Joanne Smith, or Jo as she likes to be called, is a name you might recognize connected to Greet’s gorgeous covers and pictures accompanying content, but more on that later.  First, let’s get to know Jo, the person before Jo, the photographer. Jo was born in the United Kingdom and grew up in Southern England. Her father was in the Royal Navy, so she moved around a lot in her early life. She lived in Singapore as a child and went to high school in the Orkney Islands off the north coast of Scotland.  “It’s a beautiful place and very windy,” Jo shared.  Do a search to see just how beautiful that archipelago is. 

Jo attended the University of Wales in Cardiff, where she studied Business and Tourism. Upon graduation, she worked for a Boston-based travel company called Grand Circle Travel (this detail is important for later) and led groups of American tourists around the UK. Jo emphasized that 'this job took her all over Europe and was so much fun.'  One tour took Jo to Budapest, Hungary, and Vienna, Austria, where she met a man named Peter, who was a photographer working for Grand Circle Travel. They hit it off, but the romance was short-lived since they had to go back to their regular lives, his in Boston and Jo’s in Wales. And, of course, because this was pre-smartphone and social media, it would have been nearly impossible to find someone, right?  

 Or would it? 

Eventually, Jo’s travels took her to Boston, where she worked for…did you guess? Grand Circle Travel, where she hired and trained tour directors. “As luck would have it, my best friend ran into Peter at an event, and we reconnected,” Jo said. “We married in June 1997 in Peter’s loft in Boston, and I moved to the US permanently,” Jo explained. And Bedford has benefited ever since! 

Jo and Peter have three children: Cole is 24 and in college locally and currently making sandwiches at Flight Coffee; Harry is 22 and studying aerospace engineering at CU Boulder; and their youngest is Ava, who is 20 and studying neuroscience, on a pre-med track at Boston University.  They all grew up in Bedford in a house they bought from Peter’s mom. It’s on a beautiful piece of land where they have been able to gradually expand and renovate over the last two decades. Jo exclaimed, “It’s still a work in progress!” They also have three dogs: Oscar, a 10 year old flat coat retriever with a sprinkling of Dalmatian, “the sweetest dog in the world,” Bella, a 7 year old English shepherd, and Lucy, an anxious 4 year old German shepherd.

Jo’s career began in travel, but with three kids it’s not practical to travel seven months out of the year (all the moms out there are nodding). Jo was able to use this time to reinvigorate her lifelong love of photography; she’d bought her first camera, a Kodak Instamatic, at age 11. She took over Peter’s photography business when he started teaching at BU, where he is a Master Lecturer in Visual Journalism.  “With Peter’s help and support, I learned lighting and developed my skills as a photographer,” Jo said. 

When Ava was in school full time, Jo began to build her portfolio, and she started a studio in Manchester. With the support from friends and the community, Jo grew Headshots Photography into a very successful business. Check out headshotsphoto.com to see her work. 

Jo specializes in business headshots and corporate portraits. She works with businesses in Boston and New Hampshire and has a large, diverse group of clients, including law firms, financial institutions, and medical providers.  Jo runs three studios: Manchester, Nashua, and Boston, and she works on location from Concord to New York City. She has three photographers and a photo assistant working with her.  “I love my job!” Jo shared. “I get to meet and talk with so many interesting people. I love connecting with people and giving them a great portrait – even though they may not love getting a picture taken.”    She also photographs for fun; she loves staying inspired. “I carry my little camera with me wherever I go so that I continue to photograph and see my environment through fresh eyes.” As for this magazine, Jo really enjoys photographing the covers for Greet Bedford. She still gets a thrill out of seeing an image she shot in print on a magazine cover. And the readers get to see her talent month after month. 

Jo’s favorite environment is not just in the studio or with a client. Jo is enthusiastic about the outdoors and loves to hike.  She’s hiked 19 out of the 48 4000 footers in NH; she plans on completing all of them but admits it might take a minute. Her kids also love to hike and will go with her “albeit a half mile ahead of me.” Jo also loves to hike locally, and her favorite trails are at Joppa Hill, where she volunteers as a trail steward. And, of course, she’ll photograph when she’s out in the woods and mountains. “It refreshes my soul.” 

Jo shares her love and knowledge of photography by giving phone photography workshops at the Bedford and Amherst public libraries, which is fun and rewarding. She also serves on the town’s Conservation Commission. 

Other interests include gardening and growing flowers and vegetables to beautify the outdoor space around her. She also reads a lot and is a member of a local book club. 

She might not work in travel anymore, but it’s still a passion, and as her children finish college, she hopes to get to travel more with Peter. “We have a trip planned to Paris for the summer, which is a good start.” Her Mum is still in the UK, living independently at 91, and Jo travels back to the little seaside resort on the south coast of England to see her and her sister, who lives nearby, three or four times a year.  

Stateside, Jo’s happy place is Cape Cod. “We’ve been spending time on the outer cape every summer since Cole was born,” Jo explained. “I love the remote beauty of the dunes and the water and enjoy exploring trails in Provincetown, Wellfleet, and Truro.” She finds it to be a magical place to photograph, and she’s taken some of her favorite pictures there. 

Jo and Peter have been in town for over 20 years, and she still meets new people and learns about new organizations. Now that they are getting older, they often think about where they might move since they don’t need quite as much space, but Jo struggles to think of any other place she’d rather live. “We stay because of the beauty of the town and the many friends we have made over the years, and I’m grateful for that.”