Life & Work with Jeannene Matthews of Downtown and the Triangle

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeannene Matthews.

Hi Jeannene, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I was born in Cary, NC, and grew up in Raleigh. My grandfather was a film photography enthusiast, which became a passion of my dad’s, bringing me to photography. My dad has been passionate about astrophotography for my entire life, so I grew up around someone planning trips and weekends around photographic projects. I bought my first DSLR when I was 15 years old after working all summer for it as a lifeguard. It was a Nikon d40, and it was my baby – and I shot more than 10,000 frames on it by the time I left high school. It went with me everywhere! I was always dragging my friends out to model for me. Early on, I knew I liked taking expressive individual portraits. My first ‘paid’ portrait job was when I was 18. I certainly did not imagine high school senior portraits would be a 50% share of my own business then! I took old photos of a friend of one of my cousins. I spent six years as a speech-language pathologist before taking the plunge and making photography my full-time job.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
That is a big no! But, I think the thing that separates thriving small businesses from failed ventures is whether you enjoy problem-solving or not. And I do. I knew I wanted to be a photographer in high school. When I was 16, I used to drive around to photography studios between the end of school and the start of my after-school job. I’d ask if they had opportunities to shadow, volunteer, or intern got no answer or ‘no’ every time. One photographer outright told me I would never make it as a business owner and suggested I leave photography as a passion and plan for college. I’ll never forget how small that person made me feel. I got a master’s degree and worked as a clinical speech-language pathologist for six years with K-12 students after college. That was my ‘real job’ everyone encouraged me to get. I found over time that, while I loved that work, the conditions were burning me out – quickly. So, I started shooting real estate photography after school and on summer break. It picked up so quickly that I wondered if I could give up the job that was running me ragged. Then the COVID lockdown happened. When North Carolina closed schools, and the hard lockdown began, I was in a car accident. While sitting at the accident site, my speech pathology job called me and said that I couldn’t clock into work the next day, and they didn’t know if or when I’d be able to return. That was my first day as a full-time photographer, not by choice. But I think now that the timing of all of that was making lemonade out of lemons. I feel like I am a real, full person again! The challenges of running a business are many and constant, but I wouldn’t trade them away.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am known for and specialize in senior portrait photography. My experience largely inspires this specialty with senior portraits and my previous work with high schoolers as a speech pathologist. What I found most embarrassing and painful about my senior portrait experience was the ‘lost opportunity. I was very excited about it, in general – I loved photography and was pretty proud of my aesthetic, even though that aesthetic was Converse and metal band t-shirts. We are who we are; what can I say? Anyway, I was excited to have a great photo that showed me who I thought I was for my friends to see. What ended up happening was a plain green t-shirt, a hairstyle I didn’t like, and a 45-degree tilt with a soft focus. Ick. Nobody ever saw that picture after that proof came home – I made sure of it. Now, I work passionately to create a senior portrait experience that reflects the students’ values and preferences. This has been as varied as planning a rock climbing/senior photo combo for a competitive climber to a choreographed shoot for a skilled dancer, to using neon lights at night to light photos for a teenager whose aesthetic was very alt. You dream it. We do it, pretty much.

Any big plans?
My main plans for the future are to continue to grow what I have – I want to keep working with my seniors who are in it to make themselves feel like rockstars for who they are rather than who they think they need to be.

Pricing:

• Senior Experience sessions start at $299
• Graduation Sessions start at $99
• Weekday Senior portraits start at $149
• Adventure Senior Sessions start at $399

Contact Info:

• Website: www.jrphotographync.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/jrphotographync
• Facebook: facebook.com/jrphotographync

Image Credits
Cesar Sanchez