Today we’d like to introduce you to Chris Allison.
Hi Chris, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
While studying at Texas A&M, I discovered my passion for photography, and I began pursuing it with just about every ounce of free time that I had whenever I wasn’t either working, in class, or doing homework. I always tell people that I taught myself more about photography in my last semester of college than I learned about anything else during the rest of my time studying for my four-year degree. After graduation, I knew I loved photography, but I hadn’t quite found my niche yet. I shot pretty much everything you can think of; from weddings and family portraits, to landscapes and macro photography. Although I had fun shooting all of those things, I never really found much success in them. In one of the online photography courses I bought, the photographer made a statement that really stuck with me. He said, “You will know when you have found your niche because you will finally be successful when everything else seems to not work out”.
It took me a while to find real estate photography and I really owe my discovery of it to a close friend of mine who suggested I start shooting homes. He knew another photographer that made pretty good money taking pictures of houses and thought it might be a good fit for me. He even knew a real estate agent that needed a photographer at the time and he passed my information along to her. I wasn’t really excited about it, and in fact, I thought it sounded pretty boring, but I was broke and needed the money so I decided to give it a shot. It’s really funny to look back on that now, and how pivotal that small moment in time was for me. I can say now that real estate photography isn’t just my favorite kind of photography, it’s genuinely one of my favorite things in the world to do, and that agent from all of those years ago is still my client today.
Over the course of about six years while working for a marketing firm I would take pictures for real estate agents on the side, or shoot larger homes for the marketing firm I worked at, and it was great because I was able to really hone my craft during that time without the pressure of making a living shooting just homes. I did always have that desire though; to one day be able to just shoot the one thing that I felt truly passionate about.
As that desire continued to grow I also became restless at my previous job. Then the world was hit by a pandemic that devastated many industries and really put the marketing firm that I was working for in a tough spot. What really was a blessing that I didn’t realize at the time was that the pandemic would send the real estate market booming! The timing was perfect and I was able to quickly and smoothly transition away from my previous job to do what I love full time. That makes it sound like it was easy, but it really wasn’t. I was working from 7 in the morning until midnight most days trying to keep up with the responsibilities that I kept from my old job, while also pursuing clients of my own and services the clients that I had landed in my new business. It took me about 3 months to finally be in a place where I could comfortably walk away from the marketing firm and just put everything I had into Engage.
I was also really lucky to have several great relationships with some of the best real estate agents and home builders in Houston. I know that making a change in any business is a risk, and not at all a trivial task to undertake, and I am so grateful that I had people who were willing to trust me to be an integral part of their businesses. I seriously cannot thank those first few clients enough. My life is completely different because of the trust that they put into me.
From there, I was able to really focus on not just becoming a better photographer, but a better business owner. As of this interview, it has been about a year and a half since I opened my doors and I have over 200 real estate agents/homebuilders/interior designers as clients. To say that my expectations have been exceeded would be an incredible understatement.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I wouldn’t say that it has been a smooth road, but there is definitely a difference between being on a bumpy road doing what you love vs just being on a bumpy road. I think the biggest struggle for me has been keeping my anxiety in check especially when I first began. This is a really strange business in the sense that my calendar, even at the point that I am at today, is not booked more than a week or two in advance. I have had weeks where Monday was just around the corner but there was absolutely nothing on the schedule yet. I have learned to just not really look at it at this point because even if it is last minute, my schedule always somehow manages to get filled.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a real estate and architectural photographer, and I mostly specialize in shooting luxury homes. Although I shoot homes of any size, and at any price point, people really know me for my work in the luxury market. I get calls from agents or homebuilders very often when they are looking for someone to shoot a home that stands out from the rest, and they want to make sure that the photos are the best they can possibly be.
I think that what I am most proud of is how much my clients love me and the work that I do. Literally, as I am sitting here writing this paragraph I just received a text from one of my clients saying that they are in tears over how great the photos that I just took for her turned out. Stuff like that really means the world to me.
Besides just delivering a great product to my clients, I also really strive to go above and beyond with my customer service. I want everything to be as easy and seamless as possible for my clients. when we work together. I have labored over everything, from how my clients book their shoots, what a shoot day looks like and how I instruct them to prepare for it, all the way to paying for and downloading the photos. I don’t think anyone else in our market makes it quite as easy as I do.
Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
There was one book in particular that really helped me on my journey in transitioning from my old job to starting a thriving business. The book is called “Stress less, and accomplish more”, and it talks about meditation and manifestation. At the time of reading it, I was really unhappy at my work place and knew I wanted to get out, but my stress and anxiety levels were also at an all time high. My anxiety had gotten so out of hand that it was controlling my life in a really negative way. Not only did the meditation and manifestation help me deal with my overwhelming anxiety, but it also allowed me to create the brain space I needed to make the decision to start my own business. I really cannot recommend the book enough.
Contact Info:
- Email: chris@engagerealtymedia.com
- Website: engagerealtymedia.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/engagerealtymedia/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Engagerealtymedia/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRwFKifefVLOeF9uUZYLmMg
Image Credits:
Chris Allison
Sulli Taylor
