Bubbly
Photographer: Alyssa Foster
1. What driving force motivates you as an artist and keeps you going?
I love the creativity part of the industry. Last year, I did a bunch of styled shoots and realized how excited they made me feel. I decided I didn't want to wait for a styled shoot to make me excited about my work, so I recently started doing "mood board sessions" to keep my creative juices flowing and make creativity part of my brand. This has been a huge success and I love being able to include anyone (no matter their shape, size, experience, etc) into my projects. None of the clients that model for me are professional "models," but we work together in a way that makes them comfortable enough to get "that model look".
2. Collaboration can be important for artists. Tell us about your team and how they contribute to your work.
I have a small team. It is just me and my husband. He does not always go to my shoots, but I do have him with me for shoots that require his assistance. For example, this Bubbly shoot, while I was getting taking shots of the model, my husband was the one with the big bubbles. It took about twenty minutes to get a shot that I was satisfied with, but together we made it work. His assistance and support has been the key to the success of my business. In addition, I also enjoy working with other vendors in my area. I look for local business that fit the “vibe” I am looking for a particular shoot. I try to include everyone in at least one project a year. I am blessed with an amazing group of vendors that are extremely talented in our area.
3. Can you tell us about your creative process, from the initial idea to the final result?
My mood board sessions were heavily based off of my love for styled shoots. I wanted to be able to integrate creativity into my brand as a photographer. I love to use that creativity into any type of session, whether it be portrait, couple, family, maternity or weddings.
For this specific concept, I wanted to use bubbles in an editorial way. I have always loved the idea of using them in a photoshoot, but wanted to have the right idea in order to make it work. I was scrolling through pinterest one night, while working on my mood boards, and found a photo of a girl in a clear astronaut type of helmet. I thought to myself, "how cool would that be if it was a huge bubble?" I went onto amazon, found the big bubble wand, picked the colors I wanted (I love the orange & blue color combination), loved the idea of a rain jacket for the "raining bubbles", and BOOM I had my big idea! I put my mood board up on my instagram stories and it booked right away!
4. What challenges have you faced in your career so far, and how have you overcome them?
I have faced a lot of challenges over the last three years. My first year with the business was probably the hardest. I was having a difficult time getting bookings. I either wasn’t charging enough to be taken seriously, or I was charging too much, so my clients thought I was too expensive. I decided I did not want to quit and rebranded myself as a "maternity & newborn photographer". I shot a couple maternity & newborn sessions for free to up my portfolio and my bookings started to fill. My second year was challenging with my conflicting love between creativity and being an everyday photographer. I would still book sessions, but they did not fuel me the way styled shoots did. I started a color series to have a reason to do more styled shoots and I have experience tremendous growth ever since.
5. What led you to choose Mob, and what are your career aspirations in this field?
I sat down a couple months ago and started writing down my goals. Last year my goal was to book 15 weddings. I quickly questioned why that was my goal. Why does the number of weddings symbolize success? I did not want to have the number of sessions I book define my success. So, I thought back to what drives me the most? Creativity. I love to be creative with my camera. I love having an idea in my head and bringing it to life. I want to create art and share it with others.
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Photographer: Alyssa Foster @alyssafosterphotography
Model: Liliana Mondragon @lili.mondragn