We were lucky to catch up with Alexa Dearing recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Alexa, thanks for joining us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

I am completely self taught. When I began to learn my craft, there was not a lot of content out on the internet other than basics – how to use my camera, how to use lighting equipment, and industry standards. What was not out on the internet yet, was how all of the “rules” can be broken/bent to create something wonderful. I spent a lot of time stuck in a creative box because of having built such a traditional foundation on lighting, shooting, and editing. I wish that i would have broken the rules sooner! Played with wacky angles, experimented with creative lighting etc. Nowadays – there are so many creators out there who make content that shows you how to break the rules, and the results that you can creator – and I think that if that content existed when I was starting out, I would have found my style so much sooner

Alexa, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Alexa – I am a female photographer + UGC creator local to Phoenix, Arizona. For me, photography started as a hobby, as my skills improved I started being asked to do paid gigs — and I quickly fell into the trade full time. I have now been a photographer for 10+ years- and I have worked with countless brands, models, and beauty teams. I hold 50+ publications internationally for my work in editorial, commercial, and architectural photography. It was this success that lead me to curating a facebook page called AZPhotoMeetups – which was a group meant to connect creative people together locally for collaboration purposes. Since then – AZPhotoMeetups (AZPM) has blossomed into a full fledge Event business where I host content creation events in local spaces – Studios, local businesses, public locations, and more! These events are incredibly low cost (averaging $30 per ticket) to keep them attainable for the creative community. My intention it to give the creative community a place they can come together to collaborate, network, and thrive creatively together – without the large financial overhead that comes with booking a space on their own. I now host these events once per month- and I’ve hosted 50+ successful events over the last few years. The space I curate is inclusive to everyone – no matter your skill level, or background in your life – AZPM is a space where everyone can come together to learn from eachother, collaborate together, and create awesome content. I am often told that I’ve curated an amazing resource for the creative community by those who attend – since it is so financially attainable for most to attend.

Outside of AZPM, I’ve shifted my services to be more UGC based – I curate content for brands in the form of photos and videos for their social platforms. What sets me apart in the UGC world is not only my years of experience in photography – but the professional equipment and studio resources that I have at my disposal. For most brands I am a one stop shop as I curate full scale productions from model selections – to filming/photographing, to the post process editing. Brands tend to select my services since I do offer a full scale production for a fraction of the price for most.

I would say that I am most proud of my work with AZPM. Being published in so many magazines is an absolute honor, but what really serves my soul is being able to provide a resource to the creative community to give them a place to come together to do what they love – content creation.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Building an audience on social media can be challenging for a couple of reasons – the algorithms are always changing, and if you grow too quickly, you can really get boxed into a type of media that your audience expects, which really puts a creative strain on you.

What I did was this – I constantly study social media trends, and my own incites to see what the algorithm is pushing. Having a creator / professional account on socials is super important so that you can get the insights that you need to understand how your content is performing. I do a weekly check in, 30 day check in, and 90 day check in to see how my posts are performing, which are doing better than others, then plan the next months content centered around what is doing well. Another important thing to do it be consistent! Without consistent posting, the algorithm doesnt think you are relevant and wont push your content. It seems like a lot, but with proper planning its not overwhelming at all!

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Suring Covid-19, my entire career was put on hold. I was no longer able to go out and host events, meet with clients, which meant – no income stream from the career that I had dedicated my life to. Like many others during this time, I started working from home for another company to get by- then i got comfortable with that company and thee time just flew by. I fell out of my passion, and into this odd corporate comfort zone. However, when the bans started lifting, and I was able to get back out there – I started back up with my photography. Unfortunately – Alot of my clients had either A: Shifted away from using outside photographers because of the lockdown, they adapted, of B: Had moved away from where I was to get away from the big cities, or to be with family. This left me with little to no client base, and quite frankly – out of ideas, and out of leads for new clients. The situation was bleak, but I didnt let that stop me. I started back at square one – I started getting back out there, networking online + in person, messaging family, friends, etc. having anyone and everyone reposing my content – and I slowly got back into the groove – Thats when i really went all in on AZPM – the events brought people together, and that was something that we all needed for a very long time. From there, the rest is history.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.alexadearingphotography.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lxviews
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AlexaDearingPhotography

Image Credits

Tamara M.
Tae C.
Hillary
Jev M.
Kelsey G.
Abby L.
Sam T.