Meet Jenna Porter | Photographer and Business Mentor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jenna Porter and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jenna, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I’ve always known I would work for myself. Travel is really important to me and I’ve always been really independent- I couldn’t stomach the idea of someone telling me when I would be allowed to take vacation or be sick or even wake up in the morning. I didn’t want to spend my life in furtherance of making money for someone else. Photography had been a hobby and I just decided to give it a shot professionally after college and ended up really liking it.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
It’s very difficult in the age of everyone being a photographer to stand out. Social media creates an immense pressure to either assimilate to what everyone else is doing or hyper-innovate. It’s very difficult to find and follow your own voice. I regularly have to remind myself that my work and my vision is what’s right for me and for the type of clientele I want to work with. I always tell entrepreneurs to stay focused on being yourself, because when you try to emulate someone else, the best you can ever hope to achieve is a second rate version of that person. In my own work, that means really dialing into vulnerable emotions to create work that is timeless in it’s authenticity. Shooting and editing trends come and go, but authentic storytelling is forever. I try really hard to balance what I know works vs not creating plug-and-play photos. I really want people to see themselves very clearly in the photos not as models but as emotive individuals. Now, having done this for 15 years, I’ve really seen it all as far as challenges go, especially over the last two seasons. There isn’t really a road map for how to navigate a pandemic in the industry of joy, hyperbole, and celebration. It was really difficult to balance what I needed to do to survive vs what I wanted to do for my clients that were hurting. I’ve learned a lot about how to navigate this moving forward, but I don’t think it will ever be comfortable. The events industry really took a hit and a lot of the emotional and financial burden of that fell to small business owners.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Coffee and cocktails at Hudson Hill (where I’m sitting while I answer these questions). Sushi at Izakaya Den. Cuba Cuba for the best dinner ever. Hike around Red Rocks. Scooters through Rino to check out all the street art. Clyfford Still Museum. Happy hour at Postino’s. Brunch at Snooze. Wash Park for a beautiful walk. The High Dive for a local concert. Uncle for ramen. Meow Wolf. I think most people who come here are here for mountain tourism, but I’m more of a city girl. I find myself in the mountains so often for work that I don’t seek them out in my off time, I would rather absorb local art and culture as it is now flourishing in Denver.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Jesh de Rox is an amazing human and mentor and he has been integral in the re-envisioning of my goals and attitudes around my business.

Website: https://Jenna-Noelle-creative.com

Instagram: @jennanoelleweddings

Facebook: https://facebook.com/jennanoellecreative