Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Alyssa Lusardi. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Alyssa thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How did you scale up? What were the strategies, tactics, meaningful moments, twists/turns, obstacles, mistakes along the way? We’d love to hear the backstory the illustrates how you grew your brand.

I wasnt sure which topic to choose, and when I first read this one I thought, scaled up, do I really think my business has scaled? Do I consider myself successful in my craft? Then I thought, yeah, I have taken this baby business of mine that I started in 2017 into the 6 figure business it is today by hard-work, education and learning hard lessons. From photographing military ceremonies and cake smashes to now niching into a wedding and elopement photographer that is clear in her brand and confident in her talent.

I started my photography business in 2017 when my oldest daughter was one year old. I had gone to college and earned a degree in business management, I was working a 9-5 in an office and doing photography on the side. My glass was always empty,I always felt like I was sacrificing, time, time with my family, my sanity. And all for what? I was working for someone else’s dream, and, someone else was hanging out with my kiddo all day. So I took the initiative to dive head first into my photography. In 2017 I filed for my LLC and established my business officially. It was a slow start, I was shooting almost everything and anything I could even if it wasn’t exciting, just to bring home a paycheck. In 2018 I had my second baby, took a step back from both the 9-5 and photography, and in the spring of 2019 I had an opportunity to attend a workshop in Palm springs California.

I took a leap of faith, flying across the country by myself to a place I had never been, I spent a few days learning from some of the best in the industry and while I was there I made the decision that my passion was with weddings and elopements and that I was going to fully immerse myself in this business of mine and do what I needed to do to prove to myself and all of those around me that I could do this full time. 2019 I kicked off my wedding brand, by 2020 I was booking weddings left and right and hit my first 6 figure year. One year into business, I almost couldn’t believe it. The imposter syndrome set in and I always questioned, but why me. What do I have that others photographers that were clearly better than me dont have?

some of the things I contribute to the increase in success of my business would have to be the client experience and the personal touches I really drive into my brand. I take the time to personally respond to all inquiries, where it might be easier to set up automated responses, I choose to go in and answer everyone individually. No matter what time, or what im doing. Since doing things this way i have found that it leaves a positive impact. My clients always have positive things to say about the way I treat them, go above and beyond for them and rave about how communicative and responsive I am. I provide them with tons of information that I find most couples do not know about planning a wedding and truly establish friendships. At the end of the day I
am more than just a photographer to them. People pay for trust, quality, and experience. And offering all of that and then some (like my awful dad jokes) I have been able to grow this business of mine into a thriving and humbling and exciting part of my life. It wasn’t over night, it wasn’t even in months. It took trial and error, self motivation and dedication, saying yes to a lot of things I would actually say no to now, to get to where I am today. I made mistakes in the beginning that cost me, but most importantly TAUGHT me.

People say, “oh it must be nice being your own boss and making all that money”
yeah, the money is nice, but its the hard work and all those years of working my butt off to get to where i am today that I appreciate much more. My kids watching me work hard to provide for them and seeing what it takes to get a business to this point and we are definitely not stopping here.

If you want to scale your business you need to take a look at how you currently do things and if there is room for improvement. You need to have an open mind about business practices and keeping up with the times. Yes, sometimes that means doing things like reels, and Tiktok. I have found that being willing to reach my audience and potential clients I had to adapt and grow with the times. I have also found that outsourcing some of my work gave me more time to focus on the client experience. Less time I spent doing other things like blogging and Pinterest, the more time I could spend creating helpful documents for my clients, like my engagement session prep guide. The last tip I have is to never stop learning, the more opportunities you can give yourself to take a class, watch an educational youtube video or learn something new, the more value you are giving to your clients, which in turn makes YOU more valuable overall and then you can charge more for your worth and grow that business!

I have big plans for Oceans To Mountains Photography in the coming years and hope to see it grow even more.

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

About me? My name is Alyssa Lusardi, I am first a wife and mom of three beautiful girls, secondly I am a weightlifting, coffee drinking, crime junkie with a passion for adventure.

I grew up in New jersey, went to college in North Carolina and then moved to North Dakota with my husband then back to New Jersey where we currently reside. I have been a wedding photographer full time since 2020 but I have been in the industry since 2017. I grew this business from a passion and the desire to stay home and be with my kids full time, but it became so much more than that. Having kids and being married to military made me realize just how important it was to capture moments and I became engulfed in the world of photography. I started with military ceremonies on base, to homecomings, and deployment sessions, and also family sessions. These photos meant so much more to these families than non-military families because sometimes it was the last time they would all be together for months or even a year. It fed my need to make a difference in peoples lives.

once my husband separated from the military I shifted my focus to weddings and elopements, with still the desire to make a difference. Telling peoples stories, documenting their love for one another. The documentary approach I take to photography allows me to capture moments as they happen and deliver my clients a unique experience.
My brand is established and focused around the idea that you can do whatever you want to celebrate your love, whether its eloping on a mountain top, or getting married in a church with a big reception. We take back the wedding day, kick overused traditions to the curb (if you are totally over them, like me) and just do whatever the hell you want on your big day!

My approach may be a little untraditional but I am more than happy to be a safe space for those that just want to do what makes them happy, even if they piss others off in the process ha ha .

How did you build your audience on social media?

This is such an important topic, I see it get asked all the time in groups im in “how do you guys social media? How do you know whats too much to share and whats not enough?”
As a photographer, or anyone in the service industry, I find it important to be present. Clients or potential clients are ALL over your socials whether you know it or not. They want to see WHO they are working with, not just the product they produce.
Pretty pictures are just a fraction of what I offer my clients and without a strong internet presence, they would never know that.
Now you dont need to tell people everything, but you need to decide what parts of your life are important for others to know, to help them make a CONNECTION with you.
If people cant vibe with you, how can you expect them to hire you?

In order to build a strong audience on social media you have to just show up, share parts of your day, share your work or products, talk to your audience. Also show them you admire them and their opinions, ask them questions and interact with them daily.
People will follow you for you and not just the products or service you provide

Ive been able to successfully attract followers by being unapologetically myself and by offering valuable information ontop of showing my work and what I have to offer.

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

There are SO many rewarding aspects of my job. But nothing compares to the gratefulness of those whose lives I get to touch. I get to provide couples and families the opportunity to relive moments in time forever. A photo is so much more than just a photo, it could be the last photo ever taken of someone. The meaningfulness behind what I do is the most rewarding aspect of my job. I could not be more blessed and motivated by that to continue doing what I do.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oceanstomountains.photography/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Oceanstomountainsphotography/
• Other: tik tok https://www.tiktok.com/@alyssa_lusardi

Image Credits
Oceans To Mountains Photography (myself)