MELANIE MAUER
Occupation: Photographer Website: Melanie Mauer Biography: Melanie, founder of Melanie Mauer Photography, spends her days creating what she calls "records of essence". She is in love with life and the variety that each day brings. Opportunities to simultaneously travel and work have been arriving at her doorstep and she is ever so grateful. Her medium is black & white photography and her method is open, friendly and happy. She photographs weddings, people of all ages & an occasional puppy. What do you do and how did you start? B&W portrait photographer - I started taking photographs of my friends' children for assignments in my college photography courses. Soon, requests from friends of friends and word of mouth grew into what is now Melanie Mauer Photography. M.M.P. has become the perfect outlet for my photography and my need to create. What steps did you take to create your own business? First, I read A LOT - not just about photography but business. It helps having a husband trained in marketing/management but I often found typical...
CATHERINE AURELIO
Occupation: Art Director/Photographer Website: Firecracker Biography: Catherine Aurelio runs a one person graphic design and photography studio in Santa Cruz, California. She combines creative design ideas and a savvy understanding of the business of marketing to produce the most streamlined solutions for her clients. Catherine's enjoys helping companies grow by providing a combination of great marketing strategy and really great design. What do you do and how did you start? I'm an art director. My first job was on a C-grade movie in Arizona (Buffalo Heart: The Path of Death). It wasn't a glamorous job-my duties ranged from painting a pig-butchering truck to making all the blood out of Karo syrup and food coloring. I didn't like the uncertainty of the movie business, but I loved the fast pace. Did you always want to work in the advertising industry? My first declared college major (at the School of Visual Arts) was advertising, but after learning more about it, I realized that I hated the industry and the people that worked in it. That's why...