Chicago wedding photographer Jai Girard is booked as much as two years in advance and we can see why! Our latest featured photographer is always innovating, so her images not only chronicle an event but capture a long-lasting memory.
With stunning play of light in her black & whites set against a city landscape, Jai has been a pioneer in urban realism. We love these striking images below, each having its own unique style and look. We hope you are inspired to try something new.
A big thanks to Jai!
How did you get started in Photography?
… By being fired from the profession I thought I was meant to do. The day after I was fired from a Chicago radio station, I found myself hired as the staff photographer for the China Club–a hotspot in the day for rock stars to perform. I didn’t know an f-stop from a bus stop, but i did know I needed to survive. I shot everything at f8 at 60 with flash. So what does 5.6 at 60 do and what does f8 at 30 do etc.? I would then shoot test rolls during the day, make notes and wait for the film to come back from the lab. It was nonstop trial and error, figuring things out… and I’m still learning!
What has contributed to your success?
My failures.
What is the most important thing for your continued success?
Honesty, compassion and empathy suit me. I can better perform when I understand the human nature of my clients.
What’s the best business advice you’ve ever received?
To be confident. My mother told me this story once. “When they asked Greta Garbo, ‘why does everyone think you’re so beautiful?’ She replied, ‘I told them I was beautiful and they believed me.'”
What is most important in your photography?
That I did the best job I could possibly do. I don’t want to be the best photographer in the world, I just want to be the best photographer for myself and my client. Pleasing my client is usually the easy part. Pleasing myself is torture.
Click here to read her blog.
To see more amazing images, visit Jai’s website.
