We recently connected with Jessica Shaw and have shared our conversation below.

Jessica, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

I enjoy every pet shoot but the Keepsake shoots I do are probably my most meaningful. The keepsake shoots are for terminally I’ll or elderly pets that may be on their last few months, days, or hours on earth here with us. These shoots are often emotional but the most rewarding. I lost my dog Slash to cancer suddenly when he was 5 and a half years old. I waited 3 years to adopt another dog and then my dog Lily was diagnosed with an aggressive form of lymphoma at 3 and a half years old. After 7 months of chemo she is currently 2 and a half years in remission and I’m so thankful but that isn’t always the case. Our time with our fur babies is so short already and I just want to make sure everyone gets a chance to capture their memories in photos with them.

Jessica, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a pet photographer for pets and their humans. I specialize in on location lifestyle photography. I love to capture your bond with your pet where you would normally go like a park, beach, or at your home. Whatever you think is going to make your pet the most comfortable during the shoot and where we can get some cute shots of your pet alone and of course with you. Pets are with us for such a short time and we cherish them but photographic memories last forever so we can relive them over and over.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

For me the best source I’ve had for new clients is Google searches. I have a question I ask every new lead and that is “where did you hear about me” and every time it is a Google search so I have been focusing on posting newer photos to my Google business page. People are visual creatures and the more you see as an example of something the more you know and can decide if you are interested. This also helps with expectations. My clients have seen that work and know what to expect. I have my pricing right on my website so that I can prevent wasting anyones time including my own answering the question of how much if I’m not in that particular persons budget at this moment.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

For my business specifically I need to target local people as it isn’t an online business. Photoshoots need to happen locally so other than really showing up on my Google business page, I walk dogs. Dog owners are my primary target market especially those that care about their pets so much they spend extra money to make them comfortable and happy. I walked dogs before I decided to make my photography all about pets but after I decided to make dog walking a part of my marketing. I leave a photo of the dog from the walk with my info on the back of it. It’s a nice little keepsake and not too pushy. Just enough that when they think hmm I want photos with my dog what was that persons name again, oh yeah it’s on the back of this adorable photo of them.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.Jessicashawphotography.com
• Instagram: Instagram.com/jessicashawphoto
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jessicashawphoto
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-shaw-5b10b023
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/jshawphoto
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9-xoVbZ9Dpwa89GiAVqAsA

Image Credits
Jessica Shaw Photography