We were lucky to catch up with Marea Breedlove recently and have shared our conversation below.

Marea, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s jump to the end – what do you want to be remembered for?

My hope is to build a legacy of precious moments captured and lasting memories created for my clients to hang on their wall and enjoy long after their beloved pet has gone.
I honestly have no idea what people will say about me when I’m gone. I do know that even when you think no one is paying attention to what you are doing, they are. So, I hope that I’ll be remembered for my willingness to photograph events around town and freely sharing them for everyone to enjoy. And maybe for being bold enough to open a pet photography studio in a town of less than 1,500 people not knowing whether or not I’ll ever have a single customer.

Marea, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I have always loved taking photographs. My first camera was a Polaroid. You know, the kind where you take the photo, pull it out the side and wait a little bit before you peel back the plastic film to reveal the picture. It was always trial and error but it was so much fun. 50 years later, I still have many of those photos in a scrapbook I put together as a kid.
I’ve always had some sort of camera and there have been many. It wasn’t until I was in my 40’s before I got a DSLR. That was when the real learning started. I enrolled in photography night classes at a community college and learned the basics. After earning my certificate, I started shooting sports for the local newspaper. The only way to truly learn photography and understand it, is to do it. That’s what sports photography taught me. I learned how to be a photographer.
When 2020 came along, everything I was doing came to a halt. I also lost my precious dog of 13 years.
Luckily, I had a lot of nice photos of him that I had taken. He was my main model, besides my 10 year old son, while I was taking photography classes. However, there weren’t any of him and me together. That’s when I decided the direction I wanted to go. I’m to put together a studio and take pet photos.
It is my belief that everyone should have a beautiful portrait of their favorite pet and at least one of them with their pet. That is the problem that I aim to solve for my clients. I want them to have professional photographs of their beloved pet either with them or alone. It’s not something a person will ever regret doing. It’s also important to me to be affordable. I live in a rural community and I want to be able to serve my community through my photography business.
I am proud that I get to server my community by capturing memories of the annual Founder’s Day, the local dog show, parades and through my business by photographing dogs looking for a home.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

While I was working my day job as a library director I would take paying jobs photographing for the county newspapers. Sometimes I would take family photos or photograph an event. I think the word for getting started in this manner is called “boot strapping”. I have never taken out a loan for my business. I purchased lights and things as I had the money and taught myself how to use them. Also, my husband, who is very generous, would buy photography items for me for birthdays and Christmas. Eventually, I had everything I needed to get started debt free.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

It is a great feeling to make someone happy by doing something that I love doing and creating a piece of art that will bring them joy every time the see it. I have photographs in my studio of my dogs and client work for examples of what I do and every time I look at them I feel happy. Making people happy by photographing their pet or their grandchild or whatever is a very rewarding feeling. It’s what keeps me going.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.breedlovepetphotos.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/breedlovepetphotos

Image Credits

Marea Breedlove