Today we’d like to introduce you to Alicia Wilson.
Hi Alicia, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I honestly never planned to be a professional photographer or business owner. My degree is in education, and I was an elementary school teacher for 11 years. When my daughter was born, I decided to stay at home with her, and like most moms, I really valued capturing moments because our babies grow up so fast. Both of my children were diagnosed with severe autism and communication disorders as toddlers. The bulk of my time was spent making sure that they were receiving the necessary therapies and medical assistance that they needed. Having two children with severe autism made family photo sessions an incredibly stressful event. I would literally be sick after each session because I was so worried about how my children would respond to the location and photographer. People with autism can have extreme difficulty with maintaining strict eye contact and holding the poses that more traditional photographers would require.
This led to sessions filled with stress, crying and frustration as the photographers were asking my babies to do something that they were not capable of doing. I would end up with a gallery full of images that consisted of my sweet kiddos looking vacant and scared… it would break my heart. Every mama wants beautiful portraits of their family, and I felt that I couldn’t find anyone that really cared enough to see and understand my family and capture us outside of the norm of posing and staring at the camera. So like most southern mamas, I decided to be the solution to my family’s dilemma! I bought a camera and began learning absolutely everything I could about the technical aspects of photography. I was hooked! I fell in love with the ability to document the moments in my family and express myself artistically. My friends and family would notice the images that I would share of my own family, and began asking me to photograph their families. After about a year of that, Alicia Wilson Photography was officially born.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I definitely struggled with the idea of being an entrepreneur while having two children with special needs. The mom guilt was VERY real! I was told by most people that I needed to focus on being a mom and not building a business. After a lot of prayer and discussions with my husband, we knew that pursuing my own business was the right decision for our family. My children work every single day to overcome obstacles and beat the odds; they are my inspiration. I wanted them to see that when you work hard for something and dedicate yourself, that you can achieve your dreams. My babies have watched as Alicia Wilson Photography has grown beyond what I ever thought it could be. My daughter will sometimes tag along to sessions with her toy camera because she wants to be like mama. They are witnessing that you can be an exceptional mama and have a thriving business. One does not have to come at the expense of the other. I believe the challenges that our family has experienced and the longing that I felt as mom wanting to help my babies, has allowed me to opportunity to serve my AWP families in a way that wouldn’t have been possible otherwise.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Alicia Wilson Photography specializes in beautifully capturing the authentic moments in your life including family, children, and senior sessions, as well as maternity and lifestyle newborn portraits. My absolute number one goal when I deliver a gallery to a family, is that I want them to feel that they were really SEEN during our session and in their images. When you book me for a session, I don’t want you to be anything but who you are. Just show up and love on your family, and I will take care of the rest. When we let go of the Pinterest version of how we think we are supposed to look and act, that is where the real magic lies. The real smiles and belly laughs, and the tickles and hugs… that is the beauty of what I want to gift to the families that I serve. I always say that I aim to be the photographer that I wished I could have hired. People often view photo sessions as really stressful, and they certainly can be when we put so much pressure on ourselves and our loved ones to be “perfect.” I want to show families that sessions can actually be fun! One thing I tell my AWP mamas is that “I should go home tired, not you.” No boring church directory poses here… we are gonna play and laugh and be ourselves!
What’s next?
I saw a post on social media recently that said, “if you won ten million dollars and could quit your job, what would you do?” My first thought was, “I wouldn’t quit!” I absolutely LOVE what I do. The families that I am blessed to serve are so wonderful, and I can’t imagine doing anything else. As for future plans for AWP, I am beginning to offer mentoring for young photographers and moms learning how to document their families. I would also love to one day have a nonprofit that would pair families with loved ones on the autism spectrum with photographers like myself that offer lifestyle sessions free of cost.
Contact Info:
- Email: aliciawilsonphotography@gmail.com
- Website: aliciawilsonphotography.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/aliciawilson.photography
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/aliciawilsonphotography
Image Credits
Alicia Wilson Photography
