We were lucky to catch up with Allison Bigaouette recently and have shared our conversation below.

Allison, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Almost all entrepreneurs have had to decide whether to start now or later? There are always pros and cons for waiting and so we’d love to hear what you think about your decision in retrospect. If you could go back in time, would you have started your business sooner, later or at the exact time you started?

If I could go back, I don’t think I would have started my business earlier. I was 22 when I came to a point of realizing I wanted to pursue photography, before that, I was pursuing nursing school. I thought that nursing was for sure what I was going to end up doing with my life. I never had thought about owning my own business.

I ended up dropping out of nursing school and pursuing a marketing degree. In that time, I had gotten a camera for my birthday and started taking pictures of friends and family for fun. It wasn’t until about a year later that I realized I wanted to start pursuing a business. Even after deciding that, I still went on and pursued a job doing social media marketing for a nonprofit, but I was also still shooting weddings on the side. Through multiple circumstances, I decided to take a risk and go full time photography.

The main reason I wouldn’t have gone back is because I grew so much in that time of trying and pursuing different things. I think that season lead me to the point of being a business owner.

Allison, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a wedding photographer based out of Bend, OR. I originally started my business in Minneapolis, MN and my husband and I moved out to Oregon in 2022. I was still in Minneapolis when I decided to go full time, and we were in the process of moving to Oregon. I had my first full time wedding season here in Oregon, and I did a lot of marketing to be able to make that happen. Being a business owner has had its pros and cons. I love that I get to be part of so many amazing moments in people’s lives, but I have always struggled with the business side of what I do. Taking time to learn and understand all the parts of my business have taught me patience and perseverance.

This year will be my third year doing full time photography. I have narrowed my focus to doing mostly weddings and couples. I love being able to be there for people on one of the most important days of their lives. I also love being part of the planning process. Planning a wedding can be a lot, and anything I can do to be helpful in that process is part of why I do this job.

Can you open up about a time when you had a really close call with the business?

One of my first weddings I was shooting on a brand new SD card and I forgot to format it to my camera. After the wedding, I was trying to scroll through the photos and my camera was telling me that there were no photos on the card. My heart dropped. I remember crying and I had no idea what to do. I ended up finding this little hole in the wall tech fixing spot in Minneapolis that sat with me for hours, and he some how managed to find all the photos on the card. I was so thankful! After that, I always make sure to format my card to camera before shooting. Every time.

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

I make a point to make a personal connection with my clients through my marketing. I want them to know that even though I love taking pictures that I also love being able to actually connect with my clients. I try to emphasize that, so that potential clients truly know that I want to genuinely be there for them and their day.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://anicolephoto.com/
• Instagram: @allisonnicolephoto
• Facebook: Allison Nicole Photo

Image Credits
All by me.