Today we’d like to introduce you to Alyssa Turner.
Alyssa, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I started my Photography business 14 years ago in Hawaii. As you can imagine there was never a shortage of beautiful backdrops. I shot both destination wedding and families who were on vacation. I got my start after my first child was born and I got my first DSLR camera. I was self-taught for the most part, other than a few workshops to master my trade. If I was not out shooting I was soaking up every bit of information from the internet and practicing as much as I could. I fell in love with photography for many reasons. It allowed me to run a business from home while raising my now five children. It allowed me to constantly be creative, but most of all it allowed me to meet some of the most amazing clients who let me share and capture the most important memories of their lives. Most of those clients have become close friends to this day! Three years ago, we moved to Dallas and I have had to rebuild my business from the ground up. Dallas has a very welcoming wedding and photography industry, and I was able to establish relationships and build my business back up pretty quickly! I was shooting primarily weddings, but have now gone more in the direction of family and senior portrait photography to allow me to find a better balance between work and family. However, when you love what you do so much you never actually work a day in your life! I feel incredibly blessed to be able to share my talents in this industry!
Has it been a smooth road?
I think when you are running your own business there are always going to be bumps in the road. My biggest struggles along the way were definitely finding a work-life balance, and also getting caught up in the comparison game. When you are running a business, especially one you love so much, it is very easy to get caught up in it for long hours, and wanting to get back to your clients as soon as possible, even if it is ten o’clock at night. It took me several years to set work hours and know that my clients would be ok if I got back to them the next day. The photography industry can also be very competitive and with social media it if very easy to get caught up in what everyone else in the industry is doing and trying to keep up while feeling like you just aren’t quite as good, popular, successful as others. I had to just stop watching what everyone else was doing and be the best “ME” I could be!
So, let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Alyssa Turner Photography story. Tell us more about the business.
My business specializes in family and high school senior photography. I am most known for being able to really capture the individual personalities in a family and being able to portray that in a photo. I take allot of time to get to know and learn about my clients before their session so that I can really customize each experience. I also am often told that people have so much fun during my sessions that they almost forget they are in front of a camera. I am most proud of the relationships that have been built through my career. All my clients come back to me through the years, and I really feel like I get to be involved in their lives. I have gone from engagement photos to their wedding, to celebrating their first pregnancy, and feel so privileged that they trust me with their most precious memories!
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
The photography industry is always changing. There is always some new camera, or software program coming out so it is hard to say where we will be in 5-10 years. What I do know is not matter whatever new technology comes out photography will always be a service business and the most important thing will always be truly caring about your clients. Building relationships, rather with your clients, or with industry peers will always be the most important aspect of this business. I hope to see photographers build each other up and promote each other even more in the future. I believe my business, as well as others, becomes more successful when you practice community over competition!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.alyssaturnerphotography.com
- Phone: 808-782-4625
- Email: alyssa@alyssaturnerphotography.com
Image Credit:
Natalie Imhoff for Headshot and Family Photo
Alyssa Turner
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