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Good Neighbor Podcast North Atlanta
Bringing Together Local Businesses & Neighbors of North Atlanta
Good Neighbor Podcast North Atlanta
EP #115: M2M Meets North Buckhead & Dunwoody Neighbors with Michael Miller
Join us for a captivating conversation with Michael Miller, the creative force behind M2M Pics Photography. Discover how Michael’s innovative approach redefines family photography, capturing the unique essence of each family rather than adhering to a one-size-fits-all aesthetic. As the official contributing photographer for Dunwoody Neighbors and North Buckhead Neighbors Magazines, Michael gives us an insider's look at what it takes to produce stunning family features. From delightful photo sessions with local celebrities Jeff and Callie Dollar to charming shoots featuring families with parrots and backyard chickens, Michael's stories offer a vibrant tapestry of community life through his lens.
In addition to sharing memorable experiences, Michael discusses his photography journey and the wide range of services offered by M2M Pics Photography, from magazine covers to pet portraits. With 28 glowing five-star reviews on Google, it's clear that Michael's focus on building genuine relationships through his work is paying off, often leading to unexpected opportunities like surprise engagements.
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, north Atlanta, where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, stacey Risley. Hello friends and neighbors, welcome to North Atlanta's Good Neighbor Podcast. Today we are back in the studio with Michael Miller. He is the owner of M2M Hicks Photography here in Atlanta and we kind of have some surprising news to share. Welcome back to the show, michael.
Speaker 2:Thanks, stacey, I'm glad to be back.
Speaker 1:Well, and the big news is that we have now acquired for lack of a better word, didn't steal, but kind of stole. I really have always been super impressed with Michael's photography since I've had him on the show the last time. He works with a couple of other local magazines, but since he's been on the show last time, he has now become the official contributing photographer for both Dunwoody Neighbors Magazine and North Buckhead Neighbors Magazine, which we are just so happy to have you on the publication team, mike.
Speaker 2:I'm glad to be back too. It's interesting. We've talked over the last couple of years and I was glad to receive your phone call and the invitation to become the photographer for the two magazines.
Speaker 1:Well, we are thrilled to have you. It's just been a great fit so far and you have. You also have experience with with our publications, because you let's give a shout out to Morningside Neighbors, which is Ken's publication in Atlanta Morningside area and Carmen's publication in East Cobb East Cobb or EC Living for East Cobb Living. So in addition to Dunwoody and North Beckett Neighbors, michael's also the photographer for those two publications. So you've got a busy schedule Lots on your plate.
Speaker 2:It keeps me busy. There's no lack for things to be doing.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, and we're going to do this and I think our audience has a pretty good idea of how we do most of these. We're going to do this one a little bit different. I chatted with Michael about this ahead of time and kind of wanted to give our listeners a kind of behind the scenes peek at what the photography, what the whole like family feature involves as far as the photography piece and from your perspective. So, michael, I know we started off. We had your first month with us. We got to feature the same family in both North Buckhead and Dunwoody Neighbors because they're a local celebrity. You know it's Jeff Dollar who was on the Burt show for decades well, nearly decades, and then the Jeff and Jen show just a great morning show personality here in Atlanta forever. And so they were on both Dunwoody and North Buckhead Neighbors and that was your first photo shoot for our publications. And Jeff and Callie are great, aren't they?
Speaker 2:That's a fun family to work with.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, so let's start with them. So this is just one magazine, or well, it's one family, two magazines. So tell us a little bit about how that shoot looked for them.
Speaker 2:Well, the way I really start working with any family even the dollars is just reaching out to them and finding a time that's going to work for the family. What I've found is usually trying to schedule anything during the week is not going to work because everyone's schedules it's so crazy. You can't get anyone buttoned down to say, oh, this is going to work for all of us, to say, oh, this is going to work for all of us. So Saturday and Sundays are usually my time for the magazines and reaching out to them and finding a time. Or do they want to have their home featured in the shoot, or do they have a different location in the community that they like to visit? And we've got that all figured out.
Speaker 2:And then when we have kids involved and you know the dollars have two little ones I've been through that one. I've had my two stepkids from the time when they were about five and six on up and I knew it was like all right, you need to keep this quick so you know they don't get cranky and causing problems at all. So we try to keep the photo shoot under 30 minutes, yeah, and we can get the pictures and we can get one that they are going to want to share on the, on the magazine, and the kids are still, you know, having fun and smiling, and you know pictures that you know you want to show on your magazine.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely, and you've just done a really good job of that. You would think that all you do is photograph kids, because so far, every cover you've done with us has involved kids varying ages. But it's just an outstanding, an outstanding job, and and I know that in some of the issues you know some of your families. You have their pets even with them, so that's always fun.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean the ones I've had with pets mainly have been dogs, and usually I mean I'm really good around dogs so I can usually try to get their attention. But I did have a magazine where we had two parrots.
Speaker 1:Oh, my goodness, I'm jealous. That wasn't in mine Talk about unique. That would be so fun.
Speaker 2:That was different because each of the husband and wife each had a parrot on their shoulder for one of the pictures.
Speaker 1:That's pretty cool. Okay, all right, dunwoodians and Buckheadians, if you've got two parrots, I don't like to be, you know, outshined that would be really exciting.
Speaker 2:Oh, I forgot, there's also one family had. They had chickens. They raised in their backyard and they had chickens.
Speaker 1:So that is something I'm very interested in and we have a family here in Dunwoody who has backyard chickens and they might just be getting a phone call to be featured as well. That's a neat story. She was even involved in like getting the backyard chicken act or whatever it is for dunwoody allowed where you are allowed to have backyard exactly.
Speaker 1:It kind of reminded me of the show that I grew up watching green acres yeah, yeah, different scale, but for sure now you're telling our age, though, when you, when you tell us, tell people we listen to Green Acres and we'll tell so in with having four different magazines to juggle, and I know that all of all of these four magazines all have the same deadline day, because that's just how our publications work with our ones in the same area, or, you know, all have the same deadline day of the 20th, so it gets a little bit hairy, I'm sure, trying to get those photos in, and I know that when you, when you are doing shoots for the magazines, you're really like specifically looking for that cover photo and then you know that photo on the inside to accompany the article, so you're not taking a whole bunch of you know how do you condense that and keep it within 30 minutes.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, usually I try to tell the family in either an email or sometimes I actually schedule a consultation on the phone with the family and I just refer back to the magazine thing. We're going to shoot pictures that are going to be for on the cover. Think about a location around your home or outside that you would like to have featured to show that as your background. So I mean, I've started kind of having them think about where they would want to have showcase the front, you know, for the front of the magazine, what do they want to showcase? You know they're part of their backyard that they really like it could be their front door, which a lot of magazines go with the front door. We just kind of go with that.
Speaker 2:Then I just tell them another one for the article where do you all hang out when you're all together? Where's the place that the family gets together to play games or watch TV? Or I said let's just do like they have. You all sit like you normally sit, and just I'm not trying to create things that are not comfortable for them, I'm just trying to make it right. Yeah, we do sit here on the couch and we play, you know, this game, or we're watching, we're eating in the dining room and this is where we normally hang out. I said, all right, let's just go and go with that. I mean, I had one family. They for their picture for the article. It was them with the kids baking cookies.
Speaker 1:Oh, and I love that, like I feel like the more natural you know, the background is, the setting is the more just authentic the photo comes across, especially for the purposes of our magazines.
Speaker 1:You know our magazines are all about getting to know your neighbors and getting to know them. You know, as they are, you know, so I was people get so nervous about what to wear, what to. You know how, how fancy they do they need to be and is it OK if they match. You know I've had families that have gone barefoot in the summer months.
Speaker 1:You know in the photo, or on the soccer fields, because they are. They dad coaches and plays and both kids play and they spend a lot of time there. The spots can be kind of convenient or not convenient, but creative is the word I was looking for as to where you go, you know what's going to best capture. You know your, your family story.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I've had the same thing about what should I wear and I say, well, what showcases what you are or what's your family brand? I will tell that because a lot of people are professionals, they understand branding and I was like, what represents you, I mean? Is it being dressed up in a suit and tie or a dress or what have you, or is it more like you know you're at the beach, you know flip-flop shorts and a T-shirt and a ball cap.
Speaker 1:Right right.
Speaker 2:There's no perfect one. I just want to capture something that really represents your family and your family vibe.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely. I love that. That vibe is really the word I was trying to capture too. I mean, because that really is. Every family is so different and just on how they interact, know, interact, what their day-to-day looks like, you know, and but it would be really easy for all of the family cover shoots to look exactly the same. You know, like we're saying where you know, wear your finest clothes and look. You know we would like you to be, you know, we just we want it to capture. You know the essence of that family, of the individual families, exactly.
Speaker 2:They would get real boring if every single one of them looked exactly like I know some, some magazines have a standard and I just try I've been able to kind of convince them to go ahead. Let's kind of break this mold a little bit.
Speaker 2:Let's do this and then the family members have been have gone, or gone with it too. Because I had one gentleman recently, instead of being in front of his house, we were in an area where he had some of his own artwork. In the background he sat on a stool and he was very comfortable posing, so he gave me a perfect pose. I said all right, you need to hold that for like five minutes because I've got a number of shots. And that was he. Let me pick the cover and I showed her. I said this one, I really think, shows your personality. He agreed, and so we we use that one and I love that picture, probably one of the best ones I've I've seen for a while.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I liked it. We actually, when we had coffee, you shared that that cover with me and I agree it was a very unique. I love. I love when they're a little different than the norm. So look forward to the mini covers that are coming our way, courtesy of Michael and M2M Pics Photography and in fact and I can kind of do a little sneak reveal we will be introducing Michael and his wife in our December issue of North Buckhead Neighbors, so we're excited about introducing a big, important part of our publication team to the residents he serves. So we're excited to read more about you and hear more about your wife as well.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we're. I've got her all ready and scheduled for our photo shoot this weekend, so she's she's now trying to figure out what will I wear.
Speaker 1:See, we all do this my girls and I were featured, you know, as a Meet the Publisher issue a while back, and it was. That's such a daunting question. What do you wear that everyone's going to? And we were just in jeans and sweaters.
Speaker 2:It was real casual.
Speaker 1:You know, it does become a kind of a big issue for us and we don't mean for it to be. It should be nice and laid back and easy, like you said, just be aware of what represents you, and I have no doubt that y'all's is going to be fantastic.
Speaker 2:Yeah, she's ready for it, and so is my furry boy, ruben, so he's getting ready for it too.
Speaker 1:And a shout out to your wife Her name is Veronica, is that correct?
Speaker 2:Yes, is that right?
Speaker 1:Veronica, welcome to the North Buckhead Dunwoody Neighbors family. You're kind of married into it, I guess, are we married into it. I don't know. You're going to love us, I promise. Yeah, she understands the gig. That's right, you're going to love me Calling panicking. No, it's fun. Very, very well, I'm very excited to have you on board and let's kind of circle back and tell our listeners you know that aren't magazine fans or they don't know about these publications or receive them let's tell them just a little bit more about your business. M2m Pics, photography.
Speaker 2:Yeah, m2m Pics Photography. I've been providing photography services for probably about the last 10 years. I've been involved in photography up before then many years just doing it for a hobby, and then started doing a little bit of work here and there for friends doing headshots and family portraits. But when I moved down here to Georgia a few years ago I would go ahead, went ahead and started doing professionally and I focused primarily on doing headshots, family portraits, branding, commercial and we also do pets, nice. So we've been doing it for a while and we're doing very well. I think now we're at 28 five-star reviews on Google.
Speaker 1:Nice.
Speaker 2:So we're happy with that and our last family we worked with we did their engagement. Surprising proposal in Marietta Square.
Speaker 1:Oh, how exciting, and that's what is neat about this gig you really do. You meet these families through the photography, through the magazine shoot, but then they form a relationship with you and then are able to use you for some of their other needs and photography needs as well. So it's a great way to build relationships and how fun to do a surprise engagement. I would feel so much pressure that I wouldn't capture just the perfect image, that I would be like messing with my Zoom and then the proposal would be over and I missed it and it's gone. I'd have to have like seven backup photographers.
Speaker 2:I was going to get anything like that I pretty much positioned myself where I knew they were going to walk in. They walked, walked into the gazebo there at marietta square the uh groom, his uh sister, and then the bride-to-be, her best friend. They were decorating that. So I was there like an hour and a half ahead of time. So I pretty much staked out all right, I'm standing here, you know, in front of me. So we got a number of shots so that, and they love all the pictures so far. So we're right now talking about setting up a time for an official engagement session and they may even we may even bring people in to help us doing some drone and video for it too.
Speaker 1:Oh, how fun. Oh, my goodness. So it's not just magazine covers, y'all, it's everything you can imagine, from surprise to corporate headshots or you know shots. You do it all. Well, we, on behalf of Kiana I so she's here, but in the background, quietly but so appreciative that you joined our team. We're super happy to have you on board and we look forward to having you come on the podcast periodically too and we'll, you know, just talk about the fun shoots that we have or anything that, if you decide you want to come on to talk about it, just just you'd let me know.
Speaker 2:No, I appreciate you being able to join the team and also be back on your podcast again.
Speaker 1:Yeah Well, and we'll have you back on real soon. We'll shoot for quarterly, like we do with our experts, because you're contributing to the magazine and that's how often they come on. So we'll have some quarterly episodes with you on the show and I look forward to working with you for a long time to come.
Speaker 2:Likewise Thank you.
Speaker 1:Thanks so much, Michael. Talk soon All right. That's all for today's episode, atlanta. I'm Stacey Risley with a Good Neighbor podcast. Thanks for listening and for supporting the local businesses and nonprofits of our great community. Thanks for listening to the Good Neighbor podcast North Atlanta. To nominate your favorite local businesses visit gnpnorthatlantacom.
Speaker 2:That's gnpnorthatlantacom.
