We recently connected with Fable Avalon and have shared our conversation below.

Fable, appreciate you joining us today. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?

After going to college at Hallmark Institute of photography, and graduating in 2014, I immediately hit the ground running and worked under a wedding photographer to gain some professional skills. I learned so much about the art of photography, as well as the intricacies of professionalism in the photography world. From there, I started my own business full-time. It was a slow start, and there were some road bumps along the way, like with anything, but I started earning full-time income in 2017. To make sure I keep that standard I’m always researching the market, keeping my toolbox up-to-date with current trends and skills, and building connections with both clients and other professionals. For anyone wanting to do this full-time my biggest piece of advice I can give you is to make connections.

Fable, 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?

So, I always knew I wanted to be an artist of some kind. I was using a camera before I was able to properly use the computer, and even convinced my parents to buy me well over 100 disposables when I was a kid. The real turning point was when I was in high school, I think I was a freshman, and someone asked me if I was gonna do photography for my career. it hadn’t dawned on me that I could make money from it, and from that day forward, I dove headfirst into learning, everything I could about photography and the business of it.

Although the market has evolved a lot since I started, I think what has kept me doing photography as long as I have been is seeing peoples confidence change. From the very first portrait that I took of a friend of mine when I was in middle school, to my most recent boudoir photoshoot with a reoccurring client, seeing people find themselves beautiful, knowing that I’ve done something to positively change their outlook of themselves, fuels my soul. Both in my personal life and my professional life, I believe that if you have the power to do something kind, then it is your obligation to. And this is just one of the ways that I adhere to that core value, and it is the guiding principle of my business.

This stretch is not just to portraits, but also to my pet portraits. I’ve done a few end-of-life sessions for my clients animals, and although it is always heartbreaking, it’s also also a chance to save that pets personality and connection for the pet parent. When I first started doing this, I had to charge for it to get by with my bills, but I now offer this as a free service.

At the end of the day, the thing I most proud of is that I can bring some type of emotional magic to peoples lives. Whether that be in building confidence, changing perspectives, or saving the essence of a beloved pet and bringing comfort to their family.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

It’s freedom. The freedom to create, to make my own rules, honestly to just do what I want and make money from it. If we didn’t need money to survive, I’d still be doing the same thing. Because at the end of the day, it allows me to express and change the world around me- and to give freedom to other people too. By setting up a photo shoot with somebody to photograph them as a fairy or cryptic creature, I’m giving them the freedom of expression. And in some, I am opening up their comfort zones to emotional freedom as well.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Perfection. I spent so long, so many years, trying to perfect the artistic principles that I’d learned that I forgot the enjoyment of art itself. There was a period of time between 2014 and 2015, right after I graduated, then I felt my work was lacking. Which was ironic because I just graduated college FOR photography. I even got some feedback from other photographers that my work felt cold, unfeeling. It was then when I realized that while my images were technically perfect, but they weren’t me and they weren’t good. From that day forward, I experimented with which rules I liked and which I didn’t, and have since built a style to reflect my personalized choices.

In short, some artistic rules are meant to be broken, and even if some are not that you can still do so. At the end of the day, there are really no artistic rules, just artistic guidelines. Whether or not you choose to adhere to them, and which ones, defines your artistic style.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.fableavalon.com
• Instagram: Instagram.com/fableavalon
• Facebook: Facebook.com/fableavalon