Today we’d like to introduce you to Isabel Sam.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I used to work in tech, but the demanding schedule with my husband’s work schedule and a new baby made everything difficult. I had been assisting some other photographers with photographing weddings and I was crazy enough to think that I could do that! So I quit and started a photography business somehow thinking that entrepreneurship would be less crazy than a corporate job, I know, I was delusional.
Anyway, I dabbled in all kinds of photography from there never really feeling like I was completely capturing what I wanted to out of my subjects. This one night in the middle of an awful period of time in my life, I had a dream, and essentially in that dream my fantastical portraits came to life. I woke up and immediately changed the direction of my business that day!
I’ve been so much happier ever since and my clients love how unique and real and fun their portraits are. The rest is history.
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?
Absolutely not!
I’ve had to move my business five times over five moves all while having three children with other complications that life threw at us! I had years where every single day felt like a struggle. Luckily, there’s always a light at the end of the tunnel and things get better and answers to questions appear. Whew.
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 am known for my very different fantastical painted portraits and pictures.
I use two personality tests and a family questionnaire to draw out fun details from my clients and their families that help me focus in on what makes them, well them. Each image is completely different because my clients are literally my muse! Whenever people call me for a session, they expect to come and in do **my process** and I surprise them by flipping it all over to them. I HAVE to know about my client first before any idea of an image will come to me. Once I know them better, then the fun portrait appears in my head and it’s a race to sketch it out for them. After that, it’s just up to them to decide if they want their portrait as a composited picture or as a painted portrait.
Some things that make my experience a little more fun for my clients is that (if they are local) I will go to their homes and go through their closets with them to make sure each person is dressing their best for their portrait based on their own personality type that they tested for. I also include hair and make up for mom the morning of the session because we all know that when mom is more relaxed, the family is more relaxed. I end all my sessions, even the non-fantastical ones, with an organic milk & cookies picnic for the family. Oh and dads are super surprised by how quickly I photograph them for their portraits! The fantastical portraits also get a reveal party where I come over to deliver their portrait. They can invite over friends and family to see their completed portrait with them while enjoying some fun snacks.
I do also photograph regular family pictures. They still go through my same personality tests and questionnaire, we just keep the session about doing something the family likes to do and include some pictures where everyone looks nice and carefree. For example, I had a family who has a goal of one day owning a cabin on some acreage in the mountains. So their family pictures were taken at Fort Christmas around lots of greenery with some cabins in the background and thats’ what worked for them!
Children’s fantastical pictures are just lightweight versions of the family ones. They tend to include more magic or superhero abilities that I find adorable to capture for their parents since that’s such a fleeting time of life…and as a mom….I want to hold onto every second of that!
I feel like my process and care for clients is so above and beyond what others do that it creates a much better portrait that is definitely a show stopper when people see it in their homes.
Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
Since my background is in science, I feel like The Story Brand method was a HUGE help to moving me forward with my business. I can get so bogged down by details that I forget about the wide range of emotion that goes into selling my portraits.
I’m a bit of an eclectic so I haven’t found, yet, a podcast or writer who I want to follow regularly….but I think if you live by the Golden Rule and just treat other people as you want to be treated….everything will work it’s way out and the answers will come to you.
Contact Info:
- Email: isabel@isabelazalia.com
- Website: https://isabelazalia.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/isabelazaliaportraitdesign/
- Other: https://mewe.com/p/isabelazaliaportraitdesign
Image Credits
The picture that is my headshot I need to give a credit to Jerry Ghionis Photography. The rest are mine, copyright Isabel Azalia Portrait Design.
