Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica McDaniel.
Jessica, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I started Boston Baby Photos in 2003, before I had my own kids. Back then I just knew I adored children and wanted to create something – a business – that allowed me to work with them every day. I was working in marketing, getting my MBA at night, and I knew there was something about these little photobooks I was making. I’d studied photography in college, and I’d gotten into taking black and white photos of friends’ children and making books as gifts. At a certain point (just as I was getting that hard-earned MBA, I think) it hit me: I should make this children’s photography thing happen.
So I started on the weekends, I charged what I thought I was worth… and I got busy. I worked the weekends (and kept my full time job) for a year or two, and when I needed to make myself more expensive to keep up with demand, I knew it was time to leave the day job. So in 2005 I went full time, and Boston Baby Photos has been full throttle ever since. Now I take pictures for 160-180 families a year, and I absolutely adore it.
Has it been a smooth road?
It’s largely been a pretty smooth road. Keeping up with demand has probably been the biggest ongoing struggle, because I’m only one person (well, I have an assistant who works with me in my office, I’ve always been the only person doing all the shooting and editing of the photos). So I’m limited in the number of hours I can work in any given year… and I can’t bear to tell people they can’t do photos before Thanksgiving or something because I’m too busy. So I’ve had to increase my prices over time to keep up with demand, and introduce a “fall premium”, since so many New England families like to do photos September-December. But these little tweaks over time have helped.
The other struggle that jumps out to me as I think about it is making sure I put my own family first. My business is extremely important to me, so I’m often inclined to say yes and do more work than I have time for… but I really try to dedicate one day of each weekend as a family day with my husband and daughters — so that helps.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Most of my photos are taken in families’ homes. My shoots are quick, usually less than an hour to 90 minutes, and they’re fun and relaxed. I don’t use props – I just try to document real life. The best photos, I think, are the ones when everyone in the photo is right in the moment – everyone’s laughing at something, not even looking at the camera, necessarily. Of course I always do the photo where all the kids are looking at the camera and smiling – that classic moment that the grandparents love – but I do love the other kinds of photos too.
One of the other things I do for families with older children is that I do mini shoots every fall and every spring in the Boston Public Garden. It’s so beautiful in there! I spend 20 minutes with each family and they’re able to get 25-40 finished, frame-worthy shots out of those 20 minutes. These mini shoots are really popular as kids get older – a nice fast shoot in a beautiful location and we just do lots of giggling and running around and get tons of great shots really quickly.
I think I’m best known for capturing relaxed moments, where kids and families really look like themselves. I know that posed photo where everyone’s looking at the camera and smiling is hard for parents to get and good to have for the frame on the mantle, so I always do that one, too, but I think my clients keep coming back because I’m able to have fun with the kids and get great photos pretty quickly.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
I think Boston is the best city in the world, but I will admit I’ve never really lived anywhere else. I’d say it’s a great place to do baby photography, because there are so many babies and so many young families. There’s enough work for lots of photographers around here – and the nice thing is that all these different photographers have such varied styles, so parents can find someone who takes exactly the kind of photos they’re looking for. It’s a win/win.
Contact Info:
- Address: Milton Village, MA 02187
- Website: www.bostonbabyphotos.com
- Phone: 617-501-6078
- Email: jess@bostonbabyphotos.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/bostonbabyphotos
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/bostonbabyphotos
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/bbphotographer
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/boston-baby-photos-boston
- Other: http://blog.bostonbabyphotos.com/
Image Credit:
All photos (c) Boston Baby Photos & Jessica McDaniel
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