We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jillian Lewis a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Jillian, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?
When I was younger I didn’t know what I wanted to do when I got older. All of my friends seemed to have some clue on what their trajectory path was but I felt lost. I’ve always felt like a wanderer in this life, 9-5 jobs bored me and I always quit after a year or two. Nothing really fulfilled me. I had taken a couple photography classes in high school and I really enjoyed it— so much so that I begged my parents to buy me a camera so I could go around photographing my friends. I had totally forgotten about it until I got home from college one day and found my camera as I was cleaning out my closet. I started taking pictures again. I had also been writing a blog that I named Wanderlew (wanderer and the first 3 letters of my last name combined) so I had somewhere to write out how I was feeling about things, life, love, etc. I decided to take the name of my blog, that I still have, and use it for my photography company to show myself that I did in fact have a calling after all those years thinking I was just going through life with nothing to live for. Out came Wanderlew Photography!
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is Jillian Lewis and I am a couple photographer in Tampa, FL. I photograph anything from weddings to simply just couple shoots! Because I live in Florida I specialize in beach photoshoots, I utilize the beach a lot! I have multiple wedding, engagement, and photo packages available, so I can cater to many couples.
As a photographer I like to get to know my couple before shooting with them so I can get a read on how I want to photograph them. No couple is the same, everyone of them as a different energy when they are together. My job is to find the best place to photograph them, while asking preferences. I am not someone who likes to copy and paste the same poses in every session because I know I will have couples who aren’t as comfortable in front of the camera, or maybe some that are VERY comfortable so I want to be as a creative as I can with both! That is what sets me apart from others, I will find what is best for you and your partner, instead of just sticking with the status quo.
Photography is my art. The way I photograph is to show you what I see when I look at you guys. I am a huge lover of love and all that comes with it. I want nothing more to capture that and give couples something to have forever.
What’s been the best source of new clients for you?
This is definitely two things.
One, is social media. I know everyone has a love/hate relationship with it but I use it to my advantage. I make reels showing my photos on Instagram and I just recently made a TikTok so I have another platform to post them on. I have been building up my following for a while now and being active on there has brought me a lot of my clientele.
The other source is word of mouth from past clients. My clients are AWESOME! They have brought me a lot of business after sharing my photos of them. I have had multiple bookings from their friends or family after they told them how satisfied they were with my service. If you are a past client of mine and see this, thank you so much!
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.
This is a big question that I feel needs to be addressed. As a creative entrepreneur with parents who both worked desk jobs, I have run into not being understood a lot. My work hours are weird I admit, and no I don’t work 8 hours in a row most of the time, but work is still work. Creative jobs are still jobs. Clicking a button is not all I do as a photographer, I wish it was that simple. It’s about creating a photo with your mind and putting it into play, and if it doesn’t work you try a different one. Then when you’re done, you go home and put the finishing touches on it like changing the hue of the greens and blues or whatever you want to do to make it your image. There is much more that goes into being a creative than people think, and it’s not easy. If it were easy- everyone would do it. I didn’t just wake up one morning and decide to pick up a camera. I took a class and realized I really enjoyed getting to capture moments and it took me years to get to the point I am at now.
Our work is still work, just a different kind than yours.
Contact Info:
- Website: jillianlew.com
- Instagram: jillian_lew
- Other: TikTok: jillianlewsviews
Image Credits
All me except the one of me was taken by my partner and edited by me