We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Alli Steele. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Alli below.

Alli, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. It’s easy to look at a business or industry as an outsider and assume it’s super profitable – but we’ve seen over and over again in our conversation with folks that most industries have factors that make profitability a challenge. What’s biggest challenge to profitability in your industry?

Showing people the value of hiring someone and receiving art work as well as digitals. In a world that wants instant gratification and the ability to show everything on social media, along with most people being able to take pictures with their phone. Not enough people put a price on digitals as a product and charging separate for service and products. Purchasing a camera is more available to people so creating a value to hire someone is harder to sell people on. Putting a price tag on giving a personal touch and an amazing experience along with tangible items is difficult. Its more than just pressing a button and handing over raw files. There’s a significant amount of time that goes into every session, images and products. I offer a full service from start to finish and products to display and show a legacy in your home. Putting a price tag on service, experience, products, talent, time and so many other aspects is difficult to figure out from a business owner’s standpoint and then conveying that price to the customer is a task that I never really imagined needing to figure out when I started my business. Becoming profitable when literally every aspect of my business cost money and determining what my skill and talent is worth is a big struggle because there is no set cost to start with that I can just add an up charge to. When so many new and side job photographers just want a little extra cash and dont figure out the cost of doing business, sets a standard that this industry is cheap, easy and disposable. I am only on the verge of getting things figured out for my business. I try to reach out to other and help when I can but until the arts can be more appreciated it will always be a struggle to be profitable.

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 background and context?

Taking pictures and documenting life is something I have done from a very early age. I was and am still the one with the camera. I enjoyed getting my friends to dress up and pose like models as well as took photos just in our day to day at school and sporting events and any other time I was with friends or family. I took photography classes as soon as they were offered in 4-h, joined the yearbook staff in high school and majored in photography in college where I then started working for a local photographer. I kept pursuing my passion by becoming my own boss and starting a portrait photography business.

I continually am working on learning and bettering my craft. I don’t follow trends very well and tend to stick to a classic and timeless look. My images and products will stand the test of time for quality and beauty. Showing connection and emotion in my subjects is something I love doing while also providing art in image form. I take a lot of consideration into every session for safety, uniqueness, along with keeping things fun and carefree.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

With the change in technology and photography being more affordable and accessible to everyone I had to learn that being cheap and giving everything away takes away the value of the art. I started working at a very low price and not giving a value to digitals as a product. Its taken a long time to realize that I am offering a service as well as a product and to charge accordingly. Even though nearly everyone has a camera in their pocket at any given moment shouldn’t deter you from hiring a professional to capture moments in life that include everyone in the family, no one holding their phone for a selfie. Or enjoying the time spent instead of worrying about getting pictures. Offering products to go along with the skill of photography adds a level of service that not all include.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Growing my business within an area that I didn’t grow up was more difficult because no one had heard of me before. I was able to work with some people from were I grew up but had to start from scratch in the town I worked in. I had to meet people go to business events and get to know people there. Once people started to get to know me and hired me they then have been with me for over 10 years and referred me to others. My goal as a business owner is to provide a service that is laid back, fun and something you want to do again and again. I now offer products so you can show off all the beautiful moments captured and remember the milestones in life.

I like offering sessions that are just a little different than other photographers or coming up with new ways to do things so that my clients can have a unique and personal experience. I started offering under water photography as a way to take things to the next level and give clients a once in a life time session as well as an art piece.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.photo-alli.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/photoallillc/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/photoalli
• Linkedin: photoalli

Image Credits
images by photoalli headshot by bountiful eye photography