Life & Work with Isabel Dowell

Today we’d like to introduce you to Isabel Dowell.  

Isabel, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I started taking photography classes back in high school, it was a mix of digital and film, but I loved them all the same. At that time, I would recreate still shots I had seen in music videos, movies, from other photographers etc. It was just a fun way for me to express myself. I went to Grand Valley State University and I remember walking in for orientation and seeing a large banner saying “NOW OFFERING PHOTOGRAPHY MAJOR AND MINOR”, it felt like that was my sign. 

My career in concert/event photography didn’t start until 2018 when I was in a club at GVSU called “Spotlight Productions”, as the only photographer in the group I was tasked at photographing our spring concert which had All Time Low as the headliner. I was so excited, not only was I a huge fan of theirs but they would be my first official “photo pass” – I still have it framed on my dresser to this day. 

Since then, one thing has spiraled into another, and I can say I’ve photographed events such as Grand Rapids Pride, Lollapalooza, Breakaway Music Festival, a numerous of artists – AJR, Greta Van Fleet, Sizzy Rocket, Dayglow, just to name a few. I work with four different outlets at the moment, as either a photographer, a writer, or both, as well as a photographer in my day job, and at Circle Theatre Grand Rapids. 

I am always busy, always learning, but I wouldn’t change a single thing! 

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
This entire journey has been anything but a smooth road. There are a lot of people who will tell you no, a lot of people who will be chosen ahead of you, a lot of opportunities you may have to turn down for whatever reason, and so many more obstacles that come with being a freelance photographer. It’s sometimes hard to stand up for yourself and constantly have to prove you are the person for the job, but any opportunity I’ve accepted I give my absolute best effort. And for any opportunity I’ve been passed up, I just tell myself to work hard for next time. 

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a concert, film, portrait, event, (all of the above!), a photographer currently based in Grand Rapids, MI. I would say I am currently most known for my concert work within the area and on social media, as it is definitely my favorite form of photography. 

I have such a hard time choosing what work is most important to me, but the top three would be Lollapalooza, Greta Van Fleet, and Girrlpuppy. Lollapalooza was a HUGE accomplishment for me, I was able to work directly with an artist named Jessia, photographing her set as well as some backstage images. This also gave me full access to special “artist” perks, which then led me to sit next to Chance the Rapper and being able to snap his photo! Greta Van Fleet was another huge win for me, they are definitely one of the most popular groups I’ve photographed and I had a lot of their fans sharing my photos which was cool. Girrlpuppy had a show at the Pyramid Scheme in Grand Rapids back in November 2021. For some reason, I went out on a limb and asked if she would be down to take some portrait photos to which she said yes and I quickly realized I was not totally prepared for! I quickly borrowed a flash from my friend, Ashlee McGreevy, learned how to use it about 30 minutes before the show, and took some really cool portraits backstage. Kind of a live and you learn moment, but worked out in the end! 

Speaking of Ashlee, I think of her as a friend, coworker, and mentor. She was my professor when I was at GVSU and now we work together at Circle Theatre. One thing she always told me was that I needed to find my niche to stand out, and I had a really, really hard time doing this. Nothing I tried felt right, or felt like me, and it took a while, but one thing that I am able to do that I very rarely see in the Grand Rapids area is photograph concerts on film. This is such a tricky, time-consuming task as most film cameras are manual – so you have to constantly adjust for lighting, adjust your focus, etc. I’ve had some really cool GR-based photographers that I look up to tell me it was cool to see me shooting concerts on film! 

Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
The most important lesson I’ve learned is to be confident in your work. Sometimes you’ll shoot a concert, have a portrait session, or whatever it may be that goes completely and utterly wrong, but that doesn’t mean you are a bad photographer. What I post on my website or my social media is the best of the best, as everyone calls Instagram, the “highlight reel”. Sometimes I walk out of concerts with 500+ photos, and only 10 of them turn out “perfect”. There is a lot of trial and error but one wrong, messed up event doesn’t totally ruin your chances of future opportunities. 

Contact Info:

• Email: isabelelisephoto@gmail.com
• Website: isabelelise.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/isabelelisephoto