Super Source Media Studios, located in the Wilton Mall in Saratoga Springs, keeps flexible hours that aren't always the same from one day to the next. It's not arbitrary, though. The studio owner needs to make it to class on time.
As the 21-year-old owner and operator of Super Source Media Studios, Lindsey Fish '23 has to pay the bills. First, there's rent, which doesn't include insurance or utilities. On top of that, Lindsey is responsible for managing payroll. At the moment, she only has one employee, but she would hate to mess up her mom's paycheck.
"It was kind of funny at first. My mom would ask, 'What do you need me to do, boss?' We've gotten into a groove. Now she just knows what I need her to do. She calls herself my equipment girl!"
Lindsey's mom, Jill, abruptly quit her job as a teacher's aid when her daughter abruptly became a business owner the summer before her senior year in college. For several years, Lindsey interned and then worked for Mark Bolles, owner of Super Source Media. Lindsey had been passionate about photography since she scored her first camera as a kid. The unofficial family photographer worked on her craft in high school, and then became an indispensable protege under Bolles. When he needed to relocate to Florida to care for an ailing parent, he had to quickly decide what to do with his business. Without a second thought, he turned the lease and his clients over to his apprentice.
"Honestly, I had to wing it," Lindsey said. "I had no knowledge of what to do. I went through Legal Zoom for the LLC. I did have family and friends who were able to help out."
Lindsey went through a crash course in drone operation and large printer maintenance, and a whirlwind later, she was a business owner. The business major with concentrations in digital marketing and human resources hoped to make a living, someday, with her camera, she never dreamed it would happen while she was still in college. Each day, she works at the studio in the morning, then drives to campus for class in the afternoon. The schedule is hectic, but the classes aren't a nuisance. Especially when they help her bottom line.
"Last summer, you could search for 'photographers near me' in Saratoga, and my studio wouldn't pop up in Google. But in Dr. (Mike) Pepe's digital marketing class, he helped me get my website a presence on Google. I'm working with a musical festival this spring, and they just happened to find us online and like my portfolio."
Lindsey shoots weddings and graduation pictures. She also takes professional headshots and her studio prints artwork reproductions, often for clients exhibiting at the Saratoga Race Course. Her mom manages much of the scheduling and handles drop-offs and pick-ups for clients. Lindsey, somehow, keeps all the balls in the air, until she can focus fully on the studio after graduation. Despite the chaos of the moment, she's not only making rent, she's winning awards.
Super Source Media Studios was recently voted 'Best Photographer' by readers of the Saratogian.
"I didn't even know I had been nominated. It was a friend of mine who told me, and she got a bunch of our friends to vote. When I got a large letter in the mail, I had no idea what it was. I opened it up, and it said I was voted best photographer in the Saratoga region. It was a nice reward after everything."
Lindsey Fish '23
"When I had to leave my studio unexpectedly last August to help my mother who became terminally ill, I was deeply touched by Lindsey's willingness to help in a time of need, even though the demands of a full-time business would put pressure on her academics. Not only is Lindsey nailing it at Siena, she managed to elevate the studio to award-winning status. I'm not surprised. She is kind, passionate about photography, imaginative, determined and very professional."
Mark Bolles