Life and Work with Melanie Dexter

Today we’d like to introduce you to Melanie Dexter.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
My photography story started in college in Oregon, when I meet my husband Tyler in ceramics class. We both had a flair for the arts, so when he began a film photography class we found ourselves spending hours together with a camera. We loved that photography was something we could enjoy and do together. When we got engaged, we were lucky enough to have an incredible photographer who was just starting outshoot our engagement session, and he brought his wife along to our session at the beach. Tyler and I loved our experience with them, not only the photos but our time spent talking with this “husband/wife” photographer couple who was a few years ahead of us in life. This sparked the idea for our own photography business, Melanie & Tyler, and we started the journey towards making that a reality.

Our business had very humble beginnings, we basically offered to shoot engagement sessions for free for our friends who were getting married because it was a blast for us. In 2011, some brave souls asked us to shoot their wedding and from there, we were hooked! We went from hobby to business in 2013 but continued to build very slowly, buying equipment as we went and renting a lot. We didn’t spend much money on marketing, and I’m pretty proud of what we’ve built on word of mouth referrals from brides and wedding industry pros.

It was around the beginning of 2014 that our business really started blossoming and I took over the majority of our operations. I give a lot of credit to the Colorado Springs Photo Betties, an amazing group of professional, female photographers, for teaching me what I know today about photography and running a business. I’m honored to be on the admin team for the group now, and I love the opportunity to encourage other lady photographers in the Springs! While I run the majority of our business, I wouldn’t want to do it without Tyler. Being a husband/wife photography team is a huge part of our brand and we love being able to bring that aspect of our business to our client experience. I’m very grateful to our family, friends, and the wonderful clients who’ve supported our business journey.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It’s never a smooth road building something worthwhile. I think it’s easy to tell yourself you can’t do something or you’re not qualified because you don’t have the “right” tools or equipment – but don’t let that stop you. We probably took longer than most other photographers to get industry-standard equipment, and we don’t technically have formal training, but we’ve always told ourselves it’s more about how we treat the people we’re serving and what we do with what we have. We’ve been offered opportunities because of our work ethic and our ability to connect with the people around us on a wedding day, which can be a very stressful time.

Another challenge for me is finding good work/family life balance. We have two kids and even though we work “together” it can be incredibly hard for Tyler and I to find time to connect. Some seasons are harder than others, but we try to intentionally plan regular date nights or family weekends. A big part of this is continually assessing our business and what we want it to look like; how many weddings we’re willing to take and what we need to start saying no to. I definitely don’t have it figured out yet, but I do know I want to work towards making my calendar reflect my priorities in life.

Please tell us about more about your business.
Melanie & Tyler is a husband/wife photography team, specializing in wedding photography for gracious couples in Colorado Springs. We believe beautiful photographs have the power to make us pause, and be reminded of why we are grateful for our marriage. We connect with couples who want a wedding photographer who will help them every step of the way, from outfit and posing guidance to wedding day timeline help and album design. Our couples care about the details of their wedding and embrace timelines and planning, but in the end, they know it’s about the person they’re marrying and the people celebrating with them.

What do you feel are the biggest barriers today to female leadership, in your industry or generally?
I think the toughest part about being an entrepreneurial/businesswoman right now is that we’re expected to fulfill all of our roles to the max; we believe the lie that it’s possible to be superwoman to everyone in our lives, and we fully expect that of ourselves. I struggle with this every day. We’re expected to give everything to running our business while being an incredible mom, meal planning and cooking organic, locally sourced food, cleaning our Pinterest worthy home with non-toxic cleaners, working out and keeping up our “self-care”, continuing education and investing in our marriage – all while getting 8 hours of sleep a night (yeah, right). It’s just not possible to expect that of ourselves. I’m hoping I can learn to have more grace with myself, to realize there’s only so much of me to give and that I get to make the choice every day what I give myself to. Outsourcing, being intentional, letting go of certain things for a season, and saying no; let’s change the expectation that we should be everything to everyone.

Pricing:

• Wedding coverage from $3850-$5050

Contact Info:

• Website: www.melanieandtyler.com
• Phone: 719-229-0469
• Email: melanie@melanieandtyler.com
• Instagram: @melanieandtylerphoto
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/melanieandtyler

Image Credit:
Melanie & Tyler Inc

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