We recently connected with Aileen Rueda-DaCosta and have shared our conversation below.

Aileen, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

Risk is defined as ‘a situation involving exposure to danger’. I once had the most incredible therapist who so lovingly explained to me, as I struggled with huge reactions to relatively small inconveniences, that our brains cannot tell the difference between real threats. Meaning, you will likely feel and react similarly to the threat of a bear as you would to a threat that a loved one would make. Our brains are wild like that.

I write this with intentionality, because for as long as I can remember, I was conditioned to do what would keep me safe. Any good parent would do the same. But as many First-Generation children know, this is often what holds us back. As kids we feel the pressure to assimilate with our peers, from our accents to how we wear our hair. In college, we feel the pull of unsaid obligation to choose a more ‘professional’ career track. We work our asses off for a bachelor’s degree only to be left feeling like that isn’t enough, that we are not enough, that our accomplishments will never make our parents’ sacrifices worth it.

All this to say, for some of us, risk taking doesn’t feel like an option. So, when in my final year of college, I got pregnant at the same time a global pandemic hit, I took that as a sign that if I don’t do it now I likely won’t do it ever. Though my risk was rather inconsequential, I received a lot of doubt and pushback from my relatives. They couldn’t understand why I was throwing away my political science degree to pursue photography and not law school.

What they didn’t know is that I took an intro to photojournalism class that completely rocked my world. I saw something that could utilize my strength of having a ‘fly on the wall’ persona instead of penalizing me for it. I saw that I could bring joy by simply documenting life and being present in everyday moments. So, after graduation and after giving birth to my pandemic baby, I threw myself into this headfirst. I started a FB page for my photography with really badly edited photos. I chose a niche, birth photography, and I immersed myself in all the education available. I convinced my husband, my first investor, that I needed a few thousand dollars to purchase my camera and some other gear to get me started.

The hardest part of all of this wasn’t the money that I spent or the hours of continuing education that followed, but the discomfort of knowing that I was back to square one. I struggled through my college classes with debilitating imposters syndrome. There were days I couldn’t walk from my car to the classroom, and there were weeks where I couldn’t show my face altogether. But somehow, freshly postpartum and in the worst pain of my life, I found my purpose in a six pound infant and an old school DSLR. I felt nothing but peace moving forward. When walls of anxiety or fear would pop up again, I remembered that I actually chose this risk. No one expected me to succeed, therefore I no longer held a fear of failure. No one expected me to get clients, and so the months where I was on call for two at a time felt completely surreal. No one congratulated me in the beginning, so their words of affirmation no longer held the weight they used to when I received them in the end.

I took a risk that I fully believed nothing would come of it. It’s been a couple years since then, and I can confidently say it all paid off. I have met some of the most incredible people in the birth community, in my own neighborhood, in the Latinx community I swore I would give back to. Volunteer hours turned into opportunities, one camera turned into two plus six lenses. Creating and managing my own website and social media presence turned into a full-time job offer at a local nonprofit.

I made my eighteen year old self really damn proud. I made my fourteen year old self believe that she is worthy of good things. I make by ten year old self understand that she is safe, and those threats might never go away and she might never stop having big reactions – but in that same regard she will never stop herself from finding light in the midst of darkness. That kid will grow up, and break bread with her heroes.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers?

I am a college graduate, I am an extremely proud mama, and a real happy wife. I have been shooting professionally for two years now, but I’ve been a camera-obsessed kid for as long as I can remember. I got into photography straight out of college. Not a lot of experience with professional cameras that weren’t on Auto. So, my learning curve was steep. But I loved every minute of it. I consider myself more of a documentary-style photographer. My favorite types of things to shoot are community events like festivals, parades, or pop-up shops. I also offer lifestyle sessions for families, elopements, as well as birth photography and doula support.

I am ridiculously proud of the clients that choose me. They range from lawyers and congressmen, to universities and nonprofits. I think what sets me apart is that I am not in it for the money. I spent the entire first year of my career harassing my friends and colleagues to let me take photos for them. Whether it was a baby’s first milestone or photos for a public health campaign, I did it all and I did it for the connections I made. It wasn’t until my second year actively taking on new clients, that I had lunch with a friend and was very sternly told that I needed to charge my worth. I still give the ‘friends & fam’ discount to everyone who gave me the time of day when I first started out.

My brand, my work, it is all community centered. I have all the respect for photographers who do this as their full-time job, but I knew that I couldn’t treat it as my career. I didn’t want to taint something that I loved so dearly by putting expectations that I didn’t want to uphold. So every time I am referred a new client, and every time someone seeks me, I do a happy dance and treat them like they’re the only people I’ll ever work with. Because when all is said and done, if no one ever hires me for anything again, I will still be at every community event I can find – snapping photos and basking in the love and culture.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

The most effective strategy for growing your clientele is finding your authenticity. What makes you tick, what brings you joy, what makes the work not feel like ‘work’. That’s your ticket. People know when they feel like they are an inconvenience. People know when you aren’t having a good time.

One thing I do is I go out of my way to limit the number of people I accept a month, because I never want to underdeliver to a person who is paying me their hard earned money. I do a lot of ‘pay what you can’ sessions because I value the connection and references I get more than I value a high paying session. This model has allowed me to gain a steady influx of clients that don’t overwhelm me, and results in repeat clientele.

How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?

I absolutely do! I follow all my clients back on Instagram/TikTok so I can keep up with their kiddos or their post-graduation plans or baby announcements! Literally nothing brings me more joy than when they keep in touch with me as well. I have my doula clients who send me baby photos as they reach new milestones. It’s most definitely the best part of the job.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.thenaceraproject.com
• Instagram: Instagram.com/the.nacera.project
• Facebook: Facebook.com/the.nacera.project
• Twitter: Twitter.com/naceraproject
• Other: Pinterest.com/thenaceraproject

Image Credits
All photos taken by yours truly, Aileen Rueda-DaCosta of The Nacerá Project.