Today we’d like to introduce you to Paul Allen.
Hi Paul, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I’m relatively a newbie in the art of photography. I bought my first camera (Canon R6) off Facebook Marketplace sort of on a whim in September of 2024. I started shooting pretty much everything I could right off the bat. In 2025 I made a promise to myself to post at least one photo everyday to instagram. This kept me disciplined and forced me to get a bit outside of my comfort zone. I shot street, studio, sports, weddings, you name it. I said yes to pretty much everything. Today I’m mostly pursuing sports photography and branding, but I still take shoots I believe will help me grow in the craft.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Because I have a full time job outside of photo, I don’t incur the natural stressors of a full time photographer. I am lucky to have steady income while slowly building my eye for this medium. I think the biggest struggle for most photographers is finding their style and what niche they want to shoot primarily. I’ve had to shoot a lot of bad photos along the way to get to where I’m at now, but I don’t think I’m even close to fully developing my own style as of yet. I think that will be a struggle for myself for years to come, but I’m okay with that. It takes time.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
For my 9-5 I am a business development rep for a large staffing firm. It allows me the freedom to take my craft of photography at a comfortable pace while I build my photo business. When it comes to photography, most of the work I am getting paid for is in the sports space, primarily running. I come from a running background and I love being able to capture friends and other athletes also doing what they love. I’m most proud of just simply finding photography. Creative outlets were never really part of my past, so this has been a game changer for me. I’m not sure what sets me apart from others especially since I’m so new to this, but I think life experience plays a big part in being able to create interesting work. And I found this craft at 35 years old. I think I was able to apply what I’ve been through and what I’ve experienced in life to my work.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I think risk is subjective and looks different for everyone, but I believe every creative person should be taking risks with their work if they want to build a life around it. I view risk as something you almost have to do because if you sit on an idea or concept and never pull the trigger on it, you may have regrets down the road. I come from an extreme sports background and also currently train for long distance running races. Risk has always been a common characteristic in my orbit.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.pka-photo.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pka______?igsh=MTlqN3VlMW5weWd1OA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
