When A Door Closes

 

Get to Know...Mike Greer Photography

Company: Mike Greer Photography
Website: www.mikegreer.com

Tell us about yourself and your company.
Wow! Not an easy question to answer. First and foremost, I’m a husband and father of three. I’m biased, but I think I have the best family in the world and I thank God for them. My formal educational background is in mechanical engineering. I spent 17 years doing that in the automotive industry. I didn’t know it at the time, but my heavy involvement in computer graphics during those years would lead me into what I do today.

In 1987, I bought my first personal graphics computer and started messing around with digital imaging. In 1992, our first child was born and we purchased our first “serious” camera. Because of that, my interests in digital imaging grew even more and I became even more ingrained in the technology. By the late 90s, due to the exploding popularity of the internet, I was considered by many an expert in digital imaging. Then it happened, somebody asked me to shoot their wedding. I discovered that I really enjoyed it. Then I shot another one. And another one. And another one. So I started Mike Greer Photography. Then in 2001, another monumental event happened - 1,300 people, me included, got downsized! What to do? Search for another job or go for it? Well, I decided I never wanted to experience getting terminated again. So Mike Greer Photography became a full-time business.

Since that time, we’ve specialized in wedding photography and have had a tremendous time doing so. Then in the spring of 2010, another life shifting event took place. We moved out of our house into a studio. We still specialize in weddings, but we’ve added high school seniors and newborns (less than a 1 year old). Our studio is located in downtown Farmington, next to the historic Civic Theater.

How did you get started?
Oops, answered that one above.

What’s the best part about your job?
The best part of what I do is that I get to use my creative abilities to make people look beautiful and capture times of high emotional importance. I’ve discovered that most people don’t think they are very attractive and their self image suffers greatly because of it. So when I get to present images to people looking beautiful, it pleases me greatly. In addition, when mothers see their graduate-age children or see their babies frozen in time, there is a feeling that I’m doing something that is meaningful to people. I love it.

What sets you apart from others in your industry?
The industry tends to want to categorize photographers as “traditional” or “photojournalistic”. Traditional photographers are very heavy on posing. Photojournalists are very hands-off and seek to document things as they happen. In my opinion, neither is better or worse than the other. They are just different. However, I’m after great-looking images regardless of the approach. If that means hand off, so be it. If that means I need to direct people, then so be it. I care about 2 things: not being intrusive and great-looking images.

Do you have any hidden talents?
Many moons ago I played collegiate basketball. I’m also a pretty good cook.

This interview was originally posted on July 15, 2010 by Laura Davis Events.  I think it is a wonderful example of being open, following your bliss and loving what you do.  Congratulations to Michael for crawling through the window that opened when the door closed.  Thanks, Laura.