Get To Know: Jaime Denise Photography

When I think about Jaime Owens I definitely think “powerhouse”. She is well known and well liked throughout the wedding community. She actively strives to continually grow her craft in different ways, and she provides multiple opportunities throughout the year for other photographers to do the same. Jaime works extremely hard for every couple who hires her, all while being genuine and true to who she is as a person and business owner. When working with other vendors, she is a team player and makes my job as a planner that much easier. I am thrilled that she agreed to let me do a write-up on her and her photography business. So, please keep reading a get to know a little more about the person behind the lenses of Jaime Denise Photography…

1. Tell me a little about yourself, your business, and how it all got started.

I started photography in high school, many moons ago! Ha. I started with 35mm film and it truly caught me by surprise how much I fell in love with it. Flash forward to age 19, I moved to Southern California, got into photography more and more with the military community where I began with family portraits & engagement sessions. After that I was lucky enough to be at an age where a lot of my friends were getting married and asked me to be part of their special moments & weddings!

2. Every photographer hopes to tell a story with their art, what kind of clientele are you hoping to attract with the stories you tell from the still moments in time showcased on social media and your website?

I want to attract clients who are attracted to me – as an artist. I want clients that can actually see themselves in my work and don’t feel like they need to fit a mold that they see on Pinterest. I think my style has much more of a documentary approach. I love to capture the in between times – the fluidness of a relationship on their wedding day – not just the posed photos. I think being able to look back and really feel the emotions of that day and those moments all over again is so important. Clients who appreciate the imperfect, but also feel like the points in time that I captured are perfect.

3. It is no secret that we have a ton of very talented photographers in our general area – including yourself, so how do you choose to stand out amongst the many to book those ideal clients for you?

I think I am weird, and that can be appealing. I wholeheartedly mean it when I say I want to be friends with my clients long after their wedding if they will have me. Awkwardness is relatable and I think that honestly helps attract people to my work. That is to say, you can see real people being real in my work, which has always been my goal. I never want someone to look at my website and feel like they can’t be part of it.

4. What is the number one question you get asked during a consultation from prospective clients, and what is one question you wish more couples would ask during consultations with photographers?

“How do you get your couples to not look awkward? We’ve never had professional photos done before.” My answer: I include an engagement session in all of my packages for this reason. I love to get to know my couples prior to the wedding day so we both know each other well enough to spend all day together, but also to get those jitters out.  I will help you pose a little, but I LOVE to just capture you as you are. On a date, going for a walk, having a pizza party in the mountains. Whatever floats your boat. It’s the in between moments that make them natural. It is allowing me into your vulnerable space to laugh and chase you around while you smile and celebrate your love. But I also love to just stay back and document the day how it really is.

5. What is one very common question you get asked from other members of a wedding vendor team, and what is one question you wish other members of the vendor team would ask before the wedding day?

“How long are you going to be?” Ha! Honestly, I never have a good solid answer for this question other than ‘we are here to serve the couple, not our portfolios’. They hired us to be part of their day and that is a luxury to them and should be to us too. We need to act accordingly and work as a team to make things go how they want it to go even if it doesn’t always align with our “brand” or our specific timeframe – within reason, of course.

I would love other vendors to just ask something like; “is there anything I can do to make sure we are working together as a team?” I think most of the time vendors are good working with other vendors and don’t tend to get in each other’s way. Photography is so all encompassing on the day, not that it is the most important part, just that it is seeing and documenting everything that is going on at the time. I like working with vendors who understand that and want to be a part of it.

6. I know you are wanting to take on more local clients/weddings, but the last few years you have largely been a traveling wedding/elopement photographer, where is your favorite place to travel to and why? Additionally, where is a bucket list destination for you to photograph a wedding/elopement?

Well, I just booked my dream destination elopement at Torres Del Paine National Park in Patagonia. Patagonia is like an elevated PNW in the sense that it has mountains and wildflowers, glaciers, and wildlife… but it looks just out of this world. I feel truly blessed! My favorite place to travel within the US has to be Montana/Glacier National Park. It’s close enough to be drivable, but it’s so much grander than any of the other places I normally work in terms of stunning landscape. It takes my breath away every time I get the opportunity to work there.

7. Lastly, what is your favorite way to unwind after a long (and beautiful) wedding day?

McDonald’s french fries & a coke… trust me on this, it will change your life.

8. Any other little pieces of advice or tips you would like to give newly engaged couples just starting on their wedding planning journey?

Be inspired by what you see online, but when it actually gets to the day of your wedding, trust your vendors. You hired us because you love our work, and we accepted because we wholeheartedly want to make sure your dream day comes to life. When you release expectations about how the day should go that is when the fun really begins. Hiring a solid vendor team will ensure you do not have to worry about a thing on your wedding day and will allow you both to just BE in the moment. 

There you have it. A little bit about another phenomenal photographer we have in the Inland Northwest, and someone you are going to want to contact ASAP if you connect with any of this and feel like you need to have her photograph your wedding! Best way to do that is through her website (connect with Jaime). If you want to easy scroll through more of her stunning photos do that on her beautifully curated Instagram page.

If you want to meet some more members of our amazing local wedding community check out:

Sage Tree Design

Soundwave Entertainment

Danielle Marie Photography

Cloud Nine Bridal

McBride Floral Design