Unveiling the Magic of Brand Storytelling with Branded by Jessica Jane.

Have you ever wondered what magic goes into creating images that tell your brand's story with just a glance? This episode, I'm joined by Jessica of Branded by Jessica Jane, who pulls back the curtain on the transformative power of photography in personal and professional branding. We delve into Jessica's innovative process—how she meticulously prepares to capture the essence of a brand's narrative and visual identity, resulting in authentic, emotive photographs. She shares her expertise in various niches, including the raw, unscripted essence of trades, agriculture, equine, and senior portraits—each captured through a lens of natural, candid moments that resonate with her subjects' true spirit.

As we chat, Jessica unveils the unique value of her quarterly membership, a game-changer for businesses needing a consistent flow of story-driven branding images. By fostering genuine connections with her clients, Jessica ensures their brands shine authentically across all platforms. Bringing an educational flair to the table, with her background in teaching and graphic design art history, she's not just a photographer but a community enricher. And for those who love a good behind-the-scenes, Jessica shares the breakthrough that unfolded right on our show, overcoming her initial hesitations to talk about herself. For an inspiring journey into the art of visual storytelling that elevates brands, join us and be swept into the world Jessica crafts with her lens at brandedjjp.com.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Mike Murphy.

Speaker 2: 0:11

Thanks, charlie. Yes, I am Mike Murphy, the host of the Good Neighbor Podcast. I interview local business owners and influencers so that the community at large can know them as the people, the humans that they are, and not just logos on a business card that somebody may hand you at a networking event. And the local business owner I'm with today is my friend, jessica. Jessica owns, branded by Jessica Jane, which is a photography business, which is a photography business, and so I know a picture tells a thousand words, but we're going to ask Jessica to share with us probably at least a thousand words without pictures. She'll help you paint a picture in your mind's eye today. So, jessica, welcome to the podcast.

Speaker 3: 1:00

Thanks, mike, I am super glad to be here.

Speaker 2: 1:03

I'm glad to have you. I have, you know, some experience seeing some of your work. It's beautiful work, which is kind of why I encouraged you to come on and share something about your business, because I think we need to let people know how they can see some of the beautiful photos that you've created that I've seen. So just in a I guess the 60 second elevator speech, let's call it, if somebody says, tell me, jessica, what is branded by Jessica Jane, what's the answer to that question?

Speaker 3: 1:39

Well, we do professional and personal branding imagery. We have a process in which we kind of get to know you, your brand, your team, if you have one, and we just go through a process of inquiry. Then we kind of send a survey that will let you answer some questions about your brand specific details. I'll look through kind of your branding that you already have, that exists, and then we'll have a strategy meeting and kind of put all that together and collaborate and to plan our session. And then I'll look through your website, your existing color palette and kind of utilize everything to make sure that we have a cohesive look and just kind of go through the process and then have the session.

Speaker 3: 2:24

Session day will be all pre-planned and ready to go. So it won't be stressful because I know, being a mom, that it definitely is stressful Just taking photos, any kind of photo session, right, Whether it's, you know, a family one, a branding one or whatever it is. As long as you're prepared, it's a lot less stressful and everything goes smoothly and the outcome is always much, much better when you're prepared. And then the session is usually, you know, one of those things where we're kind of getting an outside perspective of your brand and your business. A lot of times, people you know take their own branding images and that's great because you know your brand more than anyone. But with the process that we have at Branded getting to know you and your brand and then kind of taking an outside perspective on like your everyday, what's kind of just your everyday is very unique to everyone else and that needs to be told through images and that's kind of what we do.

Speaker 2: 3:27

Branding is more than just somebody's logo. It is, I like to say, it's storytelling, it's educating, it's reputation, it's creating a feel for a business. When people look at you as a person, you have a personal brand. They have a feeling about you. When people see your logo, you have a brand. There, too, they they have a certain feeling about your business and you're doing that for businesses and for people. I've been on your website. I know that there are categories that you work within typically, and that would be trades. Grain and livestock is one of them. I want to explore that a little more with you Equine, horses and senior portraits. So you know that's a lot of animals and people and you can't always control either of them. So how do you handle working within all those categories and do you have a favorite one?

Speaker 3: 4:30

Well, I think the thing about me is that I don't do a whole lot of post photography, so when I take a photo I'm trying to look as like, almost like you're looking in through a window so you're telling their story, because really a genuine, authentic image tells the story more than any kind of post setup could. So for me, those specific categories tell stories easy. So seniors, they're kind of at a milestone in their life and that's the section that I've kept for my portfolio. And then ag and trades and equine. They're more of the motion type of imagery that really lends to storytelling. Behind the scenes is such an interesting story, business type of perspective. Just they're hard workers, and for me I'm from a smaller farm community community, so it just it draws my heart. Those more like you know, blue collar farmers, those type of people just to me are very authentic and genuine and so that's kind of why I stick to that type of. I feel like it matches my photography best.

Speaker 2: 5:48

Some of the photos I've seen that you've taken are oddly emotional, considering the subject. It's a candid photo, but the way you capture them they don't understand. They don't know in the moment that they're being photographed. But you capture a moment in time that you can just kind of wrap a story around that single image and it can be emotional. So I kind of equate your photos to photos that I've seen like in Life magazine, national Geographic, and that's a big compliment because those photos are some of the best photos in the world.

Speaker 2: 6:30

photos you know some of the best photos in the world, but that's a very it's. You know, your, your photography is kind of akin to that, that sort of photography. It's very beautiful If you can't tell.

Speaker 3: 6:45

I'm trying to get people to be curious enough to go to your website.

Speaker 2: 6:46

Yeah, we'll get to that here shortly. So how were you inspired? Who you know what? What was your inspiration for photography?

Speaker 3: 6:55

Well, my family is a very big part of my life. They always have been. We're extremely close. We're small but we're very, extremely close. So my mom always used to set up kind of like photo sessions in our backyard and different places. My grandpa he is from a he's kind of a blue collar. They lived on a farm, so that kind of draws me to those type of things. So my family is really a big inspiration and kind of like what has made me kind of explore photography.

Speaker 3: 7:32

Because my mom always had a camera in her hand. She was always documenting like just the little moments. So it's more like a Polaroid, because for me photography is that old school, like a documentary type of photography, not the JCPenney's go and pose type of photography. So I think I had a different perspective because, like we were from a smaller town so we didn't really even have a JCPenney, so we didn't go to JCPenney to get our photos taken.

Speaker 3: 7:58

We, you know my mom had a camera and she would set up a bed sheet and just take our picture and I mean they turned out great. So she did a good job, but that was kind of like a more style and then she would always take pictures at events Like we. I'm from Indiana so we have a big old Indy 500 party we did at the farm every single year, my grandparents and they invited literally everybody in the town, and so we have tons of pictures and it's just nobody's posed and everybody's kind of in the action of it, and so I've just always been kind of surrounded by pictures like that, and so I think that's kind of why I have the style that I have is more so like a documentary type of setup because growing up, that's what photography, photography and photos were to you, correct?

Speaker 2: 8:50

yeah the action shots, shots in the moment shots, yeah.

Speaker 3: 8:54

A genuine perspective is kind of way that I would describe my type of photography, so I like to tell the story of really the people in a genuine way.

Speaker 2: 9:08

Do you remember the first photo you ever took?

Speaker 3: 9:11

That I ever took. Yeah you ever took that? I ever took. Yeah, I imagine you were quite young when you did. I mean, the only thing that I can really think of is that I really enjoyed taking pictures of my dad race stock cars my whole life until I became an adult. He stopped but we were always at the track and my mom always brought her camera to those you know, dirt tracks and I remember I really enjoyed trying to capture those and the shutter speed back then was not like it is now.

Speaker 3: 9:44

So they didn't have like a rapid, you know, release or any of that type of thing. So, um, those are the type of things you know that action stuff has always kind of been freezing that moment in time. Um, okay, probably my favorite things, I would think probably something with racing, because it was a big part of our life.

Speaker 2: 10:03

Do you remember your first camera?

Speaker 3: 10:06

My first camera? Probably the Polaroid, to be honest.

Speaker 2: 10:11

Do you still have that Polaroid?

Speaker 3: 10:12

Huh.

Speaker 2: 10:13

Do you still have that Polaroid?

Speaker 3: 10:15

Oh, I'm sure my mom does. She you know she keeps everything, so she has like kindergarten work that we hung up on the wall at school. So I think she probably does.

Speaker 2: 10:27

Yeah, I'm the same way. I've got two Rubbermaid totes in the basement here full of all my kids' works and family history stuff, so I get it. Do you have a bucket list destination that you'd like to travel to to photograph, or a bucket list photo you'd like to travel to to photograph? Or or a bucket list photo you'd like to get like what's, what's that look like?

Speaker 3: 10:47

um, so something that I think I want to explore currently is I'm actually going to shoot my first rodeo in flat rock, indiana, so shout out to them, and I'm super excited about that. Um, it'll be a whole new kind of venture for me, but like PBR or something like that, that's more of a bigger scale, but very much so the action documentary type of style.

Speaker 2: 11:14

Okay. So, that's really specific. So we're in northern Kentucky. How far do you travel to to photograph? You know, animals or people?

Speaker 3: 11:25

Probably up to three hours. I've done a couple shot shoots that are pretty far out To me. If I have a connection with the people and the business, I'll I'll go and do it, just because to me the experience is worth every bit of it. So I'm passionate about it and if we connect and if I feel, like you know, we can tell a good story together, I'll definitely go pretty far.

Speaker 2: 11:54

So when you are not working and you're, say, traveling, what do you do for fun? Do you stay local and have fun, or do you like to go explore the world?

Speaker 3: 12:04

um, I pretty much so, uh, stay around the area, as in indiana. So, um, my parents and grandparents well, grandma, my grandpa has passed since but um, we kind of, if we can get home, we get get home. We're big, we ride quads a lot, so we start the kids very young and that's kind of our thing, that's how we bond and I just I really enjoy being home because it kind of is just a reset and it kind of reminds me of like you know what life is really about.

Speaker 2: 12:40

Yeah. So so yeah, I could. I can see with you know what it's life is really about, yeah, so. So yeah, I could, I can see with you know quads and race cars in your history. So action photography is is obviously a key for you.

Speaker 3: 12:55

Yeah, and I sound like a real big hillbilly and maybe I am, but I definitely like do other things.

Speaker 2: 13:02

There's nothing wrong with that.

Speaker 3: 13:03

Photography is not hillbilly, I I am, but I definitely like do other things. There's nothing wrong with that.

Speaker 2: 13:08

But photography is not hillbilly. I guess we'll say that, yeah, yeah, somebody would, some people would call that the perfect life.

Speaker 3: 13:11

So make no apologies. Those are my type of people.

Speaker 2: 13:13

Now, when I go to your website too, I've I've noticed that you have a membership offering. You don't have to dive too deep into it, but just what are the basics behind that? That's something that I'm not used to seeing. What's that all about?

Speaker 3: 13:26

So the membership, basically I'm offering it as a quarterly membership. So we're doing a branding shoot for businesses, professional or personal, whichever one you would want to do. It's more for professional, but it's a quarterly shoot where we are kind of just staying on the same page throughout the year to get cohesive images for either your socials, your website, a product launch. It just keeps us both on the same track and I can easily be kind of know exactly what you're wanting without restarting every single time. So it kind of just it keeps it the ball rolling. So it's a four times a year would be the kind of setup. And then you get everything offered in that level up collection and it's more so that you get there is a savings and it's more so that we stay on a collaborative kind of cohesive journey together to keep all of your imagery kind of on the same path. Because a lot of times when you know you're either launching a website you need imagery then you're launching a product you're getting more imagery.

Speaker 3: 14:39

Maybe you want want to spotlight team members, more imagery, and then it's kind of like you can keep a cohesive look.

Speaker 2: 14:46

Okay. So when you have that type of relationship, I would imagine that you become friends with your clients too. You get to know them better, and so you can do a better job for them. Ongoing.

Speaker 3: 14:59

Yeah, I mean I feel like, no matter, you can do a better job for them ongoing. Yeah, I mean I feel like no matter, you know who I'm working with. I have a genuine connection with those people and I'm truly invested in either you know their family or their brand, their business, cause that's kind of what I do. Why I do what I do is I I want to tell their story because I feel like when you are in it, especially a business owner, it's kind of it can be overwhelming. It can be like why you know sometimes, why am I doing this? And like seeing an outside perspective of like actually this is awesome, like these are the cool things that you're doing, that, like everyone else just you know, thinks it's hero type stuff that you just don't even realize, and it's kind of they see themselves in a different light.

Speaker 3: 15:45

And so I just I was a teacher for years. I've always had the photography, um, so I have a teaching degree and a graphic design art history degree, so I've always done both and so that's always going to be a part of me, that like giving back type of relationship, community type of thing. That's how I was raised, so I try to make sure anybody I meet really, you know I have some type of good connection with and my clients. Obviously I'm learning a lot about them and their brand, so I would like to be just as passionate as they are of showing what's unique about them, their team and their brand.

Speaker 2: 16:28

So, as I said before, I'm encouraging people to go to your website to check out some of the images that you highlight and showcase on that site. What is your website?

Speaker 3: 16:39

It is wwwbrandedjjpcom, so like B-R-A-N-D-E-D-J-J-Pcom, and the JJP is Jessica Jane Photography, because that was my old business, when it was just focused on portraiture photography.

Speaker 2: 16:57

So that's the best way for people to reach you, correct?

Speaker 3: 17:01

Yes, definitely. We have some inquiry forms on there that they can fill out and kind of just tell me what they're interested in, a little bit about them, and then we'll respond back and then we'll get the ball rolling and hopefully collab on something.

Speaker 2: 17:15

OK, well, very good, I'm going to tell a little bit of a secret, and that is before we started this conversation. You were very nervous.

Speaker 3: 17:22

Oh yeah.

Speaker 2: 17:22

Yeah, you were very nervous, I did not want to talk about myself.

Speaker 2: 17:26

You did a great job. I appreciate it. It's over, so you can breathe again. It's fine. You did a perfect job explaining who you are and what you can do for people, and I encourage people to go to your website. Check out those images that I've seen, because I was. I was blown away by them, and so, with that, our time here today is over. Thanks for joining us, jessica, and thank you to the listeners for listening in. Until next time, everybody. This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, so I will say to you be good to your neighbor, until next time. Bye, everybody.

Speaker 1: 18:13

Thanks for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast Union. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go topunioncom, that's gnpunioncom, or call us at 859-651-8330.