Meet Alexandra Balut

We were lucky to catch up with Alexandra Balut recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Alexandra, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?

My family is my purpose! I put them in the forefront of everything I do, and I never want to miss a thing. When my oldest daughter was about 6 months old, I went out and bought a little $300 camera to be able to capture the moments that pass too fast. I quickly discovered I had a talent for photography thanks to the encouragement from some friends and family. My business became a completely unintentional business and quickly grew into what it is today, almost 8 years later. I couldn’t be more grateful it worked out this way, though! I have always been a very creative person, and to be able to capture such special memories for other families and combine my creative nature with that was such a dream come true.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

My name is Alexandra Balut, but I also go by “Mom and Wife” pretty frequently! I am 30 years old and currently live in South Bloomfield, OH. My husband and I have 2 little girls, and that’s where my story starts. I have been a mom for almost 9 years now, and when my oldest daughter was born I bought a little $300 camera to capture her special moments and milestones. I quickly discovered a talent thanks to a lot of encouragement from family and friends. The business I have built up to now was completely unintentional. I never set out to be a professional photographer. In fact, I went to college for something completely different. I have always been very creative, and when I got my first camera it was like something clicked for me and the rest was history. Without my family, friends, faith, and loyal clients, I would not be where I am today.

My business focuses on family relationships and authentic personalities. I love to be able to show true interactions between everyone. My favorite poses and prompts include movement and tell more of a story rather than your traditional “say cheese” type of poses. I try my best to capture everyone’s personality as much as I can! When you look back at your session photos, I want it to be more of a good memory with your loved ones rather than just an annual photo session.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

The most important quality one can have while running a business is knowing how to treat people. Most of my clients are like family to me now. I see them multiple times per year and watch their kids grow up. There are many clients of mine I have seen from “just dating” all the way to bringing babies into the world. It’s been such a big blessing in my life to form these relationships with them and experience these special milestones. If you treat people right and have good relationships, they will bless you in more ways than you could ever imagine. You should also not be afraid of failure. You WILL fail at some point along the way at something. With every hiccup you have, there will be another skill taught. Don’t be afraid to dive into what interests you just because you’re afraid of failing. The last thing I would encourage you to do is to be original. Find your own style that speaks to you, go out and try new things or techniques, and break some “rules” along the way.

Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?

My community of local photographers has played a crucial role in my professional development. I have been blessed with such an amazing group of helpful, skillful, insightful, and encouraging bunch. We do live in a highly saturated area with a lot of talent to go around, so I value the relationships we all have. We do not view each other as the “competition” nor has there ever been any animosity between most of us. There have been countless times I have gone to many of them for advice on sets, location questions, equipment questions, and editing questions. I think when we can all collaborate together, that’s when the magic truly happens.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Image 1- Me and my family! Image by Gabrial Jacee Photography
Image 2- Image by Alexandra Balut Portarits, LLC
Image 3- Image by Alexandra Balut Portarits, LLC
Image 4- Image by Alexandra Balut Portarits, LLC

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