Des Moines Parent Spotlight: Jill Neil of Jill Neil Photography
Jill Neil is a lot of things: brand photographer, creative champion, and Des Moines native who’s mastered the art of capturing both moments and missions. Whether she’s snapping photos for solopreneurs or wrangling her husband, teen son, tween daughter, and rescue pup (all with equal grace), Jill brings authenticity to everything she does.
She’s lived the full spectrum of mom life — juggling babies and working a full-time corporate job, experiencing life as a stay-at-home mom with toddlers, and being a work-from-home mom running her own business— and knows firsthand that none of it is easy.
“They are just different,” she says. “I have found the one that brings me the most joy, and I don’t see that changing any time soon.”
Des Moines Parent connected with Jill to learn more about her and her journey.
Give us a little background on yourself.
My husband and I lived in Los Angeles for 20 years after attending the University of Iowa and meeting at Valley High School. California is where we got married, started our careers, raised our babies, and fell in love with living by the ocean. In 2020, we moved back to Des Moines to be closer to family and have fully appreciated how wonderful it is to have our moms living in the same city as our kids!
As we kick off 2025, we have a son in ninth grade who loves baseball and golf, a daughter in seventh grade who loves soccer and fishing, and a very strong-willed rescue pup who loves long walks and protecting our house from any potential danger.
Could you give us an overview of your business and what inspired it?
After becoming a mom of two, especially in such a large city, I realized I wanted more flexibility than my job in corporate marketing could provide. After parting ways and taking a chance to fully focus on motherhood, I finally learned how to use my DSLR camera in manual mode. I had always been passionate about photography, and after receiving ongoing compliments on my photos and multiple inquiries from children’s clothing brands for trades, I decided to combine my passion for photography and a decade of marketing experience to launch my own photography business in 2017, focused on families and brands.
In 2020, we moved to Des Moines, and I had to start my business over, establishing myself in a new market and finding new clients. As my kids were now on the verge of middle school, the demands of their sports schedules were increasing, and my availability for family photography on evenings and weekends was diminishing. So, I started to lean heavily into brand photography as it allows me to work during the day when my kids are in school. Not only do I LOVE supporting other small business owners by creating photos they can use to grow their brand, but I am now more available to my own family, achieving that flexibility I always wanted as a working mom.
(And yes, I still offer family photography on the side, in the evenings when my kids don’t have sports.)
What are your favorite parts of your business?
My favorite part of my job by far is connecting and collaborating with other female business owners and learning all about their brands and goals. I know what it’s like to build a business from scratch and how much work it takes, so I love being able to help by creating photos to help other business owners succeed.
How do you juggle your parenting responsibilities with your business responsibilities?
It’s a juggling act that has taken several years to figure out — and then adapt to as my kids grow and their needs inevitably change. Boundaries are super important, especially for a solopreneur whose responsibilities never end. I have become more intentional about closing my laptop in the evenings and on weekends when my family is present. My workday starts the minute the kids get on the bus and wraps up when they get home at 3:30. If I need to hop back into work in the evenings, I do so while my kids are otherwise occupied, at practice, or after they are in bed.
I lean into family members for help transporting my kids to activities when my husband and I aren’t available. I outsource special projects for my business when I don’t have the capacity to take them on myself. My husband is an AMAZING partner in parenting and household duties, so I am beyond blessed by that.
What are some of your favorite things to do with your family around the metro?
We love exploring Des Moines as it is still fairly new to us, and new places are always opening. Some current things our family of four enjoys doing together (outside of our kids’ own sporting events) include:
- Getting ice cream at Home Sweet Cone
- Taking our dog to Paws & Pints
- Attending Iowa Cubs + Iowa Wild games
- Hitting balls at Top Golf
- Kayaking + SUP at Raccoon River Park
- Trying new restaurants and returning to favorites like Lachele’s
What’s your ideal parent day or night out?
Our date nights almost always consist of going to see our favorite bands when they’re in town. We also enjoy a nice dinner out. Harbinger has been our favorite dinner experience since moving to Des Moines.
What’s your number one parenting tip?
Oh, wow. As a mom of 15 years, there are so many things I’ve learned. One tip that spans all the years, as ordinary as it sounds, is to eat dinner together around the dinner table every night. Even if only two of us are at home, we’re together at the table. Even if someone isn’t hungry, they still join in the conversation. No phones allowed on the table, no TVs on in the background — just food and conversation.
When the kids were little, we played “High/Low” during dinner. Each person took a turn sharing the favorite part of their day and a low part of their day (if they had one.) Now that they are older, the conversation naturally flows, and our dinners are never quiet. It is the dedicated time when we all come together as a family to connect, reflect, plan our upcoming days, and share our ideas. Sure, our kids end up bickering at times (they have a normal sibling relationship), but more often than not, dinner together results in laughter, listening, and the comfort of knowing we’re all there for each other.
And I want my kids to always return home for that.
