For the past 10 years, Jessica Christie has been successfully running her own photography business out of Denver, Colorado. She specializes in intimate, adventurous wedding and elopement shoots.
“When COVID happened I essentially couldn’t’t work at all and I was really going stir crazy,” says Christie. “I already knew that I loved my job and I was super passionate about the people that I worked with — having that missing out of my life is kind of like this big void.”
It was in April that Christie turned to a group of photographers who she follows. Many of these photographers have been trying FaceTime sessions with clients as an alternative to an in-person photo shoot.
Curious to see how these sessions were done, Christie hired one of the photographers to do one of herself to see what it was like.
Happy with the results of her pictures, Christie reached out to her closest clients to try it out for herself.
“I fell in love with being able to reconnect with people again, so I opened it up and ended up booking 40 sessions,”Christie says.
University of Colorado graduate Gitte LaWare had met Christie last fall when she was hired to photograph her sister’s wedding. She saw Christie advertise these FaceTime shoots on her social media pages.
“I was extremely curious about what that experience would be like,” LaWare shares. “I had no idea, honestly, how something like that would work so I was excited to do it.”
In order for the photos to turn out correctly, Christie has to guide the model into different poses and direct them on how to create good lighting by using their phones.
“She had me putting the phone in all sorts of fun crazy spaces. I had it propped up on a fan at one point, taped to the ceiling and teetering on the thinnest part of the wall,” LaWare adds. “The results were amazing.”
Starting at the end of May, Christie finished up her last FaceTime shoots. She is now able to do in-person photo sessions with her clients.
“While I really enjoyed the FaceTime sessions in the moment for what they were, there is just something about being with your clients in real life and getting to actually get that one-on-one interaction with them,” she says.
Due to many postponed weddings, Christie says she only has four more wedding and elopement sessions planned this calendar year, compared to the 25 to 30 she is used to having annually. With that in mind, Christie predicts that 2021 will be a busy year with rescheduled sessions.
“I think this was a good time for me to recharge,” Christie says. “I was really trying to listen to what I needed and what my body needed and I felt like everything was telling me to take this time to rest.”
Visit Christie’s website at jessicanchristie.com
Photos courtesy of Jessica Christie.
The power of words and pictures has always been an important aspect in Brooke’s life. Brooke’s current position as an intern for Jaunt Media Collective — YOGA + Life® Magazines and Spoke+Blossom Magazine — allows her to grow as an aspiring journalist along with combining her two passions: writing and photography. She currently attends the University of Colorado Boulder, where she plans to graduate with a major in Journalism and a minor in Studio Art. Brooke moved out to Colorado to be apart of its active environment and to be surrounded by its gorgeous landscape. She is often found with her camera in hand ready to capture any moment. Brooke enjoys traveling, going to see live music and hanging out with her dog.
