Today we’d like to introduce you to Allison Knight.
Allison, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Photography imprinted itself on me from birth — something that I inherited along with my genes for curly hair and hazel-brown eyes. From the beginning, my mom would lug around her manual Canon SLR to snap photos of me as an infant, and my dad would trot out his video camera and crack bad jokes to make me and my brother smile. Every important moment of my life has been documented and catalogued. Thanks to my parents, I own an encyclopedic stockpile of red photo albums photographically spinning the story of my life from birth through the most recent holidays. I have an entire shelf in our house dedicated to the collection!
On my fifth birthday, I received my very own blue Playschool film camera. If you remember these things, it was a point-and-shoot design that had to be wound before each shot and required a disposable flash tube to be mounted on top. I remember holding that first camera with excitement, knowing that I could now tell my own story with it. When I was younger, photography meant capturing special moments and telling a story with the images. As I grew older, my images grew to become about preserving memories.
My father passed away suddenly when I was 17. A few months later, I discovered a roll of undeveloped film among his things. It’s difficult to describe the emotions I felt with that discovery. Here was an undeveloped, unknown set of images that linked my dad and me. I remember receiving the envelope of 4×6 with eager anticipation and being filled with joy when I saw almost every photo was an image of my Dad smiling back at me. It was as if I had found gold. And just like that, photography transformed from being able to share pretty images with people, to being able to connect people. My images can preserve remembrances of loved ones, they can introduce grandchildren to the grandparents never got to meet, they can remind us of slices of life, moments that are important and that we do not want to forget. It is for these reasons that I became passionate about photography.
Today my photography is part preserving a moment and part expression of who a person or group of people are. I love being able to capture the loving connection of family or being able to showcase an office full of lawyers as the personable, confident professionals that they are. I appreciate being able to provide people with images that spark an emotion out of them and often evoke tears of joy.
Has it been a smooth road?
My road detoured many times over the years and I’ve run over and around my share of potholes along the way. At 22, I co-founded my first studio, right out of college. I poured all of myself into my work and I loved every minute of the exhaustion. The studio thrived and we were awarded Small Business of the year for the city. Then about six years into it, the relationship with my business partner soured and I chose to take a break from photography.
I took a nearly two years sabbatical where I worked on myself and reignited my passion for life. In 2009, I felt a familiar itch and decided to pick up my camera again so I could capture meaningful moments in my own life. That year, I spent a month in South Korea as part of an exchange through Rotary International. Every day of the trip, I posted photos to a blog that people from around the world started viewing. I was lucky to meet some amazing people on that trip. And I was fortunate to be able to share their images and stories with others. I shared vignettes of the history of the women divers, the lives of my host families, images of the incredible views of Jeju Island and all the deliciousness of the incredible food we ate. Through my blog, it was like I had hundreds of friends with me for the ride.
I loved all the differences there were in South Korea, the food, the culture, the architecture, but what really struck me was also how similar we were. One of my most memorable nights from Korea was sitting across the table from one of my host families sharing photos. We both didn’t speak each other’s language, but through photos we were able to get to know each other, to understand who the other was and what was important to each of us. A common thread that was important to both us was our families.
The more I travel and meet new people, the more I have found that although we may look different, eat different foods and live in different styles of homes, our core is very much the same. We have a great desire for connection, particularly with our family. I love how photos transcend our differences. We all have a history, we all have people we care about. I am most proud that through photography, I am able to add to a person’s history. My images can capture a child as they are at this moment in life, can help a teenager show off the person they want to become, or can showcase a business owner as they are to their community.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Allison Knight Images story. Tell us more about the business.
A huge grin spreads across his face while John views the images from our session for the first time. “Wow”, he says. “I’ve never liked a photo of myself before and I LOVE these.” I live for moments like this. It brings me incredible joy to be able to provide images to people that make them feel good about themselves.
I love photography for three reasons, it preserves the past, it helps to build and reinforce connection and it allows us to show off people in a positive light. I feel incredibly honored to be able to be part of a family or a company’s history. To be able to add to their collection of memories that future generations will look at.
I create images for small businesses for website and brochure use, personality photos that allow the subject to explore a range of expressions and props, family photos, action photos and event photos. I feel great joy when a client tells me how much they love their photos, how it’s how they see themself.
I think what sets me apart from others is I try to listen to the people I am photographing. I try to get to know who they are, how they see themselves? I am patient and understand that it takes not only children but also adults a moment to be comfortable in front of the camera. I like to have fun on my shoots! Funny face photos, jumping photos, anything that elicits a genuine smile and creates a joyful atmosphere. I also edit all of my photos; I liken this to polishing a car – it makes the photos shine with their full beauty.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
My photography style is greatly influenced by Monte Zucker, a portrait photographer who I had the good fortune to have studied with. One of my favorite quotes of his is “I don’t photograph the world as it is. I photograph the world as I would like it to be.” I love this idealistic view and have adopted it in my own work.
Many have inspired me and pushed me to do more. My clients’ feedback (particularly the smiles on their faces) provides me with a continued source of motivation. And of course, my number one cheerleader is my husband, Travis. He’s extremely supportive, whether mounting lights in the studio, sitting as a test subject, or helping as an extra shooter for events. Travis even has a knack for being the dog whisperer to help pets smile during family photoshoots!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.Allisonknightimages.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allison_knight_images/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AllisonKnightImages/
Image Credit:
Allison Knight Images for 8 photos; For personal photo: Joey Ikemoto
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