Taking photos of other people comes with the job of being a photographer. But what happens when you turn the camera on yourself? If you find yourself feeling a bit silly, that’s OK, embrace it. Self-portraits don’t have to be perfect. 

Self-acceptance is the name of the game here. Take photos of what’s actually there, not some perfect (fake!) Instagram version of your life. Don’t be afraid to get messy and have fun and capture your true self. If you’ve been too scared to try self-portraiture, this is your permission slip to get started. 

In today’s episode, I’m interviewing Alex Eischeid, a creative portrait photographer, mentor, and instructor. Alex shares advice on how to get started with self-portraits, where to find inspiration for these photos, and how to embrace your creativity and not take yourself so seriously.

What’s in this episode:

• [02:21] Alex shares what she’s passionate about and how she got started in photography
• [05:09] Why self-portraits are so meaningful to Alex and why she started a 29-day self-portrait project
• [09:52] Alex’s tips for getting started with self-portraits
• [12:28] Where Alex draws inspiration from in her photography
• [16:37] How she gets her children involved in the photos and grown their bond
• [19:58] Alex’s advice for not taking yourself too seriously and embracing creativity when doing self-portraits
• [25:56] How she’s developed and evolved her sense of style in her photos

Tune in to this episode for advice on embracing the messiness of real life and trying self-portraits.

SUBSCRIBE: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher

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And if you want to hear more from Alex and how she’s exploring self-portraiture, she’ll be teaching at our online 2023 Family Retreat! (Grab your spot now!)

Meet Alex

Alex Eischeid is an award winning creative portrait photographer, mentor, and instructor. She’s passionate about storytelling through self-portraiture and is devoted to helping other photographers develop their own personal and artistic voice. 

Connect with Alex

Follow Alex on Instagram

Visit Alex’s Website

Click Community on Facebook

Click Photo School

Did this episode inspire you to embrace the messiness of real life and try self-portraits? Check out this episode Beyond a Selfie – Creating Fine Art Self Portraits with Intention, Connection & Love with LeAnna Azzolini

Transcript

[00:00:00] Alex Eischeid I remember when I first started following a bunch of other photographers, and I just kept seeing like this perfection and their house is amazing and everyone is joyful and laughing and it’s beautiful. Yes, but that’s not real life. Life is messy and I’m a horrible baker and my kids are crazy. And so just embracing those things in life and just showing like, hey, look, you’re not the only one. Like, we’re all struggling here as well. And that’s okay. Inspirations everywhere just, I think just really paying attention to like the conversations that you have and self-reflection is a big, big part of finding inspiration. 

[00:00:50] Lisa DiGeso Welcome to the Art and Soul Show, where we dive into heart opening chats on photography, business life and that messy in between. I’m your host, Lisa DiGeso, a mom, a photographer and entrepreneur, and I’ll be sharing honest conversations and advice for photographers with insight on mindset, entrepreneurship and creativity. The goal of this podcast is for you to be able to gain insights and strategies that will get you real results. Because let’s face it, having a photography business can be lonely, but it doesn’t have to be. This is the place you can go when you need a boost of encouragement, a kick in the pants and inspiration to pick up your camera. This is the Art and Soul show. 

[00:01:33] Lisa DiGeso Hello, my beautiful friends. Welcome back to the show today. I’m super excited to dive into today’s conversation with Alex Eischeid. Alex is an award winning creative portrait photographer, mentor and instructor. She’s passionate about storytelling through self-portraiture and is devoted to helping other photographers develop their own personal and artistic voice. I think I actually just I found her on Instagram and then I fell in love with her work, and I recently actually signed up for one of her programs that she’s doing through Clickin Moms and you guys, it is fantastic and actually got me personally out of a really tough rut that I was in. So I knew I had to reach out to her and get her on the show. So without further ado, welcome, Alex. 

[00:02:16] Alex Eischeid Hello. Thank you so much for having me. 

[00:02:19] Lisa DiGeso Tell us who you are and what you’re passionate about. 

[00:02:21] Alex Eischeid So I’m Alex Eischeid, and I am a photographer here in Norman, Oklahoma. I have my own photography business. I’ve had it for about seven years now. Seven or eight years. And it wasn’t until the pandemic that I sat down and really started reflecting on what I wanted out of my business. And teaching was something that I knew that I wanted to do eventually. I was stuck at home and so I figured, you know what? I’m just going to start it now. Just start that journey. And it hasn’t been an immediate journey. It’s been a journey. So it’s taken a little while and there are still, I still have so many goals that I want to achieve. But, you know, whenever I started in photography, it was just like Google, YouTube. You know, I was self-taught and I didn’t know of any resources really to learn. And so that’s why I’m so passionate about sharing what I have learned and what works for me with other people. Just to be able to see that little light bulb go off and create a little bit of spark, it’s so fulfilling. And, you know, I still take clients, but definitely not as much as I was before. And this allows me to tell more personal stories for myself and teach as well. So it’s a win win. 

[00:03:46] Lisa DiGeso I love that. So how did you get your start with photography? 

[00:03:49] Alex Eischeid Oh, you know. I had the baby time. Yeah, I had my son. I was actually So before I had my son, I was a film and a film major in college. 

[00:04:04] Lisa DiGeso Oh, neat. 

[00:04:05] Alex Eischeid And so I never I never graduated because I had my son and I was planning on going back to school after he was like one. I was like, okay, when he turns one, I’ll go back. That’s when I feel comfortable. And then I accidentally started a photography business. You know, I was like, you know, why go into more debt when I can be my own boss and make my own schedule? And here, you know, Yeah, it’s started out as a hobby and then other people started asking me to take their pictures and yadda, yadda. And so. 

[00:04:41] Lisa DiGeso The story we all have is, you know. Like it’s just like, yeah, you start posting pictures online of people like, can you take a photo of my child? You’re like, Yes, I can. 

[00:04:49] Alex Eischeid Yeah, absolutely. 

[00:04:50] Lisa DiGeso You want to pay me? Yes. 

[00:04:51] Alex Eischeid All your money. Yeah, exactly. Any money is good money. So. Yeah. So really, it was just a way to document my children’s lives authentically and not having to pay someone else every single time. I wanted a nice quality picture of them.

[00:05:09] Lisa DiGeso So how did you come up with self-portraits and why are they so meaningful to you? 

[00:05:14] Alex Eischeid Well. I have kind of always taken self-portraits, but I used to only take self-portraits when I was really sad. And so it was kind of a way to look at the positives in myself and to just kind of embrace myself just because, you know, I was kind of a young mom. I had my son at 23, and so I felt really lonely. Sorry, It’s kind of dark, but I felt really lonely. 

[00:05:45] Alex Eischeid You know, Like all of my friends were still in school or going off and doing their own thing. And so I just I don’t know, it was. And so anyways, I never shared those self-portraits just because I was nervous about what other people would think of me. You know, I didn’t want people to think that I was like, full of myself or. 

[00:06:03] Lisa DiGeso Isn’t that the funny thing? It’s like that is the biggest fear. 

[00:06:06] Alex Eischeid Yeah, it really is. And so I always took them. But it wasn’t until I decided, let’s see, this was 2020. My birthday’s in January, and so I decided to start 2021 with and I was turning 29. And so I decided to start the year off doing a self portrait project where I would share one self-portrait every day for 29 days. And so I had just recently made my account public. And so it was kind of a way just to let people know a little bit more about me, because at that point I was sharing a lot of images of my kids, and when I changed my account to public, I started feeling some kind of a way about sharing pictures of my kids all the time, you know? And so I was like, Well, this will be a really good challenge just to come up with all of the different ways to take these self-portraits and stretch my creativity and for people to get a better sense of who I am. And it was a really, really big challenge. But I you know, I completed it. I did one for 29, 30 and then 31. Now there are no more days in January. 

[00:07:28] Alex Eischeid And so. You know, whenever I finished that project, I was like, okay, you know, I’m good with the self portraits for a while. And then like two or three days later I was like, Oh, I have an idea, you know? And so I just kept going with it and going with it. And so really that’s how it started, just challenging myself and doing something outside of my comfort zone and just seeing like, Wow, I really do love this and I love the whole process and it was healing and I could get these different emotions out that, you know, I’m not super great with words. And so just being able to tell my story without any words at all is spectacular. 

[00:08:13] Lisa DiGeso I love it. I love it. Well, I love it. And I love that you shared it because like I turned 45 this year and like, I’ve been in the public eye probably for 14 years now. And so what it did for me was I’m confronting my aging. Yeah. Through my own lens. And so it was really powerful for me to just be like loving myself and like, I didn’t know that that was going to be part of the lesson. And it was really fascinating to me that I was like, okay, well, I know like, I know how to Photoshop, like I know how to make myself look like a Kardashian if I want to. But I was like, how about I don’t, how about I just let myself be me? And I just felt I was just it was so interesting, just the power of the Self portrait project and how it just impacts you emotionally and mentally and how you can just like see yourself through a different lens. 

[00:09:06] Lisa DiGeso Yeah, right. Yeah. Like it was really neat.

[00:09:09] Alex Eischeid Like seeing all of these different sides to you that you didn’t really acknowledge that you didn’t know existed, but you didn’t really acknowledge. And like you said, like you can Photoshop yourself to look all you want. Yeah, anyway you want. But you know, I think at some point, especially when you’re working with clients and female clients, you know, you have to practice what you preach with loving yourself and self-acceptance and just no matter what you look like, stepping into the frame because you’re never going to get that time back. And so just going in with that mindset of practicing what you preach because I’m very big like female positivity, just loving yourself unconditionally. 

[00:09:52] Lisa DiGeso Absolutely. I love it. So taking your own portraits as I’ve experienced is not easy. So do you have any tips for those that maybe haven’t tried it yet? Instead of feeling overwhelmed, they feel like they might have an inkling of where to start. 

[00:10:08] Alex Eischeid Well, just start small. Give yourself realistic goals. Start with one self-portrait a month. I’m going to start with one self portrait a month. I like to call it like going on little dates with yourself. So I love just dedicating that time, just me and my camera and whatever is in my head. So just make it a point to go on one date with yourself a month and then from there, once a week, and then from there just whenever you want. It’s just like with anything else. The more you do it, the easier it becomes. If you bake once a year, chances are you’re not going to be a very good baker. You know, and so it’s the same with self-portraits. You know, if you only do it once a year, it’s going to feel awkward and you’re not going to be very confident. But the more you do it, the more it just becomes second nature and the more that you are willing to take risks in your work and experiment and be open to failure as well. 

[00:11:10] Lisa DiGeso Like, yeah. 

[00:11:11] Alex Eischeid It’s okay if you take 20 minutes with self-portraits and you don’t want to use any of them, that’s okay. You are the only one that is going to see them. You can make the decision to share those or to not share them and just keep them for yourself, just using it as therapy. So just going in with little expectations and just trusting yourself. 

[00:11:35] Lisa DiGeso I love that. I think one of the biggest lessons for me that I still repeatedly have to learn is not comparing my straight out of camera to someone, their fine art piece that they have like spent hours on. I always like and I’m like, why does my not look with it? I’m like, Lisa, you know why? Yeah, because you’re comparing apples and oranges. This is ridiculous, right? So silly. 

[00:11:59] Alex Eischeid Everyone’s different. And I mean, seriously, if you see the straight out of cameras for, you know, a lot of mine and that’s the image that I’m sharing with the retreat, I mean, it’s like a seven image composite, you know? And so it’s totally different what it looks like in camera. But giving you the proper tools, it’s limitless. You know, the possibilities are limitless with what you can achieve and getting your thoughts and ideas out there. 

[00:12:28] Lisa DiGeso So where do you find you draw your inspiration from? 

[00:12:31] Alex Eischeid Everywhere there? Yeah, everything. I mean, inspiration is literally everywhere. I keep a note section in my phone and I also have a couple of journals that I’ll sketch ideas out, but I can just be driving and hear a lyric, you know, some lyrics and a song. And then I pull over and I’m like, Hold on, I have to, you know, my kids are like. What are we doing? You know, like, I have to write this down like, before I forget. So, I mean, it’s literally everywhere. Music, movies, fashion, make up self-reflection. Just what am I interested in? What do I like to do? What am I good at? What am I not good at? I like to make fun of myself a little bit in my work and just laugh at the things that I’m really not great at in life. And I think that that’s super important, especially just trying to be like my most authentic self and to show other women. Because like I remember when I first started following a bunch of other photographers and I just kept seeing like this perfection and their house is amazing and everyone is joyful and laughing and, you know, that’s it’s beautiful. Yes. But that’s not real life. You know, life is messy and I’m a horrible baker. And, you know, my kids are crazy. And so just embracing those things in life and just showing like, hey, look, you’re not the only one. Like, we’re all struggling here as well. And, and that’s okay. So, yeah, inspiration’s everywhere just I think just really paying attention to like the conversations that you have and, and self-reflection is a big, big part of, of finding inspiration. 

[00:14:18] Lisa DiGeso I love that. I love that you mentioned about like how life is messy because I think like we were renovating our house for about four or five years between the time my son was about 6 to 11. Yeah. And it was a disaster. But this was also like, coincided with like the heyday of Instagram being like, everything is perfect. 

[00:14:39] Alex Eischeid Yeah. 

[00:14:39] Lisa DiGeso And so I actually really didn’t shoot much of my family or anything in my home during that time because I was so embarrassed and so ashamed that my house wasn’t like Instagram perfect. Yeah, and I really regret not documenting more of like the ridiculousness of when our kitchen counter was literally a piece of chip rock or like, my husband made a lamp out of what’s a cardboard? Yeah, because we wanted to make sure that we bought the right lamp. You mean literally made a star to cardboard that hung in our front heart? Like, just ridiculous stuff? Like, why did I not document that more? And I felt so embarrassed and so ashamed that no one could know my dirty little secret that my house is under renovation. Right? Like, and it’s just so, like, looking back. It’s like, Oh, you said that was so stupid, right? 

[00:15:32] Alex Eischeid But it’s so normal. Yeah. Oh, yeah, right. Especially when it’s just thrown in your face constantly. 

[00:15:41] Lisa DiGeso Always. And you’re just like, I’m not perfect. I don’t look like these people were like, It says it’s hard. It’s hard, right? So I love that. 

[00:15:48] Alex Eischeid We were doing renovations last year and I took a couple self portraits in the mess. Like I had to take, we had to take all of our clothes out of our closet and they were just piled on my bed. And I was like, How do I have so many clothes? You know? And so I literally, like crawled underneath all of the clothes and stuck my hands out. And it was just like, I’m drowning in laundry. So I was like, Oh, you know, this is a good opportunity to, you know, take these really messy, crazy photos that have kind of been in the back of my mind, but I didn’t know how to. Like, it’s tough making a huge mess on purpose and then having to clean it up all for one picture, you know? But yeah, just taking advantage of those situations and like that. 

[00:16:37] Lisa DiGeso So do your children like to be involved? 

[00:16:39] Alex Eischeid Oh, yeah, they do. Like, it’s funny, when my son was younger, he went through a period where he wanted nothing to do with it. He’s eight and a half now. And. But it’s funny, like, the older he has gotten, the more he sees the creative side of it. Like, he’s my little artist. He is like crazy, crazy, talented and creative, and I’m just always in awe of him. And, you know, he’ll see he’ll see me sketching something out, which these are like stick figures. I say sketching very loosely. But, you know, he’ll see me sketching something out and, you know, I can see, Oh. What are you doing? 

[00:17:18] Alex Eischeid Oh, you know, And he starts asking me questions and, you know, so he loves being involved and he’ll come up with his own ideas. He just came up with an idea yesterday, so we make sure to write it down. And my daughter as well, I sometimes she wants nothing to do with it. And then I’m like, okay, that’s fine. I’m not going to force you because that’s not fun for anyone. But typically, if she sees her brother wants to do it, then she wants to do it. And I always try and do something that they’re interested in or they’ll have something that they’ll have fun with or bring in one like surprise element. So where they’re like to get those candid reactions from them, you know? So yeah, 95% of the time they really do enjoy doing it with me because it’s just, you know, those are memories. And I’m teaching my my son is I’m teaching him photography right now. 

[00:18:11] Lisa DiGeso I love that. 

[00:18:12] Alex Eischeid So it’s just it’s been a really fun way for us to bond and to work on ideas and stuff together. And like, while we’re shooting, if, if he has an idea then or she has an idea, then I’ll try and like, okay, yeah, let’s do that. And most of the time, like their ideas are way better than mine because they’re kids and they have like, no inhibitions. So it’s like, yeah. 

[00:18:35] Lisa DiGeso And they come up with some crazy stuff. 

[00:18:37] Alex Eischeid I think they know like one of my favorite pictures is my son throwing flour at my face. We’re in the kitchen baking together, and I was trying to surprise him with like, having a bunch of flour in the KitchenAid. And then I was going to have it like, mix around and go everywhere. And it wasn’t working. And he was like, Can I throw flour at your face? I was like. Yes, you can. Actually. I was like, This is going to be a huge mess. But like. When are we going to get to do this? You know? And he still talks about it. And I was like two years ago. It’s fun. I try and make it fun for them. 

[00:19:12] Lisa DiGeso My son, he’s 13, almost 14, and he plays video games like Fortnite and all the things, right. So he wanted to get a new battle pass or some v-bucks or something. He likes to bribe me. He’s like, Mum, my mom let me level with you, but I’m going to level with you. So if you get me 5000 v-bucks, I’m going to do some shoots with it. 

[00:19:35] Alex Eischeid Honestly, not above it. Right? 

[00:19:38] Lisa DiGeso I’ll take the bribe. 

[00:19:41] Alex Eischeid I don’t call them bribes. I call that paid. It’s child labor. Yeah, it’s a model. I wouldn’t really work for free. So, you know, you’re teaching them, you’re teaching them. Business and, you know, not to sell themselves short. 

[00:19:58] Lisa DiGeso They love it. I love it. Now, I think one of the things that we really get in our own heads about is taking ourselves too seriously. And to be honest, this is probably one of the things that I really it stops me from creating because I really do take myself serious too seriously and I forget to just play. So do you have any advice of maybe for our listeners who maybe are in the same boat where they’re just like, they want to do these self-portraits, but they’re like, they stop themselves? 

[00:20:26] Alex Eischeid Yeah, I mean, I kind of suffer from Peter Pan syndrome, so, like, I never want to grow up. I’m like, Embrace your child, you know, like your inner child. And yeah. That’s tough. That is really tough. I think just again, going with the flow and. Letting things happen, especially if you are working with kids or, you know, like, I love dressing up in myself. 

[00:20:57] Lisa DiGeso I love dressing up. 

[00:20:59] Alex Eischeid Yeah, dressing up like being someone different for a little while or, you know, you have that dress in the back of your closet that you’ve worn once and you’re like, What else am I going to wear that to? Let me think of something that I can photograph myself with. And so just just being open to play, you know, like I said, they’re self-portraits. No one has to see them. So if you think you end up looking like a dingus, then you know, you don’t have to share them if you don’t want to or just share them anyways. Like, I mean, there are so many images that I’m like, Wow, oh gosh, why? But I share them anyways because I don’t know. I feel like again, like we have this, especially women. We have this idea of perfection constantly shoved in our face. And so just seeing like, Oh, okay, she did it. I think I can do it too, you know? So maybe just inspiring another woman to step in front of their camera. So, I mean, turn on some music, dance around, flip your hair around, just swirl around and have fun with it. Just play. 

[00:22:05] Lisa DiGeso In our yard, we have this amazing apple tree that blossoms every day. And so in the pandemic, it blossomed. And normally, like I take my clients to this tree, I love it. I shoot it at it every year. And so during the pandemic time, it blossomed and I didn’t have anyone to shoot. So I was like, I want to do self-portraits. You should have seen My neighbors laughing so hard at me to twirling around wear that around in this reclamation dress. Yeah. Oh, my God, I had so much fun. And I was like, You know what? I’m choosing not to care what other people think at this moment, even though right now it’s killing me because I’m such an introvert. 

[00:22:42] Alex Eischeid Yeah, I wouldn’t do it. But the more you do it, you know. The easier it becomes. And you’re just like, okay, whatever. Like, yeah, like my neighbors probably think I’m like, the town crazy lady. Yeah, but. Oh, well. 

[00:22:54] Lisa DiGeso Or they can think I’m brave, right? You know, I don’t know. It’s not my business to know what they think. 

[00:22:59] Alex Eischeid They’re going to think about you for like 5 seconds and then on to the next, you know, like they’re not going. I was, what was it? Last year, two years ago, our neighbors were getting ready to leave and I was gardening in our garden. But of course, taking self-portraits at the same time. And, you know, I’m in this outfit that I would never actually garden in, you know, this long, flowy white dress and clogs and big rice hat. And my neighbor was showing the house to a potential buyer. You know, I went, Oh, hey, don’t you want to move in here? This is where you’ll get to see every day. So you got a kick out of that house, Like, whatever, you know. 

[00:23:43] Lisa DiGeso That’s hilarious. I love it. I think a lot of the times, too. I think that, like, there are like, the biggest obstacle to self portraits truly is our minds. And it’s like the ones that you’re too old or this dude that or you’re vain. I think like that’s the one that really is like, we have this, this programing where we really don’t want people to think we’re vain or it’s a vanity thing, which is so silly because I don’t think it ever thought that about someone else when I’ve seen self-portraits. 

[00:24:15] Alex Eischeid Yeah. 

[00:24:15] Lisa DiGeso So it’s just so strange that we think that about ourselves, that how do we get over that? But like. 

[00:24:21] Alex Eischeid I know that’s and that’s something that, that I constantly kind of I don’t want to say constantly struggle with, but it’s something that’s constantly in the back of my mind because I, especially from friends and family, like, why are you, why do you just the questions and it’s like, well, this is my outlet, this is how I, this is my therapy. Rather than paying $300 an hour for therapy. 

[00:24:52] Lisa DiGeso I’m my own therapist. Maybe I was paid off my camera. 

[00:24:56] Alex Eischeid Exactly. So I am doing myself a favor, my family a favor. So, yeah, I mean, it’s something. And I. I definitely go through, like, down in dark times, and I’m like, I don’t even want to see myself. And I think that I think that that’s okay to go through life is ebbs and flows always. And so when I’m talking to other people that are going through that and they still want to take self portraits, take a faceless self portrait. Use shadows or motion blur. 

[00:25:29] Lisa DiGeso Motion, blur. Exactly. 

[00:25:31] Alex Eischeid Yeah. The back of your head. Like you don’t have to really show yourself or be fully present for it to be a self portrait, you know, like in I Love Hands and so I use my hands a lot in software. I mean, that’s a self portrait, even if you only see my hands popping in or, you know, like there are lots of different ways to to get around it and to be able to successfully still tell a story. 

[00:25:56] Lisa DiGeso I think also styling and like maybe even developing your style not only with how you’re styling your sessions and even like just how you’re styling your work. So can you maybe share how you sort of have evolved and develop your sense of style and how that’s really translated into your work? 

[00:26:12] Alex Eischeid I kind of feel like I always tell students to never let anyone put you in a box. Hmm. So I do feel like I have a particular style to my work, but I don’t want to be conformed to that one thing. But definitely with certain projects I have like a certain esthetic. And a big part of that is fashion. I’m very, very influenced by fashion. Just some. A lot of times I’ll start with the dress that I want to wear and then you style an entire scene around that or, you know, like I did an entire set built upon a Coppertone sunscreen bottle. So that’s like, you know, pink and blue. Okay, well, how can we style this and this particular color scheme? What is the color scheme that I want to go with? And again, it all boils down to like fashion. And as corny as that sounds, I think that a lot of it has come down to that. And I love bold colors. I love color so much. 

[00:27:21] Lisa DiGeso And you can really tell in your work. 

[00:27:23] Alex Eischeid I love color. I love contrast. And so just letting letting those. Not being afraid of color. And of course, everyone has their own style. But I’ve just always been drawn to, like, bold. Yeah, I’m not quite sure. I don’t know how, like, I developed, you know, I just have friends. Hey, I think. I think one picture and you really like it, and then you’re like, Oh, I really like that. 

[00:27:46] Lisa DiGeso Replicate it. Replicate it. Yeah. 

[00:27:49] Alex Eischeid Yeah. Okay. And then how can I keep this going? And what can I add? Like, you know, I wear a lot of, like, retro vintage inspired dresses and a lot of my. How you do. And, you know, I have people have asked me like, do you dress like that in real life? And I’m like, No, absolutely not. Like, I’m chasing my dog down the street. That is not you know, there’s no way I could. As much as I would love to, but I just I love like that style and kind of applying it to modern day and it and it really kind of comes full circle with like this idea of I keep saying perfection, but like this idea of perfection, which, you know, in those like mid-century that was like the thing. Like moms are the caretakers and the housekeepers and the bakers and everything. And that’s not realistic and it’s not attainable. So kind of taking that style, but applying it to modern times, that’s I have found that I just really, really like that. I don’t know why, but I just love it. 

[00:29:01] Lisa DiGeso Well, it’s so funny because, like, there’s certain things I’m drawn to, like, I love, like, fine art or I love like, I love specifically the time period between like 1870 and 1910. Yeah. And like, I just want to wear costumes that are Victorian. 

[00:29:15] Alex Eischeid Totally. 

[00:29:16] Lisa DiGeso I’m like, Why am I so weird? 

[00:29:18] Alex Eischeid Like, No, no. We there’s not far from us. It’s like one of it’s in Guthrie, Oklahoma. It’s like one of the like antique capitals of the country. And they do a Victorian Christmas. Block every year. Oh, I know. It’s amazing. Yeah. Like my son, he’ll go with me. It’s like, Can we go to Guthrie today? We’ll just go antiquing together. Like, I just. I love. Yeah. 

[00:29:45] Lisa DiGeso Oh. It’s so fun. 

[00:29:47] Alex Eischeid Just being brought to a different time and, you know, obviously, like, not socially, but. Yeah. 

[00:29:54] Lisa DiGeso Just like, just creating magic with your mind and, like, putting yourself in there. I love it. I love it. So are you ready for our lightning round? Yeah. Okay. Oceans or mountains? And why? 

[00:30:06] Alex Eischeid Oh, oceans. Well, I love mountains. I would say mountain. Well, I’m a warm weather girl. Yeah, for sure. So mountains. And if it’s summer. But I am a warm weather girl through and through. I just. I’ll say oceans. 

[00:30:21] Lisa DiGeso Most luxurious vacation you’ve ever been on. 

[00:30:24] Alex Eischeid Mm. I haven’t ever. Really been on like, a super luxurious vacation. But I will say, like, the best vacation was when my husband and I got married. We eloped, and so it was just us two, and we just did everything that we wanted to do. And it was amazing. We went to Cabo. That’s like our special place. And so we went golfing. In the morning and got married and then went fishing the next day and yeah, ate really great food. And so that was probably the best. 

[00:30:58] Lisa DiGeso I love that. Favorite TV show as a kid. 

[00:31:00] Alex Eischeid Saturday Night Live. 

[00:31:02] Lisa DiGeso Oh gosh. Yeah. So good. Yeah, so good. 

[00:31:04] Alex Eischeid So good. And it was like, really. Inappropriate for me to watch. I was like a five year old girl, you know? But it really did, like, shape who I am and you know how I view life. But yeah, Saturday Night Live. 

[00:31:19] Lisa DiGeso Totally So. Good. What three things do you want to be remembered for? 

[00:31:24] Alex Eischeid Authenticity. Love. And compassion. 

[00:31:29] Lisa DiGeso Favorite guilty or not so guilty pleasure. 

[00:31:31] Alex Eischeid Oh, man. Real Housewives. That’s a guilty pleasure. It’s so trashy and ridiculous, but I just I can’t get enough. I love it. 

[00:31:41] Lisa DiGeso Oh, my God. You know, I just finished watching Was Love is Blind. Have you watched that on Netflix? No. You know. It’s awful and I love it so much. And I actually just started watching Vanderpump Rules. 

[00:31:54] Alex Eischeid Okay. So I’ve not gotten into it, but there’s, like, a lot of drama surrounding it. 

[00:31:59] Lisa DiGeso So much drama. 

[00:32:01] Alex Eischeid The drama. Like maybe I should start it. 

[00:32:04] Lisa DiGeso I know. That’s what I thought. I was like, I don’t know anything about anything. I need to find out now. 

[00:32:08] Alex Eischeid So I feel like I know all of the drama, you know, just from reading, like, back stories and stuff. And I’m like, okay, I need to figure all this out myself. And they’re good editing shows, too. 

[00:32:18] Lisa DiGeso Right. Yeah. Yeah, totally. Just something in the background. Yeah. Favorite comfort food. 

[00:32:23] Alex Eischeid Pork tamales with homemade salsa. 

[00:32:25] Lisa DiGeso Oh. Where do you feel most centered and happy? 

[00:32:29] Alex Eischeid In my home. With my family. Yeah. 

[00:32:33] Lisa DiGeso I love it. What did you want to be when you grew up as a kid? 

[00:32:36] Alex Eischeid Oh, on Saturday Night Live. I wanted to. Be. I wanted to be an actress. And, you know, I’m a. Terrible actress. Though. So then that’s when I went to the opposite side and studied film. And now I am my own actress now. 

[00:32:55] Lisa DiGeso Yeah, exactly. I always wanted to have my own show, so I do. 

[00:33:00] Alex Eischeid You know, you did it. See, we’re doing, living it. I love it. 

[00:33:10] Lisa DiGeso What has been the best piece of business advice you’ve ever been given? 

[00:33:13] Alex Eischeid Oh, this piece of business advice. Probably just being true to yourself. Yeah. Just why be like everyone else? 

[00:33:24] Lisa DiGeso Do you have any personal projects going on right now? 

[00:33:26] Alex Eischeid Oh, gosh, yeah. Too many. Too many. I see a lot of personal projects. I have two favorites. One is idioms as images and that one, it’s where I take figures of speech and create literal photographs for them. 

[00:33:43] Lisa DiGeso So cool. 

[00:33:44] Alex Eischeid Yeah. So idioms as images. And then my mothering mishaps, which it’s again just kind of like my ventures through motherhood and all the sticky situations that I find myself in or, and a lot of them are like very exaggerated. 

[00:34:03] Lisa DiGeso Please do a running out of gas one, because that’s me. 

[00:34:06] Alex Eischeid Thinking, Oh my gosh. Literally last week. Oh, that’s a really great idea because this happened to me last week. I was picking my son up from school and I knew that I needed gas and it said 18 miles until empty. And so I was like, okay, I’ll get gas after I pick that up. So I’m sitting in the line and I look up and it says One mile. And you just I, I was like, I literally I thought I was going to puke. I was like, oh my gosh, Oh my gosh. Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh. And so I’m literally just like, foot off the gas like coast. And yeah, I was like, if I am. That mom that breaks down. The pickup line holding everyone else up. I will never live this down. 

[00:34:49] Lisa DiGeso Seriously. 

[00:34:50] Alex Eischeid Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. That’s a pretty great idea. 

[00:34:53] Lisa DiGeso Burning dinner also is like a superpower of mine. Like, I’m very good at forgetting that and, like, going in, like, somehow I’m on Expedia, and I forgot it was cooking. 

[00:35:01] Alex Eischeid Well, you’re doing. 17 different things at once. That’s actually the first, I think it was the first image that started that series was me Burning Muffins. 

[00:35:11] Lisa DiGeso Yeah. 

[00:35:12] Alex Eischeid And then I have another idea with the smoke alarm and you got the broom trying to turn this seriously. I need to shoot that one. I feel you.  

[00:35:22] Lisa DiGeso I love it. So inspiring. I love it. So where could our listeners learn more from you? 

[00:35:27] Alex Eischeid I’m always on Instagram. I’m on Instagram way too much at alexeischeid, and then I have my website, alexeischeid.com. Facebook. I am a mentor through Click Community, so I also have a couple courses on Click Photo School, so all over the place. 

[00:35:47] Lisa DiGeso And you’re actually going to be a teacher upcoming for the online family retreat. 

[00:35:51] Alex Eischeid I’m so excited. I have everything finished. I just need to, I need to export it and send it. Send it your way. I’m excited. 

[00:35:59] Lisa DiGeso So can you share what you’re teaching on? 

[00:36:01] Alex Eischeid Yes. So I am teaching on the unrealistic expectations of motherhood and the power of personal projects. So kind of like, you know, everything that we’ve been talking about and it’s funny, I had a very specific idea. Then I shot that behind the scenes and I did it. And then the next day I had a different idea and I was like, Nope, I’m going to do this one. This one feels like it’s just a little bit more authentic, and I feel like it’s something that a lot of women can relate to. So yeah, I found something completely different and did a completely different concept. So lots of self-reflection and you’ll get to go behind the scenes and see how I actually shoot my self-portraits. It’s just right here in my studio a.k.a my living room, very fancy and then editing so many. So like they’re going to learn a lot of editing because that’s where the magic really happens. So lots of Lightroom Hacks are tips, tricks, Photoshop, lots of Photoshop. So I’m very, very excited. 

[00:37:12] Lisa DiGeso Well, we’re so lucky to have you, so thanks. You cannot wait. So I love to end my interviews just with this last question. And it is what are you currently curious about or artistically curious about? 

[00:37:24] Alex Eischeid Oh man lighting. I am very, very into lighting right now. It’s kind of a problem. Yeah, just exploring that. And of course, like I utilize natural light. Natural light a lot, but off camera flashes, just chef’s kiss, you know, and just being able to create light anywhere and at any time. And so I go for lighting in my behind the scenes and it’s fascinating and it’s a lot of experimenting and just figuring it out as I go. But yeah, that’s what I’m super into right now. 

[00:38:02] Lisa DiGeso I love it. Well, Alex, thank you so much for joining me today. 

[00:38:06] Alex Eischeid Thank you so much. 

[00:38:08] Lisa DiGeso Beautiful friends. I hope you enjoy this conversation just as much as I did. I am sending you so much of my light and my love today and every single day. We will see you next. I wanted to take a moment to ask you a little favor. I still appreciate you spending your time with me and tuning in and listening to the show. I would be so incredibly grateful if you could take a quick moment to leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Your review helps other photographers discover the podcast and learn how to grow their own photography businesses and gain confidence to go after their dreams. It also means the world to me personally and helps me know what content you find most helpful. Thank you so much for your support and for being part of our amazing community.