Today we’d like to introduce you to Mel Colvin.
Mel, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
A little about my journey…I am a portrait and wedding photographer-based Rhode Island. I am originally from Cumberland, Rhode Island but went to elementary school and high school in Pawtucket, RI. I now own a home in Pawtucket, RI with my dog, Opie!
Throughout my childhood, my strong points were on the creative side and less on the academic side. Any chance I had to create art, I took it. In kindergarten I went to career day dressed up as an artist, in high school I drew the art for the holiday card that was sent out by the school, I was in drama crew helping create set designs, I was also the friend that had the disposable cameras everywhere I went and documented typical high school shenanigans and was always excited to run to Walmart to get my photos printed to make albums share with friends. My senior year my art teacher suggested to my parents that I go to school for art. I was thrilled!
I started in college in 2002 as an Art Education major…then switched to jewelry design, then finally landed on photography (and also added Graphic Design into the mix) I ended up double majoring in both Photography + Graphic Design from Rhode Island College in 2008. I later went on to graduate from Rhode Island School of Design in 2011 with a certificate in Graphic Design. As you can see, college isn’t always a smooth ride. My advice is to try many things while you’re young. You will find your passion, even if it takes 6+ years!
After college, I worked as a designer for 5 years for a handful of companies, JW Graham, a mom + pop store doing advertising, Providence College doing mailings sent to alumni, and Boston Warehouse Trading Corporation doing catalog design, product design + product photography.
During this time, photography was always a side gig. I shot my first wedding in 2007, I would photograph my friend’s children, and always said yes to every opportunity that was offered to me.
In 2013, I emailed about 10-15 photographers in the area asking if I could work with them, and one responded, M. Studios, 2 ladies-based Pawtucket. I had emailed them saying “Hey! My name also starts with M and I also live in Pawtucket and I would love to work with you!” To this day, that was the best email I have ever sent. Melissa + Marisa took me in, showed me the tricks of the trade, how to be genuine and real and how much fun you can have in this job! I am forever grateful to them and to this day still look up to them!
That summer, after a few talks with my parents and close friends, I decided to quit my full-time job at Boston Warehouse to open a photography studio. Crazy, right? How can you just up and quit a job with benefits in this economy you ask? By having a solid support system and people that believe in you…the biggest factor…Believing YOURSELF! I never once doubted myself. Failing was never an option. A backup plan wasn’t even a consideration. I knew this was going to work, even if I had no idea what I was doing at first! I moved home for a few years to build my business and in 2016 I bought my house in Pawtucket and now also have a studio in Lincoln, RI!
I now shoot about 20 weddings a year, engagements, and countless family and newborn sessions. I am forever grateful to my clients that trust me to capture life special moments!
It has been a WILD ride and I have loved every minute of it!
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
I’m definitely not the photographer that is going to tell you to sit there and smile! I capture real life, genuine moments, not posed stuffy images that you would get at a local superstore! The first thing I tell my clients is that I’d like to be their friend, because I want them to feel really, really comfortable when I’m hiding in the bushes and climbing on chairs or tree stumps at your wedding or family portrait session. That human connection is something that we all crave. I believe creating a relationship with my clients is what has made me so successful.
I am the photographer for the eclectic bridge, the quirky family and the offbeat couples. I believe in the beautiful mess of bringing home a newborn baby, the real moments with family, and the stolen kiss of newlyweds who think no one is watching (that’s where the bush hiding comes into play), Your life isn’t a posed portrait in front of a paper backdrop, so why would your photos be?
My job starts WAY before the wedding day or your engagement session. It’s learning about YOU. Your likes, your dislikes, your relationship with each other. I feel that I’m fairly intuitive when it comes to reading my couples. If I see them starting to freeze up, I will say something really silly to make them laugh, and THAT is the moment that I get my perfect shot!
I’m looking for my soulmate clients. In order to truly capture your relationships, I need to build one with you, too! Let’s go out for coffee (my treat!) so you can tell me how you met and your engagement story, or we can spend some time gushing over baby booties!
On the wedding day, I want you to feel as though you’re just hanging out with a friend, not some crazy stuffy lady with a camera in your face all day! With the connection we spent the last year building, I am then able to create beautiful timeless images. I believe these images are your family heirlooms…these are the images your children will see, and then their children, and so on. These are the images that THEY will want later in life. When I hear of a couple feeling weary about photography in general and not liking how they look and not wanting to be in front of the camera I like to remind them that these images are what you will have at the end of the day…when the wedding day is over, the flowers are gone, the dress is packed away, you have these images that will last a LIFETIME and beyond.
When I sit with my clients a month before the wedding to talk final details, I also create a family formal shot list with them. You know, bride + groom + grooms family, etc. I then always suggest more photos than they originally were thinking. I think to myself, what would I want on my own wedding day and what would MY future self-want. I always suggest that they take photos with each of their parents separately. This is something, down the road, that they will adore maybe 20 years later more than the day they receive their images.
During the wedding day I look for those unguarded moments of pure joy, the small details that you created to add to the reception tables, the something borrowed, your grandmothers necklace wrapped around your bouquet, all those extra details are so important.
I feel I have taken on a great responsibly. I am responsible to freeze time. Mothers often say they wish they could freeze time, right? It’s a saying often thrown around. That “saying” is my job, my responsibility to you. I spend a lot of time thinking about what makes an image good. Is it location? Is the background? Is it the people? The colors? The composition? Is it the time and place? Is it the time period? Is it film vs. digital? To me…a good image depicts emotion…REAL emotion. Think about war photography…the image of a child running to her father when he comes home from overseas. What do you see in that image? The background? The location? Nope…you just see the pure JOY on that little girl’s face seeing her Dad for the first time in months. Photography is about freezing emotion. This is my job.
What responsibility, if any, do you think artists have to use their art to help alleviate problems faced by others? Has your art been affected by issues you’ve concerned about?
I do believe the role of an artist has changed. In a world where everything is fast moving. People want instant gratification. I love that we are living in a time where freezing time on our own is possible. We whip out our phones with the acclaimed “newest and best camera in the world” and snap away. What happens to those photos though? They get shared on Instagram, maybe. Typically, though, they don’t get printed, they never become a tangible item. They will probably get deleted when you run out of space on your phone. right? I think my role as an artist is to create portraits that get PRINTED. In 20-30 years, hard drives might not exist, phones will be different, USBs and CDs will become obsolete…but you know what will never go away…PAPER. Printed images on PAPER that you can hold, hang up in a frame on your wall.
My job is to educate clients on the importance of printing their images so that in 20-30 years they don’t say, OH hold on…let me scroll through my Facebook page (which probably won’t exist) to show you this photo. My job as an artist is to stop the disconnection of a photo just being a photo. It’s to stop seeing people scroll through Facebook to show their children an image. It’s to get those photos printed and into albums that they will have FOREVER!!! Technology is always changing people… but paper will never go out of style!
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
Website: www.melcolvinphotography.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/melcolvinphotography
Instagram: @melcolvinphotography
WeddingWire: www.weddingwire.com/melcolvinphotography
People can support my work by hiring me to photograph life special moments. Be in an engagement, a wedding, a moving out of your first house session, newborn session, etc.! From there the best support someone could give me is a referral! My business is 80% word of mouth referrals. A referral is the best gift of support you could give.
Contact Info:
- Address: 39 Carrington St.
Lincoln, RI 02865 - Website: www.melcolvinphotography.com
- Phone: 401-368-0187
- Email: hello@melcolvinphotography.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/melcolvinphotography
- Facebook: facebook.com/melcolvinphotography
Image Credit:
All images taken by Mel Colvin Photography.
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