Business spotlight - Molly Breton Photography - By Michelle Libby

To professional, award-winning photographer Molly Breton, preparation is the key to her success. Before heading to shoot a wedding, she has a second camera, a second memory card that is constantly being backed up, and she even brings a second photographer to get different angles on certain events. She also has a special kit for helping brides with ripped hems, eyelash malfunctions and an assortment of other issues including how to hold the knife to cut the cake. 
 

Breton sees the art in moments that make up her client’s lives. From destination and local weddings to tasteful boudoir photographs and portraits, she gets to know her clients so she can bring out the beauty and character in each person. 

 

“I love being involved in weddings. I love the story of how people met and then being there when they become Mr. and Mrs. I can be a guide to help them through their day.”

In 2002, Breton graduated from radiology school and started taking pictures of the inside of people. She opened her photography business in 2011 and jokes that “she takes pictures inside and outside the body.” Now she works full time on photography and only works two days a month at Bridgton Hospital.

“I love what I do,” Breton said. 

She takes appointments up and down the east coast in New York City, Virginia and even has travelled to the islands for a destination wedding. She does not have a studio preferring being on location and calls herself a “natural light photographer.” She will do 30 weddings this year, she said and is booking into 2016. Breton prepares for her shoots determining if her client is shy or outgoing and she can bring that personality out through the photographs. This is especially true of her boudoir photo sessions, when her clients have to trust her. 

The boudoir sessions happen at Breton’s home in a room she has set up especially for that purpose. It’s her only “studio space.” Hair and makeup are included in the price. The pictures are “fun, classic, classy with a little bit of sexy,” she said. The tagline for the boudoir pictures is “Because you deserve to feel beautiful.” She has posed women of all shapes and sizes and knows how to make sure she shoots the most flattering look, she said.  

“I work with people’s budgets,” Breton said. “Especially weddings. I was a bride once. My job is to give them the best wedding experience ever, no matter how long they have me.” She has hourly rates and package collections, something to fit ever budget. 

For portraits she does maternity, family, newborns, senior pictures, she’s worked with them all. At the present time she is looking for senior spokes models, one for each high school in Cumberland County.

For the cost of the pictures, clients get Breton, a trained second shooter (at weddings), all pictures professionally edited and downloaded to a computer. The client has all the rights to print them and post them. The only thing they can’t do is sell the pictures or re-edit them. 

This year Breton is adding videography for weddings. Her brother Joshua Gilliam will be working with her to develop videos that cover the whole day to send to relatives and friends who couldn’t be there.  

 “When you’re a business owner, you don’t stop,” she said. She has her phone with her all the time and responds to emails and messages within an hour or two. She stands by her promise that she will have all of the pictures delivered within a week of the session. She also sends out sneak peeks of the pictures as she edits them.  

“I do this because I want to capture these moments in time. I take your special moments and make them a lasting memory for you to cherish forever,” she said. “I also think outside the box. I will do what I need to do to get the shot. This is my calling.  This is what I do. I just want everyone to have the best experience when they call me.” 

She and her ice rink developer husband Benn have two children, Adyn and Noah, and live in Naples. For more on work, visit www.professionalmainweddingphotographer.com or  check her out on Facebook. She can also be reached by phone at 207-619-2121 or by email at mollybretonphotography@gmail.com.