Today we’d like to introduce you to Jennifer Bosak.
Hi Jennifer, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I have always loved photography as a kid. Back then, of course, you had to wait weeks to get your photos back and I just couldn’t wait to see the photos I had captured. I remember carrying around a 35mm bright orange camera with me at all times. I love the click of the shutter and especially how I can capture a fun moment.
I was high school photographer for the yearbook and I took a film photography course in college. This was back way before photography was a major. It was right on the cusp of when digital was coming out. Going into the dark room to develop my film was a stress relief for me. I loved it all! Cut to 2009 when I got my first DSLR and asked some friends if I could take their engagement photos. They loved them and I was so excited about the photos myself. Of course, I had a lot to learn in terms of RAW vs. JPEG and when I need to use RAW and when the photo needs to be a JPEG and how light travels and hits your subject and how shooting in the middle of the day in bright sun is actually kind of hard and the best light is either at sunrise or sunset and how to create emotion in an image using composition. I had my first wedding in 2009 and then took a small break after 2011-2015 to travel and become a mom. But after my second child was born, I was ready to completely dive into what it meant to create a business. I wanted to excel in not only shooting, but marketing and customer service and how to handle money. Since 2016, I’ve grown so much in my understanding. It all comes from trial and error and asking for advice from other friends who are more established than I am. My business goal was to be printed both online and in print and I have been able to meet both of those goals. I am so thankful for every couple who trusts me to photograph one of the best days of their lives! It truly means the world to me that they invite me into their lives in such a special way. From personal experience with not loving my own wedding photos, I will always put my heart and soul into giving my couples beautiful imagery that feels like them, feels intentional and ones they will stop to look so they can feel those feelings all over again.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Oh goodness, NO! The amount of rejection is probably the hardest. I’ll have discovery calls with potential clients and then for one reason or the other they end up going with another photographer. It truly breaks my heart because I KNOW I will photograph them beautifully, but I wasn’t able to quite put it into words so they feel that connection with me. I try not to take it personally sometimes, but there have been times when I have thought of quitting because the rejection can be really hard.
Also, at the beginning when I didn’t understand my gear enough. I had a broken camera and I kept getting my photos back that didn’t look right. It took months of figuring it out and talking with the camera technicians for them to say my camera was behaving fine and then finally someone saw the slightest thing on my lens mount which turned out to be broken.
There have been so many times when I’ve thought of quitting. But then when I go to photograph the sweetest wedding with the best couple who are truly there to enjoy getting married, it makes it all worth it.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m a wedding photographer that specialized in weddings. I will photograph newborns and families and other events, but I specialize in weddings. I am proud of my business in general. I am proud that I have stuck with it for this long. I am proud that I am my own boss and can set my own schedule. I am proud that I help bring in income for my family. I am proud that I get to do something that challenges me, causes me to think creatively, keeps me on my toes, allows me to serve sweet couples in such a beautiful way. I’m proud of how far I’ve come.
I think what sets me a part is my heart towards it. I truly want the best for my couples. I want them to have the best day ever! I want them to have a beautiful gallery. From my own personal experience where I don’t like my wedding photos and don’t show them proudly on my walls, I would hate for any couple to have the same experience I did. I want to be their friend and show them how freaking amazing they look! This job goes so much deeper than just photography. Photos have always been and will always be a physical item that can take someone back to a feeling at a particular moment and that’s what I want for my couples. I want them to remember whey they felt in that moment each time they look at their photos.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
Well, Gen Z is starting to get married now and they way they inquire and book is a lot different from millennials. Gen Z requires vendors to get back to them asap or they move on quickly. They also takes MONTHS to decided on a photographer. We may get an inquiry, do a call, then hear nothing from them for a few months.
There are always trends that come and go, but I really think people are embracing less posed and more documentary. Couples are wanting more cinematic, heavily edited photos. Those are beautiful, but I believe they are trendy. I truly believe that film will never go out of style as well as classic, true-to-life images. In 80 years, you’ll want to look at your wedding portrait and think yeah, they looked like us.
I also think there may be more of a shift towards smaller weddings. We are starting to see couples opt out of having bridesmaids and groomsmen with more of a focus on spending time with just family or doing a dinner party with those closest to you. No. more of inviting your dad’s golf buddies because people are truly envisioning who will really be in their lives in the next 10-20 years.
I’m also seeing couples have a small, intimate ceremony on one day and then a big reception a year or so later. I think couples are prioritizing what’s important in their lives right now and that is people.
AI could play a role in the future. Though, I’m really hoping it doesn’t take away the human experience. But it might a lot with editing. I don’t use it for editing. I am very hands on with culling and editing every single one of my images, but I do appreciate when I can easily remove something from the photo with AI and it gets it right 98% of the time.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://JenniferBosak.com
- Instagram: @jenniferbosakphoto
