A firefighter crouched in a cloud of smoke; a maintenance man, covered in grease, next to the enormous wheel he’s fixing; a member of country band Little Big Town rocking out — some of local artist Melissa Miley’s favorite photos are not her most stellar technical work.
The collection of portraits produced for a senior thesis more than five years ago represents an early stage in Miley’s artistic career, a time when skills are still in development and personal growth, too, happens daily. As Miley’s professor said, the assignment required students to seize opportunity wherever they found it, resulting in moments that taught her both perceptiveness and boldness; bringing her camera to the scene of an apparent disaster, for instance, led to the revelation that the scene was only a drill and to the portrait of the firefighter next to what was, in fact, a fog machine. “I learned that I have to open myself up,” she says, but because of that, photography offers both adventure and the chance to connect.
Though Miley’s Ohio high school was small — she graduated with a class of 48 — she believes she might have had an advantage over students at slightly larger schools. The teacher of the single art class offered was able to tailor the class to students’ interests and encouraged Miley to explore photography.
That experience confirmed her desire to attend art school, and she made her way to The Art Institute of Pittsburgh. There, the curriculum for photographers begins with black-and-white film photography, developed by the artist in the school’s darkroom: an education in fundamentals that clearly continues to inform Miley’s approach to her craft.
After graduating in 2010, Miley joined her family in West Ashley. For her first few years, she honed her skills in photography and business in various roles at Tumbleston Photography Studio on St. Andrew’s Boulevard, covering weddings, portrait sessions, and corporate events and eventually moving into sales and management as well.
As the business grew, so did her responsibilities, leading to a difficult decision in 2015. “I loved the business and the family,” she says, but she now found herself increasingly called upon to perform “a desk job that didn’t really fit my personality.”
Miley walked away from a comfortable paycheck to work part-time as a mascot at Patriots Point while starting her own photography business. She recalls, “It was a leap of faith — like, OK, catch me! But I was really carried through.”
Now Miley photographs weddings, portraits, and events, focusing on “capturing passionate people.” Her own journey of pursuing a passion for photography, she says, has given her an eye for discovering the passion and the beauty in others. The work hearkens back to her senior thesis project: though she’s in a different setting, Miley still approaches a wedding or portrait session as a chance to seize those moments when a person is in their element.
While she enjoys the challenge of combining technical, social, and artistic skills to capture portraits and events, landscape photography offers a more meditative approach; some of Miley’s Charleston scenes can be seen hanging at Classic Coffee in the Avondale Business District. Whether she’s on the beach or donating her time to the Special Olympics, Miley’s light-filled photos put the scenes into a joyful, but authentic, new perspective.
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