Elis Alves Photography Bloomington IN Photographer

Bloomington, IN Documentary Family Photographer

BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA PHOTOGRAPHER.

SERVING SERVING INDIANA IN BLOOMINGTON, BEDFORD, MARTINSVILLE, GREENWOOD, AND SURROUNDING AREAS WITH DOCUMENTARY FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHY

I haven't always been a photographer.

But I have loved documenting families since I picked up a professional camera in 2009.

Growing up I loved looking through my parents' wedding album with my sisters and would look at it every once in a while to see my parents and grandparents before our life started.One of my fondest memories is visiting my grandparents and pulling out the family photo albums to hear the stories of my grandparents, parents, uncles, cousins, great-grandparents and their antics. This was when I realized these photos are some of my family's greatest treasures.When we lost my dad in 2020, all the pictures I had taken him over the years became infinitely more precious because these were all we had to remember him by.Family pictures are part of our family's history. I want to give you a visual history of the memories you want to keep.Tangible memories of real moments in prints and albums that get covered with fingerprints, and food crumbs because your kids love to pull them out and hear the stories 'just one more time'.

Someone wise once said that one day all our children will have is pictures of us.

And if you are like me, it’s so hard to step in front of the camera and make sure we are in the picture. No matter what your hair looks like, your make up (or lack thereof) or your body - they don’t care about any of that. They will just want to see you.

I want to show you the beauty of your normal, seemingly ordinary life so you can exist in printed photos for your family to pass them on to your children and, in time, their children. Memories that will only grow more precious with time.

REPRESENTED IN BRAZIL AND ARGENTINA BY AIREZ GALLERY

MY LIFE IN A FEW PICTURES

My parents, my husband and I, 4 of my 5 sisters, and 8 of my 10 nephews and nieces. Almost all of my family at our wedding. This is one of my favorite photos!

My husband and two girls. The three people I love most in the world!

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The last team I worked with in Rwanda in 2008. There are 5 nations in this photo: Brazil, Burundi, Canada, South Korea and the US (more about it in the section below).

With my parents in 2015

Shooting one of the images for a personal photography project, now on hold, in my parent's backyard.

My last collective art exhibit with the Airez Gallery, with one of my creations in the background (the big one), before I moved to Bloomington, Indiana.

The background part of my story

I love people, the arts, beauty and cultures. I'm originally from Brazil, married to a wonderful Bloomingtonian man and mom to two girls (5 and under).

For most of my life, before I started shooting photography for a living, I worked for an international non-profit organization training people around the world. I lived in 7 countries in 4 continents and visited 14 others in the span of 11 years. About half of these countries were in the African continent, where I spent most of my time.

This season of my life was amazing and gave me friends all over the globe, a few other languages besides my Brazilian Portuguese and the realization that we are far more alike than we are different. I also acquired the superpower to connect with pretty much anyone really fast (which comes in handy when you're a photographer)!

I really longed to have my own family so by the time I turned 40 and nothing had happened I thought marriage and motherhood were not in my future. But then, I was surprised to meet my wonderful husband, and we were blessed with not only one but two girls!

We've been living in Bloomington, IN ever since.

Solo Art Exhibits

Dec. 2018 - Eu Vejo Flores (I see flowers)- Paco da Liberdade - Curitiba, Brazil

Collective Art Exhibits

Sept. 2016 - Imagem.Meio.Palavra (Image.Medium.Word) - Memorial de Curitiba - Curitiba, Brazil

Oct. 2015 - Realidades Invisiveis (Invisible Realities) - SEMIC Parana - Curitiba, Brazil

March 2014 - Ser Mulher (Being a Woman)- Unicuritiba - Curitiba, Brazil

Nov. 2013 - Na Minha Epoca (When I was young) - OAB Parana - Curitiba, Brazil

Jan. 2013 - Em Versos (Verses) - Estação Mall - Curitiba, Brazil

Publications

"Shooting Yourself" By Haje Jan Kamps 2013 - by Ilex Press Limited. Republished as "Selfies" in 2014 by Simon & Shuster.

WANTED A BLOOMINGTON, IN PHOTOGRAPHER JUST LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE?

DIDN'T THINK SO!

FOR THE MEMORIES YOU ACTUALLY WANT TO KEEP.

AN INVESTMENT TO LAST BEYOND

YOUR LIFETIME.

BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA PHOTOGRAPHER

DON'T WAIT!

When I go, I go all in! So it's important to make sure we are a good fit.I don't do anything half way so I only take a few sessions each month.I know not everyone is into this kind of photos, and that's ok. If you looked around my website, and my work resonated with you, go ahead and fill out the form. I'll be in touch so we can talk about a different kind of family photography for the memories you actually want to keep.[email protected](930) 904-1425

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