Rising Stars: Meet Sydney Ralston

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sydney Ralston.

Hi Sydney, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Photography has always been a big part of my life. Since I was a little kid, there has always been a camera in my hand, either plastic or metal I was always capturing or documenting something.

It wasn’t until I was 16 that I started thinking about taking my passion to the next level. I started out using my friends as models and spent the weekends doing photoshoots in my backyard.

I created an Instagram, @sydneyralstonstudios, just as a place to archive my photos. Quickly, my little weekend hobby was becoming a big side-hustle. I began getting requests to do family portraits, graduation photos, and small community events. I continued doing just that for a couple of years. Fast forward to today, I am 21 and consider myself a full-time creative portrait and branding freelance photographer, try saying that five times fast – ha!

Since the beginning of this year, I have been dipping my toes into a more social media/collaborative approach with my business and providing local small businesses branding and content creation services. Some of my favorites have been working with a Buckner, Missouri local gem, Bone Hill View Distillery.

As well as collaborating with local content creators such as TikTok famed, fashion model, Aaron Wilson. Being able to work full-time has been such a fun and creative adventure already and I can’t wait to see what projects and people the future has in store for me as a photographer.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Building a small business is never easy. Especially, when you start out so young and consider yourself a dreamer like me. I remember being 14 years old, telling my friends and family that I was going to go have my photos printed on the cover of Vogue and Time magazine one day!

Luckily, they supported me nonetheless and I think that is one of the biggest reasons why I decided to dive into this small business career headfirst. The college has been a struggle, trying to balance getting a degree and weekly content creation/photoshoots have definitely led to some all-nighters.

But I am a strong believer in positivity and manifestation. As long as I lead with compassion and love what I am doing then that is good enough for me.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a creative and branding freelance photographer, which in a nutshell means I love taking pictures of people, places, spaces, and things! So yeah, just about anything, having a camera, will travel is what I tell all my clients. The majority of my work so far has consisted of photographing families, events, and personal portraits.

When I started my business in high school, I was focusing mainly on model photography and senior portraits. These days I still provide those services as well as working with brands and other creators, as a way of challenging myself as a creative to push myself out of my usual comfort zone. It is hard to pick one project I am most proud of because I see my work as I see the clients I work with and they are all beautiful and special in their own way.

Every photo I have taken tells a story and evokes memory and that is one of the many reasons why I love what I do. I love emotion and the human condition, it has always been something I have tried to highlight in my work. Making my clients feel comfortable around me is the number one priority because that is how I shoot my best work.

Nothing makes me happier than showing a client sneak peeks of themselves during a shoot and them saying, “Syd?! How did you make me look like that?!!” and me saying something along the lines of, “What are you talking about! You have always looked this beautiful!”

Self-love is an aspect I like to bring up to my portrait clients a lot because I want them to look back on their time with me as a rewarding and impactful experience.

Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
Social media has been a very important tool for my industry. I mean without Instagram I really wouldn’t be anywhere today. I see micro-influencers and content creators becoming a more leveled playing field as the economy shifts within the next several years.

I am excited as a small business owner to see where this new work/life, post-pandemic balance is going to take us and what it will look like from a consumer’s point of view too. Not only do I consider myself an artist but to my core also a huge lover of art itself.

So beginning to see positive changes in the industry on multiple levels is very refreshing. I feel like a photographer with a sense of community more than ever from social media and online connections. It will be very fascinating to watch the creative space change over the next decade for sure!

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sydneyralstonstudios/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sydneyralstonarchives/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/sydneyralston
• TikTok: @sydneyralstonstudios

Image Credits
Sydney Ralston Studios