Photographer's business continues to grow

Reprinted with permission from The Elgin Review

Jane Schuchardt

Special to the Elgin Review

Sometimes your lens into the future gets polished by local mentors. Such is the case for Jamie Thiele, Clearwater, and her robust photography business.

Relaxing over a cup of coffee for a few minutes after getting her two little ones, Charlie, 7, and Landrie, 6, off to school at Summerland near Ewing, Thiele claims she's a product of her second moms, Sue Vanis, Elgin, and Kim Grossnicklaus, Neligh. Of course her first-place mom is Shelley Bode, together with husband Charlie, who live west of Elgin where Thiele grew up on a farm.

Sweeping back her long blond hair, Thiele recalled switching to Elgin Public from Pope John in order to be in school with her cousins, who also were her friends. "Both experiences were great," she said. "I did everything – FFA, sports, 4-H . . .. I feel like I tried it all."

During all four years of high school, she was a lifeguard at the Elgin pool under the watchful and caring eye of Pool Manager Vanis. Thinking she might take up teaching, it was time to try college both at University of Nebraska-Lincoln and then Wayne State. Neither turned out to be a good fit.

Then she found a job at Kimberly's Photography in Neligh (now closed). Like Vanis, owner Grossnicklaus was "really involved, cared a lot, willing to share her experiences with life," Thiele said. After three years working in the photography business "answering phones, putting together frames, holding up lights, cleaning toilets," she said she married, embraced motherhood, and opened a daycare business to be home with the little ones.

Photography kept coming up. First, there was a need for photos of her newborn son, then maternity shots for her sister, then wedding photos. Soon photography took more and more time, and she had to back away from her daycare business.

Now, at 32 years old, Thiele has most definitely found her passion. She has traveled anywhere from Gregory, South Dakota, to Omaha doing primarily family shots and some weddings. Working under the business name Jamie Thiele Photography, she said, "I love being creative. When I don't have a creative outlet, I can tell. With photography, I get to be creative every day."

Always with a back-up camera in tow, Thiele prefers to schedule photo sessions based on sunlight, which influences how photos look, preferring later times of day. She spends hours editing the digital creations to capture the joy in people.

Thiele said fall is the busiest time of year with senior pictures and family shots for Christmas cards. She estimates doing about a hundred photo sessions a year and gets especially excited when a family chooses their favorite photo that Thiele secretly also had identified as her first choice.

About cell phone photography, she said the quality is there though may not transfer that well when you blow it up to a larger portrait size. "Hire a professional (with a good camera) to get the art aspect of the photo," she recommended.

Aside from being a mom, which involves her in school and community volunteerism, Thiele said, "Photography has become my identity." She is thankful for what she called her "village of support" growing up, and throughout life. That's why she lives fairly close to Elgin. "It comes down to a sense of community found in rural areas," she said.

Plus, "I love being rural," she said. "I feel more at peace here than I did with short times living in Lincoln and Wayne."

Best of all, Elgin and vicinity is a great place to be a photographer. According to Thiele, "Just look down the road. There are 20-some places we could find to take beautiful pictures. That's what's amazing about our area."

Thiele's business is available through Facebook and Instagram. Her website is currently under reconstruction.