May 15, 2017

Meet Mallory Ruggiero of Photography by Mallory

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mallory Ruggiero.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Mallory. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I discovered my love of photography when I was in high school, while wanting to capture everything I saw. My mom let me borrow her 1970 film camera, and my love grew even further while I learned about light.

For many years, my photography was just a hobby. I’ve suffered from an auto immune disease known as Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis since I was 3 years old. In 2009, I was suffering through a severe flare up and had to stop working for almost a year. Once I finally felt better, I thought long and hard about my future and what I wanted to do with my life, career wise. Even through feeling ill, photography always brought me joy. It seemed that my career path, was right in front of me.

In July of 2010, I officially started my business. I started off very small, with photographing families and friends. In 2011 I photographed my first wedding, and my business boomed from there. I went from 3 weddings in 2012, to 17 in 2013! I was amazed and thrilled with the progress of my photography!

Over the past several years, my passion for photography has grown, and I’ve come to find that I am happiest and most fulfilled when photographing children, families, and the love of couples. It is my goal that the photographs from my clients sessions capture the essence and sweetness of who they are, and that not only my clients, but others, can see that reflected in the images from their session. While posed images are beautiful in their own way, my very favorite images always come from the candid real moments from my time spent with them. I absolutely love what I do, and I reflect that love and dedication into my work, each and every day.

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?
Oh no! I think every small business struggles along the way, and you know what? That’s completely normal! I’ve learned from those struggles, they’ve helped me grow to where I am today.

I learned that this job isn’t completely steady, January and February can be slow, most people want outdoor photos, so living in New England, makes it tough as not everyone loves cold or snow photos!

I struggled getting clients in the very beginning, I didn’t know a thing about advertising. I received many repeat clients and referrals, but reaching out to newer clients was tough! Advertising can get expensive, and it took me time to see which places were best for me to utilize. It was a tough learning process, but I’ve learned a LOT about how to advertise properly.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Photography by Mallory – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
I run my own photography company, all on my own. While I sometimes have assistants or other photographers work with my on weddings, I alone run this business and photograph every session that comes my way!

I specialize in weddings and families. I only photograph a select few weddings each year, as they take up a lot of my time, so I want to be sure I’m giving 100% of myself to my wedding clients, without feeling overburden with too much editing.

Most of my family and newborn clients come from my wedding clients. I think that is what I’m most proud of. That I’ve built such wonderful relationships with my clients that they come back again and again!

I also think that sets me apart from other photographers. I work hard at building great relationships with people, so they’re more than just clients to me. We form a special bond, and I really get to know my clients, so I can truly capture their personalities.

So, what’s next? Any big plans?
I’m always looking forward to the future! I plan on having my own home studio, so I can offer more sessions in the winter and colder months. My fiancé and I are currently house hunting, and are looking for the perfect home with the right space for a studio. That is definitely exciting, and a big change. I can’t wait to start offering more types of sessions!

Pricing: