We recently connected with Ailynn-Grace Betguen and have shared our conversation below.

Ailynn-Grace, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What sort of legacy are you hoping to build. What do you think people will say about you after you are gone, what do you hope to be remembered for?

The legacy I hope to leave is to be known for something more than a nurse.

I grew up dabbling in many talents: singing, dancing, volleyball, flute, guitar, drawing, and photography. Being creative is what I love doing the most and brought me immense joy. But my parents’ wish for me was to be in the healthcare field. There are many nurses in my family, including my mom and older brother, so it was almost ingrained in me to join the same career. Although it was not my first choice, I am proud of the accomplishments I’ve made as a nurse as well as a person: obtaining my master’s degree, moving away from home and living independently, and helping patients ease their minds by educating and guiding them during the most difficult, unexpected journey in their lives. I’ve also brought my creativity out at work in subtle ways, such as drawing holiday cartoons on patients’ whiteboards that had to stay in the hospital during the holidays or drawing on posters to celebrate a patient’s day of receiving their bone marrow transplant.

Nursing is a stable job but it can also take a toll on someone’s body, both physically and mentally. It is very common for nurses to pick up extra shifts for more pay, but it can quickly burn them out as well. When I was a new nurse, the best advice given to me was to “never bring work home and to make sure to continue your hobbies.” This was around the time my friends were encouraging me to practice shooting, editing, and directing in photography.

Much of my experience comes from practicing on friends (even myself) on photo runs but these friends also took a chance on me and referred me to others for gigs. A few of my first gigs were Trade for Print but I don’t take those events for granted because it helped build my portfolio and skills to where I am now.

I’m left-handed which I’ve heard from many people that left-handed people are more creative. I’m not too sure how accurate that is but based on my experience, being involved in creative arts came more natural to me. But I’m no master in any of them! Nursing is my primary job, but I’m willing to take the leap in promoting my photography because it’s my gateway to creating something in my artistic image. Many of my clients are coworkers who took interest in my work so it’s nice to give back to those who work hard taking care of others and provide professional photos.

Ailynn-Grace, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Ailynn (eye-lean) and (A)I like to take photos! I am a registered nurse specialized in oncology for 8 years and I like to do photography on the side. I am located in Dallas, Texas but I was born and raised in Florida. I’ve always enjoyed taking photos since middle school but never took it seriously until I was in college. I started Ai_takephotos in 2018 on Instagram and created my photography website this year. My services include graduations, proposals, engagements/save the date, families, portraits, and small events.

What sets me apart from others is to develop relationships with my clients. Being a nurse has taught me how people are scared of the unknown and the importance to communicate with them and explain things along the way to make them feel comfortable in someone caring for them. With my photography business, I like to help put clients at ease by having a small interview to help get to know them and their preferences as well as get to know me prior to the shoot. I think that helps build a relationship with clients as well as their trust and faith in me to capture their special moment. I like to preface that I don’t expect them to be models but to be themselves because candids are the most priceless shots.

What I’m most proud of is being able to help others in a different and creative way apart from nursing. Sometimes I experience imposter syndrome because I do not have a background in photography nor taken professional courses, but I learned from friends who have been in the photography business and gained input to help create my own color in this field. Because of these friends, I wouldn’t be where I am today and I cannot thank them enough for it.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Definitely friends and coworkers! My first gig was my best friend referring me to her coworker for Save The Date photos and their reaction of the photos made me feel so proud of myself. Another instance was a friend referred me to his friends to take photos for their civil wedding. When I conducted the interview before the wedding, we hit it off so well that they trusted me to take photos of their actual wedding ceremony a year later.

I love being able to give back to coworkers when they request me to take their photos. As healthcare workers, we spend a lot of our time with each other in a hospital caring for others so it can come as a shock sometimes when I see them outside of work and scrubs, but it’s rewarding to see them dressed up and update their family photos. One coworker hired me to take her son’s graduation photos and another wanted family photos because they never had it done. If someone is interested in me trying a shoot I haven’t done, I like to take on the challenge like when a coworker requested if I can take her daughter’s 1st birthday photos. It turned out to be one of my favorite shoots so far.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

In the beginning 2020, I made the decision to do travel nursing. My first (and last) assignment was in Dallas, TX. I chose Dallas because I knew friends that live here so I thought it would be a good start to my travel nursing career. I had plans to travel around the world and practice my photography along with it. 6 weeks into my assignment, COVID-19 hit the United States and quarantine began. The hospital had to cancel travel nurses’ contracts and I had to figure out my next move. During that time, I did not wish to go back home to Florida so I was considering taking on the COVID assignments and travel to New York. I even applied and paid for the New York nursing license. My mom was not happy with that decision and begged for me to find a full-time oncology job in Dallas. I applied for only one hospital that I heard good things about and got the job. Since the temporary move turned permanent, the homesickness lasted a lot longer but I was also excited to be living independently.

Because there were still restrictions on going outside or travelling, I put photography on hold and achieved my master’s degree in nursing instead. During this time, I also developed anxiety/depression and sought out therapy. Therapy helped me reflect on things I’ve put off for years and think about what I really want to do in my life. One thing that kept coming up in therapy was my hope to start up photography again and how much being creative meant to me. Little by little, I picked the hobby back up and gained my confidence back. It was enough to muster up the courage and finally create my own photography page which surprised me to see how much of a resume I’ve built along the years. Moving to Dallas was the longest pause I had with photography but my motivation to rebuild my network and improving my craft has gotten a lot stronger.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://ai-takephotos.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ai_takephotos?igsh=MW5ob3U1czZqZnE5eA==
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aitakephotos