We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Melissa Schroeder a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Melissa, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We love asking folks what they would do differently if they were starting today – how they would speed up the process, etc. We’d love to hear how you would set everything up if you were to start from step 1 today

If I could go back a few years and start my business over again, I would invest more quickly in continuing education and less in gear right away. As my business started to become profitable, I finally gave in and bought “that lens” or “that bag” that I had been looking at for a while. Eventually, I decided to invest more heavily in education and really push my boundaries from a learning perspective. I realized I didn’t need all that gear to make me the type of photographer I am now. I thought it would make my business better, but I’ve actually even sold some of that gear that I bought impulsively when I learned more from my education. The more you know!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

If I haven’t met you yet, hello! I own and run Mel Schroeder Photography, a wedding and portrait photography business here in beautiful Denver, Colorado. I have always enjoyed photography, entrepreneurship and working with people. If there was a Venn diagram for those three things, I think owning a photography business would be smack dab in the middle.

For many years, I took photos for friends and family…nothing official. After I began having friends of friends (basically strangers!) ask about me about photo sessions, I realized I should make my business official. I’ve been officially in business since 2020 and I’ve enjoyed every moment of it.

I would say 80% of my clients are couples getting married, but I also offer branding and graduate photography, which I truly enjoy as well. My style is light, airy and timeless. My goal is to capture memories through classic photography that will be enjoyed for generations to come. My business is very customer-focused. I care a lot about my clients and strive to provide a whole customer experience versus just a photo session.

I hope to meet you soon!

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

There are a lot of fantastic, talented photographers in Denver. With that being said, building your clientele and reputation within this market can be incredibly tough. When I started my business, my initial thoughts were along the lines of “how many weddings can I book for this year” and “how many portrait sessions can I shoot in a weekend?”, which didn’t get me far.

After a few months in business, I decided to take a step back and really focus on client experience from initial inquiry to album delivery. Many people don’t love having professional pictures taken, some get nervous before their time in front of the camera. Whether it’s posing for wedding portraits or taking yearly family photos, I’ve met many people that share those feelings. I decided a goal of my business would be to alleviate that feeling for my clients and show them that a photo session can be an awesome, fun and meaningful experience.

When I made that mindset shift, I began connecting with people in a different way and building a reputation for myself as a “fun photographer that produces great results”, which is right where I want to be. I want my clients to enjoy their sessions, recommend me to their loved ones, and continue utilizing my services because they enjoy my photography process. None of that would’ve happened if I had continued to focus on just the numbers instead of spending time actively engaging with my clients from start to finish.

I’m excited about the reputation that I have in the market; I love the clients that I get to work with and the experience I can provide for them. I’m grateful every day that I made that mindset shift just a few months into business!

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

Getting any business off the ground can be difficult from a financial perspective, especially a photography business. Gear these days is not cheap, and if you’re going to be documenting weddings, having reliable, professional gear is important.

I was lucky enough to have an old camera from a family member, but knew that before I became “official”, I needed to upgrade my gear. I continued to shoot sessions for free for friends and family and I socked away every tip that I was given (thanks everyone!) until I had enough to purchase a new camera body and a single lens. From there, I was able to officially incorporate my business, set my prices, find paying clients and begin paying sales tax and save for business expenses.

I feel like once I had all the official stuff taken care of, everything built from there. Not saying it was easy. I mentioned in a different answer during this interview that I invested my initial profits poorly when I began my business, but I learned from my mistake and once I had built a stable foundation, I made sure to only grow in a way that worked for me.

I never really had a giant chunk of change sitting around to start my business, no huge amount of initial capital per se. I took baby steps and worked my way through building my business in small doses, going from one step to the next when I had made enough to make the leap.

Contact Info:

• Website: melschroederphoto.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/melschroederphoto
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/melschroederphoto
• Yelp: www.yelp.com/biz/mel-schroeder-photography-denver