Today I’m chatting with Iris Hu from Light by Iris - She is an Award Winning Documentary and Lifestyle Photographer based In Portland, Oregon who is Ready to travel anywhere. Iris is also an educator - she teaches an online class with Illuminate and in person weekend retreat called Finding Heart. 

In this episode, Iris shares her unconventional approach to capturing authentic, meaningful images. She prioritizes spontaneity, shooting in dynamic environments and embracing the imperfections of real life—whether it’s changing light, unpredictable weather, or everyday surroundings. Rather than relying on location scouting, styling, or golden hour perfection, she lets the environment and the natural light guide her creative process.

Iris reflects on her introverted nature, favoring gentle direction and observation over staged, high-energy sessions. Her goal is to create images that evoke emotion and nostalgia, valuing subtle, quiet beauty over perfectly polished aesthetics. She celebrates the raw, unfiltered moments—like light streaming through dust or a neon fridge glow on a child’s face—believing that these fleeting, imperfect details tell richer, more genuine stories. Throughout the conversation, she encourages fellow creatives to embrace flexibility, trust their instincts, and find inspiration in the ordinary.

You can find all the information on her photography & workshops below!
Iris Hu Website
Iris Hu Instagram 

You can follow along with the podcast and Allison Jacobs on Instagram.

For today’s episode, I’m talking with Evelynne Gomes-Greenberg who is a Portland, Oregon based family photographer. Her goal is to photograph families in a natural and authentic way so they can revisit the beautiful moments in their lives and her work has that dreamy PNW feel to it. We are going to chat about motivation and Mindset for photographers today along with a little about what drives her to family photography.

You can find all the information on her photography & workshops below!
Evelynne Gomes-Greenberg’s Website
Evelynne Gomes-Greenberg’s Instagram 

You can follow along with the podcast and Allison Jacobs on Instagram.

For today’s episode, I’m talking with Alanna O’Neil. She is a photographer and author in Maui, Hawaii who has worked with leading brands, including Francis Ford Coppola, Vermont Creamery, and Olympia Provisions. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, among other international publications.

Alanna describes herself as someone who has had many ups and downs as an entrepreneur, and she firmly believes in the power of embracing her style and aesthetic wholeheartedly. 

As a forever student, she appreciates the value of sharing knowledge and tips to help you grow. She loves to see photographers and creatives branch out from the standard box principles to create their own style and visual voice.

We are going to be diving into visual storytelling and finding maybe defining our own voice as a photographer today so let’s get straight to it!

You can find all the information on her photography & workshops below! 

Alanna O’Neil’s Website
Alanna O’Neil’s Instagram 

You can follow along with the podcast and Allison Jacobs on Instagram.

You can find all the information on Bec's photography & workshops below! 

Bec Griffiths’ Website

Bec Griffiths’ Instagram 

You can follow along with the podcast and Allison Jacobs on Instagram.

For today’s episode, I’m talking with Lissa Watson. Lissa is a fine art photography living in North Carolina who has refined her voice and style through traveling and capturing places she loves. She uses film cameras as her primary tool and strives to shoot from the heart so her love for the places she visits shines through in her work.  You can purchase her prints in vintage frames on her website and follow along with her journey on Instagram.

You can find all the information on her photography and fine art prints below! 

Lissa Watson’s Website

Lissa Watson’s Instagram 

You can follow along with the podcast and Allison Jacobs on Instagram.

For today’s episode, I’m talking with Lisa Haukom from The Golden Brand Co. Lisa is a personal brand director, award-winning photographer, educator, and host of the Goldenbrand Podcast. She uses her iPhone as her main tool to create magic + help others learn how to take their own brand images. We dive into what it means to be present in front of the camera, how to overcome obstacles that may be in your way, why learning to create your own brand images is important work and more. I just know you will enjoy this episode and afterwards you are going to want to put your phone on a tripod and take some photos of yourself! 

You can find her on Instagram & learn more about her workshops below!
Lisa Haukom’s Website
Lisa Haukom’s Instagram 

You can follow along with the podcast and Allison Jacobs on Instagram.

For today’s episode, I’m talking with Kim Klassen. Kim is a lifestyle photographer living in a small town in Canada creating lovely photos and videos that show the beauty in her life. She also teaches and mentors other photographers and you can see from our conversation today how she can find that perfect mix of the beauty in the world alongside the practicality of learning and growing.

You can find all the information on her photography & workshops below!
Kim Klassen’s Website
Kim Klassen’s Instagram 

You can follow along with the podcast and Allison Jacobs on Instagram.

For today’s episode, I’m talking with Summer Murdock who is a Salt Lake City, Utah based photographer and photography educator who specializes in kids, lifestyle, and portraiture. We got deep in this conversation where Summer shared about the importance of doing personal work, how she has pushed her creative growth, photographing your own kids, and more.

You can find all the information on her photography & workshops below!
Summer Murdock’s Website
Summer Murdock’s Instagram 

You can follow along with the podcast and Allison Jacobs on Instagram.

For today’s episode, I’m talking with Maryam Salassi who is a San Francisco Bay area documentary family photographer who has a fun, inclusive and creative brand. We chatted about setting up creative sessions, trying new things, breaking through a rut, and all things related to stepping outside your creative comfort zone. 

You can find all the information on her photography & workshops below!
Maryam’s Website
Maryam’s Instagram Hi & Hello Photography 

You can follow along with the podcast and Allison Jacobs on Instagram.

For today’s episode, I’m talking with Jennifer Carr. She splits her time between Seattle and Virginia Beach where she was born and raised. We cover a lot of ground in this episode from some technical info on Jennifer’s photography to building human connections through photography. There is definitely discussion about the creative process of photography, making mistakes, and always being a learner.

You can find all the information on her photography, retreats, and mentoring below! 

Jennifer Carr’s Website

Jennifer Carr’s Instagram

I want to thank you all for being here and tuning in when I publish new episodes - it is always so wonderful to hear from you when you enjoy and feel inspired from listening. I recently started a Substack - I am not sure where it’s headed but if you’d like to support the creation of more podcast episodes there is a paid subscriber option which could help me buy more coffee to stay up later to edit more creative conversations!

Buy me a coffee through a Substack subscription (where you also get to see me try to be a writer).