We recently connected with Michelle Ross and have shared our conversation below.

Michelle , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How has Covid changed your business model?

John caught his breath as he saw Judy walking down the aisle. Her silver hair brushing her shoulders, her lace neckline a crimson cityscape across her chest. His eyes were soft and kind, and even with his mask she knew he was smiling. With the recently pared down thirty-five person guest list, the microphone almost wasn’t even necessary. A large projection screen off to the side showed the running commentary from the livestream going all over the world. After the vows, both of them pulled down the masks for a quick peck and were met with muffled masked cheers from the audience.

2020 hit the wedding industry especially hard. I had a few postponements but was luckier than most. The nature of our job was large gathering close contact work week after week. Our Saint Louis Wedding community locked in tight to support each other. Over the next two years I stepped last-minute to cover weddings where colleagues contracted the virus days beforehand, and I myself had to step out of a second shooting job when I contracted it as well.

I shifted focus in 2021 and 2022 to portraits and yes, took a big hit in income. I had hit a burnout point and needed to refocus. I worked with artists, dancers, content creators, families, experimented in other artistic disciplines. Many wedding couples from the past 15 years had grown into families with kids and I had been able to continue working with them all along. I worked hard on deepening my current client relationships. I doubled down on my social media content for parasocial relationships in the hope of romancing new clients

Michelle , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m Michelle Ross, a wedding and portrait photographer.

My clients are usually shy but extremely talented and creative but they don’t quite know it yet. They’ll come to me saying “I take bad pictures” or “I don’t know what to do”. Sometimes they have a load of ideas and it needs a little help and trust to streamline what our work will look like. They come away saying things like “I never thought I was handsome until I saw these pictures” or even message me saying the gallery made them burst into tears because it’s more than they had dreamed it could be. I believe in mutual visioncasting and mutual trust , and that everyone is an artist in their own way.

I’m a classically trained artist with multiple scholarships from Columbus College of Art and Design. I both shot and developed film professionally through college in the nineties, cycling through the Pentax K-1000, Canon AE-1, Minolta x-700 and Nikon 6006. I was asked to do several weddings around the turn of the century and it led to starting my own business in 2005 leading us here! I mostly work in the Midwest but have traveled cross-country and out-of-country. You can find me in Saint Louis Bride, The Knot Magazine, HuffPost and StyleMePretty. You’ll find artists, dancers, couples, influencers, and families in my portfolio.

I was working toward my Art BFA in the nineties and working at an hour photo store- the kind where there’s a drive through window and you hand your roll of film in just like you’d grab your bag of McDonald’s today. I’d use all kinds of photos for painting reference. Photoshop at that time was a neanderthal that took ten minutes to load and crashed in the middle of your project. I found out that opposed to painting, photography itself fit me better and the end product was faster.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

2020 hit the wedding industry especially hard. I had a few postponements but was luckier than most. The nature of our job was large gathering close contact work week after week. Our Saint Louis Wedding community locked in tight to support each other. Over the next two years I stepped last-minute to cover weddings where colleagues contracted the virus days beforehand, and I myself had to step out of a second shooting job when I contracted it as well.

I shifted focus in 2021 and 2022 to portraits and yes, took a big hit in income. I had hit a burnout point and needed to refocus. I worked with artists, dancers, content creators, families, experimented in other artistic disciplines. Many wedding couples from the past 15 years had grown into families with kids and I had been able to continue working with them all along. I worked hard on deepening my current client relationships. I doubled down on my social media content for parasocial relationships in the hope of romancing new clients. I found I kept all of my clients happier and began attracting new ones that were more niche ‘in my corner’ than ever before.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

A Technique for Producing Ideas – by James Webb Young This is a classic (think Mad Men era) creative think tank bathroom read that’s under $10. It harnesses basic human nature- input creative content, let it simmer, let your brain spin out ideas as you do mindless busy work. Think napkin ideas and shower epiphanies. It’s a great read!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.michellerosscreative.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michelle_ross_creative/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MichelleRossCreative

Image Credits
all photos are mine!