We were lucky to catch up with Alice Cheung recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Alice, thanks for joining us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

My high school had such a small population of Asian students that we didn’t even show up on the school demographics. Instead, we were lumped into the <1% “Other.” Being Asian was a huge source of insecurity for me growing up, and my desire to fit in caused me to try and be someone I wasn’t when it came time to take my high school senior photos. I knew that going into the graduation portrait business when I was in college, I wanted my own experience to help shape the experience I helped create for my clients.

The mission of my photography business is to collaborate with every single one of my clients to help them express themselves and who they are in this moment of their lives. I want my photos to tell a story that they can look back on and see their authentic selves, especially as we continue to change and grow as we age. I don’t want them to look back at their photos and see them trying to be someone they’re not. Part of this mission is accomplished by getting to know my clients before the session. I always schedule a planning call to get a sense of what each client’s vision is for their session, as well as their personality and style. I use my experience as a photographer to help plan and guide the session to achieve their vision. If I’m working with a client to shoot their wedding, I always include an engagement session in my wedding packages because it just provides us some time to get to know each other before the wedding day, and for them to start feeling comfortable in front of my camera.

I remember feeling so self-conscious during my high school senior portraits, but I think everyone is capable of being photogenic as long as they feel confident.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I started my photography business as a sophomore in college. I was part of a student organization that raised money for our local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital, and photography started as a way to exchange my services for donations. I’ve always been kind of shy, so doing graduation portraits forced me to get out of my shell and get to know a lot of different people I never would have met otherwise.

Many of my graduation portrait clients later trusted me to capture their engagements and weddings as well, which helped me expand the breadth of photography services I now offer. Getting to know each of my clients is a huge part of my process. I like to think of the final product as a collaboration between my clients and myself, using my experience to help guide and shape their vision into pieces of art that they’ll treasure forever.

As an artist, I care about creating work that I’m proud of, and I come out of every session excited about what we’ve been able to create together. Every subject is unique, and I want the photos to reflect that. Even though the majority of my clients are still graduates from The University of Texas, I love to mix in editorial style images into every shoot in addition to the more formulaic, traditional shots that every campus senior session comes with.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being a creative to me is just the joy that I get from the act of creating. Specifically when it comes to portrait photography, that same joy is multiplied because of how valuable the images are to my clients. I get to capture some of the biggest milestones in their lives – graduation, engagement, their wedding days. While graduation portraits in the same locations could easily become formulaic, I love the challenge of trying to do something new in familiar places. I’m constantly surprised by random moments when inspiration still strikes.

With engagements and weddings there’s so much storytelling you can do. There’s so much to observe as a photographer that really freezes a moment and feeling in time, pictures of a gentle touch, a shed tear, clinking glasses, or tearing up the dance floor. The more weddings I shoot, the more I fine tune my eye for photography and it’s constantly rewarding to improve and create along this journey.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

The client experience has always been my main priority. When I first started taking graduation portraits, I wasn’t as knowledgeable about things I know now, like the fact that the closer you get to graduation, the longer you have to wait in lines to get photos at the most popular spots on campus, or that planning locations for your session ahead of time helps make the session run more efficiently, saving more time to use creatively. If we had to wait too long and it got dark before we could finish photos, I was happy to schedule more time with the same client at no charge so that they could get the full experience of what they had paid for.

Even now, I’m flexible with rescheduling when weather conditions are bad, and I’m strict about how many sessions I schedule a week to ensure that I can give my full attention and care to every client in creating their images. Even though I might be able to make more revenue by scheduling sessions back-to-back, I’ve chosen not to because I want to maintain a high standard of quality.

Word of mouth is the best marketing tool when it comes to the photography business, and prioritizing my clients’ experiences ensures that they’ll recommend me to their friends.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.aliceccheung.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aliceccheungphoto