Meet Valerie Mosley of Valerie Mosley Photography in Fort Collins

Valerie, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My first job high school job was in a drugstore photo lab. I continued to work in a photo lab in college, where I learned how to hand process black and white film and print and started doing photography for the student newspaper. That’s where I got to use my first digital camera. It was like magic! For some reason, I never thought of photography as a career option at that time. I admired the work of photojournalists, but it always seemed like a dream too big to reach. Several years after I graduated with an English degree, I decided to pursue photojournalism. I remember realizing that newspaper photographer is an actual job that people have, so why not me? I applied to grad school at the University of Missouri and spent a couple of years pursuing a Master of Art in Journalism, emphasis Photojournalism–one of the best times of my life, but also one of the most difficult. It’s a highly competitive field and I never felt good enough. There were very few jobs available when I graduated, but I was fortunate to get hired at the News-Leader in Springfield, Missouri. I had the best photo editor who encouraged my interest in social documentary work. I’m grateful for those years in Springfield because I feel like I got in on the last good bit of old-school newspaper photojournalism. I had entered the profession just it started to decline. Today there are about half as many people employed in newsrooms as there were when I graduated in 2010. I made it through several rounds of layoffs in Springfield before moving to Fort Collins for another newspaper job. I stayed there a year and a half, but when I realized I was actually disappointed that I survived more layoffs, I knew it was time to leave. I didn’t have a great plan, but I knew I couldn’t hitch my future to newspapers. It seemed like my only option was to create my own job.

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?
No, it’s still not a smooth road! It takes a huge amount of faith to keep building the business I want to have. In the last two years, I’ve had to teach myself everything about business while trying to find enough clients who want my style of photography. I’m trying to be true to myself and focus on the type of work that I do best and enjoy, but I don’t think I can earn enough as only a freelance photojournalist. So I’m building three other genres as well: documentary family photography, branding photography for businesses, and nonprofit storytelling.

Am I trying to do too many things? Maybe. Everyone says to niche down so you can be very clear in your marketing and speak directly to the people you’re trying to reach. But I have a hard time with this because I feel like the work is more about the approach than who the client is. It’s about making authentic photographs that connect with the viewer. No matter what the setting is, I’m trying to make pictures that tell a story and convey a feeling.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Valerie Mosley Photography – what should we know?
I’m a visual storyteller. To me, that means that beyond taking beautiful photos, I document moments that convey a feeling. I’m good at collaborating with clients to come up with meaningful photography and videos that convey the right message.

For businesses, that means showing real people in real situations that their clients relate to. This can be environmental portraits or behind the scenes photos or showing how their products are made. People are inundated with images online and they scroll right past stock photos. Authentic photography is the fastest and best way to cut through the clutter to help people make people feel like they know you and your business from a webpage.

For families, it’s capturing a day in their life that they can look back on later and have strong memories of that season. Documentary family photography is great for little kids because instead of asking them to sit still and pose, I can just tag along while they’re playing and just being themselves. I just photographed a family with a newborn and a three-year-old. The three-year-old made it as difficult as possible for his mom to put him to bed. I made a picture of him squirming away while she was trying to put a pull-up on him. It’s not the kind of photo people might think they want, but when Mom saw the photo, she laughed out loud and said she’ll treasure that memory when he’s grown.

For nonprofits, I usually document the life of one of their clients over a few months and combine those images with interviews that convey the impact the nonprofit has had in their life. I’m most proud of this work and that I’ve found a way to continue doing the social documentary work that was most important to me during my newspaper career. I love knowing that my work has made an impact, whether it’s increased donations so the organizations can continue their work or helping people understand what they do and why.

It’s my background in photojournalism and focus on documentary, storytelling photography that sets me apart.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
I’ll give you three. My belief in my ability to figure things out, my stubborn optimism and the empathy I have for people. I’m always interested in people and their stories, which helps me put myself out there and helps people feel comfortable with me.