Meet Jaci Smith- her passion for capturing love through photography speaks for itself. Her mission to create personalized moments in everyday life is an inspiration. Get to know her beauty below!
Q: Give us your best “15 second elevator pitch” on who you are!
A: I am Jaci Smith, a photographer born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona. I love creating art, capturing moments, traveling, eating good food, and meeting new people.
Q: Where do you draw inspiration from?
A: A lot of the inspiration I get is from photos or videos online (sites like Tumblr, pinterest, etc) but I find that there is a fine line between getting inspiration and copying. Sometimes when I see an image that I love, my first instinct is to recreate it. Instead of recreating I try to get inspiration from it and create something in a whole different direction. I also find myself gaining inspiration from simple things in every day life. An old building I see, a cute garden, etc.
Q: Photos are one of the most lasting memories of a wedding day. How do you find ways to stay creative and personalize each wedding?
A: Pictures are one of the ONLY things you take from your wedding day, so in my opinion it is important to invest in good wedding photos. I believe in being real, and candid. I prefer to capture things as they are happening to get that raw emotion. Everyone’s wedding is so different so I think their photos are naturally personalized because they were taken at their event with their family and friends. As far as being creative goes, I try and get photos from all different perspectives and angles. Anyone can point a camera at a subject and take a picture, but what makes a photographer an artist is thinking outside the box and capturing photos from unique perspectives.
Q: You’re attending a party/event. What small details do you seem to notice first?
A: I always notice florals. I love love love fresh flowers, so that is something that catches my attention right away. I also usually notice food displays because I think they can be so pretty! Also because I love food. 😉
Q: Best advice you’ve received about being in photography? A: The best advice I have received is just to be genuine. I think it is so important to stay true to who you are and to be genuine in your interactions with your clients, and really just everyone you come across. Your authenticity will also come through in your work. To me, there is an obvious difference between artists who create for themselves and put in everything they have vs. someone who tries to replicate others’ work.
Q: What are some tools you’ve used to grow your photography and following?
A: Social media (mainly Instagram) has been a really effective tool to help grow my business. It has allowed me to make connections with so many people in the industry. The more people I meet/collaborate with, the more my name gets out there so it’s been a really great way to build my following.
Q: What is something you wish you knew before you started your own photography business?A: I wish someone had stressed to me to NOT compare myself with other photographers or artists. It is a competitive industry because there really are so many talented photographers out there, and it is easy to be hard on yourself or your work. I’ve learned that instead of letting other peoples’ amazing work make you insecure, you have to let it inspire you to work harder.
Q: Ribbon or glitter? Chocolate or vanilla? Musical theatre or the movies? Beach or mountains?
A: Ribbon. Vanilla. Movies. Beach.
Aren’t these photos darling?? If you love Jaci’s work as much as we do, see more on her social media accounts listed below:
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