We were lucky to catch up with Alicea Tomshine recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alicea, appreciate you joining us today. Do you think folks should manage their own social media or hire a professional? What do you do?

I manage my social media, although I’m not consistent with it. When I started my business almost 14 years ago, Facebook was the main platform for social media. Since then Instagram and Pinterest have played a bigger role. Most of my clients find me on Google when searching for a maternity or newborn photographer. There was a time when I was ranking higher for those searches when I didn’t use social media at all. But, over the years I’ve come to learn that posting on social media and Google rankings go hand in hand. So, it’s become a sort of necessary evil.

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

I’ve always loved photography, but never considered it as a career during my formative years in high school and college. I worked as an aide and assistant teacher in a daycare center and corporate administrative jobs for most of my adult life up until my son was born in 2009. He was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis shortly after his birth, so my husband and I decided to have me quit my job to stay at home with him. This led me to become more interested in photography as I wanted to document his everyday life. Soon I was taking photos for friends and family for fun, but it was my husband who encouraged me to start charging for my photography and start my business in 2011. This allowed me to stay at home with my son during the week and take client sessions on the weekends.

Since the beginning, I always wanted to focus on photographing families, specifically motherhood, and babies. As a mom, I relate to how fleeting the moments are with our little ones and how important it is to document their lives. I remember how my son would wrap his whole hand around my finger and now his hands are bigger than mine!

Having these photographs isn’t just for nostalgic moms, but they’re for their children, too. From a young age, I remember my son would love to see photos and videos of himself as a baby. I believe there have been studies showing that children who see photos and videos of themselves with their family have higher self-esteem.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Every time a new client reaches out to me, I get a sense of pride in them. I’m so proud of them for wanting to capture this moment and be present with their spouse and/or children. I get a lot of clients who say they hate having their pictures taken but are so grateful for the photos they have from our session together.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

The best source of new clients has always been Google or other internet search platforms like Yahoo or Bing. I’ve been on Facebook since the beginning but had a period of time for about 5 years where I rarely posted anything because I ranked so high in Google, I always had a steady stream of inquiries.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.alicearosephotography.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alicea_rose_photography/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alicearosephoto

Image Credits

Alicea Rose Photography