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

Alright, Aly thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard.

I think the thing that separates my wedding photography business from a lot of other photographers is that I not only do what I want, but I center my own creative vision and drive before considering my couples. Let me explain.

We are told especially in the wedding photography industry that it’s not about us, it’s not our photoshoot, it’s not our day. This is true, and I agree. Just the other day I was shooting a cocktail hour at a wedding, an idea came to me so I asked the bride if she’d like to take this photo. She said she’d rather not, and I said okay, no problem! So I am certainly not saying to center yourself on someone’s wedding day. But what I am saying is that if I didn’t allow myself to be driven by my own creative process and visions in my business, I’m not sure there’d be much joy in showing up to work, nor would it be worth the hassle of being a photographer if I had to do what other people wanted. Photography is a job of passion, or it should be. It should derive from passion. It’s not just a job, it’s not something I clock in for. I’m a photographer 24/7, carrying a camera with me always. If I am led by what other people want, even my couples, I am uninspired. I am unexcited. I am probably not going to do a great job taking that photo. So the core of my business is really that I am going to do what I want and execute the visions I see, and the couples I attract not only trust me to do that (a trust fall, if you will) but they encourage it. It’s incredibly liberating keeps me from burning out or showing up to work uninspired.

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.

Hello! My name is Aly and I’m an almost 29 year old wedding film photographer from Richmond, Virginia. What started with buying a Canon Rebel T6 to take photos of my 3 cats + dog somehow snowballed into shooting weddings for a living, and on film. In 2020 when lockdown hit, I started taking porch portraits of people around town for fun, and the more I’d post the portraits online, little by little people started offering to pay me. I started studying business (on Youtube!) as well as took a photograph everyday the summer of 2020 until I felt fully confident in shooting my (digital) camera in any lighting, scene, etc. I was determined to become a master at my craft because I am competitive, a perfectionist, and am diagnosed with OCD which can sometimes play out in how far I take my hobbies. I would study the photographers I loved and instead of get discouraged, told myself I’d keep trying until I created a better photo. For me, this method worked really well in how fast I went from amateur to professional as far as the quality of my work. I’ve never really struggled with imposter syndrome, just an endless drive to feel worthy to create in the same space my favorites did/do.

The clients that come to me all have one thing in common when first writing my inbox: “your photos don’t look like anyone else’s.” I’d agree. And it’s because I approach each couple with their unique individuality, going into each session without a shot list and a one simple plan and secret ingredient: we’re just gonna hang out. The photos will come from that, they’ll follow. I think this is a breath of fresh air for couples who are used to working with photographers who pose them, or have a stereotype in their head about what it’s like to work with a photographer. It doesn’t have to be awkward and it doesn’t have to feel, or look, fake. Because with me, it won’t be.

I am most proud of how I built this business from scratch despite being a chronic quitter. I am a high school dropout who never went to college, I have quit every single hobby and job I’ve ever had. 4 years in, photography is the only thing that I’ve stuck with, and it’s stuck to me like glue. I picked up film in 2022 and it is the best thing I ever did for myself and my business. When I picked it up, I didn’t even know it was “trendy” in the wedding world until I was waist deep into my film journey. I switched all of my sessions to 100% film, and weddings can be full film upon request – otherwise every wedding is about 40%-50% film.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I love this question as marketing is my speciality, specifically Instagram. Yes, even in a world of a broken algorithm. (spoiler: it’s not really broken and it’s not out to get you).

I must credit Instagram for getting my business off the ground. In 2020 I posted a new portrait almost every night, and momentum built from that. When my page hit 400 followers I remember saying I needed to develop a strategy, so that I could grow and get more eyes in front of my work. I spent several weeks watching videos on the IG algorithm on Youtube, and trial and error’d my way into figuring it out in real time for myself with posting my work. In short, here are a couple of things that really helped grow my business into what it is and also continue to generate me new leads and eyes on my work:

Quality over quantity. Do not post on your feed everyday. Post only your best work, your photographs that will be scroll-stopping for the folks who have a 2 second attention span and are only going to spend time on a photo if it stands out. You want people to stop, click like and maybe even comment because that tells the algorithm folks are interested in your work, and will then show your post to more people and new eyes. It’s easy to want to post daily to “look busy” but I promise that will hurt you more than it helps you.

Social media. Social media… is social. You must be social! Make connections. Compliment people. Talk to them about their day, share their work, and most people will return the favor. I am NOT talking about any follow for follow nonsense. I am saying the people who show up for you and your work online, show up for them too. It makes a huge difference and I too often see creatives complain about the algorithm, while they do nothing to even try showing up for their fellow peers or even followers. You can support your supporter’s works without having to follow them, if following strangers isn’t something you want to do.

Share about your life! I don’t mean dancing on video, or sobbing about your breakup. You don’t have to talk about your trauma or even your day if you don’t want to. Share what you’re comfortable sharing, but let people in! Along the way in my online journey and converting followers to eventual clients, people love hearing about my 3 cats. They love hearing about the silly situations I get myself in. They love seeing my partner (who I rarely share online) and they love seeing what I’m up to for the day. I don’t share about my life super often, but a few times a week is really important for letting your followers see you as more than just a photographer they follow and instead a real live human person who has personality and quirks and hardships.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

Before I was a career photographer, I remember seeing career photographers in my life post their complaints about their business online. Not about clients, but about their job duties. Like editing deadlines, managing deadlines in general, not wanting to go to work and shoot that day, things like that. I remember sitting at my dead-end job that made me miserable, seeing their posts and thinking “you have no idea how lucky you are”. I really did think entrepreneurs and especially photographers had it so easy. I’d think “if I worked for myself I’d never complain!” not understanding what exactly goes into even keeping a business running and profitable. Then a few years later I became a career photographer and it’s a big gigantic “Oh.” I try to count my blessings often, don’t get me wrong. I am so lucky. I wouldn’t trade being my own boss for anything at this point. But is it easy? No. Managing and making your deadlines, communicating with clients, keeping up with finances and taxes… all the things I never knew go into being a business owner until I became one. Staying up to date on business licensing, business insurance for venues and your gear and sometimes sessions depending on where you shoot. It’s a lot, and I’m a one-man show. I have been up late many nights crying, wondering how I’ll ever make this deadline for a client or finish this or that. I’ve stared at my laptop til my eyes cross, probably crying, editing photos when I just don’t feel like editing and that’s a problem because if you’re not enjoying essentially painting this photograph there isn’t passion infused and the final product isn’t going to be the same as the times you weren’t so burnt out and exhausted. So I have a rule these days, deadlines be damned, I only edit when my heart is in it, when I can be fully present. My turnaround times have long been adjusted to accommodate this lil workplace rule for myself so while I often deliver galleries ahead of schedule, I have wiggle room for an occasional mental breakdown or two.

Being a business owner especially by yourself is hard. It’s 100% worth it, but you have to really want it, you know? And I know I wanted it, I know I want it. So it’s worth it. But it’s not for the faint of heart or for people who would rather not have a job altogether. I work harder owning my business than I ever did working for anyone else and it’s because if I didn’t, I’d lose my business real fast.

Contact Info:

• Website: alyhansenphoto.com
• Instagram: @alyhansenphoto
• Other: Thanks so much for having me! <3