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

Allison, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

I needed a reason to pick up my camera again.

In 2019, I had spent the better part of a decade waiting tables despite having a BFA in Photography in my back pocket. I’d had a few false starts with putting my degree to use, but ultimately I wasn’t ready to take the plunge and I was making pretty good money serving. I probably made a million other excuses I’m forgetting, but the chemistry just wasn’t right in my life to start a business. Ultimately it took a lot of pretty terrible life events to shake me up and show me the tools to carve a new path.

All the worst things happened at the same time. I was dealing with postpartum depression after the birth of my second child. Then, in very rapid succession of a few weeks, I quit my job, my dad and grandad passed away, covid hit, and my eldest was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. The amount of grief almost buried me, but returning to photography got me through it. I realized I could channel what I was feeling through creating and it brought me so much comfort. I documented our life at home through lockdowns, every mundane little detail, and followed that little voice inside me blindly. I trusted it was taking me somewhere important even through I didn’t fully understand the destination.

The few times I’d tried to ‘do’ photography as a job in the past, I would say yes to just about anything. I was just happy to get paid for the thing I actually loved and trained for. I realize now that’s part of why it never stuck and I stayed in the service industry for as long as I did. I needed a “why”, a reason for my work that would keep the passion alive. THAT is what I figured out in 2020 when everything in my world came crashing down. So I decided to take a big risk and go into business for myself, this time with a unique point of view forged in the fires of grief.

I wanted to document life in a real way, revealing the beauty that was already there so that it could be remembered truthfully. I didn’t want to pose, dress up, or manufacture something for the sake of a paycheck. If I was going to have a photography business, it had to exemplify everything I believed in. Growing up, my favorite photos were always the candid ones that really showed what our life was actually like; the ones where I could see my favorite toys in the background or crafts strewn across the kitchen table. I would get lost in the images that really held moments suspended in time – my Dad’s impish grin right before chucking a massive snowball, sitting with my sister on our front stoop with melting popsicles running down our arms, or watching our new puppy getting reluctantly pushed around in our Barbie convertible. These are the kinds of photographs I wanted to make for others.

The risk here was to trust that the right people would find me and desire what I was offering, even though it wasn’t what they were used to seeing. I wasn’t sure people would see the value in paying for a documentary family session when the perfect holiday card worthy photo taken in a field at golden hour was the norm. Not only that, but convincing people to let me photograph them for up to eight hours felt a little scary. Who would want that? Well, I put the word out. It took time, but my people found me.

Fast forward to now – I have a thriving small business where I spend 3, 5, even 8 hours with families. I just delivered a gallery from an 8 hour session yesterday, for which I had travelled to another state. I’ve garnered rave reviews about what my photos mean to my clients, how seen and happy their children felt during the session, and how grateful they are to have a time capsule of how “right now” felt, back when it was right then. People can tell when you’re genuinely passionate about what you do. I’m doing the most meaningful thing I’ve ever done, and I’m so happy I took the leap and then stuck to my guns.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m Allie Clarke and I’m a documentary family photographer specializing in long form, storytelling sessions. I spend anywhere from 90 minutes to 8 hours documenting life with my clients. The images I create look true to life, but amplified. I aim to make everyday life appear as beautiful as it feels to live it.

Despite graduating with a BFA in Photomedia from the University of KS, I didn’t start my business for nearly a decade. I discovered my “why” right around Covid lockdowns when I was at home with my kids 24/7. I was dealing with the loss of my Dad, being stuck at home, and grappling with an ASD diagnosis for my oldest. I started to really see the beauty in my everyday life and realized I wanted to show clients the beauty in theirs.

I’m so proud of myself for starting a business out of something I care so deeply about and that people value what I’m offering. I can’t imagine doing anything else!

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I really think it’s as simple as being being myself. It’s one of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned as an artist, business owner, and valuable member of society. As a photographer, it’s not just about the end product. It’s about the experience too. If you put on a facade because you think it’s what will bring you clients, friends, acclaim, people will sniff it out. Not everyone is going to like you or want what you’re offering, but the RIGHT people will.

Being open, vulnerable, truthful, and speaking with my own voice from my own experiences is what has really helped me build a reputation as a photographer and business owner.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

I absolutely devoured Joy Prouty’s book “Practicing Presence” this summer. She put so many feelings and anxieties I had as an artist and mother into words. Her gentle advice, beautifully imperfect images, and philosophy around being present as a parent has deeply shaped my view of the world and the work I create.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.allieclarkephoto.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/allieclarkephoto

Image Credits
Allie Clarke Leah Evans