Today we’d like to introduce you to Maurissa Panning.
Hi Maurissa, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My photography journey started in my twenties, with my love for Northern Minnesota and Lake Superior. I have always been a passionate landscape hobby photographer, but over time friends and family began asking me to take photos for them knowing I owned a decent camera. At this time, I was working full-time as an office manager for a construction company in the Twin Cities and had no intentions of starting a business.
Eventually I started sharing photos and quickly learned that my passions were strongest in Wedding + Event Photography, and working with children. I began focusing on working with couples and families, and launched my own company, Mind of Mo Photography – Mo was my nickname all through college and beyond, so it seemed like a good fit!
By 2019, my photography company was thriving and I was able to expand and bring on a few additional photographers under my brand. I was quickly expanding to all forms of photography, including senior portraits, product photography, headshots, and more. However in 2020, COVID hit, and at the same time that most of our wedding clients were postponing or cancelling, I was also let go from my position at the construction company as they downsized with the pandemic.
I took this as a sign that I was meant to run my own business full-time, and jumped in 100%. We were able to not only survive the Covid pandemic, but actually thrived, and came up with some truly unique and creative ways to keep the lights on while weddings and events were on hold.
Since then, Mind of Mo Photography has expanded significantly to include a team of nine lead & assistant photographers. I’ve also branched out into additional companies – Mind of Mo Weddings & Events (wedding & event planning, coordination, and officiating services), and Mind of Mo Creative Consulting (branding, social media management, and small business consulting).
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Definitely not a smooth road! Having to jump into running a business full-time during a pandemic was one of the toughest challenges I’ve ever faced. During the same time, I was planning my own wedding (my husband and I were married in April of 2021), and since we’ve had two children. Both of my pregnancies took place during peak wedding season, go figure, with my daughter being born in September and my son being born in July, so navigating “passing off” some of my clients to my teammates was very challenging personally, even though they crushed it.
Adding to and expanding my team has also been challenging, as I am very selective about who I want representing my brand, and who I feel confident in pairing with our couples. Wedding photographers can’t just be skilled at picture taking – it takes a very high level of organization and people skills, certain personality traits, and great stress management to ensure a successful experience for our couples, so I spend a LOT of time and energy vetting and training our team to make sure they are giving clients nothing but the best.
Adjusting to being a mom and business owner has also not been easy, especially in an industry that is so summer + weekend workload heavy. I am still working on learning how to balance work and personal life, how to say no to some things even though I NEVER want to, and how to truly “unplug” when spending time with my family.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
While wedding and event photography has really been our bread & butter over the last ten years, what we really focus on is providing personalized and unique experiences for our clients. No two sessions are ever the same with us. We take time to really get to know our clients, regardless of which type of photography session is involved, to make sure that the final images capture real personalities and the uniqueness of all of our customers. Our clients often rave about how relaxed and easy-going we make sessions feel, and this is intentional, because we believe that subjects look best when they are having fun and being themselves.
On the financial side of things, we also treat our customers as real people, not just invoices or paychecks. All of our sessions include complimentary payment plans, even for our wedding + event clients – meaning we don’t require huge deposits, and allow our customers to utilize small payments to book their shoots. We are always willing to work with clients when they hit financial hiccups or roadblocks. We believe that this not only makes us a more affordable option for many, but that it takes some of the stress off of booking a wedding, event, or family photographer.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
I don’t think so!
Pricing:
- Family, Maternity, Newborn, & Senior Sessions: $325 (One Hour)
- Weddings: $995-$3295 (Various Packages)
- Mini Sessions: $75-$195 (15-20 Minutes)
- Boudoir Sessions: $395 (One Hour)
- Event Photography: Hourly Rates Available
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.mindofmophotography.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mindofmophotography/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mindofmophotography/
