Alisha Guild, of AlishaGuild.com, takes pride in her small town status. It has shaped her as a person, and as photographer. Right down to adjusting her clientele. “I would say my specialty is engagements and weddings. Although with such a young population here starting families young in my slow time I work with families as well.”

Her flexibility has served her well. In fact, it's how she became a photographer 13 years ago. Always having a love of photography, the profession weaved it's way into her life through scrap-booking. “At the time I was working at a small scrapbook store and I enjoyed taking photos for my scrapbook use. A lady came in one day and was making small talk about how she did photography down south and was getting married with a Justice of the peace and going to do her own with a remote. My boss at the time piped up and offered me and my skills lol I was terrified, tried to say no. She told me it was me or a remote….well I did that small wedding and if it weren't for her and that boss believing i me I may not be where I am today. Friends saw those photos and asked me to take theirs, then their friends saw theirs and so on and so on.”

With the confidence and backing of her community, she knew this was the career she wanted to pursue. She set off without hesitancy. “I jumped in both feet, took a bunch of online courses, upgraded my gear and hit the ground running. It was scary, it had bumps but I was determined. I loved my business, I was passionate about it. Did I have hiccups and bumps along the way of course….but what made it different was that I didn't let them define me or slow me down, I owned them and made those bumps a part of learning and growing and bettering myself.

It took a couple years of taking any and all kinds of bookings I could to mostly get my name and work out there and then I was able to slowly narrow my field of photography down to what I loved and what I would call my niche.”

One of the many admirable qualities of Alisha is her enthusiastic pursuit of this dream of flexible self-employment doing something she loves. She encourages those just starting on the path to do the same. “LEARN and never stop dreaming!!! Surround yourself with like minded people. Don't try to make a million friends in the industry….find a few like minded and learn and soak up as much as you can from them. Second shoot as much as possible. Tune into creative live, if you want to be a wedding photographer sign up to The Academy of International Wedding Photographers. There are so many who have paved the road ahead and who are willing to help and teach and learn as much as you can! DREAM…do not hit a plateau and think you have made it, bust through it, try new things, new business approaches, whatever it takes…dream big its worth it! BUT first and foremost BE YOURSELF…..no one else can replicate that. Be you, shoot what you love, apply your own personal touches to things…..its YOUR art after all. <3″

Alisha has valuable advice and experience she shares with our Showiteer community. She is a true believer in this community. “There are SO many who have inspired me along the way so to name some and why, here we go: Matt & Carissa Kennedy for pouring themselves into what they do and showing me how to treat my clients like gold, Katelyn James for showing me how to do what I'm passionate about and take charge yet remain humble. Amy & Jordan Demos for showing me its totally acceptable to be a complete and utter goof and be silly and myself in order to make my clients smile and relax in fact most of their Instagram photos make me grin or giggle in fact and that's a good thing 🙂 Whitney Lane for showing me feminine form and posing and making me decide to join the canon dark side lol, Julie Paisley and Justin & Mary Marantz for showing me the art to romantic posing that is timeless and most recently Stephanie Reeder, Jaime Davis and Andrew Smith their friendship has been invaluable. They have bought me new approaches to existing practices, pushed me to try new things, encouraged me and been cheerleaders along the way! Without the above people my photography would not be where it is.”

We couldn't agree with, Alisha, more! We are so grateful to have her as part of our Showiteer community. You can check out Alisha in action and read more on what makes up this passionate lady on her “About” page. Also, follow her “small town charm, big city style” and adventures through her Instagram account.

You all have an uniqueness that only you can share. Dream it. Do it. Inspire us and tell us about it! This Showiteer community is made up of so many passionate entrepreneurs! We would love to hear from all of you! Are you interested in sharing your career path and experiences with us? Let us know! We love to be inspired!

Cassandra Campbell

Casandra is a born and bred East Coaster who finds herself braving the heat of the Valley of the Sun with her husband and three cute kids all for the love of Showit.