Who are you anyway?
Bang Images is a portrait and wedding photography business located in Birmingham, Alabama, that was founded in 2015. There were a few ideas when it came time to name Bang Images. The word “bang” was first discussed because I, the owner and primary photographer, Jennifer Alsabrook-Turner, have bangs, and have had them for the majority of the last 20 years. Since my name is quite long, I really wanted my photography business to be called something short and kind of punchy. Bang Images also has a slogan, which doesn’t get used very much anymore, but it’s still fun- “Shooting the Ones You Love.” So, it’s a sort of play on words, bang from bangs, and bang because a camera “shoots”. I lost a little sleep worrying about offending someone with the slogan, but in the end, I decided the people I’d like to work with wouldn’t take it seriously and a healthy sense of humor won.
I am the sole portrait photographer for Bang Images. I also photograph most weddings solo since the majority of them are Micro Weddings now, but when I rarely photograph a longer wedding, I usually hire a second photographer.
Genetics are strong, eh?
The photo on the left is my paternal grandmother as a middle school student, and the photo on the right is a self-portrait. I see a resemblance, but the overwhelming agreement when I shared the image with others was a little shocking. And yes, although the photo on the right was probably created in 2015, the bangs are still hanging on.
A little background, please?
I went to the University of Montevallo and graduated with a double major. One degree was in Art Education and the other was a BFA in Photography. I took the slow route through college and enjoyed almost every minute of it. I traveled after graduating and lived in Ireland for six months. Upon returning, I worked at Custom Photo Art and afterwards taught at the Creative Montessori School for fifteen years. I resigned in 2015 to create Bang Images and man, has it been an adventure! The bottom line is I’ve stayed connected to art and photography my entire adult life and that’s no accident!
Why do you photograph people?
I’ve always photographed people, even when I had my first camera at ten years old. I’ve photographed landscapes very little and cityscapes even less, but nothing really interests me as much as making a connection with a human subject and then communicating their story to a viewer. I think all the years I spent teaching children influenced my decision to photograph families. I also have two children of my own; I think kids are pretty neat. And I photograph weddings because I love telling a story and also because my own wedding photographer was dreadful and unnecessarily altered the course of our wedding day to suit her needs. I want to provide a much better experience for couples! I also love photographing individuals and couples and any time I can get creative, I’m excited to play, likely due to my art school background, which I treasure.
Any goals for Bang Images?
Yes, I have a few ideas. One, is I’d really love to offer photography and video during my sessions. I would simply switch back and forth in my camera since it has video capability. I think this would be a really wonderful addition to the story telling I enjoy already! I’d also like to be able to hire an assistant, someone who’d accompany me to photo sessions and weddings. I think help carrying gear and setting up shots would give me more creative freedom. One thing you shouldn’t expect from Bang Images though is for the focus to narrow. So far, I’ve not entertained the thought of finding a niche’; I’m happy to photograph people. Who knows what the future really holds? These are some of my thoughts on long-term plans for Bang Images.
There’s a lot more that could be said, but who has time for that? This is a pretty concise picture of the company and the owner.
Contact me if you’d like to work together!
comments +
Be the first to comment.