Today we’d like to introduce you to Marissa Dillon.
Hi Marissa, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Photography has always been a hobby of mine. I remembering taking photography in high school and for the first time, I felt connected to something. It was my first period and I would sometimes go in early or work during lunch. I never dreamed of being able to do it as a career.
I went to college with the idea of going into nursing but after learning I could get a degree in photography I switched. I remember telling myself that I’d never make money doing this but I knew I’d be happy.
I think about that thought a lot as I embark on my first year being full-time.
It took a lot to get me to make the leap to being full-time. I thought a lot about what other people would say and what I would tell people if I failed.
Finally, the will to try started to be louder than the voice of doubt. I quit my “adult job” at the time and got a part-time job at a coffee shop. It was the perfect way to have a little bit of a set income while I focused more on booking weddings. It all worked out in the end.
I’m paying my bills with something I feel grateful doing every day.
I document some of people’s biggest life moments. Weddings, newborns, families, senior sessions, and so much more.
I’m always blown away that people can connect with my work and chose me to help document their life. It’s something I’ll never be able to wrap my head around.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Not at all, but it’s been the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done. Going full-time has made me a much more confident person in every aspect of my life. You have to learn to set boundaries and charge what you’re worth, when you start to do that, it starts to leak into other parts of your life. Even with that being said, there’s still days I compare myself to other photographers. The imposter syndrome can set in and you start to feel like a phony. It’s why I have a love/hate relationship with social media and have to limit the time I spend on it.
I have a really great community of other photographers that I can go to about all of this. We message each other throughout the wedding season for help, tips, or to vent. We all have felt the imposter syndrome at one point and I love having a community that you can share these things with. Having a community you can be open with makes you feel connected and not so alone when you are having feelings of doubt.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m a wedding and lifestyle photographer that works all over Michigan and open to travel as well. I think majority of my work is weddings.
I love what I do, it’s a very interesting job. I work weekends and sometimes book out a year in advance.
I pride myself in getting to know my clients and making them feel comfortable in front of the camera. Being in front of a camera is a weird thing, I never know what to do in front of one. Having someone guide you through that experience makes all the difference.
I hope to create an authentic feeling between my photos and the people viewing it. I’m blown away by the talented photographers around Michigan. Nothing makes me feeling better than when I get an inquiry and the couple says they stumbled upon my work on social media and they loved the way my photos made them feel.
I’d like to think I’m a very bubbly person and I try to make people feel seen and heard in any social setting and I think that comes through when you work with me. I love to hype people up. I never want someone to feel uncomfortable in front of the camera. Humans are weird and I just want to embrace that.
I absolutely love when a couple tells me they’re awkward in front of a camera and after a few photos I’ll show them some and they can’t believe that’s them in the photo. The moment I see someone light up because they’re seeing themselves the way I see them is the reason I do what I do.
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
I’ve been into anything related to self-awareness the last few years. “Untamed”, by Glennon Doyle was a book that made an impact on me. I listen to her podcast, “We Can Do Hard Things”, every week.
“Totally Mental” is a podcast some friend’s created this year that I love too. I took their promotional photos! I love seeing their new episodes pop up with a photo we all worked together on.
I recently read, “The Mountain is You” by Brianna West. It’s about self-sabotage and how to overcome it.
If I’m not reading about topics like these, I’m reading graphic novels. I love getting to escape into a whole new world for a bit. “Paper girls” is one that I make sure I have the latest issue of.
Contact Info:
- Email: marissadillonphotography@gmail.com
- Website: www.marissadillonphotography.com
- Instagram: Marissadillonphoto
