By Libby Kamrowski
Molley Gillispie, the one-woman show behind Molley Gillispie Photography, has gotten a head start on life.
At just nineteen-years-old, she is already a junior at Western Washington University after participating in the Running Start program at SPSCC to earn an Associate’s Degree.
At Timberline High School in Lacey, Wash., Gillispie was the graphics editor of the nationally award-winning newsmagazine The Blazer, and personally won high-ranking awards at national competitions with her photos.
And through it all, quite impressively, she has been the sole owner and operator of her own photography business.
A self-described amateur photographer with five years of experience, Gillispie seems to have chosen a humble path to keep room for artistic originality. But a quick browse through her Flickr gallery will leave any viewer inspired to venture among the Evergreens with a Nikon. For just $100 a session, you’ll feel as if you are low-balling her talent, but it is the cheapest, local flat-rate photography service.
“She charges a lot less for more unique photos that capture your personality,” says two-time Gillispie client Chloe O’Brien. “You are more than just a client to her and it is clear she loves what she is doing, and cares about the end result.”
Past clientele have been acquired through mutual friends and connections, but her services are available to anyone.
Gillispie ensures endless photo shoot possibilities: Senior photos, weddings, engagements, maternity, and family portraits have all been the subjects of her photo shoots. Locations are chosen by the client, providing shoots that are truly unique to each customer. No imitation backdrops are ever used, as the settings for all photo sessions are authentic life outdoors.
“I do mostly portrait photography. The difference between mine and someone else’s is that my subjects aren’t always looking at the camera,” says Gillispie “They can go outdoors and explore for themselves, and they don’t worry about me taking the pictures.” Sessions, which have no time restraints, typically take one to two hours.
“Senior photos are stressful for some people; I don’t know why, because they don’t have to be,” Gillispie says. “It’s nice to commemorate the end of high school, but they don’t need to break your bank.”
In terms of the summer rush for senior portraits, Gillispie can feature up to 20 clients in a season. The stress of cost-comparison and scheduling can be solved before school starts.
Gillispie will schedule new clients until the end of August when she returns to college, but wants her future customers to rest assured: Post-photo shoot, it takes one to two weeks for editing, and the 30 or so final images are saved onto a disc for the customer to print via their own means.
She describes her style as “50/50.” Fifty percent of the pictures she takes in a session feature the subject posing how they want to, classically looking into the camera in positions in which they feel comfortable. The other 50 percent of the time is filled with candid shots, as the subject explores their environment naturally. This organic style usually produces the best results, in Gillispie’s opinion.
“Artsy and unique,” O’Brien describes the style of photography. “I would recommend Molley. She takes really artistic photos and makes you feel comfortable. She knows what she’s doing.”
Gillispie’s forte is versatility. You can find her photos in full color or black and white, full body or head-on, and also in macro detail. The settings are just as varied as the style – ranging from the urban alleys of downtown Seattle and Olympia, to the pastoral fields of the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge; she has even shot the exotic but beautiful Badlands desert of New Mexico.
In 2014, in a sea of self-proclaimed professional photographers, Molley Gillispie Photography sports talent that exceeds the world of Instagram. Don’t expect cheesy filters or poor editing, because Adobe Photoshop CS6 is her touch-up program of choice.
I’ve heard many people rave about her skills, saying Gillispie has talent that can’t be taught. But she does something to teach aspiring photogs: “Keep shooting. Shoot anything and everything. Don’t be afraid to ask people who know more than you to help you, or even to go out and shoot with you,” she says.
Looking forward to the future of Molley Gillispie Photography, there don’t appear to be any outstanding concerns to hire assistants or rent an office, or anything of that sort.
In five year’s time, “I’ll have a degree in graphic design,” said Gillispie, “but I want to do [photography] on the side, basically forever.”
You can reach Molley Gillispie via her Facebook page and see more of her work on Flickr.
