Meet Ali | Your Milwaukee Senior Pictures Photographer

I’d love to share with you a little bit more information about me as a photographer of Milwaukee senior pictures and my photography business.  So if you are looking for someone fun, upbeat and outgoing to help you feel comfortable in front of the camera, help you decide what to wear, how to pose, and provide you with beautiful senior pictures, this blog post is for you!

HOW DID YOU KNOW YOU WANTED TO BE A MILWAUKEE PHOTOGRAPHER? HOW DID YOU GO ABOUT STARTING OUT?

I actually started out teaching special education. During my teaching career, my husband and I started a family and I picked up my first “real” camera to capture my growing little boys. The perfectionist in me wanted to take the best images possible, and the teacher in me learned how. I started photographing friends and family and eventually turned my newfound passion into a business.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN IN BUSINESS?

I have been in business for three years, and very blessed to have grown so significantly in such a short amount of time. This year I was awarded one of 2019’s Top 50 Up & Coming Senior Photographers which was very exciting!

WHAT ARE THE QUALITIES THAT MAKE A SUCCESSFUL MILWAUKEE SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER?

As a senior photographer, I get to work with some pretty amazing seniors! I think that my outgoing personality really helps seniors relax and have fun with their portraits. I also encourage each senior to celebrate what makes them unique and include this in their session. This goes above just their sense of style, including sports, hobbies, interests, and personalities! I’ve photographed national champion gymnasts to bow hunting seniors and everything in between. It’s so much fun to include these details into senior photos for my clients!

WHY DO YOU LOVE PHOTOGRAPHING MILWAUKEE SENIOR PICTURES?

My favorite part about being a senior photographer is the ability to create images that my senior clients and their families feel truly “captured them” – their natural laughter and genuine personality.

I am also a huge people person, so being able to meet new people as part of my job is a perfect fit!

HOW HAD YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY (STYLE) CHANGED SINCE YOU STARTED?

When I first started photography I was an all-natural light photographer, and as I searched to find ways to take my images to the next level I started utilizing off-camera and occasionally on-camera flash. It is something that I have grown to love, and use in all of my senior portrait photography. The use of off-camera flash ensures my seniors look their best with flattering and beautiful light.

I also started my business as a very posed and almost rigid photographer. I often shot entire sessions with only posed images, and while a few of these images are important they often lack emotion, energy, and movement. I decided to add fun prompts into the mix. For example, asking my seniors to respond to prompts that usually get them laughing! The resulting images illustrate their natural reactions to those prompts, and in turn their personality.

WHEN CHOOSING A PHOTOGRAPHER FOR THEIR MILWAUKEE SENIOR PICTURES WHAT SHOULD A SENIOR LOOK FOR?

I think that when choosing a photographer, seniors should look for a person they feel comfortable with. If you feel uncomfortable with your photographer, you will look uncomfortable in your senior pictures.

I also recommend that seniors check to see if a photographer’s style of photography aligns with what they hope for. Do you want posed or unposed images? Do you have a preferred style of editing (ie: true to color, light and airy, dark and moody). Looking at a wedding photographer’s portfolio is a great way to view their style.

DO YOU HAVE AN ALL-TIME FAVORITE SENIOR IMAGE?

I don’t have just one all-time favorite senior image because I often fall in love with three or four images from each of my senior sessions that best “capture” that senior!

CHECK OUT A FEW SENIOR PICTURES