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

Alright, Allison thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

Allison Renee Studios strives to create a safe and inclusive environment for everyone to have the opportunity to capture their life memories. Allison Renee Studios grew from my desire to have more and be in more photos with my daughter. I lost my mom suddenly in MAy of 2018, just 4 days after my daughter turned 2. This event turned my world upside down and completley changed my outlook on life. Following my moms death I realized that the photos I have of my mom and with my mom were the only photos I would ever have; there would never be anymore. Through my grieving journey I found myself longing for more moments frozen in time with my mom and I never wanted my daughter to feel that way. And from that, Allison Renee Studios was born. The goal is to capture moments in the lives of those I meet that will foster a sense of happiness and remembrance and joy. In addition to being a single mom, I am also a proud member of the LGBTQIA+ community and above everything else, It is my mission to create a safe space for everyone regardless of age, race, gender identity, sexuiality, religion or any other “defining” factor. along with my portrait photography I also specialize in boudoir photography. I began boudoi photography after experiencing my own personal boudoir session and feeling so alive, empowered and beautiful. I wanted to be able to help other people feel that way! growing up I was the bigger girl. The taller girl. The girl with the wide shoulders and wide hips. Then I had a baby and my postpartum body was so different that I did not feel beautiful or worthy of taking up space. After my first boudoir session, I realized my worth and really began to see myself in a different light. I know so many people who struggle with the same feelings I had about myself and being a portrait and boudoir photographer has given me the platform and audience to share my love and passion for empowering and loving and uplifting those I have the honor of crossing paths with. Allison Renee Studios has a mission to Empower, Uplift, Love and foster a space of safety, acceptance and inclusivity.

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.

Hi! My name is Allison and I am the sole owner, operator, photographer, set designer, location scouter, social media content creator, book keeper and creative director behind Allison Renee Studios! I am a Single mom of a spunky and powerful little girl. She is the WHOLE reason I got in to photography! I consider myself a native North Carolinian despite being born to a military family in Pensacola, FL. I have lived in NC for 25 years and this is where I call home! On top of being a mom I am also a dog mom to 4 puppers and an avid house plant enthusiast.
Allison Renee Studios was honestly a happy accident. I bought my first camera in February of 2020 (right before the pandemic) To capture and document my daughters life as she grew. This desire to document her daily life stemmed from the sudden loss of my mother in may of 2018, just 4 days after my daughters 2nd birthday. When my mom passed away it was a very unsettling realization that all the photos I had of and with my mother were the only photos I would ever have. No more. I remember thinking to myself ” I wish I had taken more photos with my mom. I wish I had more photos of my mom and daughter” and that feeling was heart breaking to me. I knew then that I never wanted my daughter to feel that way. So i bought a camera and taught myself everything I know. In May of 2020 a good friend of mine asked me if I could take college graduation pictures of her since the pandemic took her senior year on campus away from her. I happily said yes and after her session she shared her photos on social media and my inbox became flooded with requests to do photos for people. And from that Allison Renee Photography was born. In December of 2020 I photographed my first ever boudoir session and absolutely fell in love with the way my soul was set on fire. Getting to be a part of someones self love journey and have a hand in helping someone realize their own worth and beauty was a high i never wanted to come down from. Between May and December I managed to do 78 photoshoots! From That point forward my soul was set on fire in a way I never knew possible. I began photographing anything I could get my hands on! to this day I photograph, Families, Couples, Children, Weddings, Newborns and boudoir! Each and every session is so special and exciting to me! After 3 years in the business I continue to learn new things contstantly. It’s no secret that photography is a very sturated market, especially here in central North Carolina. Having a community over competition mindset has changed the way I look at my business. The clients meant to cross my path will cross my path. One of the things that sets me apart from other photographers in the are is my love for each and every client I meet. Every single person that comes in to my life can teach me something and I can hopefully teach tem something as well. Being in the south, there is a lot of prejudice and judgement and disdain for those who are part of the LGBTQIA community, and being a part of that community myself, I am able to create a safe and welcoming environment to those who potentially don’t have a safe space to be genuinely themselves in. My photography is my life. the art I create is so much more than just pushing a button and calling it a day. I put my heart and soul into every single session and I strive to build relationships with every single person who graces my lense. If nothing else, I want people to know one thing; You are welcome here. you are safe here, you are loved and you are worthy of taking up space.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

As an artist and creative, of course the art I create is super important to me. However, nothing beats when I have aclient leave their session and says ” you made me feel so comfortable and safe” or ” I have never felt this beautiful” or ” i had so much fun! i wasnt nervous at all!” The most rewarding part of what I do is getting to capture children as they are in that moment in time. The children have little interest in the photos but for the parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles. cousins and family, those photos are moments in time stopped and preserved forever. Babies don’t keep and getting to capture those babies for their families is absolutely priceless. When I photograph children I always encourage parents to get in at least a few photos, no matter if they were prepared for a photo or not! I always tell families that, in 20 years, children will not care if their mom was in shorts and a tshirt with hair that hadn’t been washed in a week. What they are going to care about is that they have a photo with their mom or their dad or whoever is at the session with them. Creating memories for families that will be looked on with love and admiration for YEARS to come is the most rewarding part of being a creative!

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

When I began photography, I thought I had to learn it all myself. I thought It was up to me to learn the ends and the outs of not only being a photographer but also running my own business. Little did I know, I didnt have to do it alone. The biggest resource in my creative journey has been other creatives! Community over Competition has been the biggest game changer for me in my creative journey. the other photographers and business owners and creatives I have come in contact with and have gotten to learn from is absolutely invaluable and I wish i had learned that there are people who have achieved success who have their hand out to help other creatives achieve greatness. The business owners I have met who have answered financial and business questions, the photographers who have mentored and collaborated with me, the models who reccomend me and modeled for me in the beginning are absolutely priceless to me and my creative journey. The community I have built is full of support and learning and love and kindness is more valuable than any formal training or classes I could have ever paid for or taken.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.allisonreneestudios.com
• Instagram: @allisonreneephotog @allisonreneeboudoir
• Facebook: Allison Renee Photography, LLC Allison Renee Boudoir
• Tiktok: @allisonreneephotog

Image Credits
Headshot image: Amanda Vick- Moon & Wolf co.