A picture, so it is said, is worth a thousand words.

If anything, in recent years, the power of good imagery has become even more clear to businesses, with an increased focus on how they entice customers remotely during the pandemic.

Luckily, Cumbria is blessed with many great freelance photographers.
Among them is Jenny Woolgar, based in Carlisle.

Jenny grew up in Carlisle and studied photography and fine art at Cumbria Institute of the Arts, now part of University of Cumbria, before getting a job at Cumbrian Newspaper (CN) Group as a photographic technician and then working for titles including Cumbria Life and Carlisle Living.

She left CN Group to set up her own business in 2016.

“I did quite a variety of photography and I’d met a lot of people through working for the magazines and so that helped me,” she said.

“I did a lot of social events but then I got to do a lot of other things like food and interiors as well and so that led to my business being quite varied as well.”

The Mail:
Jenny’s work involves a wide range of subject matter, working for local creative agencies as well as her own private clients, which include a number of cafes, restaurants and food producers.

Among these are catering supplier Pioneer Foodservices and pub and restaurant the Old Bank, both in Carlisle, as well as The Crown, in Wetheral.

Others include The Lakes Free Range Egg Company, Cumbria Tourism and Cumbria Health on Call, with most of Jenny’s work coming via word of mouth.

"That's a nice thing in Cumbria in general, you get to work with people and get to know them as friends and you have quite a close working relationship," she said.

“Having a background in newspapers means I can help advise them on what kind of shots are going to work for the media. But generally it's important now for people to have strong imagery to promote things through social media and online, even if they’re just starting up they need that initial buzz and reach.

"The main thing for taking a photograph is to get people relaxed. You need to find out what makes people feel comfortable so they look natural in the picture and so they like it and they want to use it.”