Today we’d like to introduce you to Marissa Weltin.
Hi Marissa, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I’m an only child, and my family always had an old VHS video camera or disposable Kodak cameras around to record our family’s memories. My love of cameras started as a little kid. Once I got an iPod touch with a camera, I could finally start taking pictures on my own. I look back at those photos and think about how cringe and bad they are, but it’s where it all started. High school is where things took off for me. I took a photography class and yearbook in early high school, and that’s really when I got my introduction to full DSLR cameras and editing software.
Fast forward to college, where I enrolled at Minnesota State University Moorhead as a Photojournalism major. My assignments didn’t turn out to be what I was expecting, and I felt a little bit discouraged but enjoyed taking photos, so I decided to stick with it. That summer, I decided I wanted a job on campus and applied as a photographer for MSUM’s football team. I worked for MSUM’s football team from Fall 2019 until I tearfully graduated and had to walk away from the program this Spring. I was hired and started that fall, where I found my true passion in sports photography. The players, families, and coaches in that program remain my biggest and loudest supporters on my professional Instagram page! It was one of the best experiences and gave me the confidence to learn and make mistakes, and I credit a lot of my growth as a photographer to that program.
I decided in my Junior year of college that I wanted to try my hand at client work and applied to work at the now-defunct Glasser Images; despite all of the legal trouble on that front. I did enjoy my time traveling and meeting so many awesome couples and their families. I also joined MSUM’s Go! Team, which covers all the sports in the athletic department. I enjoyed my time there as well. I met a lot of cool people that I learned a lot from. I learned a lot from my peers and my mentors, and it also helped me get to know some other sports and see how I felt shooting them. It made me realize that I enjoy client work and sports and pushed me to start my website and push to have my clients. Unfortunately, I cannot work as a photographer because I’m using my second major (Broadcast Journalism) full-time as a Morning Show/Overnight Producer at WDAY-TV.
Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
COVID. When I applied for MSUM’s Go! Team for the Spring of 2021, the Coach/Boss in charge of that program laughed at me during our Zoom interview– “You want to jump into sports photography *right now*?” There were no fans my first year, lots of seasons and games were canceled (which meant fewer opportunities to work and less money for workers), and I lost valuable time learning how the game day was supposed to operate on the full scale. I also mentioned my struggle working with Glasser Images. I’m still owed a few hundred dollars for the hours I worked for them in August and September last year. I also am missing some of the photos I shot because I was using rented equipment, which goes back to the main shooter at the end of the day, meaning they took the SD cards with my raw photos. I also think living in an area I’m not from and moving away from where I went to high school has made it hard to find my clients. So many people are drawn to freelance photography these days that it’s hard to find your niche and stand out, and people who are grinding that business in a town where they grew up and knew so many people are a super easy way to get clients.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
I specialize and mostly work in freelance sports photography, but I am happy to take on senior/family/maternity clients and longer-form work. I cannot take wedding clients right now because I work overnights and weekends, but I can’t wait to be able to return to booking those. My summer shooting weddings was so fun.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
I think Fargo-Moorhead is an amazing place for college students. There are many things to do, great education options, access to jobs above entry-level right out of college, and not so big that making connections is impossible. Without my connections at MSUM, I don’t think I would’ve had such an easy and seamless transition into the workforce. That being said, I’m originally from South Florida, and I think my end-game is a city more like Minneapolis once I get my footing as a young adult. Once I’m established and have enough connections in a smaller city like Fargo-Moorhead, I think there are more professional opportunities in my field in a bigger city.
Pricing:
- Mini Sessions $25 (15min)
- Portraits $100 (1hr)
- Couples/Families $150 (90min)
- Weddings $200/hr
Contact Info:
- Website: weltinphotography.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marissa_weltin_photo
Image Credits
Personal Photo- Avery Nelson All others- Marissa Weltin
