Meet Jessica Vallia | M.Photog.Cr., CPP

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

Hi Jessica, have there been any changes in how you think about work-life balance?
I’m a mom of 4 kiddos ranging in ages 8 to 20, as of today. When I started my photography journey, I was a Jr. in high school with not a care in the world. SO much has changed since then. My husband and I run TWO full time businesses with our 4 kiddos in tow often. I would say that the balancing act becomes not our time as much as it becomes healthy boundaries with our clients and balancing self-care.

We balance our clients and our time by having boundaries around basically everything. If you truly think of your business as just that, a business you will be more likely to keep those boundaries. We both have strict “office hours” M-Fri 9-4pm for calls, texts, and emails. We don’t email clients in the middle of dinner, nor do either of us answer the phone at 7 am. The hours outside of that are for our family and for self-care. In a world of “under promising and over delivering” we found ourselves burnt out and stressed out trying to work until we felt like our job was done, often until 9 pm or later. There’s no need for that, businesses close down for the day and so can you.

For selfcare, I find myself often turning prioritizing time with friends, time in creating art just for the sake of creating art, but most importantly, spending precious time with our kids. Having kiddos that range so far apart in age, I’ve come to realize pretty quickly that time is gone in an instant. There isn’t always time to something later in regards to your kiddos, do it now.

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.
I’m a Fine Art Photographer specializing in family work but also so excited these days to work with musicians far and wide. I’ve been blessed to have a son who played cello for the Colorado Springs Youth Symphony Association and since that time I’ve photographed many of their students, many of which have gone on to win awards. Music and imagery are synonymous with one another, I feel moved to created when working with musicians and often find my muses in the world of music.

Finding musicians that want to have beautiful portraits vs something that is trendy and hip is for sure difficult. I feel like this is why I tend to have far more classical musicians in my studio than I have contemporary. I try to center my work around the idea that someday, each image could be a family heirloom. With that in mind, most people looking for that style of portrait are in the world of classical music.

All of my four children are natural musicians, three play instruments and one sings her heart out. I cannot wait to dive into new portraits each and every year for them. They are often my inspiration for artist pieces. Artist pieces are those that include elements that aren’t in the captured image and added later. I’ve done several for my children but the first one that led to exploring the world of music was a rendition of Snow White with my oldest daughter titled, “Snow White’s Morning Serenade”. This piece helped me grow as an artist, pushing the limits I had set for myself that were breakable and it’s by far one of my favorite creations to date.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I am Colorado born and raised! I love our state and I love Colorado Springs. I always take out of town guests over to my studio before stopping in at Garden of the Gods. I have to say I’m beyond grateful to have a large, commercial studio off of Garden of the Gods Rd. From there we might stop in at my favorite little Italian deli across the street, Mollica’s for some fresh pasta and one of their amazing desserts. I love to eat so we may just eat a few times.

I also love horseback riding! We got back into this recently and I would for sure take a friend up the mountain to one of the amazing stables we have, there are so many great ones just outside of town.

Our night would end eating again! I don’t know where because I love so many places. I would suggest anywhere from Italian again at the upscale, La Belle Vita to getting something simple like tacos because who doesn’t love a good taco night!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I have to give a shoutout to our local photography organizations, Professional Photographers of Colorado & Professional Photographers Guild of Colorado Springs! Colorado has such a talented group of photographers who truly believe in each other and the success of the industry. These two groups have encouraged and allowed me grow as an artist as well as an instructor of photography and we all know the saying, the best way to learn something is to teach it!

With that being said, I would like to thank my students and mentees. They help me discover new things about myself and my abilities every time I have class or have a one on one session!

Website: www.jessicavallia.com

Instagram: jessicavalliaphotography

Facebook: jessicavalliaphotography

Other: Professional Photographers of Colorado: https://www.ppcolorado.com/ Professional Photographers Guild of Colorado Springs: https://www.ppgcs.com/

Image Credits
© Jessica Vallia Photography