MANISTEE — If a picture is worth a thousand words, then one Manistee-based photography studio might be comparable to a library.
Alissa Saylor launched her studio, located at 457 River St. in December, where the award-winning photographer focuses on lifestyle, family, maternity and newborn photography.
“I’m constantly looking for inspiration in the most mundane of life’s moments and drawn to capturing the natural beauty that I see within real relationships; turning it into art that you can feel,” reads part of her website, alissasaylorphotography.com.
Much of her work showcases maternal beauty, and Saylor says she draws inspiration from motherhood.
“I really gear toward mothers,” Saylor said. “… I think becoming a mom … there were things I wish I could hold on to for myself.”
Capturing those moments is important to Saylor, but so is the experience of getting photographs taken.
“I really want to capture all those things, but I also want moms to feel really special and pampered when they come in here, because I know that motherhood – especially early motherhood – can be really rough,” she said.
Saylor says some of her approach to photography came from a similar special experience, which got her interested in becoming a professional photographer.
“When I was in high school, and I had my senior pictures done, we had picked someone from west Michigan and he offered a whole experience (with) little pampering things set up,” she said. “I remember how special it was that he went above and beyond.”
Speaking with the photographer helped Saylor get started with photography.
“He really invested in me … telling me that I could shadow him and gave me all these tips on how to get started and I just really loved it.”
After pursuing a different career in cosmetology, Saylor says it was another, much different experience, which got her back interested in photography.
“I graduated, I got married, I actually went to cosmetology school and after we got married, my experience with our wedding photographer was actually just a little bit disappointing,” she said. “I remember thinking, ‘I really want to do this and I want to offer people what I had wanted.’”
From there, Saylor says she sought out photographers to shadow, took classes and had “a lot of trial and error.”
“I did a lot of wedding photography, a little bit of family and then as I got older and as I started having my family, my interests started changing and I started figuring out what my passion was and where I really clicked in photography.”
That, she says, was working one on one with growing families.
In 2013, Saylor won first place in the birth photography category at Lemonade and Lenses, an international image competition.
Saylor’s studio in Manistee is a first for the photographer, and she says her experience in the city has been “very, very good.”
“This is my first year ever having a studio and it’s kind of been a dream of mine since the beginning.”
With her studio, Saylor says, she can offer clients “a full experience,” with a variety of amenities.
“I have what I call the ‘design lounge’ and I have a makeup artist … and a hairstylist that works here,” she said. “I offer a wardrobe as well, so I have a bunch of kids’ clothes and gowns for moms to come and try on and pick out what they want for their pictures.”
Saylor said she strives to offer these additional services, so her clients “don’t have to.”
These include things like snacks and drinks, a multipurpose dressing and kids’ room where they can play when not being photographed.
“There’s a TV in there because newborn sessions tend to get really long and dads are not needed for the whole thing, so it’s nice to have a little TV where they can relax and have some coffee.”
Saylor says the demand for her services has been high since coming to Manistee despite, or perhaps because of, the pandemic.
“I’ve been really busy over the last couple of years, and I don’t know if I was extra busy because of the pandemic (and) people were bored and just cherishing their families more and really wanting pictures,” she said. “Everything has been so crazy, that I just don’t know what’s normal yet.”
For Saylor, the opportunity to photograph these clients and their families is “an honor.”
“It’s an honor for me to be able to tell stories, to be able to see people in front of my camera and kind of watch how they are together,” she said. “Then (I) try to translate that into something that speaks to them later, because I carried the pictures that I have of my family and the further out they are, the more I cherish them.”
For more information, or to contact Saylor, visit alissasaylorphotography.com.