Jessica from Jessica Roberts Photography is doing a mini series on Blush & Camo! Jessica was my photography while I lived in Columbia, SC and let me tell you…. this girl is talented! Her photos are  beyond beautiful. From the lighting, composition, and the way Jessica is able to truly capture a moment her photos are truly one of a kind. I first found Jessica through Instagram (of course!) and instantly contacted her. I felt beyond lucky to work with someone as talented (and funny!) as her and I already miss our photoshoots together.

In our last photoshoot together we started brainstorming creative ideas and one of them was to start a mini series on photography. Jessica is beyond knowledgable in all things photography (and even teaches her own classes on it!). I also know my Blush Babes are also very interested in photography so this mini series was created after about 30 second of deliberation.

In this mini series she will be sharing photography tips, tricks, and today she’s sharing what it’s really like working with a fashion blogger! If you have any photography questions or something specific you want Jessica to address in the mini series let me know in the comments below!

If you’re interested in what Jessica thought about working with a fashion blogger then keep on reading…

JESSICA’S HONEST THOUGHTS ABOUT WORKING WITH A FASHION BLOGGER 

IN THE BEGINNING…

I will be the first to admit, I can be a bit cynical. It’s a LITTLE bit too easy for me to eye roll when I see PDA in restaurants, when I hear people talk about how they truly love what they do (they can’t feel like that all the time, can they?), and those cynical feelings DEFINITELY creep in when I open up Instagram. Other photographers, bloggers, small business owners, we all seem to be wanting followers and growth and attention and it can just start to feel…. Fake. That’s the headspace I was in when I opened up an email last September from Julianna.

I skimmed over it quicky “… fashion blogger… love your photos… would love to chat about working together…” and so naturally, I looked Julianna up on Instagram! First thing I noticed, she had a massive following and I probably needed to learn a thing or two from her. Second, she seemed nice. I wouldn’t be able to tell for sure until I met her if it was surface nice or not, but she seemed sweet. And then I replied and probably sounded like an asshole.

“Hi Julianna! I’d love to work with you, but I don’t work for exposure, it would need to be a paid job” in short was my response. She never even SUGGESTED working for exposure, I just assumed (going back to that cynical expectation!) that fashion bloggers wanted photographers to work for free. Julianna’s response to my reply let me know I needed to take the job. She didn’t like the concept of photographers working for free just as much as I didn’t like it, and we bonded over the belief that exposure, while it can be great, isn’t anything guaranteed (and your bill collectors won’t take exposure checks either). I breathed a sigh of relief. Planning the logistics of the first session began!

OUR FIRST SESSION TOGETHER 

When we met I was nervous. First thought- “she is much taller than I anticipated”! We got to talking, and I had a great time with her. I was nervous, but Julianna knows how to pose herself, how to do all of her great angles and steps, she’s got it down. Once I realized she was so great with that on her own, I felt I could breathe a bit! Another thing I took a big sigh of relief about- she doesn’t beat herself down when she looks at the back of my camera. That’s one of the WORST things that happens to me on the occasion that it does during shoots, because it lets you know you’re working with someone that has a bit of a self esteem block that you are now going to bare the weight of. No pressure, right? That’s not her, and we joke now about how we can scroll through the back of my camera and say “LOVE THAT ONE” … “NOPE THAT’S THE ONE” … “DEAD”… “FAVORITE”. That is always such a more fun experience than trying to convince someone the photos are good!

Second meet is when I just fell in love with Julianna. She got REAL with me, and opened up about how she had been struggling with social media feeling a bit fake. The chase for followers, the addiction to phones, her eye wasn’t on those things- it was on actual real life. And that just made me internally say THANK. THE. LORD. We bonded over not having an interest in those things.

The most refreshing moment I’ve ever had with Julianna was when I felt comfortable to ask- do you really love everything that you post, or do you have to say that? And her answer was, if she receives something and doesn’t love it, she isn’t going to lie to us. After that session, I knew she was grounded, funny, and real.

PHOTOSHOOTS TOGETHER 

Over the course of September to March, we’ve shot together 8 times. We’ve shot about 80 looks, and every time we can run through it more efficiently and with more and more laughter and fun involved. She’s not afraid to make fun of herself when she’s walking around our location in a Prada dress and everyone around her is in a hoodie. Sometimes I make fun of her too and let her know her driver is waiting to bring her to tea. She talks about her personal life and she wants to know about mine.

She LOVES each look that she creates, she always tells me “you’re gonna die over this next one!” and she lights up when she tells me all about each piece. She can’t ever zip herself up in the back, her coffee in photos is never actually warm, and at some point she’s going to ask me if I’ve seen her keys. Above anything, she is someone that makes me doubt my cynicism. Julianna really is that kind, she actually does love what she does, and I will forever be grateful for her not giving up on my bitchy “I don’t work for exposure” email. Thanks for changing my mind about who a fashion blogger was, and thanks for being someone I am proud to call a friend. <3

What did you think of today’s post?! What photography questions for Jessica do you have?! I would love to hear your thoughts below and don’t forget to follow me along on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook for daily style inspo!

And if you haven’t already clicked over to Jessica’s website then you totally need to and it’s so easy because all you have to do is click here! Jessica is a wedding photographer living in Columbia, SC and if you live in the area I cannot recommend her enough!

Thank you so much for stopping by Blush & Camo!

xx Julianna

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