My dad, Mike McKnight, started Mike’s Photo in 1984. He was a police officer at the University of Utah and had taken photography and darkroom classes offered to the officers to help them in their jobs. He enjoyed photography and decided to try his luck at starting a photography business. He began by taking pictures for his friends for free. As his knowledge and expertise grew he slowly began to raise his prices and he began to get more and more word of mouth business. I helped my dad while I was growing up and studied Photography in school. When my dad became ill he asked me to take over and continue to run his business. I became the owner in 1998.
I try to run the business just like my Dad. I am very proud that I get the majority of my business from word of mouth. I feel that because everyone who hires me is referred by a friend or family member, I get a superior quality of clientele. Like my Dad I try to keep my prices VERY reasonable. I want to be competitive with your “Uncle Joe” who has a nice camera. Pictures are important and you shouldn’t have to “save up” in order to be able to afford enlargements of your pictures. Lastly I am not afraid to shoot. In fact if anything I could be accused of shooting too much and making the decisions more difficult because of all your choices. Whether at a wedding, family sitting or taking senior portraits I try to do a variety of poses and combinations of people.
When I took over Mike’s Photo for my Dad I didn’t realize how busy I was going to become or how much fun I was going to have. I enjoy being “a part of the family”. There is nothing better than doing a wedding for a Bride and Groom and then taking their family pictures after their first child or maybe senior pictures for one of their siblings. Getting to know your family better makes me as your photographer better.