We recently connected with Meghan Asselta and have shared our conversation below.

Meghan, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

I believe being a small business owner is a risk in itself! I graduated with my BFA focused in Photography from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn in 2014. After graduating and trying to “hit the ground running” I quickly learned it wasn’t going to be easy. I have had my business for 10 years, and have only just recently been confident enough to have less than 3 jobs. This brings in the risk of being a small business owner and the risk we take in order to help our business grow. I continued working with Lisa, ( I had interned for her photography company my junior year of college ) shooting weddings with her and then being promoted to shooting weddings for her business. I loved the security of having work and being able to work for and with one of my closest friends, but as my business grew it became trickier to book my own clients on weekends as I was already shooting weddings. I finally took the leap after 7 years and decided to solely shoot for myself. Terrifying, honestly, but also very gratifying. I had also had a few side jobs mixed in (a receptionist at a hair salon) and gone back to school for Aesthetics. I think it’s safe to say I like to keep myself busy. These past 2 years have been my biggest risk. I decided the only way to focus and grow my business was to also depend 100% on it. I needed to see myself through. I trust that I will always be growing, and changing and betting on myself. That’s what comes with being a small business owner. I will succeed if I believe in myself and my art. This past summer while shooting a maternity session at my local beach, my client said “I told him (her boyfriend) that he better be ready for the beach and to get in the water because that’s what she’s (me) known for!” That stuck with me. Being known for something. That’s all I could have asked for. Although it may have been a simple statement, what she said resonated with me. It solidified that my risks are worth the while.

Meghan, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I can’t say my story was knowing I wanted to be a photographer as a child, in fact, I wanted to be a veterinarian. I took my first photography class when I was a junior in high school and that’s when my interest sparked. My sister and I are eight years apart, and she is an artist as well, a graphic designer. She attended Pratt Institute in Brooklyn for her graphic design degree, and I followed after, choosing to study photography at Pratt. I was always around her art projects, and attending her art shows through middle school and high school, but the desire to become an artist myself came after my first photography class. Through high school and my first few years of college I was shooting strictly black and white 35mm. In many of my classes in college we were always asked who we aspired to be similar too, who we wanted to shoot like. I never had a clear answer. I enjoyed being behind the camera and creating, that’s what I was sure of. I thought I would never want anything more than developing my film and making my prints in the darkroom. I had taken digit photography classes as they were mandatory, but didn’t love the focus on photoshop. I learned a great deal about digital photography once I started my internship with LisaMarie Photography Inc my junior year of college. I felt I never quite “fit in” with the fine arts aspect of Pratt, as I didn’t want a studio based in the city. After interning with Lisa for a year and beginning my senior thesis for Pratt I felt I finally knew I wanted to be solely digital and portrait based. When I first started my business I was shooting a wide variety of events and portraits, including bridal/baby showers, birthdays, communions and weddings. As the years went on I decided to focus more on sessions such as lifestyle newborn, engagement, maternity, first birthdays, and family. Every year I have a set up for Christmas portraits as well! I love being able to share a friendship with my clients. Every session is beautiful, but I feel when your clients are comfortable and trusting of you, they can be their truest selves with their partner during their session. I’m an avid promoter of candid/lifestyle photos, and the best way to capture them is to be able to be silly and intimate regardless if there is a camera in front of you. I want my clients to be able to look back at their session and remember the exact moment and how they were feeling in their photos, not just a pose I placed them in.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I’m not sure I even knew my reputation until it was said to me during a session. This may sound strange, but I’ll explain. I’m located in Shirley, NY, just a few short minutes from Smith Point Beach. I grew up here, and somewhat grew up on this beach, as many of us did from my town. Without even realizing, many of my sessions are booked at this beach for golden hour. Whether it be maternity, first birthday, family or engagement, we always wind up in the sand and water. During a shoot my client mentioned how I was known for these sessions. On other occasions I’ve had new clients show me photos from past clients’ that they’d love to recreate at the beach, those previous photographs being the reason they chose Smith Point as their shoot location! Word of mouth and social media are a big impact! I try my best to stay present and relevant with my social media, mainly Instagram, but I’ll be the first to admit I could be focusing more on that. I believe the biggest importance in reputation is being attentive. I often brainstorm with my clients when it comes to locations, outfits and any session planning. I never want them to feel as if they don’t have a say. I’m quick with my responses in email and Instagram DM’s and enjoy building relationships with my clientele outside of what’s recommended for their session!

How did you build your audience on social media?

Building an audience on social media is a daily job. A daily job that comes with struggles. It’s not just posting to your page, it’s also liking and commenting and sharing. There’s always growth to be had when it comes to this. There’s also a reason why some people hire others to keep up with it! Instagram is my main social media outlet, and they have their own algorithm. My best advice is to learn it! My photography business instagram is the most common place where my returning and new clients get in touch with me for bookings so I try to post daily and remain active. I would love for it to be larger than it is right now, but it is larger than it was a few months ago so as long as there’s progress I’m doing something right! Having a business profile allows you to promote your posts and see when your followers are most active, so I time my posts around that knowledge and create ads. I’ve found the more personal you are in your captions and reels the more relatable and liked your content will be.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @meghanasseltaphotography
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/masseltaphotography
• Other: email: masseltaphotography@gmail.com

Image Credits
Meghan Asselta Photography