Inspired by Jill Thomas Photography

Jill Thomas Photography and her beautiful photos are our Love This! for Today. Jill shared with us in length about her love for her work and how it went from being a hobby to a career. A few years ago after moving across country, Jill started a family blog to keep  everyone up to date on her family and their new life. Many people started commenting on the photos she would post which led to them requesting she shoot for them. She did what she could with her point and shoot until Christmas came and her husband gave her an SLR. She did not think it would amount to anything more than a hobby she enjoyed but now two years later and relocated once again she is doing what she loves and is in high demand! Not too long ago Jill’s career took another turn, when she decided to shoot only film. It was her favorite medium and she followed her heart even when she feared clients may not follow. Jill now shoots all of her weddings in film!

When we asked Jill what inspires her, she shared this with us, “I’m inspired mostly by 70s photography. I love the look of it. I love that it is classically beautiful. I love the cameras and film types. I look to that era of photography a lot as I’m trying to find what I want to do next with my business. I’ve studied old images of my parents from the 70s and figured out how those images were captured. On my blog and site you will notice all my photos have rounded corners. When looking through my parents albums, all their photos from the 70s had rounded corners and I loved it. I wanted to create that 70s feeling on my blog in a modernized way.
I also am inspired by fashion magazines. My favorite is W! It’s a wonderful day when I receive it in the mail. I put the kids to bed and lie on the ground and take my time with every image.When I come across an image that really speaks to me, I contact the photographer to see what camera was used to capture the image. Most often they were shot in film, so many photographers were so kind to me and shared their information and their friendship with me.

I was so humbled when Jill shared with me the inspiration behind her brand.  She shared that she read my posts about branding and loving your logo and that this one particular phrase stood out to her. The sentence read, “So if you haven’t done so already, tear yourself away from whatever you are doing and realign your attention and focus on your brand. Competition is fierce, and you should always ask yourself; “How will I remain relevant?” Jill said that this really hit her. Its a reminder that she is in competition with some really amazing photographers and needed to find a way to stand out in the crowd. She said that following that advice was one of the best decisions she made  and that  it helped her analyze her core self, her business, and the clients she wanted to attract. Jill said,”I have found who my business self is and that is very liberating.”

I am so happy to have been able to help! Thank you Jill for sharing your story and beautiful pictures with us! To see more of her wonderful work, check out Jill’s blog you can also follow her on twitter.