Today we’d like to introduce you to Victoria Allen.
Hi Victoria, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Hi, my name is Victoria and I am an Austin, Texas based photographer. I own and operate Like Magic Photography, an independent photography and editing business I decided to pursue after working at Disney for 2.5 years. That’s where the “magic” within Like Magic Photography originated from. To understand where my true passion for the art began, we would have to rewind.
When I was 10 years old, I received my first professional camera from my dad. It was a Nikon D3300 and it was meant to be his vacation camera, but once it fell into my hands, it never left my side. Prior to owning a professional camera I would use a simple point and shoot cam. I mainly shot landscapes and animals when I first started out, but always found joy in capturing people. I was nominated as the designated photographer for every event and family vacation. I noticed early on, that others outside of my family liked the way I posed and captured images, but didn’t consider taking my interest in photography beyond being a hobby until years later.
For as long as I can remember, I always had a love of art, singing and storytelling. I have a great appreciation for those that dedicate themselves to crafts and pursue ambitious goals. It’s always been a dream of mine to start and run my own successful business.
Throughout my life, I’ve been described as very ambitious – Some may think overly ambitious because I’ve always been someone that pursued things that were said to be impossible or unlikely to happen. I had many goals and creative hobbies growing up because I enjoy living an art centered life. My father works as an SAP consultant and my mother is a global marketing manager. Learning the independent style of contract work from my dad and studying the marketing skills from my mother, definitely influenced my decision to be an entrepreneur as they provided a great foundation of knowledge. For over a decade during my childhood, I aspired to accomplish three major goals – Get accepted into my dream college, work for Disney (initially as an animator) and become an entrepreneur. In 2016, I earned my ticket to my dream college in my favorite city, the University of Texas at Austin, as a studio art major and later minored in business management. Following college graduation in 2020, I was admitted into the Disney College Program. Due to the pandemic at the time, this internship was postponed until 2021. By the time I started working at Disney, I no longer had an interest in being animator and spent my time networking, learning new marketing strategies, and practicing photography. My internship quickly turned into a more long-term role after I became a merchandise trainer at the World of Disney. My leadership team provided me with the awesome opportunity to shoot promotional content for Disney Springs. The opportunity fueled my spirit and reignited my passion for photography. While I have many fond memories from my time making magic for the mouse, I knew my story wasn’t meant to end there. I spent my remaining months in Florida building my portfolio and planning how to launch my business.
Once I returned to Austin in 2024, I knew exactly which direction I wanted to take my life. Using all my savings, I upgraded my camera and gear. I was very used to making extreme decisions and leading a very unconventional life. The journey was a part of the adventure and I set out to create my own magic. Today, my business is growing and I’ve taken on opportunities that I didn’t even know existed years ago. Every month I’m making achievements and discovering exciting new ventures to take on. Everyone has a story worth sharing and moments they want to last a lifetime. My goal is to capture it – Like magic!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
For me, I’m my most inspired and happiest when I’m doing what I love. When I began working at Disney, I knew the role would be temporary because I had no desire to go down the route of animation. I tried exploring other options throughout my time there and while there were a ton of fascinating roles, something kept drawing me back to photography. When I moved to Florida, I brought my camera to document the experience. I found myself wanting to focus more on developing my own business in my free time to the point where I was getting frustrated that I had to dedicate most of my time to working in the parks. Working within the Disney parks requires a lot of time and the locations you are assigned for your role are kind of a toss up – Not all locations are massive or full of opportunity and not all teams are kind. These not so magical moments along with the fact that Florida didn’t radiant the creative energy that attracted me to Austin, motivated me to return to my roots and focus on my passions.
In my year as a merchandise intern turned trainer at World of Disney, I bonded with a lot of co-workers and was closely connected with the leaders who understood my goals. Once that year was up, I had to apply for a new location which was Sunset Boulevard at Hollywood Studios. As a guest, I absolutely loved this area within the park. However, as a park employee, I felt very invisible to the leadership team at the location and found myself picking up shifts a lot my previous placement. Eventually, I did give the new location a chance and try to advance as much as I could, but I already made up my mind that if I wasn’t growing in that role by the end of my apartment lease, then I would return home – So I did just that.
In 2024, I moved back to Austin and had to pause many of my hobbies. To re-establish myself, I worked as an assistant department manger for a retail chain for nearly a year, before finding a job at a portrait studio as their lead photographer. Before beginning my new job, I saved enough money to finally upgrade my camera and equipment. I invested everything I had saved into purchasing a brand new Nikon Z6II Mirrorless Camera with technology and graphics that were up to industry standards. The studio I worked in was a small business with 6 locations that had a history of ups and downs. I quickly became one of the highest grossing photographers on the team, however sales company wide started plummeting at the start of summer and I could tell there was going to be a wave of lay-offs. Due to the rising cost of living and location performance, the entire Austin team was let go as the company wanted to restructure.
The team was laid off in late September of 2025. For many, this is normally one of the most stressful events that you can go through, especially in a time where the job market was already in a poor state. However, after years of working roles that didn’t quite align with the direction I wanted to take my life – This was the best things that could have happened to me. Since I anticipated a layoff, I saved nearly every penny I could at the beginning of summer. This gave me some room to finally take a chance and focus solely on growing my photography business. Initially, I gave myself 3 months to build up my portfolio and see how far I could take photography as a freelancer. About 2 weeks before being laid off, I became a regular photographer at Mozart’s, a very popular café and music venue in Austin. For a majority of the year each Tuesday, Mozart’s host “Late at the Lake,” which is an open mic night that invites songwriters to showcase their original music. I met a ton of incredible local artists and rising stars, who were quite impressed with my work. I began posting my photos on Instagram, which grew my platform fairly rapidly because I was posting almost daily. When that 3 months was up in December, I was started looking for other jobs to support myself when I landed my first major press pass opportunity. In January, I was accepted to shoot for Ikkicon, which is the biggest anime convention in Austin. It is a weekend long event that garners thousands of attendees. It was Ikkicon’s 20th Anniversary and I was hoping to add conventions and conferences to my event portfolio. The director of marketing was very impressed with my work and told me to reach out next year for a role on the team. Shooting for this event gave me all the encouragement I needed to aim far and wide for more exciting opportunities.
The reactions and experience I gained shooting at Ikkicon, motivated me to keep pushing forward. I spent February looking for new music venues to shoot and meeting more artists. During this time, I also researched and reached out to music publications that could help me enter bigger music spaces. By March, I was shooting some artists and bands for SXSW, which caught the attention of many people on Instagram and from music publications. In April, I had the opportunity to photograph 6 time Grammy Award winning jazz artist, Samara Joy at the well-known Moody Theater. By the end of April, I was approved to shoot half of ATX Fashion Week which is the biggest fashion show in Austin. These opportunities have led me to forming amazing connections with photographers and videographers from a variety of industries. I was living off of a very small amount of savings up until I applied for a few side contractor gigs in mid March. Still looking back at this year alone, I’m happy that I took a massive risk because I accomplished so much while being unemployed. Many people, didn’t know I spent roughly six months, setting aside money strictly for apartment bills, groceries, and gas all while taking on these wild large scale projects. The craziest part is that during this time when I was supposed to be limited and stressed, I finally had time to dedicate myself to doing what I love most.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
My photography is center upon capturing life and story telling. I aim for my photos to not only capture personality but also elevate the moment being taken. With over 15+ years of professional photography experience and over 10+ years of editing knowledge, you can trust me to capture the magic of every moment. I specialize in portraits, events, and concerts. My editing style is defined by bold, vibrant colors. I feature a wide array of editing styles for flexibility as I want to offer options that meet a variety of people’s taste. One thing stays true throughout the years – I love capturing life in crisp, sharp images.
The photography market overall is said to be extremely oversaturated with many people taking photography up as a side hustle rather than dedicating themselves to the art. I rather be a trendsetter then a trend follower and this is something I found people that view my work take notice of immediately. My editing style has been described as “original” and “unique” which is a great characteristic to have in any area of art. In my eyes, art is defined by uniqueness and technique. When you define your style and are able to produce recognizable work consistently – You are an artist. I’m very proud of all the milestones I managed to hit in such a short time and look forward to continuing to grow my business. Since diving into photography last fall, I’ve developed a portfolio that truly reflects my craft well enough to upgrade to a personalized website. I believe the website really highlights my work and will help me reach a wider audience of people interested in having their timeless memories preserved.
My main goal now is to have my business flourish to the point where it supports me as my sole job. There is no better achievement, then getting to say you do what you love and that is what I aspire to do. There is still so much creatively that I want to explore within photography and videography. I have two ambitious opportunities I’m seeking to shoot this year. One is earning a press pass to cover ACL, which I’ve already applied for through a music publication. Austin City Limits AKA ACL Fest is the biggest, most anticipated music event in Austin. There are a ton of exciting artists on the line-up this year and getting into music festivals can be extremely challenging. I’m keeping my fingers crossed because I just landed my first music festival press pass for Blues on the Green happening here in Austin on June 9th and 10th. As for my second goal, I want to branch into the wedding photography industry. Being a hopeless romantic myself, I love framing love stories. I think that personal events such as weddings, bring out some of the most genuine reactions from people which makes the moments captured feel even more special and authentic.
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
I’m hoping to dive into the industry of wedding photography this year. If you are or know of any experienced photographers that specializes in weddings and engagements, I would love to connect and assist as a second shooter. If your big day is approaching – Please feel free to reach out as I love planning and capturing events, both big and small. You can contact me through my website, email, or via Instagram for those inquiring about my services.
Today, I’m constantly pushing the envelope to grow my portfolio and expanding my business. This summer, I am hoping to reach a larger audience by promoting my business more on my socials. This summer there will be two promotions for session discounts which will be announced in June. If you have an upcoming moment you are hoping to capture – Let’s make some magic!
Pricing:
- Headshots start as low as $100
- Portraits, Grad Photos and Fashion Shoots start as low $200
- Events, Performances, Weddings & Engagements starting rates range from $300 – $400
- All pricing can be found on my website and periodically I do run promotional discounts on sessions.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://likemagicphotographyllc.pixieset.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/likemagicphotography
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@like.magic.photos
