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

Vanessa, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear your thoughts about family businesses.

Originally, VB Photography and Videography started out as VB Freelance. It was just myself working a regular day job, and following my passion during the nights and weekends. While I enjoyed bringing joy and memories to my clients, I was quickly burning out.

After meeting my husband (Lee), he convinced me to take the leap to full-time. Aside from marrying him, going full-time has been the best decision of my life! Lee came on part-time helping with wedding photography, but quickly realized his passion for Videography.

In our growing adventure together we have shared countless special moments and captured priceless memories. We made many friends and look forward to the new smiles coming our way.

Two years ago we had our daughter. VB Photography is our legacy for her. We build and grind so that one day when/if she decides to take over, she won’t have to start at the beginning.

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

Hi, I am Vanessa of VB Photography and Videography. I was born in Germany, but I have been in the States for most of my life. My family and I live in Jacksonville, FL. I have always loved freezing time and capturing raw emotions. That led to a long road of chasing the dream of running my own photography company. For the past 15 years I’ve been working for myself (mostly as a freelance photographer/side hustle). This year is my 5th-year full-time! With the support of my amazing husband, Lee, I quit my day job and launched into entrepreneurship. Just over 4 years ago we expanded into Videography. By far boudoir and weddings are my favorite genres to capture, but we also offer commercial, portrait, and event services.

Specializing in boudoir and weddings, my goal is to empower the world and capture priceless moments that are often forgotten. I am most proud of the way we get to change our clients’ lives. As a photographer, I get to witness seeing a mom come into my studio feeling exhausted and inferior to society’s beauty guidelines BUT leaving our session feeling like a Goddess! That transformation is the most amazing boost I can offer. I am changing how we look at and value ourselves. I firmly believe we are enough. Boudoir allows me to help my clients see that for themselves.

Planning and executing a wedding is stressful. My skill set and personality allow me to capture a wedding day’s little moments and romance without the extra chaos. As a trusted professional I get to document so many amazing memories like the sweet glance between parents and their children as the bride and groom transition to a new chapter of their lives. I freeze time counteracting how fleeting life is by providing images of a loved one who is no longer with us. The smiles, the tears, the love. It’s all motivation for us to go above and beyond. I couldn’t find a more rewarding career. After so many years behind a camera, I am satisfied with myself and my abilities as an artist. I shoot differently than most photographers. I pride myself on the vivid and rich colors that we capture and the drama that our use of lighting allows. It sets us apart but also makes my heart happy!

Slowly but surely we are expanding into the commercial side of the business as well. Providing headshots, commercials, social media clips, and event coverage as well.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Honestly, I adore hearing our boudoir clients gasp and swear “that can’t be me” when they review their images. Seeing their confidence increase exponentially is so rewarding.

Watching our brides and grooms share their images all over social media and witnessing the love pour in just as we got to witness it firsthand, makes the long hours worth it.

Knowing that working for myself means I may not get time off and work strange hours, but I still get to watch our daughter grow and spend time with her. That is the very best part of being a photographer.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I think the biggest thing that helped build our reputation was me. I put my heart and soul into every client encounter and shoot. I am unapologetically me – from extreme moments of child-like excitement over a gorgeous photo to my type “A” personality being able to take charge with hundreds of people around. Everything we give is meant to leave a lasting and positive experience. Plus we are always learning and observing to make sure our clients have the absolute best we can give them.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.vbphoto.us
• Instagram: www.instagram/vb_photography_jax
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/vbfreelance
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/vbphoto

Image Credits
Vanessa, VB Photography and Videography