Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Alexa Johnson. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Alexa thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Do you manage your own social media?

I manage my own social media, and as of now, I plan to keep it that way. While many people have a love/hate relationship with social media, I recently heard some good advice that I have been trying to apply to my own life and I feel like it’s been helping! I know that social media is a necessary part of my photography business, but I am trying to not let it “own” me. I have been working hard to not mindlessly scroll because I have found that is when I feel the most drained and when I start negatively comparing myself to others. Someone also reminded me to not be afraid to share because although it can sometimes seem daunting, I have followers for a reason and the people who follow my page are choosing to follow me so I should keep creating and keep sharing. With these two things in mind, I feel as though I have been able to more freely share and I hope that helps me grow an authentic following on Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok, and Pinterest.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

As cliche as it sounds, I always loved photography but when I graduated high school I wasn’t sure how one could “make it” as a photographer so I chose to get my bachelors degree in journalism and media communication. It wasn’t until after my own wedding that I realized how much I enjoyed getting our engagement and wedding photos taken, and I wanted to be able to do this for someone else!

I reached out to many different photographers – I asked to meet them for coffee, I asked them so many questions, I asked to second shoot with them, and that’s how I really got my foot in the door. I was working in education full-time but I was spending many evenings and weekends doing engagement and wedding photography. Last summer as I prepared for maternity leave and for the birth of my daughter, my husband and I were talking about what we wanted our lives to look like in the next year, five years, ten years, and so on and I realized that 1) I wanted to be home more with our kids and 2) I could make photography my full time career. In June of this year, I finished my last school year of teaching and I am diving head first into this new full time gig and I am loving it.

At the end of the day, your photos should scream “YOU.” This may mean we take your engagement photos at the place where you went on your first date, or if your favorite meal is pizza lets order pizza for your photos. If you have a dog, we should include them in your photos. Or, maybe we need a champagne pop and fun sunglasses! I want your wedding day to feel fun, and not like you’ve spent the whole day posing. I want the candids and the photos that tell the story of your day. I hope at the end of the day, I am a part of the dance floor party, joking with the dads, and getting a hug from the mothers, and laughing with the bridal party.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

One of the best things people can do is ask questions and follow the advice of those who are smarter than you. I follow other photographers on Instagram I admire, and whenever they do a Q&A, I always try to submit a question and read through every other question and answer.

I am also a fan of Donald Miller and Jon Acuff – I follow them on social media; I love their videos and books. They both talk about marketing, coaching, and being authentically yourself. In a creative market, it can be really easy to feel like a fraud but I feel really encouraged by both of them. Jon Acuff’s books Finish and Soundtracks are two of my favorites.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

Honestly, it’s not that great of a story, but it started with our own wedding. When I realized how much fun I had getting our engagement photos taken and how much I loved looking at our own photos, I decided to put a “nice” camera on our wedding registry. It was a DSLR (crop sensor) Canon Rebel and it got bought for us! I began taking it everywhere; I made my siblings and their significant others, my husband, and my dog be my models.

When I made enough money from second shooting, I bought my first lens, and then a second, and then I realized I should upgrade cameras. At this point, I still wasn’t sure what I was doing or if I would ever be able to become a full time photographer, but I knew I would never regret learning about photography and having great photos of my own family so I just kept growing and learning. Next thing you know, I had enough knowledge and new camera gear paid for through all these small gigs that I had no debt and a lot of people who wanted to book me. That’s when I realized my potential, but I still didn’t seriously think I could “do it” until my husband and I were talking about it last summer.

It was a lot of hard work, but I was hungry to learn and grow!   

Contact Info:

• Website: www.alexamyliphotography.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/alexamyli.photo
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/AlexaMyliPhotography
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@alexamyli.photo

Image Credits
Alexa Myli Photography