Join us as we talk with PPC member, Michelle Pennings, about her photography career and how she has developed a very successful sports photography business.
Michelle Pennings is an award-winning photographer based in San Diego whose business has evolved in unexpected ways. While she is now best known as a volume sports and school photographer, her true passion has always been creative portraiture and visual storytelling. Michelle loves bringing ideas to life from start to finish, whether that means building elaborate sets, designing costumes and headpieces, hand-painting custom backdrops, photographing underwater, or creating digital artwork using Photoshop and AI. She believes the camera is only the beginning of the creative process. Over the past several years, Michelle’s business naturally shifted as local schools and athletes discovered her work. What began with a few sports banners quickly grew into photographing multiple schools throughout San Diego, eventually expanding into high-volume sports and school photography. Today, she enjoys the challenge of balancing both worlds—running a successful volume photography business while continuing to pursue the imaginative, artistic work that first inspired her to pick up a camera. Michelle is a Certified Professional Photographer (CPP) through Professional Photographers of America and has earned the Master Photographer and Photographic Craftsman degrees. She is currently working toward her Master Artist degree, continuing her lifelong passion for learning and creative growth.
