Meet Allie Haley

Today we’d like to introduce you to Allie Haley.

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?
My story starts as a kid–holding a cerulean blue waterproof Olympus point-and-shoot camera. I was given this camera at some point as a child. I remember having so much fun with it, running around my family’s cabin in the summertime capturing the sunset, taking photos of my friends at the pool or on the bus. Eventually, when I started understanding the different settings it had, I was able to really play around with different subjects, depths, and lighting. This curiosity and passion began to blossom more with my age. Once I started high school, I saved up as much money as I could and borrowed the rest from my parents to get my very first “real” camera. A DSLR camera! In my mind, the opportunities were endless at this point. This had at least 10 times the amount of settings as a point-and-shoot camera. I spent the next several years figuring out what the settings mean, taking photography classes at my public high school, learning about macro photography and low light, and what the heck an F-Stop was. Some people I knew from my graduating class had transferred to an arts high school to finish school. I was so curious and intrigued. I thought that type of thing was only in TV shows I grew up watching. So, I reached out and asked them all about it. One of them went to study photography and film. She told me that I would love it and that I should come to tour the school.

Long story short, I asked my parents, toured, LOVED IT, applied and auditioned for the next school year, got approved, and spent my senior year of high school at an art high school studying film and photography! What I was taught here was unmatched. I had the best teachers out there, they were knowledgeable and honest, and they pushed me to my creative potential. The things I learned while there taught me so many practices that I still use in my photography business.

I started doing senior session shoots with the connections I had to both schools and Allie Haley Photography was born. After dabbling in senior sessions, I wanted to try more subjects so I progressed to couples and families. Families are fun because I love kids. Couples are so special because I am such a hopeless romantic. I knew the feeling I got when I was capturing couples was something I should follow.

From there I had my first wedding in 2017. Shooting your first wedding is a huge deal for photographers! It seems like the big first step, and let’s just say it went a lot better than I could’ve ever dreamed of! This is when I knew weddings were the field for me. After spending a summer “second- shooting” big weddings with other people, I quickly learned that as fun as big (300+ people) weddings are, I don’t get as much joy from them as I do from smaller, intimate weddings or elopements like my very first wedding. Small weddings or elopements are like a couple’s session but fancier and more emotional. Which I don’t know about you, but that sounds like a movie and I am here for it! This brings us to today with Alie Haley Photography. A Twin Cities photographer specializing in intimate weddings and elopements of all kinds, for all kinds.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There are learning curves in anything that you do in life, of course, but has that stopped me? Absolutely not. I’ve learned that curves in the road don’t always mean you’re going backward. As long as the car is still in drive; you will get to where you want to go, you just may be on the scenic route. One bump in the road that was really hard for me was having one of my hard drives die on me. I’ve learned since then that creatives who store anything digitally should have MULTIPLE backups. I lost 99% of my work and half of a client’s gallery when it happened. I was devastated. Luckily, everything worked out in the end! But man, that was not a lesson I was ready for. I’m glad it happened early in my career so I could learn from it.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
While I do specialize in intimate weddings and elopements, that is not all I do! My work is based around love. For some, that means doing a family session, a cozy in-house session with your boo, or celebrating your graduation.

My editing style is something that sets me apart from other photographers and something I’m proud of! When I was in school learning about editing I learned about a lot of different styles, but I didn’t really dig deep into my own personal style until later. It changed a few times in the beginning, but that all comes with trial and error. My style now is moody and raw. I want to make you feel like you’re there again when you look at the photos you receive. I am beyond proud to deliver just that–the feeling of being there once again.

We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
Unfortunately, I don’t think luck doesn’t play a role in business. How nice would that be, though, am I right? Haha. I am endlessly grateful for the opportunities that have been presented to me, but they did not fall into my lap. I have intentionally asked for help and sought out different opportunities. For me, the opportunities that ended up working out have really propelled my business and my professional career. I would not be where I am if I wouldn’t have asked people if I could work for/with them, asked them to teach me things, or critique my work!

Contact Info:

• Email: alliehaleyphotography@gmail.com
• Website: alliehaley.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/alliehaleyphotography
• Facebook: facebook.com/alliehaleyphotography