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

Alisa, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Do you have any thoughts about how to create a more inclusive workplace?

In a field saturated with creative photographers, it becomes increasingly difficult to rid the industry of the stigma of fellow photographers being competition instead of community. What photographers fail to remember is that we need each other. We are not each others competition because we all offer something uniquely different. When I first started my business as a photographer, I reached out to several different photographers both locally and online for mentoring in the field. I was not greeted with help or charity, I was turned away as someone that might possibly steal their business. After much independent study, practice, and research, I was able to build a successful business on my own, building the skills and talent necessary to sustain my business as a photographer. I have made it a goal in my business to never turn down people who are eager to learn the industry or the skill of photography. We need more talented artists who are willing to share what they know so we can all have access to the art that they create.
My fellow photographers are not my competition, they are my soul mates. We have the same goal and passion in life: To create art and feeling through the same medium. We all approach it differently, and we all produce different results, and that is why we do not have the same customer. There is always enough to go around.

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

Whether it was a disposable camera, or my Dad’s old film camera, I feel like I have always been taking photos. Sometimes whether I had a camera or not. You always see it before you take the shot. After giving birth to my first of four boys, Austin, all I wanted to do was remember every second of his existence. I think that is true for most parents. Time is marked by the growth of our children and the reality is, is that it goes by way too fast. I purchased a camera and took some college courses in photography. I graduated with a BA in Visual Communications from CSUC. But my real learning took place through workshops, mentorships, and countless hours of practice.
I have been running my own photography business for 12 years now. My main focus is families, but I do capture various other life events such as weddings, seniors, and newborns. I like to throw a creative project in there every now and then, just to keep up my skills and stretch my creative approach to the photographs I produce.
I can’t tell you how many people have never had a professional family photo taken. And more often than not, I hear that when it’s too late to capture one. Talk about having life regrets. I come from an area in Northern California where there are wildfires all the time. Where people have literally lost everything due to fire. The one thing they always wish they had were the photos of their family, of their childhood, of their loved ones. Photographs are truly priceless due to the moment in time that they capture. They are irreplaceable.
My photography business, my style, and my approach has evolved drastically over the years, and it will continue to evolve. But what I love most about the work I create, is that I pursue the feeling of the moment. I want everyone that sees that photo in the future, without any context, be able to feel what the image is about. It’s nice to have a posed photo so you can see what people see. But it means so much more to have a photo that reads like a diary entry.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

Having someone hold your hand and walk you through a creative process, where pretty much anything goes, is an extremely valuable relationship that will get you to where you want to go so much faster than you ever would have on your own, or in a classroom. If I could start again in my business I would have sought out a mentor in my field from the very beginning. Someone to coach me, instruct me, and help me jump the hurdles of learning photography. It is truly the best resource you can have while learning something new. You learn faster because the instruction is catered to where you are at and where you need to be as an individual, instead of being generalized for the masses. I have just started providing mentorships in my business for this very reason. If I can help someone else move faster to the finish line so they can start producing the art that they so desperately want to create, I’m there for it!

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Like most people in this world, I have suffered loss. I know what it feels like to not have a photo of the people you love most. I know what it feels like to lose someone, and in an effort to remain close to them, we seek out those photos that help us connect to the past. When we don’t have that, it feels like a truly deep loss of a person we cherished. We tend to get wrapped up in inconsequential things far too often then we should. Things that distract us from what is most important in life. There are so many missed opportunities, because we create excuses of why it is not important at that time. For photos, it looks like this: “Everyone is not all together yet”, “It’s too expensive”, “I haven’t lost the weight yet”, “I hate having my photo taken”… And the truth is, it will never be important until it is imperative.
I tell my clients to get their family photos taken at least every other year. Unless you have small children, then do it every year. I promise you, you will never regret having those memories in your possession.

Contact Info:

• Website: thefamilyphotograph.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/thefamilyphotograph
• Facebook: facebook.com/tfpbyalisathayne
• Yelp: The Family Photograph

Image Credits
All images were taken by The Family Photograph, LLC.