Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Alexandra Stewart. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Alexandra, we’re so appreciative of you taking the time to share your nuggets of wisdom with our community. One of the topics we think is most important for folks looking to level up their lives is building up their self-confidence and self-esteem. Can you share how you developed your confidence?
As a photographer, my job involves meeting new people and making them feel at ease right away. Back in the early days, the idea of talking to strangers or shooting in unfamiliar places would make me super nervous. I’d sit in my car, watching the clock, thinking, “Maybe they won’t show up, or we’ll need to reschedule to avoid this awkward situation.”
But, surprise, they’d always show up, and I had to act like I had it all together. Over time, I realized they were just as nervous as I was. I needed to be confident for the both of us. After a couple poses, we’d start having a blast during the session.
Then, on the drive home, I’d be thinking, “That was fun, but my photos must be terrible!” The self-doubt was real—worrying about not posing enough, settings not being perfect, and anticipating tons of editing. But when I finally saw the photos on my computer- they were actually great.
This self-deprecating routine continued, with me whispering to my team, “My photos are horrible!” and them rolling their eyes, assuring me it was never true. I wasn’t fishing for compliments; I genuinely felt that way until I saw the results. I would always feel this way until I got home and actually looked at my photos. Every time they were awesome.
Eventually I started brushing off my doubts, hoping my initial feelings were wrong. . As time went on, my confidence started to grow. Simple as that. I was actually good at taking photos. I actually made people comfortable. I actually made people laugh and have fun and relax.
One day, I realized the nervousness was gone. I still checked the clock, but this time because the sun was perfect and I wanted them to come sooner. I made quick decisions about their outfits, where to go what to do. At some point I’d realized I was good enough. I could handle anything thrown at me.
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?
I’m a photographer based in Los Angeles with a focus on engagement, wedding, and event photography. I’ve been a professional wedding photographer since 2010, but my interest in photography goes back as far as I can remember. Finding a childhood photo of myself on Christmas morning, holding a toy camera in my little neon parachute pants, really drove home that I’ve always been a photographer.
I was born and raised in Fort Myers, Florida, a city that wasn’t well-known during my childhood. I never expected much for myself or my future. Then I met my husband (as teenagers at the county fair). He has always been my biggest supporter, inspiring me to be the woman I am today. I’m a big believer in love, which is probably why I’ve always enjoyed capturing weddings.
When it comes to weddings and events, my aim is to do more than take pretty photos; I want to capture memories. Moments are fleeting- you don’t always realize how important the little things are until years later. Snatching up your moms smile or your brothers teary congratulations and being able to save them forever- there’s nothing more fulfilling than that. It makes me feel like I have the best job in the world.
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?
If I had to boil down operating a successful photography business to three things, I’d say it’s: acknowledging that you’re running a business, knowing your craft & equipment, and efficiently managing your time.
Photography may be an art, but you’ll never be able to do it full time if you aren’t treating it like a business. And it can be hard! For whatever reason, people will treat it as if you’re “just taking pictures” and ask you to discount your rate, stay longer, edit photos for free, etc. I see it in this industry a lot. It’s your job to educate the client. You’ve invested thousands of dollars in equipment, you’re paying insurance, licenses, insurance, subscriptions for editing, hard drives for storage, I can go on and on. You absolutely have operating costs on top of your time shooting and editing. If you don’t factor in those costs and taxes, your hourly rate will end up being unsustainable.
Building on that, you need to know your craft and your equipment. This is how you can walk into any situation with confidence. Unless you’re shooting a ultra luxury event with professional lighting, you are going to come across nightmare lighting scenarios and you need to know how to get quality results in camera. “I can fix it in post” needs to be removed from your vocabulary completely.
Minimizing your time spent editing brings me to the last skill, efficiently managing your time. And I mean that across the board. Not only do you need to practice this at your event to keep things on-time and stress free but in post production as well to maintain turn around time. Not to mention, the more efficient you are editing the higher your overall hourly rate becomes.
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
I love collaborating with fellow vendors in the event industry! I don’t have a competitive mind-set and feel that not only is there enough work for everyone, but that we are stronger when working together. I’m lucky enough to have a handful of venues, coordinators and caterers that I collaborate with often. If you’re in the event industry in Los Angeles and are interested in working together, you can reach out to me on instagram or by e-mail anytime.
Also, if you’re an established photographer or are looking to learn event photography, I am always looking for associates with similar passions as me to add to the team.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.alxpictures.com
- Instagram: @alxpictures_official
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@alxpicturesllc/videos
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/alx-pictures-simi-valley
Image Credits
Credit: Alexandra Stewart ALX Pictures
