Rising Stars: Meet Ilene Squires of Los Angeles, CA

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ilene Squires.

Hi Ilene, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started my career in Education Reform in NYC, after spending a year abroad after college. At the time, I was very much into community organizing and activism and wanted to use my youth to help others. So, I applied (and was accepted to!) a program called, Teach For America where I was sent to the South Bronx to teach Bilingual, Special Education Kindergarten and earn an MS in Bilingual Early Childhood Education.

Subsequently, I went on to become a founder of a charter school in Harlem, a school administrator, a non profiteer, and an instructor of photography. Working in schools allowed me a lot of time off which I took advantage of and traveled extensively to the third world and beyond. I’d studied film as an undergrad and was really moved by new faces and places; I lived to tell and retell beautiful, untold and bold stories with my camera. Friends took notice and encouraged me to apply to photo school. On my path to MFA, which I never ended up getting, I met a dark room instructor who took me under her wing as an apprentice for a year.

That was in 2009 and in 2010, I started my own company, but it wasn’t until 2013 that I took the leap into full time freelancing. NYC is an extremely expensive and competitive place to live and work but I thrived in that environment. In 2016, while 35 weeks pregnant, my husband accepted a job here in LA, the place where I grew up. Here I am 9 years later with two daughters and officially running the bicoastal business I always hoped for. It certainly is no cake walk but it is extremely gratifying to be my own boss.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Funny that I left off the previous question responding to this question! In short, no, it has not. I worked a full-time job for 3 years while simultaneously running my photo business. My husband works in finance and though he is the tip top champion for my business, neither of us comes with a trust fund or the money needed to take the risks I’ve seen a lot of my peers make over the years. Having financial security is really important to building a thriving business. So being prudent meant financing my photo work with a full-time job until the photo business starting turning an equal or greater profit.

Most businesses see a loss in the first 3 – 5 years and seeing how a photo was no exception (investing in equipment and styled shoots cost money!), I worked 7 days a week for 3 years. Working like that was definitely a lot easier to do when I wasn’t yet a mother!

Moving coasts unexpectedly also presented new challenges for me. Since the move was largely unplanned, it was almost as if I was starting over. And to be really honest, it has been nearly a decade and I only feel like the seeds I sowed are starting to sprout in this market. I’m a firm believer in two things: 1.) If you can make it in NYC you can make it anywhere and 2.) mistakes are part of the growing pains of being an entrepreneur.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I was motivated to become a photographer because I’d largely consider myself a storyteller. In essence, I’d say my style is much more timeless and photojournalistic. With a focus on children, families and brands, my photo niche is environmental portraiture. I translate a client’s creative vision into a single photograph or a small collection of photographs which are timeless, and can be used forever. Whether it is for their business or a new Mother, I know my work is consistent. And for that matter, so is my service, which is something clients never forget.

In NYC, I spent much of time maintaining and attracting a clientele that would consider themselves marginalized by mainstream media – BIPOC, Queer and the fast growing immigrant populations of Uptown. My goal is to find the beauty in everything and to be as authentic as possible when I am shooting, which is hard nowadays with social media. I spent a lot of my own youth looking for faces in the media that looked like mine, yet I hardly ever found them. To create these sort of living legacies for people with a similar life experience fulfills me.

Children bring a lot of joy to those around them and with my background in early childhood education, I find that I naturally gravitate towards small kids and their families.

Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
Authenticity is a term that is trending at the moment but I think it goes a long way in business. My work is extremely intimate often times in a client’s home or place of work. For them, to reveal the true essence of who they are to the camera, it can take some time and “dancing.” With the current force and influence of social media, it’s hard to distinguish reality from fiction and I find most people seek out a photographer who can capture their best self, which is easier said than done. I’m not interested in telling untrue stories; I’m interested in telling real stories about real people, who recognize themselves in their images. And, because I am a straight shooter, not typical of a native-born California girl, people lend their trust to me sooner, allowing me to tell their authentic stories to larger audiences. I love to shoot film as much as I enjoy digital. Let’s play!

Pricing:

• Portrait Shoots start at $750
• Branding sessions begin at $1000
• Events begin at $250/hr with a 2 hr. minimum

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.ilenesquiresphotography.com
• Instagram: ilene_squires_photo
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ilenesquiresphotography
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ilenesquires/

Image Credits
All photographed by Ilene Squires Photography