We were lucky to catch up with Jessie Schultz recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jessie, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

I think success means something different to everyone. But to me being successful is something I feel after each job I capture and deliver. Did I capture the moments unfolding and am I telling the story as it happened? I want to feel the moments in each photo. The joy, the laughter, happy tears rolling down your face. Being a photographer and capturing every little moment and detail so our clients can re-live their day through their photos forever.
Also, the way my clients respond after they get their gallery back is always a way I know I was successful. Each client has a different love story to tell and every time I want to be successful in capturing their love exactly the way it deserves to be told.

Jessie, 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 started photography back in 2012 when I was pregnant with my son. I bought my first camera and took some classes at a local college. My goal was to learn enough to be able to capture my baby in all stages of life. What started as just a hobby for fun, turned into something I could have never imagined. I started having friends and family ask to take their photos. Taught myself everything from youtube tutorials, so many books bought, and workshops taught by other photographers as I knew this was something I could do and really love.
At the time I had reached out to other photographers for any advice or help on the business side of things. So many doors slammed in my face and no one wanted to really help or give advice which was so discouraging. The wedding industry I am happy to say has shifted and is so much more community over competition now, but back then that was not the case. I had promised myself if I ever made it in this industry I would never be like that and help upcoming photographers in any way I could.
I took a workshop that introduced me to a couple of photographers that did weddings when they had asked me if I would like to come and 3rd shoot with them. That is where I fell in love with shooting weddings and couples and knew it was the direction I was going to take my small business.
I remember telling my husband Dylan “Husband and wife teams kill it in the wedding photography business, this is something we could do together!” He always just told me this was my thing.
Fast forward a little and Dylan had a dream one night we were shooting weddings together and that’s all it took for me to teach him everything I had learned and turn this into a husband and wife photography dream team.
We shot our first wedding together in 2015. The wedding was featured in Rock N Roll Bride Magazine. That was the start of something we both never had even dreamed of. We have been shooting weddings together now for 8 years. Have traveled all over the world with some of our couples.
I love that our couples trust us completely to not only take their wedding/ elopement photos to then their maternity and family photos. Being a small part of their adventure and capturing them at every stage of life is the biggest joy of our job.

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

We started our business in Orange County California and in 2021 we made the decision to move our family to New Braunfels Texas. Even though we were traveling wedding photographers we still made a name for ourselves in California and shot the majority of our weddings there. So to pack up and leave was a huge and hard business move. We had to completely start over and build up a name for ourselves in Texas. I was reaching out to wedding planners, other photographers, and venues. If you were in the wedding industry in central Texas you probably heard from me. I wasn’t used to having to throw myself at people as word of mouth was where most people found me in California and bookings came easy. This was like starting over from square one. Yes, we still had travel weddings but with having kids, we couldn’t travel every weekend and knew we had to make a name for ourselves in our new hometown in Texas. The emotional roller coaster of starting over that first year was enough to almost break me. I had to sit and be okay in the uncomfortable. My faith is what really got me through and trusting God had a plan for me and our business. It took about a year for us to really build up our name in Texas and we are happy to report that we did it! Through all the ups and downs of starting over in a new home town. Our business is thriving and we have met so many amazing people and couples along the way. My advice when you have to pivot in your business is don’t give up! That hill your climbing up and the battle your fighting, I know the struggle is real. But there is a light at the end. Keep on keepin. It’s not always easy but when you do finally make it and can look back on all your struggles, it was in those moments where you grew the most and learned the most about yourself. You will forever be changed and in the best way!

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

My Husband Dylan and I met in high school in 2004. (HIGH SCHOOL SWEETHEARTS!) I was 16 and he was 17. He was the aid in my accounting class and the reason why I passed the class because math is defiantly not my strong suit.
We got married in 2010 and have a son who is 10, a daughter who is almost 9, and another baby boy due in August. (a little surprise baby!) And two Goldendoodle​ pups.
I still can’t believe we have been together for half of our lives. Dylan is my best friend and I love this life we have created together. Capturing other people’s love stories we are constantly reminded of our own and this amazing life we have built together. There is no one I would rather do life with!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://jessieschultzphotography.com
• Instagram: @jessie.schultz

Image Credits
Jessie Schultz Photography