As a young girl, Bridgette always had a camera in her hand. After high school, she went on to study photography at the Hallmark Institute of Photography in Western Massachusetts. It was and intense 10 month program that taught both photographic and business skills. Upon graduating from Hallmark in 2003, Bridgette moved back home to Indiana to start making her dream a reality. In June of 2004, at the age of 20, Bridgette opened the doors to Harmon Photography Inc on the west side of Peru, Indiana. After operating there for almost a year, Bridgette purchased a building on the east end of town. It took her and her family four months to renovate today's location of 288 East Main Street.
Weddings were the starting point in Bridgette's phtographic career. She captured her first wedding while still in high school. Since then, she has photgraphed numerous weddings. At one point, she had captured 22 weddings in one year.
Bridgette loves being able to create family heirlooms for you to cherish for years to come. She has fun working with children. You never know what you're going to get from them. It is an adventure within itself, from crying to silly faces and everything in between. Patience is the key while becoming their friend. Bridgette also enjoys working with pets. Having three dogs of her own, she gets her practice. Maternity and newborns are a growing trend and Bridgette likes the opportunity of being creative and photographing this special times in ones life.
Bridgette grew her business even more by aggressively attacking the school portrait and sports business. She now maintains 3 high schools, 2 middle schools, a private school and has numerous sporting contracts, all with only full time and three part time employees. Bridgette will be sharing how she grew her business and went about getting those contracts and maintaining a studio store front as well.
Overall, you may be able to see that photography is not just a job for Bridgette; it's her passion and her life. It has been a dream come true for Bridgette to have a photography studio and capture moments in time for everyone that she has come to know. You might walk in the door as a client but you will leave as her friend.
January meeting is at the Milano Inn
