Life & Work with Rachel Allison

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rachel Allison.

Rachel, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I remember my first digital camera. I was about ten years old, and I got it for Christmas after months of relentless begging to my parents. It was a Sony Cybershot, 16.2 megapixels, in red. This camera captured many moments throughout its lifetime, including the remainder of that Christmas day, countless sleepovers, recitals, soccer games, and even MySpace profile pictures for myself and all my friends.

When cell phones started developing decent cameras, I no longer saw a use for my old Sony, and it ended up buried in a drawer somewhere in my teenage wasteland of a room. Looking back now, I see that one present changed the trajectory of my life.

Fast forward to 2019, I had just found out I was pregnant with my second child, and my husband and I were tight on money. We wondered how we would pay for childcare for two kids and afford to live a life where money was not a subject of stress. He ultimately ended up finding some side jobs here and there, and I decided I was finally going to pull the trigger and buy a nice, used DSLR in order to start making some extra income from taking photos.

The game plan was to build a portfolio of family and friends to get my name out there, and then my sales pitch when advertising on Facebook or Instagram was all about how cheap I was at the time! My prices were way better than other photographers in the area, but my photos were also not nearly as good because I lacked experience, knowledge, and skills. Still, I was lucky enough to have many friends and acquaintances to say, “Hey, what the heck, I’ll spend $50 for a family portrait session even if they’re not great,” and over time, I improved my craft.

Then COVID hit in the beginning of 2020 just when I thought I had some momentum going with this side hustle. Things were really slow for a while, and to be honest, I thought about giving up. After all, I had given birth to my second child and we were doing just fine financially without that extra photography income. However, a fire sparked within me that made me realize I didn’t want to let myself down. I kept envisioning what my photography would look like in 5 years if I worked hard and never gave up, and that motivated me to sit down and make some changes.

I started thinking of Rachel Allison Photography from a business perspective rather than just a way to get some extra cash. I rebranded my logo, overhauled my website and social medias, and invested in some courses and education on photography. Before I knew it, people thought I was the real deal. Friends would comment on how much I’ve grown and how good my photos are, strangers would message me asking to set up photo sessions because they found me online and loved my work, and I was able to purchase my dream camera, a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, with cash from all the sessions I had been booking.

As of current day, my business is just over two years old. I will be the first to say that I still have more work to do before I reach my five years vision, but I am so proud of how much I’ve accomplished in this short time. Above all, I find so much joy in my career. Every day I get to capture memories for people who are celebrating amazing things going on in their lives or who are simply just celebrating the love their family shares. I hope and pray that I will have the honor to do this for many years to come.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
I always struggled with self-confidence and doubting my abilities (still do!) Art is so subjective! There’s no right or wrong ways to do things, and the same applies to photography as well.

COVID was also a huge struggle for my business. No one wanted to take photos because they were scared they might get the virus! Eventually, I got creative, and on Easter in 2020, I offered to do free, socially distanced porch photos for anyone in my neighborhood. I ended up going to over 25 homes! That was a great way to get my name out there and stir up some more future business. Many of those original families have come back to me for paid sessions since then.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I specialize in portrait photography. My main clients are families, engagements, announcements, maternity, and seniors in high school or college. Although I also have done newborn, weddings, professional headshots, sports photography, and event photography.

My photos have darker tones and natural coloring. I take most of my photos with a 50 mm F/1.8 lens or a 85 mm F/1.8 lens, so many of my photos will have a blurred background, which is known as bokeh in photography terms.

During a photoshoot, I specifically pose people at times, but I also give prompts to encourage natural reactions in order to capture candid photos.

Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
I love to live by “community over competition.” Something that’s really fostered growth in my career is following other photographers from all over the world on Instagram and Facebook. It helps to know what other photographers are doing, and many of them are very open to sharing advice and other tips if you ask them.

The Six Figure Photography Podcast with Ben Hartley has been a great tool for me to help build a business and work on building relationships with clients. Youtube and Pinterest were great tools for me to learn basics about using my camera and its settings, and Lightroom has many tutorials on how to edit photos that I’ve learned a great deal from.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: https://www.rachelallisonphotography.com/
• Instagram: @photographybyrachelallison
• Facebook: @rachelallisonphotography

Image Credits
Rachel Allison Photography