Today we’d like to introduce you to Melissa Fitzgerald West.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Melissa. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I first found joy in photography on a summer trip to France and soon could think of little else. I started shooting anything and everything, often times for no money at all, just for the experience and fun. After shooting a bridal session for a dear friend, and posting the photos on Facebook, I starting getting inquiries for more sessions. And my business was born that day. Shortly thereafter, I had coffee with the most inspiring photographer I’d come across, Joseph West, and he became my mentor, best friend and eventually my husband.
After a few years, when we had both become full-time photographers, we opened our studio, The West Studios, which has been one of our greatest accomplishments to date. I would attribute where my business is today to an incredibly supportive group of family and friends, clients who believed in me before I believed in myself, and an immeasurable amount of long hours and late nights.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Overall, I would say the road has been pretty smooth, but it hasn’t been easy! I grew my business for 4 years while still keeping a day job. By the end of it, I was essentially working the hours of two full-time jobs. Every weekend and evening was filled with photo shoots and editing. There were a lot of times where I had to sacrifice quality time with people I loved and had to miss out on vacations and spontaneous fun activities just to keep my head above water.
Making the transition into full time was the greatest decision I could have made, but it was still terrifying. Learning to balance work and having a life is still something I struggle the most with.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Melissa Fitzgerald Photography story. Tell us more about the business.
I’m a natural light, lifestyle photographer specializing primarily in baby and family photography, with a dash of commercial interior and product photography thrown in. I strive to capture genuine moments of joy and beauty within a family in the most natural way possible through a mix of classic portraiture and documentary moments.
I do the majority of my sessions in the homes of my clients, so their environment is something familiar and personally connected to their daily life. And when I started my business, that was a relatively less popular concept in baby photography, as the majority of sessions were held in studio settings. I think the development of my at home, casual style is what visually set me apart as my business was growing. I’m most proud of the relationship I’ve built with my clients over the years.
There’s nothing that brings me more joy in this job than to document a family as their grow. Showing up to a repeat session with a family is no longer like meeting a client, but instead spending a morning with friends. That’s just invaluable to me.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I can’t attribute good or bad luck to anything in particular in my business, but perhaps I just don’t think about circumstances in that way. I feel like the best things that have come my way are due to relationships, through past work acquaintances, networking events, friendships and word of mouth. And I truly feel like all of those opportunities were meant to be and were destined to happen the way they did, both good and bad.
When things fall naturally into place, it’s always a sign to me that I’m on the right path. And the same goes for when I feel I’m forcing a square peg into a round hole. Sometimes I just have to move on from an idea if I feel like I’m just spinning my wheels and not really getting anywhere. I rely a lot on my gut feelings when it comes to decision making, and it’s been working for me so far!
Contact Info:
- Address: 948 Heights Blvd. Houston, TX 77009
- Website: www.melissafitzgeraldphotography.com
- Email: melissa@melissafitzgeraldphotography.com
Image Credit:
J. Cogliandro – my portrait
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