Conversations with Michelle Dowdy

Today we’d like to introduce you to Michelle Dowdy.

Hi Michelle, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
I owe it all to my husband Matthew. It wasn’t long after the birth of our second child Sailor that he purchased a camera for us to get better at taking pictures of the kids. This was 8 years ago when IG filters were a huge hit. One of my best friends actually had received a camera prior to me because she wanted to take better pictures of her kids. I would try and play around with the camera and the outcome was quite comical. It wasn’t really that different in the beginning when he purchased ours. I did not love it, I was easily frustrated not understanding the camera and his push to take more pictures. I watched some YouTube videos, read some blogs, joined photography groups, and realized I needed to learn the manual. This led to purchasing another camera that was an upgrade. As I started to learn the manual I started to like taking pictures more. Learning how to edit was an entirely different thing and goodness was it challenging! As time went on I realized I was being held back a little by the equipment. I asked my husband if we could upgrade once again from a crop sensor camera to a full frame. He’s the techy guy and always did the research on what we needed.

When he upgraded me he went far beyond what I was aiming for. He always believed in me more than I did myself. Mind you, this was me just playing around still. It wasn’t even a full year of me just posting my personal stuff that led friends/family to inquire if I would take their pictures. This was beyond me but I was thrilled! I remember advertising for my first mini-sessions in the fall and filling every spot. That was one of the busiest fall seasons in my career. I had made the money back in one month to cover the purchase of the camera and it just blew my mind. I had not even been in business for a full year and was booked by Carrie Underwood for family pictures. Everything has been kind of a blur since then and I’m often having to pinch myself to make sure this is real life because it truly feels like a dream.

Photography has been the biggest blessing. It is a creative and therapeutic outlet for me. I have been able to travel and provide experiences for my family because of my gift. I’ve photographed and met some of the most amazing people from your everyday neighbor to huge A-list celebrities. My work has won me awards in worldwide photography contests. I will forever be grateful for my husband pushing me to find that I had a hidden talent. One I will never take for granted!

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
It’s funny because I specialize in a lot of things and it’s all over the place. I find it’s not often you see a photographer who photographs so many different things. Some of the work I’m best known for our birth, maternity, and studio/concert photography.

I think what it ultimately boils down to is where I have the most creative freedom. I’d describe myself as a creative storyteller chasing the light. I love to get weird with shoots! I use objects and lots of natural light but I also take advantage of whatever the lighting situation might be. My best work is when my clients let go and trust me to capture their stories.

Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
One of my favorite childhood memories is growing up/running around my stepfather’s house/land. We lived next door to a very large successful wine vineyard that’s still in business today in California. Our house was on some land and the house itself was also huge.

Hidden rooms, wine cellars, you name it. Running around that property and the vineyards is what fills my memory the most. We would build forts and play for hours on end outside. I can still feel the sunshine that would slip in through the vineyards and the forts we would make all over and a part of me feels like that’s where my eye for photography all started!

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.madlovephotography.com
• Instagram: @Madlovephotography
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michelledowdyphotography

Image Credits
Carrie Smith (@swakphotography)