Questions and answers with professionals who have unique and exciting jobs: Michelle Moore, Teen Portrait & Fashion Photographer
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iaam: How did you launch your professional photography career at age 19?
Michelle: I knew what I wanted to do, and decided to go for it.  I wasn’t full time until I was 21, but I was definitely making money (not much) my sophomore year of college when I was 19.  I actually didn’t know I wanted photography to be my career but I got my feet wet shooting local bands at their shows, and for their promos.  A friend of mine asked me to come take photos of their band when I was 19, and that’s how I fell into working as a photographer.  My career really started because of that, and eventually I turned to other kinds of photography – weddings, babies, family portraits, and then fashion & high school senior portraits.

iaam: What experience helped you to take a leap to become a professional photographer?
Michelle: Working in retail taught me a lot about customer service, and interacting with people on a daily basis.  It also gave me a great skill set for sales, and meeting new people.  I loved the responsibility I had working in retail (I worked mainly at small privately-owned boutiques) so I was able to gain a lot of expertise managing and completing many tasks on a daily basis.
I also completed a short internship with a photographer who specialized in stock photography.  While that is an entirely different kind of photography I work in, it gave me a lot of knowledge and experience with producing – which is a key element I need to manage my fashion shoots.  I also picked up a lot of knowledge about editing and workflow from that photographer, and I am very fortunate for the things I learned simply by asking lots of questions and seeking out answers.

iaam: How did you fund your early career?
Michelle: I was very fortunate to have hand-me down equipment already available to me from my dad.  Having access to the gear I needed from the get-go was a huge advantage to my career, but is not at all a deterrent from getting started.  There are plenty of affordable camera systems to get you started, and many great places (local or online) to rent from while you build up your cash flow.
I also worked part-time (in retail) all through college, so I had a job to keep me afloat while I started my early career.  Eventually it became too much to juggle working retail, and trying to be a photographer, so I made the leap into full-time photography, and just vowed to make it work.  Four years later, and I’m still doing photography as my full-time career.

iaam: How early in your life you were exposed to photography?
Michelle: My mom and dad have always been photographers, so I have been around it my entire life.  It wasn’t until high school that I got my first camera, and I used to take pictures of clouds out my window.

iaam: How did you perfect your photography skills?
Michelle: I like to think this is something that I am always working on, and constantly trying to improve.  When I first started out I plugged at least 4 or 5 hours a day in Photoshop, and would try and photograph something as often as I could (almost every day!).  It’s all about practice, practice, practice!!!

iaam: What does your typical day look like?
Michelle: I get up pretty early, reply to emails, get a run in if I can, then either spend the afternoon doing a shoot, or if not shooting, I’m running errands, editing, blogging , booking clients, and producing fashion shoots.  There is always TONS of work to be done when you work for yourself – it’s