Today we’d like to introduce you to Darrell Alonzi.
Darrell, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I was born in Massachusetts, raised in Washington State and moved to San Diego in 2003. In 2008/09 I was working as a construction Foreman and photography/design was just a part-time hobby. Although I had always been drawn to the visual arts and considered myself a creative person, I never thought I would be the creative professional I am today.
I began my photography journey around 2006 by shooting nightlife events, designing club flyers as well as shooting some promo material for friends just for the love o it and for a little side money but it remained a hobby for the most part until the housing market crash of ’08 caused the company I was working for to go under. What seemed, at first, to be a major life set back turned out to be a blessing in disguise as it forced me to focus all my efforts into what I loved to do and turn it into a business.
After several years of “paying my dues” and building clientele, I was able to make a modest living with just photo and design work. My business, as well as my skillset, have grown significantly over the past several years and I am grateful that I get to wake up every day and do what I love for a living.
Has it been a smooth road?
I suspect that the road of any creative professional is fraught with struggles, whether personal, financial or otherwise and my story is no exception. Some of the struggles I encountered, in the beginning, were not knowing what to charge, lacking confidence in my work, struggling financially and a big one for me was simply learning to say no. Some client/opportunities are just not for you.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Darrell Alonzi Photo & Design story. Tell us more about the business.
I am a San Diego based portrait and wedding photographer as well as a graphic designer.
I am passionate about my craft and I truly feel blessed to be able to create for a living. I believe in community, collaboration, doing what you love and loving what you do. As a creative professional, be it photography or graphic design, I strive to deliver unique and quality imagery to each and every client through a fun and personalized experience.
I am not a technical photographer per say. Although I know my gear backwards and forward, I tend to shoot what I feel in the moment and freezing that moment forever. Instead of attempting to control every aspect of a photoshoot, I try to allow a clients personality to come through in my images.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Although technology has evolved greatly, until recently, photography itself remained largely unchanged for over 160 years. The first shift was from analog to digital but the real change came with the advent of social media. Now the visual language of photography has reached beyond the constraints of 2 dimensions. The digital image is almost infinitely flexible and is integrated into apps and technologies with purposes yet to be imagined.
On a technical level, photography is ever evolving and has become more user-friendly and widely available. my guess is that we’ll see many more smaller cameras with larger more powerful sensors, as well as computational cameras that feature multi-aperture and multi-lens systems, but that are still lighter, more compact, and easily carried. We will continue to see improvements in video and stills combos, Improvements in mobile phone video and photo features such as “motion photos” as well as post-production program capabilities (IE Photoshop, Lightroom etc.).
Though I see lower barriers to entry and more competition among the “weekend warriors” and part-time photographers, established professionals with a distinct style, creative vision, and mastery of lighting, posing and other photography fundamentals will still be able to charge a premium for their services and continue to run lucrative businesses. With the removal of many of these technical barriers to photography, the industry will be focused more on the creative.
From an industry standpoint, social media, smartphones and digital flow have basically democratized imagery. With the ease of access and use of technology these days, it has made it much easier for anyone to claim to be a “photographer” and enter the industry. I see this trend continuing. This does not worry me though as I feel that this will only flood the industry with mediocre and/or poorly executed images which will change the overall perception of the visual arts and in turn separate the pros from the amateurs by making good work stand out in contrast. After all, it is not the gear that makes the photographer.
Pricing:
- PORTRAIT SESSION FOR 1 | $375 + tax
- FAMILY PORTRAIT SESSION | $495 + tax
- ENGAGEMENT SESSION | $595 + tax
- WEDDING PACKAGES ARE 3 TIERED AND BEGIN @ $2995.00 + tax
Contact Info:
- Website: alonziphoto.com
- Phone: 6199409949
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: instagram.com/darrellalonzi
- Facebook: facebook.com/DarrellAlonzi
- Twitter: twitter.com/DarrellAlonzi
- Other: athsndwrds.tumblr.com
Image Credit:
Diva Hammond
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