Rangefinder Magazine
April 2005

Profile: Melissa Scheetz by Lou Jacobs Jr.
Beauty With an Edge

What happens to a college psychology student who decides that photography would suit her better? It took her a while to find the path, but switching was worth the effort. Melissa Scheetz was born in Mishawaka, IN, but lived most of her life in Indianapolis, where she went to a college prep high school, eager to study medicine. Neither art nor photography courses were on her mind. What happened next we discover in this Q&A:

Rangefinder: How did photography arrive in your life?

Melissa Scheetz: I was attending Miami College of Ohio and majoring in psychology when I realized I didn’t want to be a doctor. I had a minor in fashion merchandising because fashion was one of my loves. In my sophomore year I lived with an art student and became interested in drawing, painting and sculpture, but I wasn’t very good at realism. In my senior year I took a six-week darkroom class. I had a lot of photographic ideas, but was afraid of not succeeding; nevertheless, I immediately fell in love with the craft. I considered becoming a fashion photographer, but my parents persuaded me to finish my degree in psychology.

RF: Where did your life move after that?

MS: After graduation I found out I could get a visa to live and work in London for six months, so I moved back home for a while to save money for the move. A few months later I left with three friends, and in London I took a short photography class and worked as a waitress. I also called up photographers to find anyone who needed an assistant. My technical abilities were average at best, so I enrolled in another darkroom class, part time.

I met a young model, and we experimented with lighting and posing. She was very patient and a great influence on my future career. I also shot a young designer’s line using my model plus a make-up artist I discovered at school. I only assisted a couple of times; it was difficult to get work with no experience. I shot only one roll of film a week because of my budget. I’d plan each picture to maximize my efforts, always in black and white.

RF: You told me earlier that you worked in a camera store. Where was that?

MS: Back from London to Indianapolis, I wanted to save money and move to New York. It felt like the best place to go to pursue the work I wanted to do. I got a job in a camera shop, and after almost a year, learned a lot from fellow photographers and employees. I began shooting model portfolios for a local modeling agency in my spare time, and this gave me experience in directing people, but the work was uninspiring. I wanted to do edgier shoots. During this time I went regularly to Borders bookstore and read all the photography books I had time for. It was really the ‘Borders School’ for me.

RF: What were your first experiences when you moved to New York?

MS: It was 1998, and it was tough. I was poor and unfamiliar with the city. The first photographer who interviewed me for assisting ripped my book to shreds. I left crying. But looking back, my images were all black and white and very outdated in terms of fashion. In my bedroom darkroom in Queens I spent a lot of time printing and modifying my book. Eventually I began assisting Douglas Dubler, Lucille Khornak and David Waltz, plus other portrait and still life photographers.

After about six months, I was unfocused on the job and could only think about my own work. I hooked up with a small modeling agency in Philadelphia and began doing portfolios on weekends. Though the money was good, I hated overbooked shoots and mothers standing over my shoulder. I was only 24 then and had a lot to learn. But I hung into that work routine for about four years, and tested with New York models to keep my book updated. Getting started in New York has never been easy, and if I’ve made a place for myself, it has been by never giving up.

This is when I began the craft of retouching, which is part of my creative process. I often compare my images to those in magazines and have taught myself to achieve the professional look. I retouch all my own pictures, and I’ve worked for some of the best labs in the city to refine my techniques, to maintain texture in an image and color-correct properly.

RF: What were some of your more important jobs at first? Did you find that being a woman was any handicap?

MS: Headshots for actors and magazine editorial work came my way, and I also worked as an event photographer for Forbes magazine. I connected with Nonstock Agency, which has been very successful selling my pictures to L’Oreal, JP Morgan, Chase & Co. and other international clients. I did find it hard as a woman to assist, because some photographers assumed I wasn’t strong enough to carry equipment. But as a photographer, I think being a woman is an advantage. Female models are more comfortable around me.

I’ve never been patient about how long it has taken to make a name for myself. My first triumph was a small image in Maxim magazine. I felt so proud until a photographer friend suggested leaving it out of my book until I had more tear sheets. Nothing seemed to be coming quickly enough, but David Waltz, a portrait and fashion photographer, has given me a lot of advice.

RF: Have your specialties—beauty and fashion—linked together naturally?

MS: I sort of fell into beauty, though I had a hard time finding a stylist I really like. But I love beauty, and focusing close to it. I didn’t like to shoot modeling portfolios, but the experience helped me so much with directing models. I always took notes when I shot, so I could modify my lighting and technique. And my photographic life has been pretty smooth lately.

RF: How did you begin promoting yourself early in your career besides showing your portfolio?

MS: I began with mailers, but they weren’t very successful. I switched to sending email promos along with showing my book or making follow-up calls. This has been more successful. The more you get your name out there, the better. Of course I direct everyone to my web site, www.melissa sheetz.com/, and just after I send emails, I get a number of visitors.

RF: I loved some of the fine art images on your web site. What sort of response have you had to them?

MS: I added the fine art section on my site from a combination of images shot for my stock agency, and from personal projects. The pictures have received positive responses, though I remain focused on beauty and fashion. My work for fashion designers has generated calls from people who see my pictures in a magazine.

RF: Some of your work has a stark quality that I feel may set it off from other fashion magazine images. Have you considered getting a rep?

MS: Lately I’ve had more consistent success with magazines, but it’s been a catch-22 to find a rep. They like my work but want me to have more clients, but it’s sometimes hard to land new clients without a rep. I’ll keep working on this.

RF: What other projects can you tell us about?

MS: I’ve shot on location and retouched for Philadelphia Style magazine, and that can keep me pretty busy.

RF: Finally, how do you see your style in photography, and that includes lighting and posing? What influences have you felt helped you in your career?

MS: I guess there has always been a streak of philosophy in my style. I do want people to feel things when they see my pictures, such as beauty, sadness or humor. I’ve tailored my style toward the market. I really like shooting dark and sad images, but they don’t always sell, so I keep them for myself. I look for beauty in people to create a fantasy and escape the world and its problems. Photography is my escape, too.

I still have a lot to accomplish. I continue to experiment with lighting and posing, and in developing new story lines for my editorial projects. I want people to see something distinctive in my photographs, and that’s not easy considering all the talent in the city.

Lou Jacobs Jr. is the author of 28 how-to photography books, the latest of which is Studio Lighting (Amherst Media). He has taught at UCLA and Brooks, and his photographs and stories have been published in numerous magazines. He is a longtime member of ASMP and enjoys shooting stock during his travels in the U.S. and abroad, which is leased through several agencies.