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

Melissa, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Often outsiders look at a successful business and think it became a success overnight. Even media and especially movies love to gloss over nitty, gritty details that went into that middle phase of your business – after you started but before you got to where you are today. In our experience, overnight success is usually the result of years of hard work laying the foundation for success, but unfortunately, it’s exactly this part of the story that most of the media ignores. Can you talk to us about your scaling up story – what are some of the nitty, gritty details folks should know about?

As a photographer, it’s very easy to look on a photographer’s social media or their websites and think their success was instant or that they are somehow just more successful than you could ever be as a photographer. The truth is that every photographer and business owner started at square one and had to work hard to get where they are today.

I have been in business for 9 years. In this time, due to my husband’s military career, I’ve relocated my business 4 times. I’ve been a wedding photographer, had multiple studios, and have worked with hundreds of clients. Through that process, I’ve realized what works and what doesn’t for me, which included lots of trial and error. As a creative entrepreneur, it’s easy to get down about the errors and mistakes. There is no clear cut “mistake” in photography really, unlike accounting or a field that is more clearly defined. That’s why growing in a business like this really takes work, knowing yourself, knowing your service, and what your client truly values. When your values and your client’s values align, that’s when upscaling is truly possible.

At this time, I’m primarily focused on family and newborn photography. In order to best utilize my talents, I had to niche down and really focus on just a few types of photography that light me up. When I was doing both wedding and family photography, my focus was scattered and I was not providing a good client experience. Now that I am focused on the type of photography I am most passionate about, my business is thriving since I am honed in on the needs of families with small children. I think many photographers are scared to hear that they should “niche down,” but with many years of experience doing too many different types of photography, I can say that it is truly the only way to upscale a photography business. Your why and service you provide is much clearer to your client if you provide exactly what they’re looking for. Wedding clients were turned off by seeing newborn or family images, and vice versa. I can now perfect my newborn and family work because I am not busy trying to also perfect and market to wedding clients.

Melissa, 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?

My background is that I stumbled upon photography on accident. I got my first DSLR before my first daughter was born. I wanted to make sure I documented her life on more than just a cell phone camera, which in the mid-2010’s was not great quality. After taking her photos for about a year, friends started to notice and asked me to take their photos. Thus, my accidental business began. I realized I loved not just taking photos but working with people, so I decided to make it an official side hustle in 2016. That being said, I didn’t go to college or take any classes related to photography. I am completely self-taught and have had to learn the ins and outs of photography, editing, how to operate a small business, deal with clients, and deliver images, all on my own.

As a military spouse, I’m most proud of working with primarily other military families. These families move often and are usually not near family. Getting to document their stories so they can share their family life with others across the miles means a lot to me. As well as documenting military career milestones like promotions and retirements.

My brand is timeless, classic, simplistic but refined. I believe everyone can take a good photo and no one is “bad” in front of the camera. Lately, many of my clients are saying they’ve never felt more comfortable in front of the camera or had so much fun at a session than they have with me. That is truly the biggest compliment and a sign that I am doing my job right! Getting other people to see themselves as the world sees them – perfectly imperfect but worthy of documenting – is my superpower.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

A lesson – or belief rather – that I’ve had to unlearn is that everyone is always looking for the cheapest product or service out there. When you’re a new photographer, you likely don’t have enough experience to be charging higher rates. But when you’re charging low rates for sessions, those are the types of clients who just need photos and want it as cheap as they can get. They aren’t looking for art or your specific brand, because it doesn’t really exist yet. Some photographers never grow out of this catch 22 and fail to grow or continue to believe that they must remain “affordable” to attract clients.

I have raised my prices steadily over the years not just because of increasing business costs but because my talent and skill has grown. People who book me for sessions now are interested in actual art of their family, not just a quick photo anyone could have taken to use in a holiday card. My clients understand the value of a photographer with a good eye, consistent and elevated editing style, and a photographer who is a true people person and can make their kids laugh and have fun. I will continue to raise my prices to work with those who value my talents and have had to unlearn the belief that clients are always price shopping. If that were true, no one would be buying a Mercedes, right? So I’ve had to think beyond limiting money beliefs and be okay with being one of the higher priced photographers in my area.

Have you ever had to pivot?

As I’ve mentioned, I’m a military spouse. My husband and I have moved 7 times in 13 years! In that time, I’ve moved and run my business in five different states. Every time we move, I not only have to pivot in my personal life – dealing with all our belongings, finding a new home, adjusting to a new city, finding new doctors, schools, etc. – but pivot my business entirely as well. Photography is amazingly very different depending on what part of the world or country you are in. From pricing, seasons, general style of photography – it’s all very different depending on where you’re located.

The biggest pivot I had during a move for my business was moving from Hawaii to Virginia. None of my portfolio from Hawaii translated to Virginia. I remember I had clients inquire and ask where I was located, because there were no palm trees or beaches that looked like that anywhere near Virginia. I basically had to start over in terms of my portfolio of images. The overall style clients wanted in Northern Virginia was also very different than the laid back style I was used to in Hawaii. Many clients wore flowy dresses, were barefoot, and valued lifestyle/less posed types of images. Whereas in Virginia, people focused more on classic posed images, more formal clothing and more formal locations, like old architecture or a downtown setting over a beach. So that was a huge transition for my business.

Despite all the moving, I don’t regret having to move my business. If anything, it’s made me a stronger and more confident business owner to be forced into change and have to adapt. I look forward to our next move with ease this time because I’ve done it before, so I can do it again!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.melissasheridanphotography.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melissasheridanphotography/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/melissasheridanphotography

Image Credits

First image of just me is credit to Dani Hoskinson of Memories in a Snap (website: https://www.memoriesinasnapphotography.com/) but edit is by me

I took the rest of the photos, including my family photo