We recently had the chance to connect with Jordan Katz and have shared our conversation below.
Jordan, so good to connect and we’re excited to share your story and insights with our audience. There’s a ton to learn from your story, but let’s start with a warm up before we get into the heart of the interview. What are you being called to do now, that you may have been afraid of before?
As I enter what I like to think of as my second act as a wedding photographer, I have been called to taking on more of a leadership role in community building. I have always considered myself an introvert/INFP, and networking at the bigger wedding events has always been out of my comfort zone (I do it anyway!). I also recently became a mother. As I have considered how to navigate our ever-changing industry, it’s become obvious to me that building community is essential. While I still plan to participate in large-scale networking events on occasion, I thought — why limit myself to community building in an environment that feels unnatural to me? So I have taken a risk and started a dinner series called Dinner at Home, which is aimed at creating an intimate, casual environment for authentic connection to take place among wedding vendors. Every vendor someone I don’t know well and would like to get to know more personally, and the goal is that each person is mostly new to the the others as well. We had our first event earlier this fall, and it was a wonderful experience —each one of the carefully selected guests expressed how much they had enjoyed the format and how they would hope to be included again. Plus a group chat was formed! That is the kind of connection I have been craving, and putting myself out there to lead it has unlocked a new kind of courage in me.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I am a wedding photographer based in Denver, Colorado. My approach puts an emphasis on documenting real emotion and experiences, and I am heavily influenced by artful design. My clientele tend to get married across the Rocky Mountains, in ski towns, the foothills and in the Denver metro area. I also travel to California fairly frequently for weddings and other work.
Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. What did you believe about yourself as a child that you no longer believe?
As a child I saw myself as timid and a little anxiety-riddled. While I still deal with some anxiety, I have learned that that part of my personality is only there when I don’t lean on the resources I have available to me — the friends and community who support me, giving myself space to be creative without being influenced by social media, and making sure to take time to fill my cup outside of work. I have also learned that anxiety is often rooted in something really essential to being good at your craft — being deeply curious, introspective and observant. While sometimes it manifests as overthinking, being thoughtful is what helps you know what kind of art you want to make, and how to make it.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
There have been years when work has been slower, and I always tell myself I can always quit, but it’s hard to come back. That keeps me in it, and usually makes me just want to work harder to find work, build relationships or get creative about adding sources of income. I also come from a family of entrepreneurs and people who have reinvented themselves throughout their lives. My mom became a nurse at 40 after having cancer; my dad became a restauranteur later in life, etc. So I have always felt that there were options — even as AI and other influences affect my industry, I am not worried because there are so many ways to build a career and a life, and they are not all-or-nothing. You can try to build something small and see if it works, and if it does, it can grow. And that doesn’t mean you have to quit what you are already doing (in my case, being a photographer). So giving up hasn’t really made sense, unless what I am doing is keeping me from building something else that is more sustainable and enjoyable.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. Is the public version of you the real you?
This is such a prescient question, with social media and AI these days. I would say the public me is the real me, and that is deeply important to me. Anything that doesn’t feel like the real me is truly not “on brand” for me publicly. I have always had a really strong sense of who I am, and it’s very uncomfortable for me to feel like the public version is anything but that. That said, I am judicious about what I share about my personal life because I do feel like being completely open online is a can of worms.
Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. If you knew you had 10 years left, what would you stop doing immediately?
If I knew I had only 10 years left, I think I would stop comparing myself to others. It is such old advice, but it is hard to remember when you are in the day-to-day. When you get to the point where you feel really solid about your craft, and you are doing the best you can to be a positive force in your industry, the rest is irrelevant.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.jordankatzweddings.com
- Instagram: @jordankatzweddings
Image Credits
Images are mine.
