We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Melody. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Melody below.
Melody, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?
As a family photographer, the skills of learning the camera came from in-person classroom. I took college course after college course related to photography. This after I took community courses in photography which were helpful but I just wanted to learn more. In-person classes offered a dark room (lab) where I really learned about exposure, light, composition, etc. From there I practiced. Sounds cliche but it’s true. Practice makes perfect. Well, maybe not perfect but practicing using your camera and all the lessons from the classroom really guided me to where I am today.
Knowing what I know now, I think taking photography courses is essential. Especially in college (or high school) where there is a lab for hands on learning. But I would also encourage taking business classes in tandem to photography classes as there’s so much more than learning a camera to running a photography business. Any guidance potentially would’ve sped up the process of getting my business up and running.
The most essential skills thus far have been my photography classes, and continuing education. Attending professional photography conferences specific to my craft I believe are essential. Like hair styles, photography styles often change. Learning about changes and styles helps me continue to hone my craft and have the liberty to play around with trends and see if they align with my business.
Obstacles? Honestly, it has been those in the industry with gobs of knowledge who gate keep (don’t share unless) because they feel if I (or others like me) had “proper” training I would know the information already. It seems to be a certain demographic who isn’t keeping up with the changing styles and editing tools at our fingertips today.
Melody, 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 work career started in the 9-1-1 center. I was a call-taker/dispatcher for police/fire/ems for over 21 years. It’s what I know the best. How to care for and LISTEN to others while simultaneously helping them. While working for 9-1-1 my husband and I raised two kids. In the season of early motherhood, I fell in love with scrapbooking. With scrapbooking comes photography. I loved all the photos I took (this is prior to my photography education) but it was the physical cropping of photos, placing them in a “frame”, adding stickers or phrases that really helped the scrapbook page come to life. The more I scrapbooked, the more I became aware that I wanted to fill the pages with the photos, not necessarily all the extra fluff on a scrapbook page. So I started to pay more attention to the photos I was taking. This was also a season of when DSLR’s entered the scene. This was a vast improvement from the point and shoot cameras that had just enough delay it would miss important baby milestones. Frustrated, my husband bought me my first DSLR and that was it. I was going to be a photographer. However, bills needed to be paid so I continued my full-time work in 9-1-1, balancing mommy duty, and taking a family’s photos seasonally, well more randomly when someone asked and I could squeeze it in.
Through each random session I learned more and more about myself and what I like to photograph, about my camera and how to use it and how to turn this into a career.
20 years later, I finally retired from 9-1-1 at the end of 2023 and open the doors to my photography business in January of 2024!
The things from 9-1-1 that I have brought into my photography business is the ability to communicate well. After so many years of active listening in 9-1-1, I have been able to talk directly to people while still maintaining my joyful personality. It is true that one can be direct and kind. :)
In my photography work, you’ll find a genuinely happy and kind photographer who has the ability to connect with her clients, bringing out their genuine smiles and being their authentic selves. You’ll also find a no-fluff business style. Let’s chat about your needs, what I can offer and meet to execute the mission. Simple, fun, and a lifetime of memories catapulting them back to that exact moment in time.
Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?
I wish there was a “starting a photography business? start here” resource. There are A LOT of photographers that have experience in many different fields prior to becoming a photographer. And there are a lot that just had the gumption to start and did it. They love to share their stories and educate others on it (aka other stream of revenue). While they are good at what they teach, I have yet to find a resource that is a step by step process for someone who doesn’t have a marketing/advertisting/business background. Sure, there’s the professional photographers of America business, but you have to pay $$$ and wait for the next class offering. And I’m still not sure they will have everything I’m looking for. Which is probably true for any business.
I’m actually taking notes of my own journey in starting up to hopefully guide other budding business photographers into some basic must-have steps in getting it up and running.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
One of the most rewarding aspects of being a creative is the ability to create! Sounds so simple but there’s time to be creative. While there’s still the business side of things that need to be run, you can set your schedule and make the time for self care, creativity, work, and the ability to collaborate with other like-minded folks.
The photography community has been nothing short of amazing! From networking, to classes/conferences, so many want to help you be successful! While I’m running my own business, I get to work alongside others who are doing the same. One of my photography coaches has a phrase that we are using over and over, “Community over Competition”.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.odymacphoto.com
- Instagram: @odymacphoto
Image Credits
The photo of me with a child and my camera was taken by Clare Cassidy