Owner of North Belle Vernon studio Snapshot 47 turns hobby to business
(Editor's note: The Young Professionals of the Mon Valley, open to anyone from age 21 to 42, was created “to attract, retain and develop the next generation of Mon Valley professionals.” This series profiles some of those young professionals.)
Jennifer Codeluppi has always loved photography.
But her true inspiration came from her father.
“I wouldn't have gotten into photography as a business if not for my father,” Codeluppi said. “He has a passion and a desire for photography and he has instilled his business values and morals onto me.”
Even the name of her studio, Snapshot 47, was a tribute to her father, Wayne Ray. Ray is a 35-year member and a longtime photographer for the Fallowfield fire department.
His fellow firefighters nicknamed him “snapshot.” And 47 is Washington County's code number for the Fallowfield department.
He got his start with a photo he titled “Cows and Stripes,” a photo of a cow in a mowed field, which resembled stripes.
“Everyone loved it,” Codeluppi said. “So he started taking his camera more and more often.”
In 2006, Fallowfield Fire Chief Anthony Fleming and then-Fallowfield police Chief Bill Ritenour asked Ray to start taking photographs at accidents and fires.
“From there, he got asked to do firefighter's weddings and then asked to do family portraits and then asked to do (youth) soccer,” Codeluppi said.
“And the rest is history.”
Codeluppi, 37, opened her studio in 2010. She is the sole proprietor of Snapshot 47, located on Broad Avenue in North Belle Vernon.
The studio formerly housed the McLaughlin Portrait Studio, which closed in 2009.
A lifelong resident of Fallowfield, Codeluppi graduated from Charleroi Area High School in 1996, and then worked as an emergency medical technician and as a communications specialist at UPMC Mercy Hospital.
“Then I had my children,” Codeluppi said with a smile. Photos of her children, Madison, 15, and Ethan, 13, adorn one wall of her studio.
“This was a hobby that turned into a business,” Codeluppi said.
“I've always loved taking pictures. And it's nice to be able to give a quality product to people.”
Codeluppi shoots youth and high school sports, high school senior portraits, various other portraits and occasional weddings.
She also owns a mobile photo booth which she takes to special events. The booth takes a strip of three wallet-sized photos.
“What I like most about my work is capturing that moment for people,” Codeluppi said.
Her favorite work are the photos of her children, “capturing them” as they grow up.
A board member of the Greater Rostraver Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Mon Valley Regional Chamber of Commerce, Codeluppi learned about the Young Professionals of the Mon Valley from group President Ryan Gagliotti and regional chamber President Jamie Protin.
The Young Professionals is a committee of the Mon Valley Regional Chamber of Commerce.
Open enrollment is available for anyone from age 21 to 42 who is “career and community involved.”
The formal mission of the Young Professionals is “to attract, retain and develop the next generation of Mon Valley professionals” through a number of different events.
The group plans to attract new members through social networking events, retain them through community engagements and professional development events.
“I think this group is very important because so many business look beyond the Mon Valley.... this (group) opens the eyes of the people in the Mon Valley to bring back the workforce to the Mon Valley and build it up,” Codeluppi said.
Chris Buckley is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at cbuckley@tribweb.com or 724-684-2642.
