We recently connected with Jillian Chung and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Jillian, thank you so much for opening up with us about some important, but sometimes personal topics. One that really matters to us is overcoming Imposter Syndrome because we’ve seen how so many people are held back in life because of this and so we’d really appreciate hearing about how you overcame Imposter Syndrome.
I think if you asked any photographer if they have “imposter syndrome” they would tell you: YES! Imposter syndrome is something that will always creep up during my career, but having close friends in the same industry really helps me overcome it. Finding your support system with like minded professionals to create that “community over competition” is eye opening. This allows us to network within our industry, give feedback and support when needed, provide those extra pair of eyes to help with editing and simply respecting one another as an equal. I have also found that continuing my training and education by investing in different courses from various educators in the industry and finding that there are many others with the same obstacles as myself is incredibly humbling. Reminding myself that these incredibly successful educators ALL started exactly where I did, have been where I am now and that I can and will be where they are today!
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
Hey there! It’s Jillian here, the face behind Jillian Elizabeth Photography, LLC. I am a Maternity, Newborn & Family Photographer based in Sterling, Virginia. I am originally from Pennsylvania but I relocated with my husband to the Northern Virginia area in 2015 due to his military orders. We have two children, Elliot & Penny. I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 2016 and from that moment I decided that I wanted to be in charge of my future. I needed to make sure I showed my children that life will throw obstacles at you, but there is always a light at the end of the tunnel. There are moments my disease can make me second guess all that I want to accomplish, but again, I simply won’t allow it. I value the small moments much more than I did before my diagnosis as well as having children. Having the ability to preserve these fleeting moments, big or small for others is so important to me. I love to create simple, sweet organic moments for my clients and their loved ones to have forever. I cannot tell you how many times I catch myself with a big goofy smile while I’m editing because I truly LOVE reliving the emotion captured in my images. I strive to build comfortable and relaxing atmosphere during my sessions in order to really capture the true essence of your family connection. Basically, we’re besties as soon as we meet because I believe building a true “human” relationship with my clients helps shape a genuine outcome. I am always looking for models to showcase any new projects or client closet items at a discounted price, so please feel free to reach out regarding anything I may have up my sleeve!
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Someone once said to me “the moment you start to feel like you know it all, that there is nothing else for you to learn, you have failed”. Photography is ever evolving, it’s constantly changing. When I’m feeling like I am in a creative rut, I find a course that I can learn from or even revisit some super basic principles for photography. Education is key for photographers! Technology is forever improving so there are always new skills to learn and master. Being able to take creative criticism and being receptive is not only helpful but it’s very important for your growth as a professional. We are human, we make mistakes, we overlook things sometimes but being able to own that, fix it and come out of it with a lesson is what it’s important. This isn’t always easy, but this is very impactful as long as you are open to it.
Learn the exposure triangle! This is such a crucial part to learning how to create the style you strive to achieve. There are so many resources at your finger tips (some are even free)! Take advantage of it because you are worth it!
Create a support system! Whether this is from your family, friends or those you meet while networking, you need to have someone to lean on and bring you back down to earth when you are feeling out of control. We all have those moments of saying to ourselves “I’m done. I’m not booking, so and so is always booking, I’m not good enough, etc’. It is so easy to just back down and not challenge yourself. Finding those that will constantly challenge you to improve are your people. I am very lucky to have a small group of friends that I met through this journey of having my own business and I truly don’t know where I would be without them.
Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?
Right now I am trying to be more present on social media. Social media is so time consuming for me and it really overwhelms me! With social media playing such a large role in being seen, bookings, etc it can be tiring to constantly be available to make sure the “algorithm” likes you or not, ha! In order for me to overcome posting regularly, I make sure to schedule my posts! This has been a game changer for me.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.jillianelizabethphotography.com
- Instagram: jillian_elizabeth_photography
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jillianelizabethphotographynova
