Meet Alonzo Wilson | Luxury Portrait Specialist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Alonzo Wilson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Alonzo, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
Work-life balance is something that I still struggle with from time to time. I don’t believe in a true “work-life balance” because life can hit you with random situations. However, from attending Cass Technical High School and Wayne County Community College District to the University of Michigan, my work-life balance has greatly improved. I did dual enrollment for free at my school, but I didn’t have any plans to go further in my education. When I started my business I found my passion and it generated revenue. I told myself that I didn’t need to go to college and I also feared the burden of debt.

Attending school while managing my business was hard, but I made it happen. Becoming an entrepreneur was a risk that I was always willing to take, but I needed a failsafe plan just in case and that was college. I didn’t want my academic achievements to go to waste either. I say this because I heavily neglected my business senior year. I was late to the college process and needed to give my full attention to college applications and reach out to organizations for assistance. My priority turned into getting into a great institution no matter what and it paid off. Looking back, I think that it was necessary to change my priorities because it opened up more opportunities academically and for my business.

What I like about college is how free my schedule is, I have a lot of time to do more photoshoots and produce content. Currently, I plan content a month in advance and strive to post three times a week and it’s been a pretty effective plan. I have no excuses not to work on my business every day if not every other day. I am always planning something, whether it’s expanding my portfolio or browsing gear I don’t need. I employ Christian values in my business, like not wasting the gifts God gave me, and that helps manage my time as well. Right now, I have a great work-life balance and I’m glad to finally be back, giving 100% effort to my photography.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I am firm in giving my clients the best experience within Alonzo Wilson Photography. With most photographers, you book a session with them online, attend the session, and receive your photos a few days later. I didn’t want to follow this business model. I wanted to work with my clients on a higher level by learning more about them and asking how I could best meet their needs. When clients fill out an interest form online, I can review key information to prepare for their consultation. During the consultation, I learn more about them and what problem are they trying to solve. Automation is something that I implemented in my business in this past year and it saves me a lot of time. From emails to sending clients smart files, it makes it easy for me and the client. In my business, I like to have a step-by-step process: Consultation, booking, two planning and design meetings, and session day. I work with clients in the planning and design meetings to make mood boards, plan timelines, and take important notes to prepare them for the session. The next meeting is all about finalizing and changing any plans. During shoot day, I bring a wagon full of gear, their favorite snacks, and a good attitude. As you can tell, I’m all about organization, maximizing time, and providing the most value to clients. This is what sets me apart from other photographers. I talk about it so much, but you just have to be there to experience it.

I am proud of myself for continuing to stay with my business through the highs and lows. Being an entrepreneur at one of the top business schools is exciting because I have spoken with faculty members and they’ve pointed me to various resources. Improving my gear, and website, and posting fresh content on my socials have added to my excitement of being in a new area.

Like every child at the time, I wanted to become a famous YouTuber. At 13 years old, I begged my father to buy my first camera, believing that having the best equipment was essential for creating content. I chose the Canon M50 with a kit lens as my catalyst that would make me a famous influencer. I quickly realized I wasn’t passionate about YouTube due to my inconsistency and lack of confidence in my content. As my camera collected dust, I also faced mental and physical challenges while living with my mother. I felt a lack of financial and emotional support during those years. However, a lightbulb went on in my head. “Cameras can take photos!” I thought to myself. Wow Alonzo, who would’ve known? I was so tied up in videography that I didn’t think to try photography. I started doing photos in the Eastern Market in Detroit and tried nature photography. I came to another realization, “I can make money taking photos!” To this, this day I laugh about how I missed such obvious things. This realization became my opportunity to support myself financially and no longer worry about my basic needs.

I began taking photos in my home. I moved furniture around, set up lighting equipment, and paper backdrops to do portraits. All my equipment was funded by my ex-girlfriend because I told her about my goals and she offered to support them. I generated over $1,000 in revenue with high-profit margins since I didn’t have many operating expenses other than a photo processing program called Lightroom. I reinvested in my business to improve my work and finally felt financially stable. I loved capturing images and controlling everything while catering to my artistic background. I constantly improved my skills by following photographers, experimenting with color grading, watching videos, and doing a few free sessions.

Running my business was a tedious, but rewarding learning process. During 2022, leads decreased and I couldn’t fathom how I would emerge from this stagnant state. I urgently needed to support myself because I couldn’t get a job at my age. I took the rest of my money and invested in mentorship from a local Detroit photographer named Jaylin who I had been following for a while. The entire process enabled me to feel a sense of hope. I was pleased with the offerings and model that I created with him. My business went through a renaissance period, where I went from taking great images in my home to improving the quality of my work and enhancing the client experience. This was something that my mentor had noticed. Many photographers lacked professionalism and a deep sense of appreciation for clients. Therefore, making clients feel appreciated by taking beautiful photos that will last them a lifetime and working with them through the whole process made me unique. Instead of taking images of everything, I niched down to birthday, personal, and event photography.

Some of the biggest things I learned were: evaluating your competitors, understanding the unmet need you’re trying to solve, understanding your value, and constantly improving your craft. Also, do not, I repeat, do not compare yourself to other people because everyone has a different story and it is always being written. Your time will come, stay patient and give yourself grace. I learned to adopt a quote of looking at things in life as a win or a lesson. I replaced the word loss with the lesson because it is attached to negative emotions. Whenever I don’t achieve my desired results, I remember to always pull a lesson out of it to apply to my life. This allows me to prevent issues or mitigate them. This perspective caters to my value of life-long learning as well. I am always ready to take my lesson and be resilient.

Currently, I act as a consultant, marketer, accountant, and everything above for my business. I developed new strategies to build automated pipelines with my CRM, plan content, communicate my value more effectively, and more. Going from a struggling teenager with humble roots to immense growth and “making it out” has been such a blessing. Providing hospitality to clients, capturing once-in-a-lifetime images, and experiencing photography overall have been the most transformative journey in my life. I am grateful to call it my passion and something I want to do forever.

I want the world to know that my passion stemmed from trying to solve a problem I faced at 14. I used the resources that I was initially blind to, but once I opened my eyes, my life forever changed. I am a determined, patient, creative, and talented black man who aspires to be a sense of inspiration for others. My long-term goal with photography is to start a studio in Detroit that provides mentorship to underrepresented students, education guidance, and allows them to express themselves as creatives.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
On a week-long trip in Ann Arbor, we would gain a few pounds because I love EATING! We would stop by Fridas Batidos, Sweetweaters (in Kerrytown), Hola Seoul, No Thai, NYPD, The Jagged Fork, Quickly Boba, and Jamaican Jerk Pit. As far as hang-out spots, Trotter, The Arb, The Union, and Ross Courtyard are great spots. For fun, golfing, going to the arcade, kayaking at Argo, playing basketball at the IM, and observing art at the Museum of Art are cool things to do. These are all my favorite things to do, but the most fun thing is to go out with friends in the day or night and share laughs while taking in the beautiful campus.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
First, I want to give a shoutout to God for putting me on the path that I am on now and continuing to bless me. Without God, I wouldn’t be where I am. Also, I want to thank my father for purchasing my first camera because I know his wallet was hurting. To my mentor Jaylin, thank you for taking me under your wing to teach me business strategies and principles where I lacked knowledge. I want to shout out my Canon M50 because I had some trials and tribulations with that small camera. It did its job and lasted through thick and thin. Finally, thank you to all my amazing clients for pursuing a photoshoot experience with me!

Website: https://alonzowilsonphotography.mypixieset.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alonzowilsonphotography/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alonzo-wilson-092538193

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alonzowilson.photography/

Image Credits
Alonzo Wilson Photography