We love our Behind the Lens series and the fact that we get to meet and be inspired by so many amazing photographers. This week, we are showcasing the work of Jennifer Newberry. Jennifer's work is fresh, vibrant and fun (check out the adorable cake smash photo)! Thank you Jennifer for sharing your photography story with us today!
Your Name: Jennifer Newberry
Your studio/business name: Jennifer Newberry Photography
Location: Newmarket, ON
Website: www.jnphotography.ca
Blog: www.jnphotography.ca/blog
Your Style
In 50 words or less, how would your clients describe your photography? Bright, vibrant, rich, fun, fresh, modern, and most recently, “punchy”.
Are you self-taught or classroom trained? Mostly self-taught, but I have taken some courses as well.
How many years have you been a professional photographer? Almost 4 years now.
Where do you want to take your photography business in 5 years? Honestly, I really enjoy what I’m doing now. My favourite sessions are cake smashes, families, children and weddings. If I’m still doing those sessions 5 years from now, then I’ll be happy!
Is there a photographer who inspires your style? Who would that be? Every photographer has their own style, and I think that style is always evolving and changing over time. There isn’t just one photographer out there who inspires me, but a combination of a lot of photographers that do, and they aren’t necessarily famous.
Favorite location to take photos? I love photos with a lot of nature and greenery, so walking trails, forested areas, community parks and fields, are all great places for pictures. I also like rural and “vintage” locations, with barns, old cars, etc.
Favorite vacation spot? I don’t think I could pick just one favourite, but I always enjoy the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas, as well as the time I spent in Hawaii, the Dominican Republic and Australia.
Your Business
What was the pivotal moment when you decided to become a photographer? I don’t think there was really just one moment. I’ve liked taking pictures since I was a little kid, and things kind of evolved from there!
What’s the best marketing tip that has worked for you? Most of my clients hear about me just through word of mouth. They hear about me from a friend who did a session with me, something like that. I’ve done some facebook ads with a little bit of return on that, but Google is definitely “big” these days. So many people just go and “Google” photographers in their area when they’re looking for someone, usually for a wedding or other type of event.
What’s the most surprising thing a customer has asked you? I haven’t had a lot of surprising requests, but the only one I can think of off-hand is when one of my clients asked me to edit one of her photos to “fix her saggy boob.” It made me laugh, and I love that my clients can be so blunt and honest with me!
Favorite print lab? Willow Paper Works, who actually has their prints done through GTA Imaging.
Your Gear
Are you Canon or Nikon (or –other): Nikon.
If you could only have one lens on a photo shoot, what would it be? 24-70mm f/2.8
What brand bag do you carry your camera in? I’ve always had Lowepro bags, but I may venture to try another brand in the future. I seem to “grow out of” my bags pretty quickly!
What gear would we find in your camera bag? At any given time in my main camera bag (I have 2), I’ll usually have my D300s, 24-70mm f/2.8, 35mm f/1.8, 18-135mm f/4.5-5.6, speedlite, Gary Fong diffuser, extra batteries, memory cards, etc.
Are you a natural light fan or strobe fan? Definitely natural light!
Are you PC or Mac? PC
Your Tips and Tricks
What post processing tools do you use? Adobe Photoshop CS5, Adobe Bridge CS5
Do you shoot in Raw or Jpeg? RAW + JPEG basic. I only post-process the RAW images, but I like having the JPEG’s as well for quick viewing and filing.
Best advice you would give your 20-year old self? Things happen when they’re supposed to happen! Don’t try to rush things, just sit back and enjoy life!
Best advice you would give a new photographer? Don’t give away your work! Even if you’re just starting out, your time is valuable, and your work is *worth* something, so don’t just give it away for free!
What site do you use for your photography and why? I host my own domain (I taught myself how to program computers when I was 8 years old, and have been a computer programmer up until photography took over. It’s pretty handy!), and my blog is hosted on WordPress, but linked into my domain.
What Else Should We Know?
What was your worst photography experience? I once shot a 14-hour wedding when I was 7 months pregnant. The photography itself was fine, and the wedding was beautiful, but boy was I exhausted!! I don’t think I would do a wedding in my 3rd trimester again!
What would surprise people most about you, whether it is photography related or not? A lot of people are surprised to find out that I’m very computer savvy. As I said above, I’ve been doing computer programming since I was 8 years old, and I also know about computer hardware as well. Since I was about 17, I built all my computers myself.
Tell us something else you’d like us to know: I have two wonderful, beautiful children! My son, Gregory, is 2 ½ years old, and my daughter Savannah just turned 1 last month. Gregory has had PCS (Photographer’s Child Syndrome) for the past year or so, and sadly, Savannah seems to be developing it as well. *sigh* Any photographer will tell you, your own kids are always the hardest to photograph!
And just because we want to know you better, fill in the blanks
Three things I can’t live without…. My kids, my camera and my computer.
I wish I had more….. time! More time to edit sessions, so I can get them to my clients faster, more time to play with my kids, more time with my husband… just more time for everything!
The best thing about being a photographer is… Not only being able to create beautiful images that
I’m proud to hang on my walls, but also that I can work on weekends and be home with my kids during the week.
The most important lesson I ever learned was…. Focus on what’s important, and don’t dwell on stuff that doesn’t really matter.
My favorite time of day is… Just after the kids go to bed, and I have time to myself to edit pictures, or just relax and watch TV!
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you for your kind words. We appreciate and read each and every one.