We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jessica Weidhaas a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Jessica, appreciate you joining us today. Going back to the beginning – how did you come up with the idea in the first place?
My passion for video and photo ignited when I was a kid. The idea of my own production company came to me when my 10 year-old brain thought it discovered stop-motion after taking a few shots with a small point ’n shoot camera my grandparents got me for Christmas. It was instant fascination seeing those photos move. I made a name and a Lego stop motion video of my company intro. I started taking photos and videos of anything and everything I thought looked cool. Naturally, the camera came around friends capturing bits and pieces of our adventures and turning them into music videos, making movie trailer spoofs, experimental stop motion videos, and mockumentaries for fun. This is my hobby and is also a vocation of mine now. I knew this was a worthwhile endeavor, because entertainment is all around us in the form of photos and video everyday. The value and power of photos and video has an incredible impact on our everyday lives and I want to continue to be a positive force.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
After being even more inspired by OKGO music videos to pursue a career in this industry, I decided to go to college for video production. The greatest part about going to college was meeting my friend, John Launius. I’ve had many unique and career paving opportunities thanks to him. One of those opportunities was helping out with the John and Kane show on Indio Radio, which was an internet radio station. I got to video and bring guests on the show. It was an epic feeling being part of that at 18 years old and never worked in radio before and having a say in the production of the show. I started making money doing freelance video work when I was 21, but have also done loads of free work. When I graduated college I volunteered to make promo videos for a local company called Girls Dreaming Big and Rise Collaborative Workspace. Then I decided to volunteer at a local radio station called, KDHX, where I was a camera operator and editor for many live performance videos, including Pokey LaFarge and Shovels and Rope. Later, I saw a local music video, found out who made it, contacted Five Owls Productions, and they gave me the opportunity to help them on many sets. My favorite project with them was for Forest Park Forever, where we took an upright piano to the park and filmed strangers stop and play as they were walking through the park. As you’ve probably gathered by now, my main passion and motivation is music. My partner in crime, Joey Billingsley and I started South City Sessions in 2021, which is our live music recording company. He handles audio and I manage the video. We capture interviews and live performances for musicians.
Jessica Rose Photo & Video provides music videos, small business promo videos, birthday video-grams, photos of events(no weddings), and converts VHS tapes to digital format. My company is me. My good friend Neill Wolf made my website for me and I am forever grateful for his technical and moral support with my business. I’ve been biting off more than I can chew and chewing it! Surprising the hell out of myself by saying yes to opportunities and seeing where the road takes me. It all comes down to trust, I think. Trust and believing in yourself and people. That is what sets me apart from others. I work with people I want to work with and fully support what they do. The legacy I am leaving behind on this planet is my videos and photos. When my life long friend, Joey, joined the marines, I couldn’t give him a tangible birthday gift, so I resorted to birthday video-grams. My passion became more clear after seeing how I have been using video as a powerful tool in my personal life. My goal is for each photo and frame of video to spark joy in others and make people think from a new perspective. I will never know everything there is to know about video production or photography, but for the love of it, I will continue to “document everything” forever.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
After college, I worked jobs I was always curious about, like being a rural mail carrier for USPS, floor staff at the City Museum, and bartending at concert venues. The rude-awakening, which was exactly what I needed, came from being a mail carrier. Although it was like working a circus run by the animals, I got in the best shape of my life, saved up $10,000, and moved to Chicago by myself for a year without knowing a soul. Yes, only a year. That was enough to end the over due urge to live far from home. One free project I worked on in Chicago was a short film called La Pistola Rosa. I originally offered to be a production assistant and the director asked if I would act, so I said yes even though I am not an actress. I put my trust in these people and filmed in a dark alley in Chicago and had a great time. I was a production coordinator on a satirical news television show called, WBS News America. This fake news show gave me the biggest reality check of my life. I wore many hats and had the time of my life learning from everyone on the show. My boss, Mark Vadik, taught me many valuable lessons, including K.I.S.S. (Keep. It. Simple. Stupid.) and after the show ended he let me work in his law office. One day he told me I needed to figure out what I wanted to be when I grow up and in that moment I knew it was time to go home. My friends and family were all back in St. Louis. Now I’m revived, recharged, reassured, still going with my gut, investing more and more in my business everyday and with every penny, I feel I am right where I need to be: home and helping people I care about with and without my cameras.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
My main mission driving my creative journey is to entertain and bring people together using the power of photos and videos. I believe this is one of the most meaningful ways for me to make a positive impact on our culture and society. My goal is to promote music and small businesses and be an example of a dedicated entrepreneur. The joy brought to my clients, friends, family, and myself by the photos and videos I’ve taken makes it all worthwhile.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.jessicarosephotoandvideo.com
- Instagram: @jessicarosephotoandvideo
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100049464217576
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-weidhaas-10262776/?msgControlName=view_message_button&msgConversationId=2-NWY0MDA1ZDAtYmY0ZS00YzU4LTk3NzktOTA2OGQ1ZmIwNDhiXzAxMA%3D%3D&msgOverlay=true
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBSkBjhEpmJ5aNcVgyHdREg
- Other: https://www.southcitysessions.com/
Image Credits
Kevin de Miranda Joey Billingsley