There was a time when Melissa McGarry was simply known around Somers High School as "the Girl with the Camera."
Whether it was on the sidelines of a football game or capturing life around school, classmates grew accustomed to seeing her with a camera slung over her shoulder, always searching for the next shot.
More than a decade after launching her photography business at age 15, that nickname has taken on an entirely new meaning.
Now an award-winning photographer based in St. Augustine, Fla., the SHS Class of 2018 graduate has been nominated for Flagler College's prestigious 2027 Young Alumni Achievement Award, an honor recognizing graduates age 32 and younger who have demonstrated exceptional professional achievement and service since leaving the college.
For McGarry, the nomination represents another milestone in a journey that began with disposable cameras, horses, and a leap of faith.
A Passion Begins
McGarry's love of photography started long before she ever charged a client.
"My whole life I've had a fascination with cameras," she said. "My grandparents always gave me one of those disposable cameras."
Her grandparents remain among her biggest supporters today.
At 15, she began taking her camera when she went horseback riding, taking pictures of the horses and riders simply because she enjoyed it. She created an Instagram account devoted to equestrian photography, eventually attracting 18,000 followers.
As her confidence grew, so did her ambitions.
"I began to think, 'Hey, maybe I'm not too bad at this,'" she recalled.
She reached out to roughly 20 local photographers asking if she could intern with them. Nearly all declined, unwilling to take on someone who wasn't yet 18.
Finally, one photographer gave her an opportunity.
"I learned so much," she said.
Front Page Moment
As a senior at Somers High School, McGarry expanded into sports photography after a friend on the football team invited her to photograph games.
Soon, she became known around campus as "The Girl with the Camera."
Encouraged by her grandparents, she submitted several of her sports photos to The Somers Record.
One image — two football cheerleaders soaring through the air in perfect synchronization — landed on the newspaper's front page.
"They didn't tell me they were going to run it," McGarry said. "Then I saw the photo on the front page and that was so cool."
She was even more surprised when chief photographer Tabitha Pearson-Marshall asked whether she'd be interested in freelancing for the newspaper.
That moment, she said, changed everything.
"I was so thrilled. I couldn't believe it. The front page? It gave me the confidence I needed," McGarry said. "Now I wasn't just the girl with the camera."
Working for her hometown newspaper gave her confidence that her photography could become something more than a hobby — reassurance she would lean on only months later when she moved nearly 1,000 miles away for college.
Building a Business
McGarry arrived at Flagler College in St. Augustine in the fall of 2018, initially intending to study photojournalism. Instead, she chose strategic communication, supplemented by with courses in graphic design and advertising.
The decision proved invaluable.
Everything she learned in the classroom, she said, was immediately applied to the business she was trying to grow.
"I was learning marketing while building my own business," she said.
The challenge was that, unlike in Somers, she knew no one.
Facebook became her marketing tool of choice as she introduced herself to local community groups and built a portfolio. Word-of-mouth referrals soon followed.
Although she'd previously explored wedding photography, she realized she enjoyed documenting families far more than the pressure that came with weddings.
"I thought, 'This is what I'm meant to do,'" she said.
Today, her photography has evolved beyond traditional posed portraits.
Rather than asking children to stand still and smile, McGarry encourages them to take the lead.
"I let the children rule my photo sessions," she said. "I want them to feel seen and comfortable."
The result is what she describes as storytelling photography — organic, authentic moments that become part of a family's history.
Giving Back
Photography also became a way to serve the community.
As part of a Flagler class project, McGarry explored whether professional photography could help shelter dogs find homes.
After replacing standard kennel photos with professional portraits, adoption rates increased by more than 70 percent, she said.
The experience inspired her to continue volunteering her photography services to local animal rescue organizations.
"I continued to work with local animal rescues as a volunteer to give back for what photography has given me," she said.
Recognition and Validation
If McGarry wins Flagler's Young Alumni Achievement Award, which will be handed out at the end of this year, it won't be the first plaque to make it up on her wall.
In 2020, readers of The St. Augustine Record voted her Best Photographer of St. Augustine. That same year she was honored as the newspaper's Rising Star Young Business Owner. She was again a finalist for Best Photographer in 2021 and is a finalist once more this year.
Since graduating college, McGarry has expanded her work into marketing and social media while continuing to grow her photography business.
The latest recognition came as a surprise.
After learning about her nomination for the Young Alumni Achievement Award, McGarry discovered that one of her former Flagler professors had submitted her name.
"I thought that was so awesome," she said. "I had no idea who had done it."
Looking back, McGarry sees a clear thread connecting the teenager photographing horses in Westchester County to the business owner she is today.
It also leads back to a front-page photograph in her hometown newspaper.
The girl with the camera, it turns out, never stopped taking pictures.
She just kept finding bigger stories to tell.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here