Hello Everyone! I hope you are all super happy that we didn't wake up to any more winter weather this morning. I am praying this is a sign of warmer weather ahead! Things have been changing around here recently. As many of you know, we opened up the doors to our new studio back in mid November. I will be blogging about that entire process soon, but until then I thought this would be a great time to introduce our team and explain what each of us do to better serve you guys!
In preparation for our staff photo, we wanted something a little different. We wanted a photo that not only represented our roles here at Russell Photography, but also expressed how much fun we have. Many different ideas were tossed around and we finally landed on this one....
I still laugh every time I look at it! So, meet us!
I'm Melanie Russell and this is my husband Rusty. We began this whole thing together back in 2010. In 2010 I began taking photos for the genuine love of photography. I knew nothing about what I was doing, I just knew that I loved taking photos of our children and of our pets. Sometimes I would take images for friends. I would post all of them onto my personal page on facebook. I never dreamed I would eventually make a career out of my passion.
Later in 2010 Rusty opened a fan page on facebook (not to my knowledge) of my "work". I was LIVID!! I remember screaming at him and telling him to take it down. I knew without a doubt that I was nowhere even close to a place where I could charge people to take their photos. Within the first few days of him posting this page, the inquires were rolling in like crazy. I simply could not believe that people wanted to hire me. I knew right then that I had a TON to learn... and quickly! I continued on shooting and learning for the next year or so. In November of 2011 I was at a place where I was somehow shooting full time and trying to balance my full time career as well as being a mom and pastors wife (which are both full time jobs within themselves). I made a huge leap of faith and resigned in the only career I had ever known to pursue photography full time.
Since then, we have grown more than I ever anticipated. God has blessed this business beyond our expectations. I give him all of the glory. I am no where close to where I want to be, and I am dreaming bigger and bigger each year, but I am truly grateful for the blessing he has given us. In this journey I have met so many amazing people and captured priceless moments that I will always treasure.
Thankfully, Rusty is now able to work with me full time and has truly found his "thing" in this whole photography world. I have been blown away by his sports shoots and his senior boy shoots this year. He also has a huge passion for teaching photography in all forms, and has joined me at ATU in the continuing education department. We are not only able to run the business together now, but we get the opportunity to teach photography to our community as well. I am so glad he is now able to join me on this journey and that we are able to give this 100% hand in hand together.
Enough about Rusty and I. I want you to meet our amazing team! We are going to start with Miss Ashley, aka "Wolf" as many of you know her.
Ashley has been with me for a long time. She began coming along with me to shade my subjects, carry heavy props, and that sort of thing. She then transitioned to being our part time editor. Ashley is a photoshop queen! She can do things that leave me wondering how in the world she got them done. I can always depend on her to design snazzy birth announcements and make our clients photos polished and beautiful. Although she is very busy when a lot of you are in the studio, she sometimes comes out of her editing area to say hello! We love Wolf around here and I just couldn't imagine not having her. She attends ATU and will some day make a fabulous RN. You will all know when that time comes, because I will be blogging and being a baby about losing her. I love this girl!
Next, I would like for you to meet Mica!
When I began the search for hiring a second Wedding shooter, I knew exactly what I was looking for. With Rusty unable to help me shoot Weddings because of his busy schedule at his previous position, I began praying for God to send the perfect person my way to help me. I knew I wanted to provide my clients with two photographers at their Wedding. I also knew that I didn't want to depend on hiring a new person each time I shot a Wedding. Russellville is full of talented and amazing photographers, but I wanted someone that would be with me each time. It was important to me to find someone that would learn my shooting style inside and out. Mica was definitely that person! I began working with her and taught her everything I knew. We would go out and shoot together, and in time we realized our styles were actually very much alike. She doesn't just second shoot weddings with me, she truly fills in every gap that you can imagine. We are to a place now where we can have a full, non verbal conversation, ha ha! I can look at Mica from across a crowded ceremony, and somehow she just knows to move to the left or right. She can shoot me a glare, and I know to get out of her shot! It takes a long time and a lot of practice to have that sort of working relationship. I can depend on her to balance me in any situation. In the areas I am weak, she is strong! She knows I am not a loud person, so she just takes charge sometimes and corrals everyone in for that large family portrait. I am thankful to have her as an asset to your Weddings and I know so many of you that have met her love her, too. You are the best Mica!
Last but not least, I want to introduce Karisa to you as well!
Karisa is no stranger to Russell Photography! I am sure many of you recognize her as Rusty's little sister. She began working with us Part Time when the studio opened. It didn't take too long to realize that we would totally need her full time. Karisa is the jack of all trades, really! She takes care of scheduling your appointments, sending information your way and answering your phone calls. She takes care of all presentations to help you to find the very best portrait products for your home. I am grateful for Karisa for many reasons, mainly because she knows how to keep me sane. She will send me something funny on days when I feel like I may break down and cry, and then straighten me out on days when I am a little too grouchy. She makes sure we all have everything we need from the big things to the little things, like reminding me to put a card in my camera before I head out on a shoot. She is an asset to our business, and we are so glad to have her!
So that is who we are! Thank you for taking the time to check this out. More blogs coming soon!
