thing you’ve ever seen (or done yourself) to show a customer that you appreciate them?

The best thing I’ve ever done to show a client (because I don’t ever call them “customer”, I make them my friend) I appreciate them and their time is… I connect on a personal level and show genuine understanding of their needs. I have many stories of appreciation for my clients. They are the reason I do this work. It’s not just my love of photography and art that keeps me doing this job. Every client has a story, even if they are coming to me for a headshot to use on Zoom. Everyone matters. I like to get to know a client. What makes them the individual that stands in front of my camera? Your story is important. Getting to know someone and make them feel seen is important.
I had a client a couple years ago that came to me for portraits because she had a medical diagnosis that was not positive. It could take her life. It was then that she realized that she hadn’t had a photo of herself taken since her wedding in her early 20’s. She was in her late 40’s. She came to me to feel beautiful, but to also concrete her legacy for her family. At the end of the day, our families have their memories of us and photos.
After consulting with her for several days, I designed a shoot around her wants and needs. She got to dream up exactly what kind of shoot she wanted. A few days later, she came to my studio space. I did her hair, makeup, and served her luxury chocolates, and wine. She talked to me about life and what crazy things were happening around her at the time. This is a person that I had just met, and I gave her the opportunity to open up and not be afraid to be exactly who she was. It’s so often that we are guarded…. even fake around people, and she felt safe to open up. The story doesn’t stop there, there were many emotional moments during this shoot. We would stop, talk, and move to the next look, connecting further with each new moment. By the end, we had become friends of sorts.
After everything was finished, and the photos were all edited, she came back to me to say that she had felt beautiful and special. That’s all I wanted for her. That’s what she deserved to feel. In addition to her shoot and the good that came from that, when I packed up her printed images to send to her, I included a special thank you note and a gift that said how much I really appreciated the time she had spent with me. It was something for self care and to remind her that this photo session wasn’t just about pictures, it was about her confidence, care, and courage to keep going forward in life.
I should mention, I believe in service. A part of my service is truly finding what my client’s need from the experience I create for them. Each person is special to me, and no two shoots are the same. Some call it a weakness to connect with clients as I do, but I’ve always been that way. Service to my client and to my work is what sets me apart for my business.

Jessica, 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’ve been a photographer seemly my whole life. The best photographer… No. Am I striving to be at the top of my art, knowledge, and growth every day…. Yes. I’m also here everyday to make the best work possible. The main concentration in my photography business is women’s portraiture. More specifically, magazine quality images that can be used to hang on my clients’ walls or used on any social media or professional platform they like. I provide the best images for my client that they have ever had. How did I get to this as my profession and focus? Well, it’s a long story of discovery and opportunity.

I haven’t always been a professional photographer, but I always had this knack for the creative side of life. I’ve been photographing things since I was a small child. My Father was a hobbyist photographer. He would use his 35mm film Pentax camera to photograph everything from our family vacations to his motorcycle. Growing up with him definitely had an impact on my future choice of career. So I guess I’ve been photographing for over 30 years now. That is so crazy to think that.

I was dance major in college. I wanted to be a professional dancer since I could walk. I did become a professional dancer in New York City for a time. Around a decade to be precise. I was also a dog walker, store manager, account executive, corporate trainer, makeup artist, and an after school teacher (just to mention a few jobs.) Those jobs and career choices were very much for necessity than for happiness and passion. I still enjoyed every single professional experience I’ve ever had. The good, bad, and in between formed my knowledge of business, people, and navigation of this world. Most importantly, how to demand my worth and respect for my work in a professional setting.

During my time in New York City as a dancer, I met many people that needed head shots and didn’t have a lot of money. So I did headshot and branding photos for my friends. I didn’t charge anything at all. It was all for the love of the camera. I took photography classes and studied books. I bought new cameras and gear to keep up. My love just grew and grew, but photography was never supposed to be my job. I even had some bosses in my corporate days take advantage of my talent and education. They would ask me to photograph work events and do head shots at the office. I know, I can’t believe myself too. (Always charge for your work, talent, and education.)

Skipping ahead many years, I moved to San Diego for my Husband’s career. I found myself without a job and now I was a stay at home mom. It was the first time I had ever not worked outside of the home. This afforded me the opportunity to jump into my hobby again. Again, I never intended photography to be anything, but a hobby. Found friends in my new California home, and had a brilliant idea to pick up my camera again to do their maternity portraits. This awoke something in me that I had been missing for so long…. the feeling of being productive and useful. I wanted to create a business making beautiful portraits, while also allowing myself the flexibility to raise my kids. Why not? Right? I was done with working 60 hours a week for a company I didn’t own. Making money for a corporation that didn’t pay me enough to be away from my family and didn’t move me forward.

I opened my photography business in Fall of 2020. I worked hard during the pandemic to build and learn my business as I as I could. So when the world started to open back up, I was ready to put the best work I could out there! I’ve made lots of strides in 2 years. I’ve been published in several fashion magazines such as, Malvie, GMARO, and Vigour Magazines for my creative and fashion work. I’ve built my portrait business and networked to meet other incredible business women. I have also had commercial work, working with local fashion designers and businesses. It’s been a wonderful and challenging experience to build my business. I read and take business and photography courses every week. Always trying to improve and upgrade my knowledge for my business, myself, and my clients. The growth is exciting. I’m constantly changing and pivoting the way I organize my business and photography. More importantly, I am providing SERVICE to my clients. ALL of my clients, from a headshot client to a commercial business client. That’s right photographers out there,…. photography isn’t just about the photos. My business succeeds because my clients are cared for in my service to them. I make them feel safe, special, seen, heard, and then provide the best photos they’ve ever seen of themselves. The rest comes after that.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Buckle up because it’s going to be a real bumpy ride. Haha.. I’m kidding. Sort of.

I started my business account with two followers. Those two followers were actually me on my personal account and my Mother. Getting to 100 followers was very exciting. I now have around 1.5K followers. It has all been organic growth. I realize 1,500 followers is not an incredible amount of followers compared to many other “influencers.” However, this is a process. You are not going to reach 20K, 100K, or 1 Million Fans/Followers overnight as a small business owner.

Do you really want that many anyway? I look at followers as my friends or potential clients. Are all 1 million followers going to buy or be interested in my service? Is this going to build my business for the better? Are all of these people going to see the content I put out daily? The answer to that is a big NO.

It is more important to me to connect with people that are my client or could be my client. What did I do to get to those people? I networked my very ambitious butt off. I joined networking groups with all kinds of business owners. Spoke to my ideal client. I went to my personal accounts and specifically asked my local friends to follow my business. ASK people to support you! When you do get that first client, ASK them to follow you and give a great reference or review on your page. Post, and post often. I know, I hate it too. I love putting my work out there, but as you know as a small business owner, it sometimes can feel so daunting and task driven to put content out. TAG your clients and ask if you can tag them in all post their images are in. From there more people will be linked to you and hopefully follow your accounts (and work.)

I studied relevant hashtags and what the success rate of most post were. If you have a business account on any of these platforms, they will provide you the analytics. Look at the visit rate of your website too. That information is gold for building your following and understanding what your post are generating. This will also help when you are setting Facebook and IG ads. I do all of this weekly still. You think I’m stopping where I’m at? NO! Keep going. Keep building!

Lastly, post what is truly representative of YOU and the brand you want to put out there. I find posting personal things sometimes brings more interaction than my work. I don’t believe that’s a result of my work being poorly done. I think it’s more a reflection on the connection a client needs to have with a person they want for their service. End of the day, be YOU!

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

As a photographer I find myself always pivoting with my work, life, and business. I guess everyone is. I feel the pandemic really made all of us pivot. I mentioned before that I opened my business in 202o. Talk about pivoting to make it work. One, I am a mother first. I am pivoting around school schedules and my kid’s needs constantly. That is what is nice about being my own boss. Two, I don’t always have consistent portrait clients. That is the reality right now for me as I’m still building my business. Although I work very hard to market, network, and book clients it can be a challenge to keep that a consistent stream of income. I diversify what I shoot. How do I make money if I can’t pivot my portfolio of what I shoot?
Let me stress this, niche down to what you love… but be open to do new things. I’m a person that needs a Plan A, B, C, D, and E, because failure is not an option. Do what you have to do to keep your business alive and your soul happy.
I realized very quickly once I opened my business officially that I was not going to always have this steady stream of income. I was going to have to keep other possibilities open. During the pandemic I worked with local breweries doing product photography, because I couldn’t work with people in person. That experience gave me the education to approach business owners for work and to practice product photography. There is a learning curve to everything. To “cold call” and approach potential business clients takes practice and a certain comfort level. That helped me to go forward with my portrait clients too. Pivoting keeps you on your toes, but also moves your goals forward.
Another relevant way I pivoted was when I lost my long time cosmetics industry job. I had always worked, loved working, and lived to “kill” myself for whatever company I was working for. It was a source of pride to work very hard and do as much as I could in my career. So when I lost my job and moved across the country where I didn’t know anyone or anything, I was lost. It took me time to wake up and pivot my brain of having a regular corporate job to being my own boss. I mean, I couldn’t even believe at first that photography could be a career or be my own boss. Then one day it was different. Why not me? I can be as successful as anyone else out there. More, I can be better and more profitable than anyone else out there. I’m still working on all of that, but I’m on the right road. I started out charging $75 for a shoot. That was obviously not sustainable. I now charge $375 a session, and my packages start at $1,200. See, I pivoted to be more sustainable and provide myself with a proper working income.

I made a goal. Opened my business. Haven’t looked back…. BUT I am still pivoting my business to suit myself and my clients needs everyday. Start pivoting out there people!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.NapierJPhotography.com
• Instagram: Napier_J_Photography
• Facebook: Napier J Photography
• Linkedin: Jessica Faehnle
• Youtube: Napier J Photography

Image Credits
Models in the photos, Naomi Smentkowski, Megan Nicotera, Nicole Palomino, Amiee Palmer.