Meet Angelique Alcaraz

We were lucky to catch up with Angelique Alcaraz recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Angelique, thank you so much for opening up with us about some important, but sometimes personal topics. One that really matters to us is overcoming Imposter Syndrome because we’ve seen how so many people are held back in life because of this and so we’d really appreciate hearing about how you overcame Imposter Syndrome.
In this age, we are constantly bombarded with images and stories — more so than ever before. I saw an estimate that Americans consume an estimated 11.8 hours of information per day. That is most of our waking time and opens a HUGE door for comparison, especially when everything online is so picture-perfect. It is so easy to fall into the comparison trap and feel like an imposter in any field, or in any lifestyle.

I was no exception and, towards the early days especially, spent so much time scrolling and comparing my business to other photographers. I asked myself questions like, “Can I really call myself a professional?”, “Do I deserve to make a living wage doing this?”, “Will my work ever be that good?”. Then one day, I decided that was just a mindset, and instead I asked “What can I do to improve the way I serve my clients?”, “How can I build upon my skills to thrive in this industry?”, and “Who can I connect with to better serve my community?”.

That adjustment to focus on improvement and service changed EVERYTHING. I was not in this business to prove myself anymore. I know that there will always be professionals more talented or more experienced than me and that is okay. My job was to use the talent and experience that I have to build, grow, and serve others. My Instagram feed and publications do not prove my value as a photographer.

My value as a photographer is determined by the individuals I have the privilege of serving — by the way their shoulders relax when they hear that they don’t have to make styling decisions alone, by the joyful laughter at their session, by the tears in their eyes when they open their galleries, and the memories forever framed on their walls.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I am a professional photographer. I specialize in family & maternity photography but find a unique creative joy in all types of sessions. I am approached my clients to capture all types of important milestones for them including, weddings, headshots, senior portraits, and more.

There is so much that is special about photography. It is not just photos; it is the freezeframe of tiny moments mother’s don’t want to forget, of young lovers in their prime, of huge transitions in people’s lives. People take photos for all kinds of reasons, but the most common is celebration. People love to celebrate what they love. I have seen celebrations of family, relationships, and self. Growing up I always knew I wanted to help people, I just didn’t know quite how I would go about it.

Today I help mothers see beauty they were afraid was long past. I help women see how loved they really are. I help people feel that they deserve to feel professional and they are not imposters. This year I am talking to many of my past clients and completely revamping the way I serve them.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Three things that were most impactful in my journey were consistency, a desire to learn, and external support. Starting a business is scary. In the beginning you aren’t really known for anything yet and so it can be intimidating to start working, posting, and sharing as a professional. However, the best thing to do is just stick to it. You find that as you continue, it starts to get less scary and more real.

One thing that helps it become more real is a strong desire to learn. When anyone starts a journey there are plenty of pieces missing, those pieces are knowledge that need to be learned. Learning and practicing is how you grow, as both a person and a professional.

A huge part of any learning and business journey is external support. Throughout my journey I was blessed to have a strong network of friends and family willing to let me practice on them. I had an encouraging husband who never failed to support me in my journey and I was lucky enough to find a beautiful community of women in the industry who were more than willing to help teach, encourage, and support one another. I truthfully do not think I could have gotten to where I am today alone.

Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?
I am currently reading a book I am really enjoying learning from and applying to my business. It is called “Building a Story Brand” by Donald Miller. I am only about halfway through but already there is such a wealth of applicable knowledge from a viewpoint I never considered before. I think the most important point from the book is that you are not your customer’s hero. I think it comes naturally to business owners to position yourself as the hero that will swoop in and save your client from all of their problems in X area. However, this book says that clients want to be the hero in their own story and so instead you need to be your customer’s guide. This switches the entire framework. Instead of trying to make your client think you’re the greatest in the world and will solve their problems, you think of how you can SERVE your client and guide them throughout the process of solving their problems. You can become their educator, their mentor, their motivator, their knowledge base or skilled hand; When you become such an essential guide to them they naturally come to value you while also feeling good about playing such an important role in their own story.

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