Jean Tully – Adored Boudoir Photography- Episode 12
Cosmos and Commerce: Sip Savor Succeed – Jean Tully Interview Summary
Introduction:
- Hosts: Janis Francis (Humble Crate Artisan Marketplace and RE MAX Connection) and Michele Cook (Body Ache Escape Massage Center).
- Theme: Exploring the intersection of business and pleasure.
- Guest: Jean Tully, one of the best boudoir photographers, specializes in capturing the natural beauty of women in a comfortable environment.
Jean Tully’s Journey:
- Initial Introduction: Met Michele Cook at a National Association of Women Business Owners meeting.
- Photography Passion: Started in middle school with a focus on portrait photography, took a break and rediscovered her love for it.
- Diverse Services: Began with boudoir photography, inspired by a personal experience, and expanded to cater to women of all ages. Her boudoir studio offers an empowering experience for women to step out of their comfort zone.
Business Insights:
- Transitioning Between Genres: Every boudoir photography session is unique. Jean ensures a safe space for clients to feel comfortable in front of the camera.
- Finding a Niche: Boudoir photoshoots resonated due to the universal struggle of women with self-image. It’s a great way for women to feel confident in their own skin.
- Business Growth: Challenges include space expansion, hiring a glam squad, and maintaining a luxury boudoir session’s integrity.
- Revenue Driver: Boudoir images constitute 80% of her business, largely driven by word of mouth and social media.
Innovative Ventures:
- Movie Set Photoshoots: Popular themes like Barbie sets offer a unique experience where clients can immerse themselves in themed photoshoots.
- Branding for Small Businesses: Emphasizes the importance of conveying the right brand message through visuals, especially in the golden age of Hollywood look.
Advice and Reflections:
- For Aspiring Photographers: Commitment is key; it’s a 24/7 job. The most important thing is to understand body language and create fun pictures.
- Balancing Creativity and Business: Dedicate specific days for creativity and others for business tasks. Having a professional hair and makeup artist is crucial.
- Client Satisfaction: Recognize when a client isn’t a good fit and prioritize the right clients. Boudoir albums are a popular choice as a special occasion or wedding gift.
- Relaxation: Organizes trips, like boudoir shoots in luxury hotels in Jamaica and upcoming tours in Italy.
Jean’s Top 3 Takeaways
- Passion and Niche Focus in Boudoir Photography: Jean Tully’s journey began in middle school, focusing on portrait photography. Over time, she carved a niche in boudoir photoshoots. This specialization resonated deeply due to the universal struggle of women with self-image. By offering a safe space and a comfortable environment in her boudoir studio, Jean provides an empowering experience for women to step out of their comfort zone, embrace their natural beauty, and feel confident in their own skin in front of the camera.
- Business Growth, Challenges, and the Boudoir Experience: Transitioning between different genres of photography requires understanding body language and ensuring every boudoir photography session is unique. As her business grew, Jean faced challenges like space expansion and hiring a professional glam squad. Despite these, boudoir images, showcased in luxury boudoir albums, have become a significant revenue driver, with 80% coming from this niche. Word of mouth and social media have played a big part in this success, highlighting the amazing experience clients have from the first phone call to the final images.
- Innovation and the Ultimate Client Experience: Jean continually innovates, from themed movie set photoshoots offering a unique experience to branding services emphasizing the golden age of Hollywood look. Whether it’s in her boudoir studio or on special trips like boudoir shoots in luxury hotels, Jean ensures every client feels like a professional model, with a professional hair and makeup artist enhancing their natural look every step of the way.
Links
Adored Boudoir Photography
Pearlescent Photography
The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber
Ring Light
The Honor Flight
Transcript- Jean Tully- Adored Boudoir Photography
Janis Francis Intro: Greetings and salutations, fellow enthusiasts of both the business world and the art of unwinding. I’m Janice Francis, with the Humblecrate Artisan Marketplace and RE MAX Connection. And I’m here with,
Michele Cook Intro: Michele cook from Body Ache Escape Massage Center.
Janis Francis Intro: We’re, your guides through the intriguing crossroads of cosmos and commerce. Sip, savor, succeed, get ready to embark on a journey where entrepreneurship and enjoyment coexist, creating a symphony of wisdom and delight. We invite you to pull up a seat, sip on the essence of knowledge, savor the taste of success stories, and learn how to navigate the intricate landscape of achieving your aspirations.
Regardless of whether you’re a business maven. A creative spirit, or simply in an inquisitive soul with a pin shot for the stories behind success you’re in for a treat today, we raise our glasses to a truly remarkable guest, a luminary whose passion has become her livelihood. Prepare to be captivated. As we introduced the sensational Jean Tully, the visionary boudoir and paralescent.
Portraits.
Michele Cook Intro: I met gene at a national association of women business owners meeting. We call that for short. We sat next to each other at one of the lunch. And we realized that we lived only a couple of miles apart from each other. So we became fast friends and we meet pretty regularly. Gene’s journey transcends mere snapshots.
It’s a tale of transforming fleeting moments into eternal memory. is a testament to her impeccable eye for detail, artistic flair, and unwavering commitment to the craft. So fellow adventurers, get ready to raise your metaphorical glasses. As we explore Cosmos and Commerce Sip Saver Succeed with our [00:02:00] delightful guests.
Welcome Jean. We’re thrilled to have you as our guide to this exciting odyssey.
Janis Francis: All right. Welcome, Jean. It’s so nice to get to know you and to meet you. Can you start by telling us a bit about yourself and how you got started in the world of photography? What inspired you to open your own photography studio?
Jean Tully: Well, I have been a photographer since middle school, I did the high school yearbook, all that stuff. And then I took a break to have kids and had some other jobs and then ended up falling back into photography and decided this is where I needed to be again.
Janis Francis: Oh, I love it. I love it. Your studio offers a variety of photography types from boudoir to family portraits. How did you come up with the idea to offer such a diverse range of services?
Jean Tully: Well, I started with boudoir. I was a single girl and I had met my now husband and he has a wood shop in the basement where he makes little wood projects. And he and his dad always had the tool girl calendar hanging in their wood shop.
Janis Francis: Hmm.
Jean Tully: A girl in the bikini with the tools.
So for our first Christmas together, I decided that I was going to make my own calendar for him.
Michele Cook: Oh,
Jean Tully: I had a friend of a friend
of a friend of a friend who did boudoir photography. And I thought, okay, that would be fun. I’ll do that and I’ll make them a little calendar. So I did that and I left that session just feeling amazing about myself. You know, I was 45 and. So, you know, by that point you’re, you’re not 25 anymore and after a couple of kids, you don’t quite feel the way you used to feel. And I just felt great about myself. And I
thought, I know the camera side, I just don’t know [00:04:00] the boudoir side of it. But I started, I started doing it with friends and eventually it grew into a business and When you photograph a woman in her lingerie or less and you get
this bond with her, you make her feel amazing and you make her look amazing. And then she gets a high school, her daughter’s a high school senior and she’s like, you made me feel amazing. I want you to make my daughter feel amazing. She’s shy in front of the camera or she doesn’t like the way she feels or she doesn’t feel thin enough or pretty enough or tall enough or short enough or whatever it is.
I want you to make her feel amazing too. So even though my business was based on boudoir and glamour photography for
women my age, it kind of parlayed into those people skills of making women of all ages. It’s looking and feeling beautiful. So they’re very different, but it’s still the same skill set.
Janis Francis: Yeah. Oh, I love that. Transitioning from
one photography genre to another can be challenging. Could you share some insights into how you successfully manage multiple segments of your business?
Michele Cook: of
Jean Tully: It’s not, it’s not really different. Every client is different. No matter which person you’re working with, no matter what your industry is. Every person is different and you have to treat them different and act different with them. Some people are more bubbly. Some people are more quiet. Some need to be pulled out of their shell while others just burst into the situation ready to go. So it’s, there’s no real difference. Well, the
Janis Francis: Yeah. Okay. So many aspiring entrepreneurs struggle with finding their niche. How did you determine which photography styles you wanted to specialize in?
Jean Tully: [00:06:00] boudoir was just natural. I think every woman struggles with feeling like herself and Feeling beautiful and feeling like she doesn’t fit in with what the media tells her she needs to look like. Women with big breasts feel like their breasts are too big. Women with small breasts feel like their breasts are too small. We’re constantly told we’re not enough, we’re not good enough, we’re not big enough, we’re not small enough, whatever it is. And… I feel that and I’m every woman I come in contact with feels that. So focusing on that genre to make every woman, whether it’s glamor photography or
headshots or boudoir or a high school senior, it’s just building every woman’s confidence so she can see herself in a positive light.
Janis Francis: I love that. So building a business takes a lot of effort. Can you walk us through some of the key milestones and challenges you faced while growing your photography studio?
Jean Tully: Oh, there’s so
many. I mean, I think it’s all the same things that everyone faces. There’s space. I have loved growing from a one room studio to a two room studio to a four room studio to now we’re in an entire house. And I even have a parking lot, which is so exciting.
To finding people to help you to finding the right fit.
That’s That’s been a really big one for me, finding honest people with integrity who have the same vision and want to build with you and not against you.
Michele Cook: Among your various photography segments, which one currently contributes the largest portion of your studio’s revenue? Could you share some insights into what has contributed to its success?
Jean Tully: Well, boudoir is by far my biggest at least 80%.
Janis Francis: Oh, [00:08:00] wow.
Jean Tully: what I do the absolute most of and word of mouth and referrals is how I have built Almost my entire business. It’s only been very recently that I’ve started actually doing any kind of advertising. It’s basically creating a relationship one on one with each client, and then walking her through the experience, giving her a great experience, and then having her spread the word of what that experience was.
Janis Francis: Yeah. You can’t beat word of mouth advertising. You can’t beat that.
Michele Cook: Yeah, those are the most loyal clients there are.
Jean Tully: Yes.
Michele Cook: Diversification can be a smart strategy. How do you balance your efforts to ensure that all your photography segments remain profitable and contribute to your studio’s overall financial health?
Jean Tully: Well, boudoir is pretty much my anchor. That’s, that’s where my passion is. That’s what I love. That’s what comes easiest to me. That’s my studio right now. The upstairs is all boudoir so that when a mom brings her senior in or a family comes in for portraits, you would never know from the first floor of the building that boudoir takes place there. It’s all upstairs. So. The entire second floor is dedicated to boudoir. And then everything else kind of fills in the spaces that we need. The, the, the needs of those existing clients, my loyal client base. There was nowhere in uptown Westerville that was doing pictures with Santa. And I was
hearing from my clients.
Oh yeah, we don’t want to go to the mall. My clients tend to be busy, successful moms, and they don’t have time to wait an hour and a half [00:10:00] online at the mall to see Santa for three seconds. They want a little more personalized experience, so that’s what we do. We do. Santa in uptown and you have to have a reservation and we have cookies and hot cocoa and the kids can come and sit around and watch Santa for a while before they go up to him so that they have time to get to know him and know the experience.
So I kind of just listen to my clients and fill the need for whatever I see at that moment.
Michele Cook: Yeah, that’s great. I know 1 of your segments. I think it’s so cool. You do these movie sets where the kids and family can dress up and, like, hop into the movie set and you get pictures. You said the, the Barbie 1 is going on right now. Right? Have you
Jean Tully: is right
Janis Francis: Oh,
Michele Cook: yeah. Have you.
Janis Francis: big right now. Yes.
Jean Tully: All of August has been Barbie. We have been doing between. Most weeks we’ve been doing 9 Barbie photo shoots
a week. It has been insane. We are completely exhausted. I don’t like to do more than two photo shoots a day. That’s, that’s kind of my physical and mental limit. And we try to just shoot on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays because I need a day in between to download photos and organize and start editing and categorize and, and do laundry because we supply all the costumes and the wardrobe.
And then… The hair and makeup room needs to be sanitized and everything needs to be so there’s a lot in between shoot days
to get ready for the next shoot day. And so we’ve been doing 3 on Tuesday, 3 on Thursday, and 3 on Saturday, and that is, a lot for me because 2 is [00:12:00] usually my limit per day.
So doing 3 a day. Every shoot day is a lot.
Michele Cook: Yeah. That’s awesome.
Janis Francis: Iron is hot though, right?
Jean Tully: Yeah. I mean, that’s, what’s popular right now. So that’s what we’re doing. And then we’re, and we already started doing Christmas shoots for
Michele Cook: Christmas
Jean Tully: our first Santa shoot was last weekend.
Janis Francis: Oh,
Michele Cook: wow.
Jean Tully: we’ve got to get all the Barbies in before
we.
Michele Cook: For Santa Moves in
Jean Tully: Yeah, I actually had to take the Christmas set down this morning so I could do a Barbie shoot this afternoon.
Michele Cook: Oh my gosh.
Jean Tully: What kind of world do we live in?
Michele Cook: A Barbie world,
Jean Tully: I guess so, yes.
Janis Francis: Yes. Five
Michele Cook: looking at the future. If you were to put your nose to the grindstone and focus on one of your growing. Or focus on growing 1 of your particular segments, which 1 do you think would grow? The most. Has the most potential if you were just to focus on 1. Which 1 would grow the most. Okay.
Jean Tully: I really am loving branding for small businesses. I am loving working with Entrepreneurs who either are just starting or are trying to grow their business a little bit and discussing what their brand is about. What are their colors? What is the vibe? What is, what are they trying to convey? People think, oh, I’m going to do headshots or maybe I’m going to do headshots and my product and we’re just going to post those on social media, but there is so much more. I talked to a water company the other day and they’re like, well, we think we want to put up some pictures of the water guy delivering the water, like the, the great big, they’re a [00:14:00] water.
Janis Francis: over his shoulder.
Jean Tully: And I said, okay, so what are they delivering the water to? Are they delivering it to an apartment building? Are they delivering it to a tiny little cottage? Are they delivering it to a great big mansion? And he’s like, well I don’t know, it doesn’t really matter. And I’m like, but it does matter. Because if you’re delivering it to an apartment complex, you’re saying that everyone can afford your water. And that it’s easily accessible. If you’re delivering it to a cute little cottage with kids playing in the front yard, you’re saying it’s affordable and it’s
for families and it fits into a busy lifestyle.
If you’re delivering it to a great big mansion with a manicured front lawn, you’re saying you’re a luxury brand and maybe not everyone can afford you. So there’s so much detail that goes in to those subliminal messages.
For everything about your brand. It’s not just show up and get pictures of your headshot.
Even your headshot, what are you wearing? What are your colors? What jewelry are you wearing? How dark is your makeup? What does your hair look like? What is the background? What is the lighting? How dramatic is it? Is it natural? Are you outside? Are you inside? All of that tells a story. So,
all of that needs detailed consideration. If you want your brand to say what you want your brand to say, are you
wearing fur? Are you wearing fancy jewelry? Are you simple? That says something.
Michele Cook: Man, maybe you need to take some headshots of me and Janice for this podcast.
Jean Tully: There’s a lot of prep that goes into it. What do you want those headshots to say
about you and your brand and what you represent?
Michele Cook: Yeah,
Jean Tully: I love figuring that out.
Michele Cook: Yeah.
Jean Tully: For clients
before we actually take the pictures,
snapping the pictures, any, anybody can learn that anybody can learn, put the
light here, put the [00:16:00] light here, set your camera at this, tilt their head, do this, do that, and you’ll get a great picture. But what is that picture saying? That whole picture is worth a thousand words. Yes. Yes. Yes.
Yes.
Michele Cook: We interviewed Ella Williams from posh tea time, and she says in her dream world, she would have a brand photo shoot once a quarter.
Janis Francis: Yeah.
Jean Tully: Yes, I just started monthly subscriptions for brand photos. So you pay monthly and so that it fits into your budget. And then you can either do your shoots monthly, quarterly, semi annually or annually. And then of course you get more pictures if you do your photo shoots
less often or often.
Janis Francis: it is a good idea.
Jean Tully: So that you have social media content constantly you like I just talked to someone today about headshots if you’re gonna take your headshots now Don’t come in in a tank top because in January when that picture is on your website your blog your social media.
It’s gonna look
like you have an outdated photo So you’re gonna want to wear something that’s seasonally neutral so that When we look at your, your blog or whatever we’re looking at, we don’t feel like, Oh, that’s old. They haven’t updated that in a long time. So it feels like your current, you’re fresh, you’re, you’re relevant, . So those are all things to consider.
Michele Cook: those are great points.
Janis Francis: Yeah.
Good
Michele Cook: And in your experience. What are some innovative or untapped opportunities within each segment that you think could drive significant expansion if pursued strategically?
Jean Tully: Oh, there are so many, I never stopped thinking about these things. There’s so many, many branding is a huge one.
We, [00:18:00] we are competing, every small business is competing constantly with a barrage of all the reels and TikToks and photographs. We’re competing with all of that. You, you want to look authentic and natural, but you also need to look professional.
If you’re trying to run a professional business.
Photography and videos are the first thing people are noticing about you. That’s why videos and photos are more popular than the text. No one stops to read the text. They want to see the videos and the photographs. So if you can’t catch them with that, with good looking visuals, you’re not going to catch them. So I think the whole branding thing, I just think that is… So untapped in so many ways. Everyone thinks, Oh, I have this cell phone in my pocket. I’ll just, I’ll just do these selfies myself and I have it. I can do it myself. I can edit it on my phone. Yeah, maybe that works. Maybe that’s great. But if you could relax and be in the moment and be your authentic self and not have to worry about where’s your phone, you could get such better pictures and really represent your brand.
Michele Cook: Yeah, that’s great.
Janis Francis: Yeah. So Jean, over the years you’ve achieved a remarkable success with your photography studio. What advice would you give an aspiring photographer who is just starting their entrepreneurial journey?
Jean Tully: First of all, think twice.
Michele Cook: Okay.
Jean Tully: I see so many young photographers who think I got a camera. I’m going to start a business with any business that you start yourself. You eat, sleep and breathe it. It’s something you have to do around the clock. It’s [00:20:00] you get up in the morning and you start and you Are doing it
constantly it you have to be marketing constantly you have to be advertising and networking Constantly you have to be sharpening your skills constantly Just you have to be committed to it and you can’t give up I mean once a week I say I’m gonna quit and go get a job at Amazon, but You can’t
Michele Cook: Gotta be committed.
Janis Francis: Yeah. So balancing creativity and business can be tricky. How do you maintain your artistic vision while also meeting the demands of running a successful photography business? Yeah.
Jean Tully: Well, I do that Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday. Those are my creative dates
on those days. I go into the studio. I put on my photographer
hat and I go in and I’m creative. I meet the client and we talk about what they want and what their vision is and how they want to feel and what they want to see on their wall when we are done with this photo shoot.
And then it’s all about them.
And then on my other days. I stay in my pajamas and sit at my desk at home and I put on my marketing hat and I answer emails and make phone calls and do all the business stuff. And I, I really do try to keep those two separate.
Janis Francis: So customer satisfaction is crucial in any service based industry. How do you ensure that your client’s expectations are not only met, but exceeded?
Jean Tully: That is a hard one. I think a big part of it is finding the right clients
. It’s hard to find the right people to work with ’cause it’s hard to fire any client. But I think you have to learn when is the right time to fire the client when you’re not a good
fit. I had a really hard lesson this last week about a client I should have [00:22:00] just sent away ’cause we were not a good fit. We did not see things eye to eye and I
should have just said no. But, I always feel like I can do it. I can make her happy, you know. But I think that’s a big part of it. It’s
Janis Francis: Yeah.
Jean Tully: learning when your, your visions don’t meet.
I, I I can’t make her happy because we just don’t see eye to eye.
Michele Cook: Yeah, that’s a good point. Can you remember how many clients you’ve had to let go over the years?
Jean Tully: It’s not many. It really isn’t. Mostly because I’m bad at it.
Michele Cook: You just suffer through this painful interaction.
Janis Francis: Yeah.
Jean Tully: Luckily, I’ve got a great staff, I’ve got 2 really fabulous, amazing women. Who stand behind me and say that was stupid. We can’t do that anymore.
So we’re slowly putting procedures in place. So they’re helping me to say no. But I haven’t said no much in the past, but it’s going to start happening more.
Janis Francis: Yeah.
I’ve only had to fire a couple of clients in my real estate and I’ve only had to let maybe 1 vendor go here.
So I know what you’re talking about. You think you can please everybody. We’re people pleasers. We’re in business. We’re trying to make everybody happy. And sometimes it’s just doesn’t work out that way.
Michele Cook: Yeah, you can find success somewhere else. That’s my favorite line.
Janis Francis: There you go.
Jean Tully: Yeah.
Janis Francis: Write that down. Jean Oh,
Michele Cook: Running a business can be all consuming. How do you find ways to incorporate fun and relaxation into your busy schedule? Well,
Jean Tully: what’s that? That’s really hard because my business is my fun. I love what I do. I love every bit of it. I, I love the photography part, especially when I get a client that I really click with who I love [00:24:00] her vision. And she’s, it’s not even about a person’s look. it’s it’s not about their physical features. It’s about the way they move like that.
That is just what gets me. And when I get a client and I
love the way their body moves, I can always tell if someone’s been a dancer or a gymnast or a cheerleader because their, their muscles move differently. And I just, that’s what gets me going. I love, I love all of it. I love photographing little kids.
I love families.
I love seniors. I love boudoir. I love all of it. And it’s not work to me. It’s even on my absolute worst day when I am like, I do
not want to go to work today. Once I get there and the client walks in, I am, I am on and I am all ready to go. And I love my day. So. Work is my fun. My kids are all gone and out of the house.
So it’s just me and my husband now. So he kind of forces me. Because I feel bad when he’s home and then wants to do something.
I’m like, okay, I have to step away now. We, he deserves that. He’s worked all day, and it’s time for me to stop and go spend time with him. Because. We don’t know how many days we have left, so we have to take
care of those now.
Janis Francis: Yeah.
Michele Cook: Well, not only is your business your fun, but you have created these awesome trips for your business that you get to go on to these exotic locations. Talk about that for a second. Okay.
Jean Tully: We go to Jamaica each year and we shoot boudoir on the beach.
Janis Francis: Oh, wow.
Jean Tully: So that’s one of our travel trips. We do that every October. And [00:26:00] we have been going to one resort, but we’re looking at switching that up next year and doing a different resort to kind of get a little bit different vibe.
It’s an all inclusive, so it’s just a great trip. We do boudoir on the beach, boudoir in the hotel rooms, couples boudoir, dude oir for him, boudoir for
her, for her. And then at sunset. When everyone gets dressed up for dinner, we do couples portraits with the sun setting in the background while you’re all dressed up and ready for dinner.
So that’s just amazing. And then you get beautiful pictures. I say it’s travel with a photographer. Travel with your own personal photographer.
Janis Francis: That is so cool.
Jean Tully: it’s really neat.
And right now I am planning a trip to Italy. So it’ll be 10 days to two weeks touring Italy. There’s a lady in Italy. She lives in Italy and she’s planning the entire thing for me. We are going to go to the historic landmarks first thing in the morning before any of the tourists come out so that
we will be there almost alone . Each morning at a different tourist location, like at the Coliseum
or wherever we are that day. And I will take beautiful morning portraits of each couple or individual at that location. And then we’ll have a tour of that location. And then I’m hoping that we will have individual time during the day. So that everyone can kind of go off and do their own individual things.
And then we’ll meet up for dinner. And then we’ll have time in the evening for more portraits. And then everyone will have the opportunity to do again, boudoir in their room, somewhere in Italy along the way.
We’re going to tour vineyards, we’re going to do all kinds of things.
Janis Francis: That’s amazing. That is [00:28:00] amazing.
Michele Cook: are you, when are you going, when are you doing
Jean Tully: I don’t know, we’re working on that. She wants us to go in 24 because 25 is the jubilee in Italy. And
everyone. It’s a pilgrimage
Michele Cook: Oh,
Janis Francis: Oh,
Jean Tully: people come from all over the world and Italy is like completely packed and all the prices go up
Janis Francis: oh,
Jean Tully: and it, she says it’s crazy busy. So she, it’s either going to be 24 or 26.
Michele Cook: Okay. So you wanna get it done sooner than wait
Jean Tully: I would think so. I’m
still waiting. She’s pulling all the pieces together and
letting me know, like travel cause I, I want to hit a bunch of cities. I,
Michele Cook: Yeah. How many, how many people do you think you’ll have?
Jean Tully: I don’t have my notes. I think she said I needed like five couples.
So, like that’s the
minimum, which I think would be lovely.
Like everyone could get to know each other and there’d be plenty of time to do lots of pictures with, you know, everybody would get a nice set of pictures in the different locations.
Michele Cook: That sounds awesome.
Janis Francis: It does.
Jean Tully: it? If you’re going to go, why not have gorgeous pictures?
From your trip.
Janis Francis: Yes.
Michele Cook: Yeah. Well, I think we just found out how you keep your excitement alive in your work.
Janis Francis: Yeah.
Jean Tully: Oh gosh. I can’t stop the ideas. They
just
Michele Cook: I love meeting up with you because you’re always inspiring me to think bigger and about more. So could you share some of your favorite habits or rituals that help you stay focused, creative, and motivated throughout your day?
Jean Tully: lists.
Janis Francis: you write it down.
Jean Tully: I’m a list person. I
love my lists.
Janis Francis: I’m too.
Michele Cook: Now, [00:30:00] here’s the big question. Do you write it on paper or do you write it in your phone?
Jean Tully: paper.
Janis Francis: Paper. I’m a paper girl too. Yes.
Jean Tully: rush of crossing it out
with a pen.
Janis Francis: I love paper.
Jean Tully: in your phone. Backspacing just doesn’t give you the same rush
Janis Francis: It does
Jean Tully: crossing it out with a pen.
Janis Francis: Yes. I love it.
Jean Tully: Yes. I, I still have a paper planner. Everything goes in there. Everything, I have lists for my lists. I have, yeah. I drive my husband nuts.
Michele Cook: That’s great.
Janis Francis: My kind of girl.
After immersing ourselves in the fascinating currents of your journey and uncovering the perils of wisdom you’ve generously shared, it’s time to add a spark of levity. Jean, are you ready to step into the spotlight of our lightning round of fun questions? Get set for a whirlwind of quickfire queries that will uncover even more about the incredible person behind the lens.
Are you up for this exciting challenge?
Jean Tully: I guess so.
Janis Francis: Okay, so what is the book you’ve most given as a gift or the book that has made the biggest impact on you?
Jean Tully: Oh my gosh, there are so many. I love everything with Denise Duffield Thomas, and I’m going to meet her in January.
Michele Cook: Where are you going?
Jean Tully: Bopcon, Business of Photography Conference in Florida,
Michele Cook: Oh, cool.
Jean Tully: the day with her.
Michele Cook: Look at you. Yeah.
Jean Tully: And then, what’s his name, Donald Miller.
Michele Cook: Okay. The story brand.
Jean Tully: StoryBrands, love everything he’s done.
Michele Cook: Saw him speak at one of the Tony Robbins business masteries that I did. Yeah. He’s good.
Jean Tully: Yeah, he’s going to be at that conference too.
Michele Cook: Oh, awesome.
Jean Tully: Yeah. I mean, this was, that was a
Michele Cook: Maybe I should come with you.
Jean Tully: Go that one. Yeah. It’s all [00:32:00] about business stuff. And I love that three month year.
Michele Cook: don’t know this one.
Jean Tully: Yeah, I’m sure you do
Michele Cook: The three month year.
Janis Francis: is it the 12 week year?
Jean Tully: 12 weeks. Yeah, that’s what it
is.
Janis Francis: I’ve got it.
Jean Tully: Yeah. It’s a. It’s about breaking your goals down into three months instead
of saying this year I’m going to do this because with 12 months you can be like, yeah, I’ll get to that.
Michele Cook: Yeah, you can procrastinate a
Jean Tully: you’ve got to do it now
Michele Cook: Mm hmm.
Jean Tully: got three months to accomplish it.
Michele Cook: Yeah, that’s impressive that they made a whole book to say that.
Jean Tully: And I think there’s more than one. I think like that’s his flagship book, but I think there’s more than that.
Michele Cook: The 12 week year for real estate, the 12 week year for
Janis Francis: for photography.
Jean Tully: Well, he’s
Janis Francis: For massage.
Jean Tully: all kinds of work, workbook, like worksheets and stuff in there
Michele Cook: Okay.
Jean Tully: do.
Michele Cook: Okay, cool. I’ll have to check it out. What purchase of 100 or less has most positively impacted your life?
Jean Tully: What purchase of 100 or less? My planner,
Michele Cook: That’s what I thought you would say.
Jean Tully: is it,
Michele Cook: What planner do you have? Is it a special one?
Jean Tully: this one is, it’s called, See It Bigger.
And I buy it at Walmart, it’s like 8.
Janis Francis: Oh,
Michele Cook: That’s a deal.
Jean Tully: And it’s a daily one,
like it has one page for each day.
Janis Francis: okay.
Michele Cook: Yeah, sometimes when I asked Jean if she can do something or get together, she’s like, I don’t know. I haven’t turned the page of my planner yet.
Jean Tully: I don’t know, until I turn the page. Until I see what’s going on tomorrow. I don’t know. I’m, I’m
Janis Francis: day at a time.
Jean Tully: at a time.
Janis Francis: Yeah. I love it.
Michele Cook: funny.
Janis Francis: Jean, what is an unusual habit or an absurd thing that you [00:34:00] love?
Jean Tully: Well, I hate to peel the plastic off my electronics.
Janis Francis: Oh.
Michele Cook: Okay.
Jean Tully: hates it. Like, you know, when you get the electronics and they happen.
Michele Cook: Okay. The static cling thing.
Jean Tully: I like to keep it on there.
Janis Francis: You leave it on.
Jean Tully: Keep it clean.
Janis Francis: Okay.
Michele Cook: What is your proudest accomplishment?
Jean Tully: Not killing my daughter when she was little. Laughing. Getting my daughter to adulthood.
Michele Cook: Yeah, that’s a good one.
Janis Francis: That’s a really good one.
Michele Cook: Most people do say their kids, but not in that same way.
Janis Francis: Yeah. I’m just glad I didn’t kill them. Or you kept them from killing themselves.
Jean Tully: Yeah.
Janis Francis: Yeah. What’s your current passion project?
Jean Tully: I’m working on this thing that, I don’t know, I’ve been thinking about it for a couple months. I want to do… Right now I do Nationwide Children’s Hospital Heroes.
Michele Cook: Okay.
Jean Tully: For like, right now I’m photographing them all for the . Nationwide Children’s Hospital Marathon. They have marathon mile champions. Each mile has a child champion.
Michele Cook: Okay.
Jean Tully: Yeah, I didn’t know this either, but they
do. And I’m photographing the child as a superhero. For their, their mile, and they’re going to set up a booth, and then I’m going to make a banner with the child’s pictures and their name and their hashtag and slogan and all that stuff on it, and then the hospital is going to print it and give it to them to put at their booth at their mile. So those are the heroes.
Michele Cook: Okay.
Jean Tully: to do that with veterans.
Janis Francis: Oh, yeah.
Jean Tully: So every day I’m kind of thinking about it a little more and more like our, our heroes. I’m [00:36:00] thinking like, kind of would like to focus on the older generation. Like
my makeup artist was kind of raised by her grandfather. Her parents died when she was younger and he’s a veteran and he’s fought lung cancer three times and he’s in the hospital again.
And he was a veteran and she knows he doesn’t have that much longer. And
I’m like, I would love to photograph him in his uniform. You know, so you have this. this. amazing picture of him and then bring the family in so that there’s a picture of him and then a picture of him with his family.
Janis Francis: that idea. I love that.
Jean Tully: Yeah, and maybe a male and a female each month for
2024.
Michele Cook: Oh, so you can have like a calendar.
Jean Tully: Yeah, and maybe have people nominate family members. This is my thought every day. I’m thinking of this
for next
Janis Francis: a veteran that you would like to have us feature, you
know, contact us.
Jean Tully: Yes, yeah, maybe have a website or a Facebook page where you could nominate people,
Janis Francis: Yeah.
Jean Tully: I’m still working on the, the details. I thought
about this last year, doing it for this year, and, it’s just something I’d really like to do. Do
Janis Francis: I
Michele Cook: Have you ever heard of the honor flight?
Jean Tully: Do the flags?
Michele Cook: I don’t know exactly what happens during it, but I do know that some of my friends have been escorts for the veteran. They each have an
escort because they’re all older, so they need assistance. But they take the veterans to a specific location, somewhere not too far away.
I’m not sure where it is.
Janis Francis: I think they go to D. C. to
see the monuments.
Michele Cook: day. Yeah. It’s called the honor flight. They do it, I think once a year, but that would be a good place to set up.
Janis Francis: Yeah,
Michele Cook: But you could have, , like what you’re doing with nationwide children, setting up a station
Jean Tully: [00:38:00] Oh, yeah.
Michele Cook: for that flight. Cause usually they’re all dressed in their gear. Mm hmm.
Janis Francis: Yeah,
Jean Tully: Okay. I’ll, I wrote it down, I’ll look it up
Michele Cook: What is one skill you would like to master?
Jean Tully: from my list of 500.
Michele Cook: You probably do have that list in your planner. Yeah.
Jean Tully: Yeah. I mean,
there’s a lot of things. Technology. When I started photography, we had film in the camera, know, and now it’s all digital and Photoshop and Lightroom. I’d love to master Photoshop. That’s, I mean, that changes at lightning speed. There’s updates every day. I, there’s, I don’t know how I’d ever get up to speed on that.
Advertising, Google Advertising, Facebook Advertising, those change pretty much daily too. I’d love to be up to speed on that.
Michele Cook: Yeah,
Janis Francis: you started out. Do you know how to develop film?
Jean Tully: Oh, yeah, when I went to college, that, yeah, I spent half my time in the darkroom.
Janis Francis: Yeah, I love it. Do they sell film anymore? Do you have to get it online? Or are there any specialty camera shops around
Jean Tully: Yeah, like the one Midwest. They, they have film and they have a dark room and you can take
dark room classes and you can go there and develop your film and
Janis Francis: Oh, I love that.
Jean Tully: yeah, it’s very different to, to shoot with film. It’s,
Janis Francis: Oh, yeah.
Jean Tully: it’s very different.
Michele Cook: Yeah, because you can’t see right away what you’re doing.
Jean Tully: You can’t see what you
know, you have no idea what you’re doing. When I went to school, we would, we would set the settings on our camera. We would take a picture and then we would write down frame one, all the
settings on our camera. Because otherwise, when you develop your film, you have no idea how’d you get that.
Janis Francis: Yeah. Yeah.
Jean Tully: Like [00:40:00] now
when you take a picture and you download it to your computer, Lightroom or Photoshop tells you all the settings on your computer. This was at F 1. 2 ISO 200. One 200th of a second shutter speed. It, it tells you all that. But when you are taking a picture with film,
once you develop the film, you have no idea how you got that picture,
Michele Cook: Like, oh, that one’s really good. How did
Janis Francis: Oh,
Jean Tully: that when you, ’cause when you’re learning you, you need that feedback of, what did I set my camera at? How did I get that picture so that I can do it again?
Janis Francis: Yeah, so do you believe in the power of manifestation
Jean Tully: I’m trying
Michele Cook: What was your first job?
Jean Tully: My first job, I was a professional ballet dancer.
Janis Francis: ballet? I
Michele Cook: What?
Janis Francis: love it
Michele Cook: No wonder you love to photograph the dancers.
Janis Francis: Yeah, you can tell the movements you can tell who’s been a dancer. Oh, I love it. Where did you dance?
Jean Tully: In New York City.
Michele Cook: Wow. Impressive.
Janis Francis: big stage.
Jean Tully: Yeah, it was my life for 16 years.
Janis Francis: Oh, wow That is amazing D. Did you ever meet Mikhail Baryshnikov?
Jean Tully: I’ve seen him from a distance, across the room, but never like shook hands or anything.
Janis Francis: Yeah, that’s cool. That’s cool. Where do you see yourself in five years?
Jean Tully: World domination. At least Columbus.
Michele Cook: That’s wild. Yeah. That’s awesome. Do you have a pump up song.
Jean Tully: That panic at the disco song. Something about mama told me.
I love that song. The very first photo conference I ever went to when I was just starting out and decided, [00:42:00] okay, I need to do this to learn what the heck I’m doing, like as a business, you know,
cause I, I knew the camera thing, but I didn’t know how to run a business.
So the very first photo conference I ever went to. When they open the ballroom doors for the opening speech of the conference, that’s what was playing
and the lights were flashing and the whole thing. So that’s
just always what I think of.
Janis Francis: Oh, yeah.
Michele Cook: trigger song. Yeah.
Jean Tully: You know, it was blaring loud and the room was dark and there
were lights flashing and it just, it was like, okay, we’re doing this.
Janis Francis: Oh, I love it.
Michele Cook: that’s called an anchor. By the way, that song anchored you to that moment
Janis Francis: so since we are called cosmos and commerce, what is your drink of choice?
Jean Tully: Espresso martini?
Michele Cook: Ooh, fancy. I don’t know if you’ll find that at PROST.
Jean Tully: No, probably not.
Michele Cook: That’s where we meet,
with
Janis Francis: have beer and wine. Don’t they just have beer and wine?
Jean Tully: I
Michele Cook: Yeah, I think
Jean Tully: I mean, I love red wine is what I drink every night.
But when we go to Jamaica, espresso martinis, they have an espresso bar
and you get the espresso made and then you walk it over to the bar and they make you a fresh espresso martini.
Michele Cook: Nice.
Janis Francis: wow.
Jean Tully: And it’s, it’s wonderful because alcohol makes me very sleepy.
So the
martini, the
Michele Cook: It levels you out.
Janis Francis: the perfect balance.
Jean Tully: just keeps me, keeps me going.
Michele Cook: , Would you rather have the ability to freeze a perfect candid moment in time capturing the raw emotions of your subjects Or have the power to transport yourself to any location in the world, [00:44:00] instantly giving you the most breathtaking backdrop for your photo shoots.
Jean Tully: guess being transported. The emotion. Maybe if I was a wedding photographer or something like that, the
emotion would play more into it.
Michele Cook: Yeah.
Jean Tully: My portraits are more about making women look and feel gorgeous. And that takes a little more turn your face this way, drop your shoulder. It’s a little more planned and specific than running around catching the emotion of the father of the bride crying as his daughter walks down the aisle.
That’s not quite so much, that’s not really what I do.
Michele Cook: Makes sense finally, what is next for you? Are there any exciting projects or ventures on the near horizon that you’d like to share with our audience?
Jean Tully: It’s really Italy, I’m working on that and I also do local locations, like we go to Landel’s Mohican Castle once a year, and we do boudoir at the castle, and I’m always looking for new locations to go to, and whether it’s for boudoir or something else, just to, I get bored really, really easy. So once I’ve done it, I’ve done it, I don’t want to do that again. Like even Barbie, I’m kind of like, okay, we’ve, we’ve been there. We’ve done that. Let’s look,
Janis Francis: done with Barbie.
Michele Cook: Okay. Okay.
Jean Tully: we’ve done a whole month of Barbie. Let’s now, now, now we’re moving on to football boudoir. We have a backdrop that looks like an empty football stadium with the lights, the bright light shining down. We have AstroTurf floor and next week we’re starting football boudoir.
Michele Cook: Nice, well, if somebody wants to book Italy or a boudoir shoot with you, where, where should they find you? Tell us your various [00:46:00] websites or email.
Jean Tully: My boudoir website is adoredboudoirphotography. com. My regular portraits are pearlescentportraits. com. And those are both on social media too, if you want to see if I am good or not. And then my email is jean at pearlescentphoto. com.
Michele Cook: And that’s J. E. A. N.
Jean Tully: And then I have my phone number 740 251 3472.
Janis Francis: What’s your studio address?
Jean Tully: I am at 43 East College Avenue in Westerville.
Janis Francis: Okay. Okay. Oh,
Michele Cook: I think I know the exact house she’s in. I haven’t been there yet.
Jean Tully: Yes.
Michele Cook: 1 day soon, she also does this really, really cool thing where she takes family portraits at the Ohio State Stadium.
Jean Tully: Yes. We rent out the entire stadium and then we
do pictures on the field
and in the player’s tunnel and all that stuff.
Michele Cook: Yeah, it’s like man’s dream come true. Right?
Janis Francis: Yeah. Oh my goodness.
Okay.
Before we wrap up this captivating episode of Cosmos and Converse. Sip, save, or succeed. I want to extend a sincere and heartfelt thank you to our remarkable guest, Jean Tully. Jean, your insights and experiences and vibrant personality have added a layer of depth and inspiration to our podcast that we deeply appreciate.
Your journey through the diverse segments of your photography studio and the wisdom you’ve shared are invaluable to both budding entrepreneurs and seasoned business minds. We’re truly grateful for your openness and delving into your world of creativity, entrepreneurship, and joy. Thank you for being the guiding star of today’s episode. [00:48:00] Here’s to your continued success and to the shared pursuit of sipping on knowledge, savoring life’s moments, and ultimately succeeding in the most fulfilling ways. Cheers.
Michele Cook: If you’re eager for more conversations that blend the flavors of life, business, and the perfect concoction, make sure to visit our website, cosmos and commerce dot com there. You’ll find all the previous episodes, exciting updates and a chance to engage with us directly. Keep those glasses raised to success.
Keep dreaming big. And until next time, cheers to your journey in both the cosmos and the world of commerce. Goodbye for now. And remember every venture is a step closer to your own unique recipe for success.
Janis Francis: See you next time.
Michele Cook: Thank you.
