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

Alicia, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?

When I decided to take a leap of faith in 2021 to start my photography business I remember that the first thing I knew I had to get right was the name of my business. I wanted something that had meaning, along with a personal significance behind it. I have two beautiful daughters and I knew right I way I wanted to use their middle names somewhere in the business name. So I had Ann Marie picked out; but it felt like I needed something to help personalize it to myself. A few weeks after praying for the perfect name I received a daily devotional book from my sister in-law. The title of the book was Prevail. In that very moment I felt this inner peace inside of me. I thought to myself “Prevail Ann Marie Photography”. That was it; the name I had been praying for; God finally revealed it to me. Prevail was a very suitable word to add to my photography name.

Throughout my life I have faced many trials, and hard times but with my faith, my girls, and family by my side I always found away to come out of those seasons stronger. Before starting my business in 2021, I had probably gone through the toughest season of my life starting in 2019. I suffered a ruptured brain aneurysm while playing basketball on a woman’s league in Minneapolis on December 17. I was rushed by ambulance to Abbott’s Hospital for surgery to put a coil in my brain to stop the bleeding. The Doctors told my parents that I had about a 10% chance of coming out of surgery with no deficits, and that I likely had a long road of recovery. Little did the doctors know the power of prayer I had awaiting me. From the moment I left the basketball court headed to the hospital my teammates where praying for me in the parking lot. With in hours I had over 400 prayers go up thanks to my brother Roger who knew in his heart what the power of prayer can do. He immediately posted my situation on social media; asking all his prayer warriors to stand behind him in prayer. I had people praying for the team of doctors/nurses who we’re on my case, along with complete healing and restoration so I could come home as soon as I could to my beautiful girls. I was a single mother, who was fighting for her life; a life I so desperately wanted to get back to, but knowing that only prayers, faith and God’s healing hands could get me there. After a couple of critical nights and some set backs I was starting to feel stronger. Fast-forward 8 days to December 25, Christmas morning I had spent the morning praying to go home to spend Christmas with my girls. I was told that it was highly unlikely that I would be going home any sooner than 14 days with the type of trauma my brain had suffered. Around 10 am the surgeon came in to visit me and do an exam. He was in complete shock of how far I had come in such little time. He blessed me with the all clear to go home to spend Christmas with my family. I went into that hospital on my death bed, and came out 8 days later stronger in my faith, full of gratitude, and one blessed Mama.

Then a few short months after all that, Covid hit our lives. Once again facing some troubling times, along with loosing my job working with special educational students. I was now suddenly a single mom who just lost her income; while still dealing with the emotional trauma from almost dying. I was then faced with a virus that was killing people at high rate; to say I was unsettled would be an understatement. But once again I found myself in a less ideal situation, but I Prevailed through the scariest storm of my life but I felt like I was stronger because of it. I was prepared to continue to Prevail through those times, and had the strength along with the faith to start my Photography business. This new opportunity came at the right time and I feel so blessed for on opportunity to share my true passion and gift with all those I cross paths with. So with that being said, that is how “Prevail Ann Marie Photography” became my business name.

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?

I am a single-mother of two beautiful daughters, ages 7 & 17. I started my photography business Prevail Ann Marie Photography in late 2021. If I am not busy being a mom or running my business, you will find me spending time with my amazing boyfriend, family or friends either outdoors, exploring the cities or traveling. I enjoy playing any sport, along with working out. I was a three sport athlete in high school; then went on to play college basketball and softball. I try to make it a priority to continue playing those sports I love. I have been playing in Woman Basketball leagues and Co-ed softball teams throughout the cities for over 12 years. I have met some of my closest friends in those leagues. I believe as a mother and a woman business owner I need to find those passions that still keep me young and fit to continue to be the best version of myself for my girls and those I’m around on a daily basis. Keeping a good healthy balance

I’m also on the board of directors for One City Minnesota, a non-profit my best friend Krystal Queen started over 10 years ago known back then as “The Friendship Project”. Our work focuses on Single parent advocacy, and youth minority advocacy. I am currently helping to branch out a section for Mental Health Awareness within our non-profit, in memory of my late brother who passed away from the lifelong struggle of Mental Health. It is a passion that has fueled this drive to be able to help others going through the same kind of pain and suffering he endured. The goal is to educate along with bringing awareness surrounding Mental Health. Being able to let those who struggle with it know there are resources along with people who actually care and want to help. My passion for helping single parent households, and our youth has become something I can combine with my photography business to better help serve our community.

My passion for photography started back when I was a kid. I could always be found with one of those Kodak disposable cameras for any big event. Just walking around snapping photos of all the big milestones. I remember my grandfather always had a camera in his hands. He never wanted to miss the opportunity to capture our families memories. I believe his passion was something that flooded my heart at a young age. I still look back at all the family photo albums blessed and grateful that he took the time to capture those memories for our family that only a photograph can freeze that memory for a lifetime.

Before becoming a photographer in 2021, I have mostly worked with children my entire adult life. I was a Montessori Teacher for almost 6 years and worked with special education for over 10 years. In December of 2019 I suffered a Brain Aneurysm rupture while playing in a basketball game. It was a life-changing event that was the pivot point for me to refocus my life. My outlook on life changed from that moment, my faith grew and I started to realize there is something better out there. Then the Pandemic hit 3 months later. I was suddenly out of an educational job, and not sure what the future would hold. January 2021 I took a leap of faith and ordered a professional camera. I started watching Youtube videos and taught myself everything I needed to know about photography in less than 2 months. Then towards the end of 2021, Prevail Ann Marie Photography was created and I haven’t looked back since! It’s been a complete blessing and a new beginning for my family. The peace and comfort I have when behind the camera is something I had longed to feel.

I have enjoyed capturing everything from Newborns, Families, High School Seniors, and a couple of weddings in the last 2 years. Building up my portfolio while making connections with my clients and their families has been such a rewarding experience. I like to connect with my clients to get to know them on a personal level to feel that connection that will help me be able to capture their true selves. It’s more than just a business to me. I love my clients and their families. Being able to be blessed with the ability to freeze a moment in their lives, that will tell their story for years to come is truly an incredible feeling. I want new parents to feel this comfort level, and trust when they bless me the opportunity to capture their band new little bundle of joy. Most importantly I want to be able to capture those beautiful images that families will hang on their walls for years to come.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

Honestly word of mouth, and networking has been my main focus on getting new clients. Many of my clients are returning clients, or clients that someone referred them to me. In the photography business your work speaks for itself in what types of photographs you produce, There are my different styles and preferences that people prefer, that’s why I made it a priority at an early stage to try and figure out my style of photography and try and stay consistent for each session. Although, many factors are at play when trying to maintain that same style throughout each seperate session. Lighting, location, family dynamics, along with styling your clients or making wardrobe suggestions.

So staying consistent in your style and drawing in your ideal type of client is what your goal should be. Getting out and marketing yourself, attending networking events, while trying to connect with your future clients also helps maintain that level of professionalism and foundation to building your clients.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Although I feel building my audience on social media is an area I still need to spend more time working on, I feel like I have had luck by just always being intentional on posting daily especially in the beginning of starting my business. I know that creating stories/reels have been a great marketing tool that many have used, I haven’t used it a lot. I will also be intentional about maybe snapping a photo of a set up I have in the studio for an upcoming session without any clients in the photo. Then I will use this as a marketing tool and post the photo along with a caption that says, “Stay tuned for sneak peeks from this upcoming session”. This helps set the stage to keep people engaged with behind the scenes and to look forward for upcoming sneak peeks. I also use hashtags that are relevant to the type of session I am doing and location of that session. Your main focus is to try to stay consistent on your posts, along with sharing your work, this will give your future clients a daily portfolio into the type of sessions you create.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.prevailannmarie.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prevail.ann.marie.photography/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PrevailAnnMariePhotography/