We recently had the chance to connect with Allison Craig and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Allison, thank you for taking the time to reflect back on your journey with us. I think our readers are in for a real treat. There is so much we can all learn from each other and so thank you again for opening up with us. Let’s get into it: What’s the most surprising thing you’ve learned about your customers?
Honestly, it’s how little they actually want to be in photos, but how deeply they want to exist in them. Most of our clients are moms who would rather hide behind the camera because they don’t feel ready, but at the same time they’re the heartbeat of their family’s story. What surprises me every time is that when they finally step in front of the camera, the images they love most are never the “perfect” ones. It’s the ones where their baby is holding onto their necklace, or their toddler is racing around them, or their partner is looking at them with that mix of love and “I can’t believe this life is ours”. Those are the photographs they come back to over and over, and it reminds me that the things moms think they should hide are the very things their families will treasure.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m Allison, owner of Lentille Photography in The Heights. We specialize in maternity, newborn, and family photography for moms who want everything handled—wardrobe, hair and makeup, even the toddler wrangling (we have the best snacks). Before I picked up a camera, I was a labor and delivery nurse, so working with babies feels like second nature.
I’m lucky to have Monette as our lead photographer. She’s a mom of three herself, and clients love her calm energy and the way she instantly connects with kids. Together, we’ve built a studio experience that feels effortless. Moms show up, we take care of the rest, and they leave with photographs that actually make it onto their walls instead of living forever on a hard drive or in the cloud.
Right now, my heart is fully on continuing to grow our studio of 13+ years and being the go-to team in Houston for families who want the very best experience. Our mission has always been simple: to create a space where every family feels cared for, seen, and celebrated and to deliver photographs that become part of their story for generations.
Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. Who saw you clearly before you could see yourself?
My boys. I’ve always been so hard on myself, convinced I wasn’t doing enough or being enough. But through their eyes, I was already the best mom. They loved me as I was, not the version I thought I had to become. They saw the mom who showed up, who made them feel safe and loved, even on the days I felt like I was falling short. They saw me clearly, long before I could see myself the same way.
If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
I’d tell her it’s okay to slow down. To enjoy life, soak up the moments with her kids and husband, and carve out time just for herself. It really does go by so fast. And if the whole point of building a small business is to have flexibility, don’t hand that over to hustle and burnout. The work will always be there, but the chance to be present in your own life is what matters most.
Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
That pricing should be an afterthought, or that photographers don’t deserve to earn a real salary. There’s this unspoken lie in the industry that doing what you love means you shouldn’t expect to be paid well for it. But passion doesn’t pay the bills. Photography is an art, yes, but it’s also a business. And businesses need to be profitable to survive. The truth is, photographers deserve to build careers that provide for their families, not just scrape by.
Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. If you retired tomorrow, what would your customers miss most?
Well, first they’d miss my snack stash and my ability to make a toddler laugh while simultaneously convincing dad this won’t take all day. But more than that, they’d miss the legacy we’ve built together. The photographs that tell their family’s story, the albums their kids will flip through decades from now, and the experience of feeling fully cared for while creating them. The pictures matter, of course, but it’s the way they felt during the process that stays with them. That’s what I’d hope they’d miss most.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.lentillephotography.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lentillephotography
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lentillephotography
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/lentille-photography-houston
