We are privileged to have Jennifer McKendrick of Jen McKen Photography as our featured photog this week. She is a great photographer and a great inspiration!
I’m Jennifer McKendrick but my “friends” have always called me “jen mcken”! I’m a lifestyle destination wedding and portrait photographer for people who don’t take life too seriously and aren’t afraid to laugh out loud! When I grow up I want to be happy and I believe in the power of positive thinking! I bet you thought I was going to say I love Starbucks and Anthropology…well that’s true but if I’m being honest, I’d rather have a milkshake and a pair of sweatpants! 🙂
When did you first realize you wanted to be a photographer/When and how did you start out in photography? You know, I don’t have your typical “I wanted to be a photographer from the age of 4” or “my mom/dad was a photographer”. The truth is, I didn’t decide I wanted to do photography as a career until I was in college…shortly after the death of my sister. She was 17 and was killed in a car accident. As we were sorting through photos of her to display at the funeral, I noticed that we didn’t really have any pictures of us while growing up that really told the STORY of who we were.
We had lots of pretty pictures in front of stale backgrounds, almost ALWAYS dressed up in fancy dresses and always smiling directly at the camera. Nothing that really told a story or gave others a glimpse into our personality. It made me very sad…because she was already gone and although I had my memories, I didn’t have anything tangible to hold onto to show my little sister who was only 3 at the time. I think that’s when the seed was planted. Sure I always enjoyed taking pictures with my little point and shoot growing up…but not on the same level as those of you whom have had it ingrained into you since you were small.
We were very poor growing up so the thought of owning a fancy camera never even crossed my mind. This is very hard for me to talk about…but…the only reason I was able to afford my first camera to begin with was because of my sister. I talk a little more in-depth about it here but roughly 2 months after her accident, my parents approached me with a percentage of her “death money” given to us by the insurance company. If you’ve ever been placed in this position…it’s hard.
You would think that for a family who struggled with money problems-basically their entire life, you’d be so happy to have this money-and trust me, it wasn’t a lot…..not for what we had been through but when I made the decision that I wasn’t going to let more life pass us by without documenting US, I broke down and used the money to purchase a ‘fancy’ camera. That little black box has changed my life so dramatically!
How would you describe your style? This has always been a tough one for me. I hate to be put into a box. Is eclectic an answer?! haha! I guess it really just depends on what mood I’m in….or the energy I’m feeding off of-I know that sounds really bizarre to most of you. Every client is so different and I always try to bring out the happy/fun side of everyone however, not everyone is that outwardly expressive. So I feed off of their energy and try to capture them in a casual way. So if I were to hammer down three words…they’d be spontaneous, real, and casual.
What’s in your gear bag? I’m a Canon shooter. That was the first brand of camera I purchased and it’s been more economical to stick with that brand. I’ve heard wonderful things about the other brands….but I’m loyal. My good’ol Canon got me this far…I’m sticking with her! 🙂
I’m also a prime shooter. Here’s what’s in my bag:
Canon 5D Markiii
24mm 1.4L
50mm 1.2L
80mm 1.2L
100 macro 2.8l
I also have a 24-70mm 2.8L
70-200mm 2.8L
but I don’t use those near as much.
One lens you can’t live without? Hands down my 50mm 1.2. It probably stays attached to my camera 85% of the time.
How did you market yourself when you started out? I started out my photography career at my small town newspaper. Looking back at my portfolio from my first job interview…I have to laugh. It was awful! But someone saw some potential and gave me a change. It ended up being my college job and I would travel all over my hometown and neighboring towns shooting sports for the local high schools and covering assignments for the journalists. Over the course of 8 years people got to know me and my name. When I decided to start putting myself out there and doing photography related things outside of photojournalism, the majority of people had already seen my name under all the images in the newspaper and things kind of blossomed from there. Keep in mind, I come from a small town. I started my own blog/website and began posting images of senior shoots, etc….and then 5 years later I was able to quit my 2 jobs (one part time job still working at the paper and the other working full time at the Drug and Alcohol Commission) to work for myself full time.
Did you go to school for photography or were you self- taught? If self-taught, what helped you the most? If I’m being 100% honest, I am 98% self-taught. Yes, I did take a very basic film photography class while I was in college, but I had already read so much information prior to that class that I basically tested out of it. I was very fortunate to learn the majority of what I’ve learned while working at my small town paper. I had some really amazing mentors that would be very straight forward and tell me when I sucked….which is what I needed. I made a TON of mistakes and I still do sometimes. I hope to look back at my stuff 5 years from today and laugh at how far I’ve come. So no, I don’t have a degree in photography. My background is in Communication Media. 🙂
What has been some of the hardest things to overcome in your business? Not having anyone to go to, ask questions to or to encourage me. I know this sounds very Debbie Downer, but let me explain. Specifically, when first starting out, I knew nothing….n.o.t.h.i.n.g about running a business. Sure I could take a properly exposed photo but business wise….I was like a fish out of water. I was the first one in my family to have ever started their own business. I was the first generation entrepreneur and I often felt so alone in the process. My parents nor did my friends and other relatives “get it” when it came to the little milestones I would reach. I couldn’t call anyone and have them get excited with me over things like my projected sales growth because they didn’t get it. When I won an award or got chosen out of hundreds of other photographers to attend a workshop I had been dreaming of attending……there was no one to get excited with. So I started to write things on my blog…and that’s naturally how my blog got started. Today, I’m surrounded with some amazing entrepreneurs and business owners who are an awesome support system…but at the beginning (at least for me) it was very lonely!
Also I had to give myself permission to not be “trendy”. I would compare my work to other photographers who had years of experience or who just grew up completely differently from me and because of that saw the world completely different than me. The way they shot was because of their life experiences that I may not have had. I gave myself permission to stop trying to “be just like them” and to shoot from my heart….not what was trendy at the time.
Do you have any tips for photographers just starting out? If you’re just starting out, get some systems in place for when your business starts to take off. If you don’t have systems in place to provide each and every one of your clients with the same experience, it’s when things start to fall off track. Get your workflow nailed down, make sure to charge what you’re worth and keep in mind “being busy” doesn’t mean you’re successful.
If for some reason you couldn’t be a photographer what do you think you would be? I always say in my next lifetime, I will be a financial advisor. I’m always reading books on this topic and I’m just so fascinated in the psychology behind how people prioritize their money/investments/spending. My parents were teenagers when they had me and we were poor growing up. We never talked about investing, retirement, etc. I’m proud to say that I’ve built my business completely debt free without borrowing a penny off of anyone. If my business were to fold up and fail tomorrow….I wouldn’t owe anyone anything. THAT is a great feeling!
What’s the best lesson in photography (business or shooting) that you’ve learned so far? I mentioned it above. Being busy doesn’t mean you’re successful. Often times when you’re too busy…you’re pricing is either way too low or you don’t have a system in place. I have a business that works for me……I don’t work for my business.
What are your thoughts on (pick one of these subject matters)… pricing, flash, lifestyle photography, props. I’m going to choose props because I just received a very lovely compliment from someone on my fan page. They said that they realized that I focused on the people and the relationships and not on the props. I loved this and I was so very flattered that they noticed. My personal opinion is that a lot of photographers make the images more about the props and less about the people. I guess for me, it stems back to the question I answered above and why I got into photography. After digging through that box of photos trying to find images that showed who she really was and what our relationship was like…I couldn’t find any. But there sure were a lot of images with props. I know it’s not always the case…..but I’m noticing it so much more lately.
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