Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica Watts.
Hi Jessica, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I’ve had a camera in my hand for as long as I can remember; started out with disposables and I’ve since upgraded. My mother would buy me disposable cameras in bulk and I’d fill them up in a week as a child.
In the beginning, and even now, it was more than making a perfect photograph and following photographic rules – it was documenting life, preserving life in a way that can be saved and viewed (felt) forever.
When my daughter was born seven years ago, I decided to take that passion and dive deep into the artistic side of photography. I enrolled in art school and used my brand new baby as my subject. I then became fascinated with those aforementioned photography rules, and at the same time, also my new role as a mother. Those two things happening simultaneously is why I am where I am today in my career. Today, I passionately document women and motherhood.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It certainly wasn’t always a smooth road. Navigating new motherhood and attending art school at the same time wasn’t easy. I also added two more babies to our family in the seven years since I began this journey. It was a constant battle of choosing which balls to keep in the air and which ball would be okay to drop to save my sanity. And just like most artists and business owners, keeping afloat in a pandemic was quite interesting as well.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a birth photographer, first and foremost. It is my life’s passion and I feel unbelievably honored to call myself that. So I photograph the beauty, power and miracle that is childbirth. I tell the story, often starting with maternity photos, up until baby’s first few hours of life. Being on-call for weeks before the birth of a baby and raising my own family is tough, but I make it work, and in doing so I get to capture truly incredible moments of womanhood.
I also photograph newborns and families. I love capturing authentic connection and strive to document real emotion in my photographs.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
Real, honest conversation. Self-awareness and growth. The deep and loving relationship I have with my husband. My kids’ smiles.
Contact Info:
- Email: jessica@jwattsphotography.com
- Website: www.jwattsphotography.com
- Instagram: @j_wattsphotography
- Facebook: @jwattsphotog
