Today we’d like to introduce you to Jaimee Tennant.
Hi Jaimee, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My photography journey began in 2021, right in the middle of COVID. I was in that strange in between phase after graduating, just trying to figure out life, work, and what came next. At the time, I was living in Savannah, Georgia, and went to visit my sister in Virginia. She and my now brother in law had just gotten engaged and were trying to find a photographer for their engagement photos, but weren’t having much luck with schedules lining up. They did have a camera sitting in their garage though, something they mostly used for nature photos and pictures of their dogs.
She told me I could do it for them, and in true me fashion, I took it very seriously. I made a full inspiration board and really thought through how I wanted to pose them and what I wanted it to feel like. The next day, we went to a nearby park and just went for it.
When we got home and uploaded the photos, we were all kind of shocked. Not only were they good for someone who had never picked up a camera before, but they actually felt like them. There was real joy and emotion in a way I didn’t expect. I remember watching them look through the photos and just feeling so happy.
She was the one who said, why don’t you turn this into a side thing? It felt right immediately. That same night, I made a new email, started an Instagram, and came up with a business name.
Before I left, my brother in law made me a deal. I could take the camera back with me for three months, and if I could buy it off him, great. If not, I had to give it back. Three months later, I did give it back, but only because I had bought my own.
Now I’m based in Nashville, Tennessee, and travel all over the world photographing weddings. I specialize in weddings, elopements, and couples, and I shoot both digital and film, along with offering Super 8 video.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
No, not at all. Is entrepreneurship ever really a smooth road?
It’s been just as much a mental journey as anything else. I graduated in 2020 with a degree in agricultural business and then went on to complete my master’s in public administration shortly after. In 2021, I landed a really great job in the field I had spent years working toward. It was remote too, which felt like such a win at the time.
At the same time, I was slowly building my photography business on the side. For a while I did both, but this past year it became clear I would eventually have to choose. That’s been one of the hardest parts, honestly, trying to reconcile what I thought my path would be with what I’ve grown to love.
I have been a full time photographer officially since April 30th of this year, 2026. I couldn’t be more happy with that choice. It’s crazy what the world will give you when you lean into what feels right!
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m a wedding, elopement, and couples photographer based in Nashville, Tennessee, but I travel all over the US and internationally for my work. I shoot both digital and film, and I also offer Super 8 video.
I think of my work less like “creating photos” and more like paying attention for a living. I’m not really interested in turning a wedding day into a production or pulling people out of it to manufacture moments. I care more about what already exists when no one is trying to perform. How joy shows up in a room. How people express gratitude to their loved ones. Emotions after not seeing a relative for years. It’s a really, really cool thing and it deserves to be photographed authentically.
I’m probably most proud of how this all started so unintentionally. I picked up a camera for the first time for my sister’s engagement photos and just kind of stayed curious. That turned into over 100 weddings later, which still feels a little hard to believe.
What sets me apart is how little I try to control what I’m documenting. I’m not directing a day into something it’s not. I’m watching. I’m anticipating. I’m staying close enough to feel it, but far enough to let it just happen. I want people to forget about me being there in the best way, so what’s left is something that feels completely honest to how it actually happened.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
One of my favorite childhood memories is all the messy outside things that felt like the whole world back then.
Playing with sycamore maple seeds and watching them spin down like helicopters, running through cornfields with my friends until we were out of breath, jumping on the trampoline until the sun went down. Being covered in dirt constantly, not caring at all. Putting soap on the slide just to go faster and thinking it was the best invention ever.
I don’t know that I have one specific moment that stands out more than the rest, but the culmination of those small things feels like childhood to me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://jaimeeraneighphoto.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jaimeeraneighphoto/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jaimeeraneighphoto/
