SALEM- Jennifer Jean grew up loving photography but wasn’t able to truly turn it into a career until a few years ago.
Nowadays, The Loft Studio is thriving in downtown Salem with a large space for several different photoshoots.
Jean grew up in Salem and went to McKay High School before getting married and moving up to Seattle.
She purchased her first professional camera in 2004 shortly after digital SLR cameras were released and quickly proceeded to work on her photographing skills by capturing the Seattle skyline or freeway at night.
“In 2007, when my nephew was born, I started photographing him and creating fun scenes for him,” Jean said. “I put him in a pot on the stove with a baker’s hat and a wooden spoon and took pictures like that. That’s when I fell in love with photographing people, because it was that interaction between him and me and how we captured those wonderful expressions.”
Jean moved back to Salem in 2015 to be closer to family and decided to officially jump-start her photography career.
“Pensé en decir que era fotógrafa y que me contratarían”, dijo Jean. “Dos compañeros de la preparatoria me dijeron en Facebook que me contratarían, y ese fue el comienzo”.
Finalmente, encontró a una fotógrafa llamada Sue Bryce, que impartía clases de retrato en línea. Empezó a aprender de ella y a perfeccionar su arte.
“Enseña lenguaje corporal, iluminación, estilismo y todo lo que se puede aprender para crear retratos”, dijo Jean. “Empecé a seguirla y a pagar por sus clases, y todavía las tomo. Aprendí el arte del retrato, el lenguaje corporal y cómo interactuar con mis clientes capturando la conexión que se crea a través del lente. Me enamoré”.
Jean joined the Salem Chamber of Commerce and began marketing and promoting herself through social media. At first, she didn’t have a studio, so she worked from home setting up backdrops and lighting.
At one point, she worked in a small outdoor area attached to the main house, which she converted into a small studio.
“The space was really small and challenging, and backdrops were falling on me all the time,” Jean said. “Half the time I had to say, ‘I know what I’m doing, guys, I’m a pro!’ People laughed and told me it makes me more authentic and relatable. I built my business in that small space and used it for the past four years. It worked, and I’ve created some really beautiful photos there. However, I felt limited, and there was only so much space I could use there and so many options to make it look different.”
In 2019, Jennifer gave herself a year to build her business and brand. The pandemic put a damper on things and forced her to reevaluate if the business would work.
“If I can’t get to a point where I can pay my bills and it’s sustainable, I’ll go work at Target or look for another job,” Jean said. “2020 came around, so I gave myself another year. I didn’t have any businesses because of COVID for a year and a half.”
Jean felt she had to do something to jumpstart her business so in September 2021 she launched a 40 Over 40 beauty and glamour campaign for women over the age of 40. The campaign proved to be successful and helped get her name out in the community.
“Women don’t want to see themselves aging, but I love seeing the woman I’m becoming and fully accepting that I’m leaving a legacy for my children,” Jean said. “We are all beautiful at every stage of life. We should celebrate that.”
She began looking for her own space and eventually settled on the location that would house her current studio.
“I saw this space and as soon as I walked in, I felt like I could breathe,” Jean said. “I was creatively claustrophobic. I walked in here, stretched my arms, and felt inspired.”
The location was ideal and downtown (located above Masonry Grill), but the rent was high.
“I had to build it from the ground up and wondered how I could make it work,” Jean said. “I decided to rent it out to other photographers on the weekends, and that resulted in so much more. I know what it’s like to build a business from scratch and how long it takes to gather enough equipment and feel like a professional. Being able to bring photographers here and provide them with everything they need to run a professional portrait business is fantastic.”
Jean wanted to create a space that would make a statement, so she bought a chandelier and created a cozy seating area so that when people viewed her photos and put them on the TV, it would feel like they were in their own living room. She also wanted her space to feel like a luxury boutique so that when they walked in, they knew they were going to spend money.
“I’ve been inundated with photography assignments, including boudoir, portraits, branding, and also over-40 photography,” Jean said. “Since then, I’ve been very busy. I have a full schedule until September, and offering people a space to photograph is great.”
