Meet: Britnee Alphin!

Introduce yourself and profession to our readers:
My name is Britnee Alphin. I am a blogger, portrait photographer, mom and wife. I love what I do! Writing is like yoga for me; it keeps me at peace and joyful at the same time. Photography does something to my spirit. To be able to captured a moment in time that people either overlook, or can’t remember years later, is a blessing! I love being able to capture those off guard, un-posed moments. The joys of marrying my high school best friend and having a son with him are unparalleled to anything I do in life! Without them, I have no inspiration.

What inspired you to pursue this area of interest?
I have been writing and taking pictures since I was a child. I grew up in a single parent household, so my mom had to find conventional ways to punish me. Her classic punishment: write the children’s dictionary. I learned so much about words and vocabulary. I learned that the super deep dimples that I have in my face are actually birth defects. I then competed in school spelling bees, wrote songs and poems, and graduated with a degree in Journalism. See how God can turn a negative experience into a positive thing? For photography, however, my grandfather was my inspiration. He was the jack of all trades! He is an amazing photographer and he taught me so much. I learned to play simple things on a guitar and found my love for music watching him play his guitar. He is the face of my photography business and he was my best friend growing up! We also share the same dimpled birth defect and creative A.D.D.

What advice would you share with those interested in a similar pursuit?
The one thing that I would tell someone pursuing being a blogger is to RESEARCH! I spent MONTHS researching the ins and outs about blogging. I researched marketing, trends, applications, other bloggers, styles, presentation, the best web page layouts, what colors mean, etc. I had my face glued to the computer for many months! I wanted everything to be as close to perfect. As far as photography, my best advice is to find your happy place and shoot! EVERYONE is a photographer, thanks to Apple. You’ve got to study your comfortable angles, and understand what editing style works best for you. I like bright photos and grungy black and white photos. My style reflects my personality and you’ve got to hone your style!

Discuss a professional challenge and how you overcame it:
Oh man! The biggest challenge that I am facing right now is not getting caught up in life as I see it. God has been on a hiatus since I turned 25 this May! I mean He has been giving me assignment after assignment and vision after vision. My husband and I just wed last October with no money, got evicted the day after our wedding, I dodged jail time for traffic citations the day before my wedding, just got my car back after repossession the month before our wedding, and through all of that we are JUST getting back on our feet! God has placed some big and I mean BIG things on my plate that have brought me to tears because I knew I couldn’t accomplish them. Trusting God is hard when you are in your feelings and trying to be a mom and trying to hold down a full-time job while doing two crafts the moment you get off and while at work. I have been below the valley BUT GOD! I am overcoming situations and circumstance and taking it day-by-day! You’ve got to push past things and not make excuses. Tyler Perry was homeless and look at him now! If God can heal a blind man, He can get anyone out of anything! Activate that faith and don’t focus on what you see but focus on getting things done little by little, day by day.

What is next for your brand/business in 2017?
My next step with my business is just to grow and bring awareness to my brand! In the past, I had a web show called Urban Hype Live and I gained a nice following because of it. My goal is to go past that and really reach the masses! I really want to reveal what God’s next steps are for my business but it isn’t quite time. I am not ready to be held publicly accountable for making all that happen! Just know that I am going to be one busy woman.

How can readers connect with you online and through social media?
Readers can connect with me on Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook @EatPoseVoyage and my blog is available at www.britneealphin.com. My photography page is on Instagram @BritneeAlphin and the website for that is www.capturedbybritnee.com.