April 10, 2017

Meet Alyssa Kearney of Rose Colored Photography in Santa Monica

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Alyssa Kearney.

Alyssa, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Preserving memories has been really important to me since I was a kid and I did that through writing but once my parents got me a camera in my teens- that’s when I discovered my love for photographs. I had my camera on me all day, every day, snapping away at moments I didn’t want to forget. The love for it came first then choosing it as a career came easy. In 2008, I moved to Santa Monica and I officially started my photography business as Alyssa Tembrina Photography, which is my maiden name. I spent my first few years building up clientele through word-of-mouth, learning the ins and outs of running a business, and falling in love with photography more and more. In 2014, I got engaged to my #1 supporter and my #2 shooter and since my name would be changing I decided we needed a new name to represent this business. Because our focus has always been capturing people, the genuine moments they experience, the real feelings they have, and their personalities we wanted a name that encompassed what we do- capture those rose colored memories. Now we’re Rose Colored Photography and we’re still growing every day!

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Struggles for sure! Having a passion is just the building blocks of running your own business but there’s the finances, the social media up-keep, the emails, investing money in equipment, and many more things that aren’t a part of the “passion”! That first year was really tough because it’s a lot of mistakes and a lot of trial and error but we’ve managed to iron-out those wrinkles. Another struggle is simply just putting yourself and what you love out there. You have to be vulnerable and that’s true of anyone who creates something and puts it out in the world. It’s scary and even after years of doing this it’s still an ongoing feeling but with no risk there’s no reward.

So, let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Rose Colored Photography story. Tell us more about the business.
Rose Colored Photography specializes in portrait and wedding photography but what sets us apart from others is our connections with our clients. Our work is rooted in having a great client-photographer relationship because without it, there is no life to our photographs. We want every person to feel comfortable, feel understood, and walk away with photos that truly capture their personalities, their uniqueness, or that very moment and what they felt then. When I started this business, I had taken any job given to me and there were times I felt disconnected from my clients and then resulting in work I wasn’t proud of. As my business grew, I understood that it was necessary to have “good vibes” as they say with the people I photographed because if that’s missing then no one will be happy. I truly believe that that makes Rose Colored Photography stand out, feel personal, and create beautiful images.

Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I’m so grateful for where RCP is today but I’m not sure how much luck, good or bad, has to do with that. I believe in working hard, being determined, and staying positive and I think that that mentality has been good to me and to this business. There are humps in the road but I wouldn’t be identifying them as bad luck, I just think that that’s life.

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