I grew up in Athens Georgia watching my dad freeze moments through his camera. Vacations and weekends were spent dodging his camera, secretly trying to get my hands on it so I could switch the view. I grew up watching my mothers drive and ambition as an entrepreneur. Her strength and passion for her ventures moved mountains... and she still does. She is now in graduate school at the University of Georgia for the fun of it. My two sisters, who were two years apart but most people thought they were twins, were daring, strong and bold and feared nothing. They still live life as they own it. These people taught me to take risks and to live life with little regard for fear. While reminding me of the consequences when it didn't quite go as I planned, they were always there to pick me up and throw me back on the horse I wasn't suppose to ride . They taught me to pick an attitude and make it a good one. All still supportive as I put one foot in front of the other as I continue to make my way through life.
When I entered high school I realized I need to pick a path. The only path I had known was photography. Throughout all of my young life I had many experiences and the one common denominator was always photography. It was my voice, my shield and my passion. In high school I was able to take photography. The old days, when you had a darkroom and a printing press in class vs. computers. I had a great teacher who let me explore and encouraged me on the path I was on. I submitted a print portfolio to get into The Savannah College of Art and Design, and graduated within three years with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography. I got married, had babies and other than doing family photography for myself, I had no plans on running a business. While helping to raise of family of 6, I worked in variety of fields that fueled my creative spirit in one way or another. Want details?
Regardless of all the rabbit holes I went down, I always had my camera close by wanting to tell my story. And as my children grew, I started to see the value of my documentation. As life threw twists and turns I began to understand what I was meant to be doing. I had been training for @ 30 years in the craft of photography. So for the past four years I have been building Melissa Read Healy Photography. I have learned a lot about this business, and will never stop learning all the details it takes to run a photography business. Talk about rabbit holes! I am working hard to ensure the families who invite me into their world receive my respect, my time and hard work as well as hands on products that encompass fine art quality. I am building this business based on my background. No matter what was happening in my world, two things were constant in my world and gave me peace... Photography and Art. I want to share my love of those thing with my clients. I want them to feel the moment captured when they hold their storybook or fine art print in there hands as they pass memories arounds the family table.
