The Article:
Like many young people, Park High graduate Melissa Bring moved to Los Angeles to make it big in fashion photography. And unlike many of them, she has come far in her five years there. She moved to L.A. on the advice of her first photography employer, Michael Sanders, who hired her to take photos for his tour guide business while she was still in high school. “He told me to get out of Livingston and check out the opportunities in L.A.,” Bring said in a phone interview Monday. And that she did. Her brother Kyle was already living there, so she went for a visit and applied for photography jobs. She was immediately hired by a wedding photography studio. Just four months
there was enough to “get a foot in the door,” and she moved to her next job, with Industrial Color, a large scale digital and video photography company. Bring worked her way up quickly to Director of Operations, running the West Coast division. “This was a great opportunity to learn what goes on behind the scenes, in the business side of the industry,” Bring said. Then, in February of this year, she left to start her own company— Bring Media
— in partnership with her brother, who is a videographer. With so many clients needing both still photos and video, Bring said, she and her brother can offer both to their clients. Bring has worked with such clients as the cable channel Showtime, Victoria’s Secret and Old Navy. Something that will be readily seen in Montana, she said, is an ad for Romeo and Juliet Couture, which will appear in the August edition of Allure magazine.
The early years
Bring grew up in Livingston and is a 2002 graduate of Park High School. She said she became interested in photography when she was in elementary school, taking photography training through 4H starting in the third grade. “When I was in the fifth grade, I started using my sister and her friends as
fashion models so I could take their pictures,” Bring said. After high school, she attended Spokane Falls Community College, in Spokane, Wash. “ I had heard great things about their photography department, and it offered me the best opportunity at the time,” Bring said. After Spokane, she had the opportunity to live in Florence, Italy, for a while and practice her craft. The time she spent there, she said, helped her ease into the pace and lifestyle of Los Angeles after spending her childhood in Montana.
Life in Los Angeles
“L.A. is definitely a different pace,” she said. “It’s fast and furious and very competitive.” And coming up, Bring has been honored by RAW, an online arts organization that “provides a platform for independent artists in Southern California to be seen, heard, and loved,” according to RAW’s website. RAW has chosen Bring as an up-and-coming young photographer and will feature her work in a show opening Aug. 5.
Bringing it home
Bring is proud of her Montana heritage and posts it prominently on her website, www.melissabring.com. When Los Angelenos ask her about growing up in Montana, Bring says their stereotypes are amusing. “They ask if I rode my horse to school,” Bring laughed. Bring manages to come home about once a year. “I love Montana, and I am proud of where I came from,” she said.
When starting out as a photographer there is the struggle of finding a strong client base, and if you desire to become a celebrity commercial photographer (such as myself) then you have an even more shallow pond to fish from. It is a competitive and cut throat business to say the least. This is why I highly advise you to get on every photographer networking site you can ... and keep it updated! In a bind clients turn to these sites for shooters.
I have shot two covers for Humor Mill Magazine now and wanted to share the great experience. Humor Mill came across my work from a photography networking site and contacted me out of the blue on a Tuesday evening asking if I was available to shoot on that upcoming Saturday. The Cover and Inside Story...My 1st cover and inside story at that. I of course jumped on the opportunity to shoot Chico Benymon. The shoot with Chico went great as HMM & Chico were extremely pleased with every captured shot. A few months later I received a call to shoot Elise Neal for the Cover and Inside story. I jumped on the op and from that am doing a personal shoot for her as well.
Frank and Bernadette Holder the owners of Humor Mill Magazine are a family based, down to earth client. They make the shoot's so enjoyable. It feels good to hear your client energetic and enthusiastic about your work on set. The more praise the better you shoot as your confidence levels go up...Similar to a comedian on stage - the more the audience is into the performance the better performance you give!
You never know what connection leads to your next...so put your work out there!
