Jesse Starr of Jesse Starr Studios is a talented wedding, portrait and commercial photographer in Vail, Colorado. It’s important to him to laugh often with his clients, and that genuine emotion shows through in his work.
What is most important in your photography?
The thing that excites me the most is delivering a custom designed, high-quality album to my clients and seeing their reactions as they see the story of their wedding day laid out as something tangible, and not just in pieces on a digital screen. I take great passion in creating albums that are impactful from both a physical and visual standpoint. I tell my clients that I want their wedding album to be the centerpiece of their home that they will want to show to all their friends and family when they come over. I call my albums “Heirloom Wedding Albums” because I believe they are the first family heirloom you make, and I want clients to imagine their grandkids flipping through them.
What is the most important thing for your continued success?
Workflow tools to manage all of the elements that go into running a modern photography business in the digital era are vital to staying afloat and being profitable. I use Fundy Designer to design my albums because it saves me a ton of time while allowing me to create unique and classic designs. I love being able to show designs to clients in their sales consultation and be able to make on the spot adjustments based on their feedback. This way I am able to finalize the design with them present. Additionally, I use Tave to manage invoicing and client management and to keep me organized on the back end.
What’s the best business advice you’ve ever received?
A couple things I’ve learned stand out over the years. One of the big ones is to figure out what your style is and then stick to what feels right for you when shooting instead of trying to do what everyone else does. Just because a certain style is trendy doesn’t mean it is what you should be doing. I’ve been told by clients that I stand out in my market when they looked at the vendor list from their venue and that the other ones all looked the same. Accepting that you’re not going to shoot every wedding and be everyone’s style is the first step to finding the clients who love YOUR style.
Another good business tip is to buy gear once. This is from the amazing Zach Arias. Photographers are gear heads, and we generally want to keep buying things because we think it will make us better. What most people do is buy cheap gear, then buy mid-range gear, and then buy high-end gear. It is better to have a basic kit to start and then rent the items that you need for particular shoots until you can afford to buy the good stuff outright. Otherwise, you waste a lot of money buying items that will break down and never be as good as the high end stuff. If Profoto B1 lights are the best fit for your shooting style, buying a set of cheap Alien Bees that don’t do the same thing is just a waste of money. Rent the Profotos and save up to own your own set.
What the most important thing you’ve learned as a working photographer that you were never taught in school?
Take every bit of advice you receive with a grain of salt. What I mean is that there are tons of photographers who are going to make it seem like their way is the “right” way to do things. Everyone has a different business and market and anything you learn from another photographer should be customized for you. When I go to workshops and seminars, I write down a ton of notes and then determine what applies to how I run my business and then I adapt it.
Many photographers talk about the importance of personal projects. Is personal work important to you and if so, how does your personal work affect or inform your professional work?
Personal work is very important to keeping your drive going as a creative. There are some very successful photographers who see it as simply a job but a lot of us are passionate about photography and it is vital to keep that passion alive. For me, I love fashion photography and try to play around with it whenever I can get something set up. It’s a great way to explore new techniques and get creative. I try to bring this creativity and inspiration to my paid shoots.
For more information on Jesse Starr Studios, visit his website or follow him on Facebook or Instagram.
