Meet Jordana Schmitt of Greensboro

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jordana Schmitt

Hi Jordana, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I think like a lot of photographers, my interest in film started when I had my oldest son, Colin, who’s 9 years old now! At the time I was in college for Business Admin but I quickly realized my major needed to change to Digital Photography. For two years, I was able to practice in different fields like sports, marketing, and outdoor portrait photography as part of my degree, I was pretty sure outdoor portrait photography was the area I wanted to specialize in, that was until my “Studio Lighting Class” came around as part of my last semester before graduation.

In this class, Annie Leibovitz was featured for her dark yet vivid captures, I specifically remember one of her shots of Queen Elizabeth sitting in a Grand Room with the light beautifully controlled just to pour and fade as dramatically as possible making this scene contrast so rich it is hard to look away – this was the very moment I knew studio lighting was my calling. From there, I wanted to combine the essence of ‘family’ in studio, and what has more essence than expecting mothers carrying life? Then follow their journey when they return with their newborns and a whole new perspective on said life. The answer was nothing, and that’s how I am here – a maternity and newborn photographer, just capturing a mother and father gradually falling in love with a tiny stranger.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I think as artists, a smooth road is typically not in our realm. Photographers have to worry about the constant changes both professionally and personal life and I was not an exeption. In a saturated market, staying relevant and connecting with existing and potential clients is a challenge. But a challange with rewards if you can learn anything from it and overcome it. Of couse, balancing family time with the countless editing hours is another drawback but again, a rewarding one when you hear “I can’t decide which one to pick” from your clients.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
As a studio portrait photographer, specilizing in maternity and newborns, my goal is to make any client feel confident and to realize although pregnancy is hard, there’s so much beauty in it and we mothers should embrace that period in life. With my newborns, I truly just want to capsulate the weeks that are a blur due to sleepless nights and never ending appointments, I want my clients to be able to look back and through my shots remember the small mental-picture frames looking at their babie’s tiny noses and fingers.

As to what am I most proud of? Truthfully, I am most proud of my mamas, the ones that understand the importance of taking the time to capture these moments, the ones that welcome motherhood, the ones that push through the rawness that is postpartum to have these memories recorded.

With so many incredibly tanlented photographers in the industry I hope I can be remembered by my passion to create not just a photo with a professional camera but Art in every shot, along with a comfortable and fun experience to look back to.

Contact Info:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JordanaSchmittPhotography