Ten Years as Your Upstate NY Photographer

Wow. I can’t believe I’m writing this. Ten Years. Meg Mosher Photography has been your Upstate NY Photographer for TEN YEARS!

Roughly 10 years and 1 week ago I published my first website which I had been tweaking for the previous 8 months. I took out a google ad and a FB ad (which were both shown across the country as I had no idea what I was doing) and roughly 10 years and 3 days ago a young mom contacted me to take photos of her, her husband, and their 1.5 year old son in downtown Albany. We scheduled a date and time for roughly 3 days later (she didn’t even pay a deposit!) and we met up in front of the NY State Capital on Monday, May 4, 2015 for my first ever paid photography session with a stranger! After the session she thanked me, gave me a check for $200, and I drove home. Ecstatic.

Thankfully the session went well, boosting my confidence, and giving me the courage to continue to put myself out there. In the coming months I had a handful of sessions – all thanks to my countrywide ads – and five lemonade stand mini sessions that I sold for $75 a slot on a FB Mom’s group. I was brand new to the Albany area. We had moved from Northern Virginia the previous July; which both worked in my favor (I had no qualms about putting myself out there and potentially failing) and hurt me (I literally did not know ANYONE, our street was full of retired baby boomers, and I was a stay at home mom with two toddlers under the age of 3 – we barely left the house).

I was not an overnight success. There were significantly less resources 10 years ago than there are today, and I was pretty busy with my two babies, a part time job I started around the same time as my business, and then of course baby #3 joined us in September 2016. The first 3 years I was in business I grossed less than $10,000. But I loved it. I loved everything about photography and editing and the rollercoaster ride of owning my own business. So I kept going. There are many times I thought about quitting, I still think about quitting from time to time. Owning a business is fantastic and has a number of perks, but it’s also stressful and uncertain.

But 10 years later…

I’m still here, taking photos, connecting with families, awkwardly putting myself all over the internet, and doing my best to manifest my dreams. There are a handful of families (including my very first family!) who have continued to hire me yearly for the past decade. And I am forever grateful for them. Don’t tell them this, but I’d probably photograph them for free before I’d let them hire someone else 😉 They mean that much to me.

Success is an interesting thing. It means something different to every single person. What I imagined “making it” would look like 10 years ago, is not the same benchmark I’d use today. Do I love my job way more than I hate aspects of it? Absolutely! Do I continue to learn, grow, and improve? Yes, ma’m. Have I finally made it to a point where I can contribute to my family financially? Yup. But most importantly, do the same clients come back year after year, gushing about how in love they are with their photos? All my favorite ones sure do! So on that note, here’s a quick look back on some of my earliest sessions and a few milestones!

 

And Now for a Stroll Down Memory Lane

 

My first ever paid photo session on May 4, 2015. We took photos in front of the NY State Capital and at a nearby park. The mom, hired me days earlier, did not pay a deposit, only paid $200 and only received 27 photos (including the converted black and white images).

The lovely family from my first ever session continues to hire me for family photos and I most recently photographed them in October 2024 on the University of Albany campus.

In June 2015 I held lemonade stand mini sessions. In the middle of the day, ha. My husband came with me because I was so nervous and he sat in the car the entire time. We set up the lemonade stand under a tree but as you can see, photographing mid-day is a big no-no. One of the mothers complained that she didn’t like my sky overlays 🙁 That stuff sticks with you, haha. I never used sky overlays again! The brother and sister in the white and green are still some of my favorite clients today!

In May 2017 I photographed my first wedding in Little Falls, NY. I was so nervous. I had a friend from college come with me as my second shooter. She would go on to photograph more weddings with me over the years including my last wedding in September 2021. My husband was also a second shooter for a few weddings! Today I no longer photograph big weddings but I do photograph elopements. In October of this year I’ll be doing an elopement on top of a mountain and I am so excited for it!

These photos, from fall 2015, are slightly painful to share. But they are still a part of my story. I clearly should not be doing studio newborn sessions and I no longer try to! I think I spent like 4 hours with this family and their baby because he would not go to sleep and we could not photograph him like this until he went to sleep!

My most recent newborn session from April 2025. When I started out I hated photographing newborns because I thought I *had* to pose the baby. I haven’t been posing baby for about 7 years and newborn sessions are now some of my favorite sessions!

So what’s next for Meg Mosher Photography? I guess you’ll have to stick around to find out! I can tell you I hope to be writing another one of these posts on May 4, 2035!

 

Meg Mosher is a Photographer specializing in lifestyle and documentary newborn and family photography.  She lives in Guilderland with her husband, four young children and golden retriever who have all been subjects of her lens for far too long.  Meg is now booking 2025 newborn and family sessions.  Serving Albany, Saratoga Springs, Schenectady, Troy and the entire Capital Region.  Contact Meg here or email her at meg@megmosher.com to book your session today.