We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Alicia Rios a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Alicia thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

When I began photographing other women, I realized the innate power photography uniquely holds. In our social media-focused world, with its not-real-life filters and a never-ending parade of wonderful women we can compare ourselves to…

It’s easy to slip into a cycle of self-doubt, comparison, and body shaming. We often become our own worst critics.
But the cycle does not have to continue.

If your self-image has suffered damage in any way,  I want my camera to serve as a tool for rebuilding and refreshing it. I want to offer you a new view of yourself. A different perspective. I want you to see what others see.

Because only then will you be able to see what your target audience will see. And you’ll understand – perhaps, for the first time – why they’ll become raving fans as they connect with the authentic you.

I want to help you build a brand that makes connections from the heart while you show up as the real and best version of yourself. But more importantly, I want to help you build the confidence you need to show up genuinely in your life and business so you can serve others by doing what you’re great at, because being a human is hard enough… but being a business owner is hard too.

I empower small business owners through a well crafted and heartfelt brand photo experience that helps them rebuild their self-esteem and put their best foot forward, so that they feel confident showing up in their life and business (and in their own skin)– so they can focus on getting back to serving others and changing the world.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I have always had a love for photography, but before chasing my dream as a brand photographer, I worked as an elementary teacher. Teaching left me burned out and overworked, but my work there gave me the skills I have found most useful as a photographer and small business owner.

In the way that I use to plan for a lesson, I now prepare for sessions, performing behind-the-scenes work long before I show up, preparing for the unexpected, having a plan and a course of action, and serving my clients in the ways I used to serve my students — holding their hand through the process, providing clear direction and gentle nudging, and using real strategy to accomplish our goals.

My personal brand photography process is centered around helping business owners grow their business with aligned brand visuals that speak to the heart of who they are and what they do and help them attract more of their ideal client. My process also brings back their excitement for their work and gets them feeling confident to show up in their business again.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

I feel that the most valuable thing I offer my clients is a personalized and sincere client experience from start to finish. I truly care about my clients and how they feel about the process and they know it. This has given me an advantage over so many others.

If you’ve ever tried to hire another business owner, you’ve learned that so many of them let down their clients by overpromising and underdelivering, missing deadlines, lacking communication, and putting a lot of the responsibility on the client to fill in the gaps.

My focus since the beginning of building my business was: “how can I best serve my clients?” A lot of times that means anticipating their questions before they have them. Being a resource and confidant to them. Providing the roadmap and plan for their experience and guiding them throughout the process. Helping them see where we can make things better and making suggestions. Cheering them on and keeping my promises.

Every touchpoint of my business is designed around being there to encourage and support and it’s the number one thing that has helped me grow my business year over year. I built my business on word of mouth through this strategy and have maintained relationships with my clients for years because they know they can count on me. It’s so important to be the person you’d like to hire yourself.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

My favorite part of the process is seeing the beautiful transformation my clients go through during the photography process and then afterward, as they implement their brand photos into their business and marketing.

When someone initially reaches out, they’re often timid or overwhelmed. They often lack confidence in their brand or goals or as women, their self-worth. They’re convinced that the other clients they’ve seen in my portfolio are further along in their business, their experience, or their skills as being photographed and they may doubt themselves as we approach their session and being.

But when they leave me, they’re often in tears of joy or gratitude for the experience, the fun they had, and the hurdle they’ve crossed by taking the leap to invest in themselves. There is such relief for them and pride that they did it.

And then when they receive their galleries, they’re often shocked by the results. Saying things like, “I didn’t know I could look like that!” << even though they DO look like that. They also have such confidence about their brand and how to move forward and they cherish our journey together and how they got out so much more than they expected from the experience.

Seeing women flourish… seeing them come in one way and leave me a whole new way lights my soul. I love helping women see themselves through my eyes and then go on to tackle the world. It is such an honor to witness and be a small part of. Building these kinds of connections and cheering on my clients is by far my favorite part.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.alicialeighphoto.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/alicialeighphoto
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/alicialeighphoto

Image Credits
Pictures of Alicia were taken by Holly Marie Photography. All other photographs are the work of Alicia Leigh Photography.