Washington DC Wedding Photographer | Jessie Mary Photography » photographer

Being a Mom & Photographer

Jessica — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 17:00:00 +0000

I don’t blog much about being a mom, partially because I could talk all day about my daughter, and I know the stories aren’t always that exciting. Another reason is that early on I decided I was not going to be thought of as a “mommy business”. There are lots of moms these days that start businesses, and I am a full supporter of this. I was scared, however, that if I spoke too much about life as a mom I would not be taken seriously as a professional photographer.

I was thinking yesterday about this. I say that the purpose of my blog is for readers to get to know me. Yet I’m leaving out a major part of who I am. I spend at least half my waking hours with my three year old daughter. While she did not inspire me to become a photographer (this happened more than 10 years before she was born), having her gave me the courage to start my own business.

I have known since I was 15 that I wanted to be a professional photographer, but took the easy path after college. I got a full-time job for a European lighting manufacturer. They taught me AS/400 system administration and a little bit of Windows tech support. This led me into a successful Information Technology career. I spent years wanting to make a move into a career where I could use my creativity and photography skills, but never ready to give up the steady paycheck.

When Mackenzie was born, I was not leaving her and knew it was time. I had next to me all the motivation I needed to start my photography business. Starting it, with a newborn baby in a sling, is another topic in itself, maybe a whole blog of it’s own. Three years later, I am relaunching my business in Northern Virginia and thinking a lot about starting the first time. I sit here, writing this post, with my little one holding my arm, squeezed into the recliner beside me, watching some morning cartoons.

Here are two favorite self-portraits of Mackenzie and me, when she was five months old. (I really must take some current ones.)

30 Second Portrait {Behind the Photographer}

Jessica — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 04:13:14 +0000

I have been a photographer at heart for almost 20 years, since I first picked up an SLR camera in high school. My last semester in college at SUNY New Paltz, I got a job doing school pictures. On our first day of training our manager told us he guaranteed we will lose 15 pounds before the season was over in December. I thought he was just being silly. A few weeks of getting up at 3am, packing up my entire Plymouth Sundance hatchback full of very heavy equipment, and driving 1-2 hours to the school I was assigned that day, I started to understand. I was getting no sleep, constantly lugging over 50 pounds of photography equipment, standing all day, and never having any time to eat. I got home by about 3pm, squeezed in a short nap, and either went to a night class, or to my bartending job.

We were given 30 seconds to photograph each child. I had spent four years photographing documentary projects, capturing life moments and telling stories. I was in shock that I was expected to take a portrait in 30 seconds. There was no time for hello or to get them to relax. It was sit, look this way, snap 3 frames, and next. Come November, about half the photographers were laid off. The other half of us got to do retakes, which meant an even more hectic schedule of two to three schools each day.

When January came around and I had my photography degree in my hand, I wanted nothing to do with this type of job. I called up a temp agency and was brought in as an accounting assistant by a local lighting manufacturer, Zumtobel Staff Lighting. I crunched numbers all day, and was excellent at it, so they hired me full time. I dreamed of getting an MFA in photography, and leaving the corporate world.

To be continued…

Creative Business Portraits {Portland Photographer}

Jessica — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:12:57 +0000

These portraits of Laura were taken late in the afternoon, just before dusk. Laura is a photographer too. It’s always a bit different working with someone else who is used to being behind the camera. Sessions become kind of an exchange of ideas, which is neat. These were taken in Portland’s SE Industrial neighborhood.