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

Jessica , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Going back to the beginning – how did you come up with the idea in the first place?

In September of 2020, my boyfriend surprised me with a Canon Rebel T6 on my birthday. I’ve always loved taking photos, so I was excited to start documenting our adventures! My best friend happened to be getting married later that year but due to COVID, had to completely change plans for their big day! They decided to cut their guest list down to 15 people to have a small wedding in their backyard but unfortunately their photographer was not going to be able to make it for their new date. I agreed to bring along my camera to help document the day. Of course, I had very little knowledge about what I was doing at the time (I had only had my camera for about a month) but I wanted to at least make sure they had some pictures of the big moments! It was at that wedding that I realized how fun and exciting it was to help capture people’s love stories on one of the most important days of their lives!

It was definitely scary to think about starting my own business, but I found some educational courses to learn the basics of the camera and figure out how to run a business. I got friends to model for me and attended styled shoots to get more experience behind the camera. And it just really grew from there. 3 years later, I am running a full time photography business! Having the opportunity to document such a significant day in a couple’s life has continued to be one of my greatest honors and I am so excited to see where this journey takes me and my business!

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

I specialize in elopement photography! I love to encourage couples to choose and plan a day that fits exactly what they want! As an elopement photographer, I help with everything from location scouting to putting together a timeline to helping find recommendations for other vendors such as florists and hair/make up! I want to make the planning process as easy a possible for my clients because a big reason couples choose to elope is to avoid the stress of planning a big wedding! You can think of me as not only your photographer, but your planner, confidant, and adventure buddy all in one!

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

My biggest piece of advice is to just keep showing up! Social media can be such a frustrating space and you never know if a post is going to flop or go viral but you just have to keep posting. You can share about yourself, about your clients love story and offer up a piece of advice so your audience can get to know you and how your business will help them!

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I am actually in the middle of a pivot right now! Alongside my photography business, I have been working full time as a physical therapist. I had planned to complete the rest of this year and then transition physical therapy to part time. Unfortunately I was recently laid off (who knew this could happen in the healthcare world). Initially, I was in full panic mode but I am using this opportunity to pivot full time into photography! It is definitely scary to make that leap but it makes it easier when I know I am following my passion!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.jessicamargaretphotography.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessicamargaret_photography/

Image Credits
Allie Dearie Photography (personal photo)