Today we’d like to introduce you to Allyson Jaimes.
Hi Allyson, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I started taking photos in 2008 when I got my first point-and-shoot camera. I thought it was such an awesome thing to be able to take photos of flowers up close and be able to see the pollen on the petals, so for my high school senior gift, my dad bought me a camera of my choosing.
All throughout college, I used that camera to take pictures of my college campus and random trips I went on with friends. Once I graduated and moved to Houston in 2015, my youngest sister (who lived in San Antonio at the time) asked me to take her senior photos. I had never taken photos of human subjects, so I told her if she was willing to be my Guinea pig, I’d oblige.
Once she showed her friends her photos, one of them asked if I’d take them for her too. So I had my first paying customer! After her, another friend of mine asked me to do her wedding! Everything just kind of spiraled from there!
I was primarily a wedding photographer until the pandemic shutdown of 2020. Like many small businesses, I had to stop working. The wedding business seemed to be on hold for an unknown length of time, and I really loved working with babies, so I considered switching to maternity and newborns as my main focus.
I used the downtime to really focus on learning to perfect my work. Posing, lighting, editing and safety for my pregnant and newborn clients were the most important things I needed to perfect.
So, here I am, 14 years later, creating art for moms and capturing priceless memories that pass by so quick!
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Definitely not! In 2018, I had considered adding newborn and maternity photography to my services, but right before I started working on that, I suffered my first miscarriage. I didn’t want to pursue maternity or newborn photography after that. Once I was pregnant with my first rainbow baby, I decided to take a few sessions to get them under my belt and see if I changed my mind later.
My pregnancy in 2019, which also happened to be my busiest year for weddings, was very difficult as I suffered from a rare pregnancy condition called Hyperemesis Gravidarum, a condition that causes extreme nausea and vomiting often leading to severe dehydration, malnutrition, and organ failure in extreme cases. Trying to shoot weddings pregnant was difficult enough as it was, then adding a life-threatening condition just made it so much harder. Thankfully I was able to manage it with medication during that pregnancy.
Then, 2020 shutdowns hit and like many industries, photography came to an abrupt halt. The wedding business wasn’t looking promising in the next year since we were projected to deal with the pandemic for at least two years, so I started considering maternity and newborn photography again. Unfortunately, I suffered another miscarriage towards the end of 2020, and with an already struggling business I almost gave up and closed it down for good. Thankfully, my husband talked some sense into me and told me to give myself some time to grieve before making that decision since it was a pretty serious one.
My first maternity client after I decided to keep going was a mama welcoming a rainbow baby after a miscarriage and then losing her first son at six months old. It made me realize that I could relate to these women in a way others who haven’t experienced this pain can’t, and it solidified the decision to keep going.
In 2021, I was getting really good business when I became pregnant with my second rainbow baby and again suffered from Hyperemesis Gravidarum. It was a long year, but I am happy to report that I have both of my rainbow babies earth-side and business is still going strong.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a maternity and newborn photographer serving the Houston and surrounding areas. My specialty is rainbow babies, and I’m known for the bright, vibrant colors in my work. Unlike other photographers, I have a traveling studio! I bring the studio to my clients’ homes instead of them coming to me. It helps relieve some of the stress of getting ready for their photoshoot because they don’t have to worry about rushing out the door or forgetting something.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
I think in the next 5-10 years, prints are going to become popular again, but in more creative ways than just printing paper photos and putting them in a frame. Digital frames are becoming popular, printing on different materials is becoming more well known, and because many things are going digital, we are going to have to adapt to come up with new ways to deliver our images to clients other than digital images.
Pricing:
- Maternity sessions – starting at $1150
- Newborn sessions – starting at $1150
- Family sessions – starting at $650
Contact Info:
- Website: adctexasphotography.com
- Instagram: Instagram.com/adctexasphotography
- Facebook: Facebook.com/adctexasphotography
- Other: TikTok.com/@adctexasphotography
