Jess and Kim Lawerence caught out eye over on Instagram where we were mesmerized by their gorgeous wedding portraits. They’ve had success because they deeply and truly care about their clients, and that is reflected in their portraits. Their portfolio has earned them a spot in our talented group of Visual Flow Ambassadors. In this interview, we will unravel how they got started in the wedding industry and how they connect with people to build real relationships that will take you far in life.
How long have you been a photographer? What got you started?
“In 2015, a good friend of ours was getting married during a massive hurricane. Her friend, who was *supposed* to bring his camera, wasn’t able to fly in due to inclement weather, so Kim called Jess frantically asking him to bring his camera. So one hurricane wedding later, we realized that that was probably as bad as it can get, so why not see if we can keep going? And here we are. Still going.”
How did you establish and define your shooting and editing style?
“We were really choosy about the mentors that we learned from. We invested a BUNCH into education, and I think those people shaped how we work and edit. We’ve blended together shooting and editing from who we’ve learned from, but Visual Flow has been the most consistent way that we’ve found to give us the bold, true to life colors that people expect from us.”
How do you differentiate yourself from the photographer down the street?
“The person down the street is probably more sane than us. In all honesty, being a husband and wife team that has a TON of client care and communication separates us. Producing unexpected work separates us. Our reveal sessions separate us. Our desire to give our clients the highest quality heirlooms we can possibly think of separates us. And, you know. The sanity part.”
How has the Visual Flow Preset system changed your workflow?
“We can get to our desired looks through one click more often than not using the Visual Flow Presets. From a time standpoint, it’s crazy fast. We’ll still pull in local adjustments, but even those are easier to deal with because of the number of choices that we have for literally every situation. The tool pack alone is worth the money!”
What is the most challenging part of being a photographer?
“I think there’s a lot of pressure when it comes to creating new and incredible work at every wedding. What happens if we don’t deliver to expectations? This is a mental battle that we fight every wedding, but honestly, it’s all in our heads. It’s a hurdle that we need to jump over every time we arrive.”
What advice would you give someone wanting to learn how to edit in Lightroom?
- Always build smart previews and edit off of those
- Learn with global adjustments, apply with localized adjustments
- Take things too far before you decide it’s enough
- Every single photo in a gallery does NOT need an artisan edit
- Straightening the horizon is probably the single best click you can do on any photo
If you’re interested in following Jess & Kim’s photography journey, make sure you check out their Instagram and view their full portfolio on their Website.
