We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Michelle Bailey. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Michelle below.

Michelle, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

I’ve always loved photography; however, for most of my life, I considered it a hobby. After graduating with my Bachelor’s in music performance, I went into the Army bands and played clarinet for them. Shortly after arriving at my new unit, I was selected to be a part of the ‘Public Affairs Office,’ based solely on the fact that I could take an “in focus” photo, and I did let it slip it used to be a hobby of mine. My time in the Army was cut short; because I got medically discharged for having a labrum tear in my left hip and arthritis in my spin.

However, while I was in the Army I fell in love with photography, so after I got medically discharged, I started pursuing my Master’s degree in photography. The semester before I graduated, I was talking to another photographer about opening my own business. She highly suggested it be in pet photography since I talked about my cat, Hickory, so much. I started looking for animal shelters that needed photographer. My first day I took the worst photos I’ve ever taken, but I knew I found what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I quickly improved, because of my determination to give the shelter animals the best photo possible. After I finished my Master’s, I opened my pet photography business in January 2020 in Washington. Unfortunately, I had to close 3 months later due to Covid. I would stay closed until February 2021, because I had hip and endometriosis surgery. As soon as I reopened my business, I immediately got my first client (four hedgehogs!) and my business took off. Then my husband was medically discharged from the Army, and we moved back to his home state, Michigan, last November. I had to rebuild my business again, however, Michigan has been extremely supportive, so my business quickly landed on its feet.

Michelle, 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 business specializes in photographing pets. Their parents are more than welcomed to be in the photos as well, however, the focus will be on your pet(s). My photoshoots are priced and run differently from most photographers. Typically, photographers will charge for a 30-minute session or an hour session; however, I charge based on the amount of edited photos the client will receive after the photoshoot. I do it this way because some pets need more time to get used to me being there and/or being in front of a camera. Some pets could get 20 photos in 30 minutes, others pets could maybe get 3 photos. It just seems so unfair to the pets who need more time, so I don’t put a time limit on my sessions and charge on the amount of photos the client wants. I do studio and outdoor photos, so if you have an indoor-only cat or it’s too cold to do a photoshoot outside, we also have the option of staying indoors.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

My hip injury from being in the Army caused a lot of concern as to whether I could even be a pet photographer anymore or not. I was struggling quite a bit prior to my hip surgery. To put it simply, the surgery I needed is one step down from a full hip replacement. Most of the doctors wouldn’t even attempt it. Their argument was “some pain” is far better than the total lack of movement I could possible end up with. Then after my surgery, the physical therapist said while I would “probably” walk again, it would be very unlikely that I would ever run or hike. The motions and flexibility needed to be a pet photographer would be almost impossible. It was a huge struggle, but four months after my surgery I was doing all of it with no hip pain.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My business’s mission has always been to provide pet parents with unique portraits of their pets, so they can treasure them for a lifetime. I’m always looking for new, creative ways to photograph pets, and the special bond they have with their owners.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://shocksphotography.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shocksphotography/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shocksphotography/
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/shocks-photography-fowlerville

Image Credits
Shocks Photography