How Posh Prints & Design Came About

I am Melissa Waller and I have always been interested in art. The question came in high school - What to go to college for? Well, I decided I was going to school for art, but something that I could actually make money with. Graphic design sounded cool, even though I had no clue what it really was. I was working for a photographer part time but not until after I graduated high school.

I was off to the University of Illinois College of Art & Design. All freshmen take the same foundation classes and then put together a portfolio to try out for their major of choice. The graphic design program only takes 45 students per year. There were 130 that applied that year, many of them sophmores that didn't get in their freshman year. As luck would have it, I got in. I had also decided to double major with Art Education at the same time. I still worked for the same photographer throughout the entire college experience. Still, had no real desire to get into photography. I knew I liked working with great photos, but the unkown world of photography scared me. I really didn't need one more thing to learn at that point.

I graduated early deciding not to double major. Teaching is great, but not something I wanted to do everyday, at least not for the pay at that point in my life. I moved to Minneapolis and worked for one of the top corporate communications firms. Learned lots then decided it wasn't home. I moved back to Central Illinois and worked for a real estate company as their marketing director, graphic designer, and web designer all at the same time. I continued to help the photographer I worked for before moving. I would help do weddings and sporting events.

I married my husband in 2003, had a son in 04 and another in 05. It was then that my love for photography grew exponentially! I took picutures of my son and they just weren't good enough. I had to buy a digital SLR to get better results. I took a black and white photography class in college so I knew the basics. I was getting better results and just kept taking more and more pictures. My kids had their own web site with way too many photographs. After having my second son, I changed jobs. I went back to the Athletic Department for the University of Illinois.

Now, my life is working full time as a graphic designer and being mom. Something was missing. I soon figured out it was the love of photography, especially combined with my love for graphic design. I decided to start marketing a web site that offered new moms to upload their own photo and choose a template for a custom birth announcement, poshprintsonline.com. This grew into birthday cards, wedding announcements, and much more. The more and more I worked with these, I realized that I want to be a better photographer. I started researching the world of professional photographers. I created a logo for myself and started working on my marketing materials. I saw that there are many photographers out there who needed some more templates to do their job more efficiently. So, Posh Prints & Design began.

I decided to take some of the design from Posh Prints Online and offer them in a package to the professional photographers. I have also added a collection of color combinations to make the design process even smoother. As a by-product, photographers have learned how to use photoshop better and more effectively.

-Melissa