Profile: Alyssa Broadus
Picture this: beautiful cityscapes of KC, perfect for hanging on your walls.
All photos courtesy of Alyssa Broadus
Resident contributor Alyssa Broadus has been big on the creative scene in KC these days– her signature style evokes vintage vibes while capturing some of our city’s best ‘scapes. Here, we chat with her about all things creative process, inspiration, and her move to open a print shop:
What made you decide to start a print shop?
The drive to start a print shop was actually due to a few inquiries from sweet humans on Instagram! Every once in awhile, a message would pop-up in my inbox asking if I sold my prints (which truth be told I never thought people would be interested in); so one random night, I decided to sit down and look through some images, selected a handful of my favorite KC views, and got them up on my website. It’s still the most insane feeling when I see someone purchase one!
What was the process like going through all of your photos to decide which ones to sell?
Truthfully, it felt a little intense– and totally my own doing on that front! I easily get into my head when it comes to photography I’ve produced, and start feeling things like, ‘Are you SURE these are good enough?’ People were so kind and blew me away with their support; and all those feelings of doubt started to subside. Now, it’s genuinely exciting to sit down and look through past/present work to see what others might think is fun art for their walls!
How do you keep your creativity flowing these days?
I’ve learned throughout this last year that my personal creativity has to ebb & flow on it’s own timing— trying to force it made it seem worse to come by. I would go months without taking a photo for things like my own personal social media, and would feel bad that I wasn’t constantly creating; but our noggins are going through so much right now, and I think it’s only natural for us to need that rest & balance for creativity to strike when it’s ready.
Your editing process is clearly so unique to you– how did you find your vision as it relates to the look and feel of your edits?
It look a lot of time and editing to find what felt like the proper reflection of myself in this work! I definitely got swept up in years past with trying to be on trend with my edits, and more often than not I would look back on them and know something wasn’t quite feeling right. I was really drawn to moody tones, more grain, vivid coloring; (it reminded me a lot of my love for older issues of National Geographic); so I decided to combine all the things I was drawn to about those photos and add my own touches — and I am so thankful for that process and taking time to figure out what worked best for me personally!
What areas of KC inspire you most?
I love walks through the Westside neighborhood (it still remains a place I hope to move back to someday), memories of First Fridays with my Mom in the West Bottoms, and recently getting to call Columbus Park home. So much of Kansas City inspires me, but I know I would not be who I am without these specific places.
Do you keep your camera on you most of the time, or do you head out sometimes specifically to shoot?
There are days that I get excited to grab my camera and go out to either experiment with an idea, or photograph something specific, but most times I'm using my iPhone during random moments that feel inspiring! (That’s actually how my love of photography started — I went out and snapped silly photos on my phone of places around KC that brought me joy & wanted to share them with others). Over five years later, that’s still one of my favorite things to do!
Any other advice for budding photographers out there?
Enjoy the process of finding your niche! Everyone captures and edits product, food & beverage, editorial, bridal, etc. differently, and that is what’s so cool to me about photography; there is an endless amount of talented & beautiful work, and everyone is going to have a their own take & eye on things. (Plus, the community of photographers here in Kansas City are very inspiring & encouraging, and it makes you feel like there is space for everyone here to freely create, which is a very special thing!)
Last question: what's the best part of putting your prints out there into the world?
It is the most humbling feeling knowing that someone is hanging these prints up in their home and it sparks a little joy for them — that is truly all I could ever hope for out of these prints and I can’t believe these photos have come full circle in this way.
You can find Alyssa’s print shop through her website, here.
