Today we’d like to introduce you to Alisha Freeman-Rembert.
Alisha, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I have loved photography for years. Back in the day, I was a model & spent about ten years in front of the camera. But modeling was never a calling for me, I spent more time making funny faces than actually “modeling.”
I then went on to attend Fullerton College & took many classes in Photography, with an emphasis in Film/Theater. Having that theater background, and love of costumes & fashion, really helped shape my aesthetic as a photographer (and oftentimes, costume designer). I am now a proud SAG-AFTRA performer & Filmmaker. (www.HERstoryFilms.org)
I have since won several photography contests with ViewBug & am very proud to have had some of my work displayed at the ‘Orange County Center for Contemporary Art’ in Santa Ana, ‘Ogre Gallery’ in Tustin & the ‘1650 Gallery’ in Los Angeles. And just this past September, I had a photo featured in Oprah Magazine!
In 2016, I saw a need for female photographers to come together & encourage one another in this field, so I founded the ‘Female Photographers League Of SoCal.’ We meet monthly for different themes, locations, education & fellowship. There are currently over 170 ladies in that group, and growing!
All the photoshoots are planned, directed, styled, and crafted (including costumes & props) by me & my crazy idea brain! I have endless ideas, and I just planned our 2019 calendar with my gals last week, and it’s going to be a great year!
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
As far as my all-female photography group, the biggest challenge is getting women to put themselves on the priority list. We’re often the glue that holds families together, and so we often don’t feel we have “time” to fill up our creative cup & take care of that side of us.
It’s so important to do so too, and this group, I hope, helps fill that void. Even if its just once a month, I want women to dust off their cameras, and fulfill that part of their soul. We have a different point of view on things, and the evidence is there when I see the photos uploaded & I’m blown away by my fellow female photographers.
Female Photographers League of SoCal by TheFilmAli Photography – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
My photography group is handled on Meetup, I set up the calendar & all the info there to keep things organized. Its also where the photos are uploaded after the shoot, to share not only with one another but with models (if there were any for that particular shoot), its a shared copyright set up for the models. We want our models to have the photos & to share them, as well as the photographers to use in their portfolio &on social media. Check it out at https://www.thefilmali.com/femalephotographersleagueofsocal.
I also am working on setting up a novel cover stock photography website. I am friends with several authors, and they have reached out to me telling me there is such a need for “clean” stock photos for the romance genre. Well, luckily I have tons of costumes (you should see my garage!) and great models. So I have started shooting for that, creating stock photos/products, and will get that up and running soon. It’ll be over at www.NovelPhotoCovers.com.
I do photography as well, more studio work though. I live for high fashion, wild, contrasts, fun makeup, quirky & different, is what I aim for. I’d love one day to be in ‘W’ or ‘Vogue,’ the magazines I’ve been admiring since I was a teenager. My theater background comes through greatly with my photography aesthetic & styling. www.TheFilmAli.com.
And last but not least, I’m adding Filmmaking to my bag of tricks. I just finished doing a music video last month, I want to have a female-led film crew as well, and the music video was a great first project for us. I’m just jumping into that genre, so I’m excited to see where it goes! Www.HERstoryFilms.org.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
My photography group as a whole has been so fulfilling for me; not only in the amazing projects we’ve done, but seeing these women do something for themselves, the friendships struck up through the group, the comradery, and all the image results from something I set up. I have so many ideas, and I’m just so proud that these women trust me, and come along with me on this journey.
Just last week, one of my fellow group photographers, who I consider a friend now, gave me a thank you note. About how my shoots have enriched her learning, her portfolio growth, and how appreciative she is for all that I do for the group. That was so sweet & so unexpected. It’s nice for someone to see all the hard work I put into each shoot, and in turn, how much its impacted these women for the better.
That has brought me such joy!
Contact Info:
- Address: 18340 Yorba Linda Blvd. #107-259 Yorba Linda, CA 92886
- Website: www.TheFilmAli.com
- Phone: 323-677-1679
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: www.Instagram.com/thefilmali
- Facebook: www.Facebook.com/femalephotographersleagueofsocal
- Other: www.Meetup.com/Femalephotographersleagueofsocal
Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
