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

Allison , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

The most meaningful project I have worked on is photographing my friends for their senior photos when I was in high school. Having friends trust me with a photograph that encapsulates who they are as a person in that time of their life is very important to a lot of people and I was honored to have friends who wanted me to do that for them considering at the time I was merely an amateur with a camera.

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 originally from Oregon, currently living in Michigan, I got started in photography when I was about 15 years old when my mom got a new digital camera for the family, it was a bulky silver Kodak camera, I ended up using that camera more than anyone else and discovered my love for photography very quickly. When I was 16 years old I had one of my photographs published on Jones soda labels which was such a big deal for me since only one percent of their photos submitted get published on these labels. I currently do not offer any products but I do want to open an online store with my photographs sold as prints for anyone who enjoys my work. My goal is to have an online store to sell prints of my work as well as offer a gallery since currently I am only using Instagram and Facebook, I was like to be able to make a living off of my photography.
Well I don’t work with clients since I am a freelance photographer and my focus is on architecture and lighting and nature, I think what sets me apart is I have an eye for capturing my subject at an angle that you wouldn’t normally expect, and see this subject from a different perspective. I am proud that my work has resonated with people and I hope to continue to do that.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

Give artist credit when you share their work, don’t steal their work, support their work by purchasing anything of theirs that they have for sale or even offering to buy something from them if you see something you like. Like, shares, and “exposure” can only do so much for us. We deserve to make a living off of our art just like any other profession. I think there’s this weird idea that people have that we shouldn’t have to pay for art, but considering how much we put into our work, our heart and soul and labor, we deserve any compensation that they would give someone else for doing their work in their respected field. Is great as social media has been to share stuff it’s also been a curse because of so much stuff theft happens. If you want to support an artist support them directly instead of through a third-party company that they did not authorize the use of their work.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

When I graduated high school I was excepted to Kendall College of Art and design here in Michigan which is one of the best art schools in the country. I went there to major in photography, two semesters in I got sepsis and was hospitalized for eight days, when I left I was put on major bedrest and could not go back to school. When I had attempted to register for spring classes when I was ready to go back I was told that I had to pay $3000 otherwise I could not register for classes. I took that as a sign that school was not for me, quite frankly the classes that I was going through were not helpful for my career and I felt like I was wasting time and money at an institution that only valued money and not my progression as an artist in my respective field. I I quickly learned that I don’t need a piece of paper to prove my talent or my worth, ever since then I have been working a variety of part-time and full-time jobs in retail and food service, it has not been an easy road but I have not given up my love for photography and continue to work on my craft in hopes that I can make a living off of my work and be the artist that I’ve always wanted to be since I was a kid.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: capsule_28_photography
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/capsule28photography

Image Credits
Allison Shaw