Member Spotlight: Alli Cernoch

As a newer CMC member, tell us a bit about yourself and how you got your start in photography.

I grew up in Nevada, out in the country surrounded by the most beautiful nature. I was a voracious reader and would pick up and read any magazine my mom had lying around. I had this wild, outdoors childhood, camping and visiting national parks for vacations - but part of me was always drawn to fashion and New York City, I think partly because of all the magazines I read. Both things - nature and fashion - inspire me and influence the kind of photographs I want to make.

Growing up I loved playing with disposable cameras and then digital cameras as I moved into high school. Then things kind of dropped off for a while. In 2024, after years of wanting to really learn photography I signed up for an online course that was designed to teach you all the fundamentals. I bought a digital camera (a Canon Rebel T7) and did the course. It was kind of slow going, it took a while for the exposure triangle to stick in my brain. Things really took off when I moved to New York in March 2025. I signed up for a class at SVA and then ICP and joined in on photo walks in the city. In the last year I’ve done something like 8 different photoshoots, some were creative ideas I came up with, others were for friends, or for people I met through Facebook. I feel like I really stretched myself and grew a lot last year. In March of this year I bought my first film camera (Canon AE-1) and I’ve been having a lot of fun with that lately! 

How did you discover CMC, and what has your experience been like as part of the collective so far?

I met Erica in May 2025 when she was leading a day-long event for Women Photo Tours - other members of CMC were there and it was such a friendly, encouraging environment. They pitched CMC, so I decided to come check it out. I had just moved to New York and really wanted to find creative communities, so it was the perfect thing. 

I always leave meetings feeling very inspired. I love that people come from all different skill levels, so I see work that is far beyond my level which makes me want to improve and stretch myself more and then I see work that is more aligned with where I am and that’s also inspiring - to see how people are growing and creating bodies of work and deciding what to focus on as they grow as photographers. 

What do you find most fulfilling about making photographs, and why? On the flip side, what do you find most challenging or frustrating about the process?

I have a lot of creative ideas and photography is a way I can bring them to life. I can’t draw, or paint, so photography is my medium. I’m a visual person - I’ve always responded to images and loved to collect them, from magazines, or on Tumblr, then Pinterest. I think there is something magical about capturing a really good photo, where the moment you see the final image, you know you nailed it - the light, the composition, the subject are all right. You’re capturing something fleeting, moments in time that can’t be relived or reexperienced in the same way and it’s so special when you get the perfect photo and it’s something that you can keep forever. 

The most challenging part is that you can take hundreds of photos and maybe a handful in the bunch are really, really good. It’s also frustrating when you are trying to capture something specific and either you miss the moment or you thought you got something great and then on a closer look settings were off, or the focus was not quite right. 

I think photography can have a steep learning curve, like to take really exceptional photographs is such a skill. On Instagram I see so many incredible photos every day and I am really striving to take the best photos I can. 

Share 5 images that feel most like you right now. They don't have to be your newest or your "best" work. Instead, just the photographs you'd show someone who has never seen your work before. Walk us through each image and tell us why you chose it.

I chose a mix of film and digital photos that I edited, which does feel the most me right now: I’m learning to work with film, I’m learning how to edit.These are all from a trip to Greece I took earlier this summer. I really want to expand into travel photography and I treated this trip as an opportunity to practice that. 

Boat photo: Digital. Such beautiful colors in this one. I love the blues of the sea and the red on the boat. I want to be back there. 

Bathing suit photo: Digital. I really love this one, it’s sun-drenched, to me it says summer, vacation, it’s a bit sexy. I tagged the brand and they reposted it, which was exciting for me. Haha. 

Ladder photo: Film. This photo is such a mood for me, nothing says Euro-summer to me more than a ladder into the sea. It conjures a relaxing feeling. 

Stones on hand: Film. I was trying to get creative with this one. There were so many cool pieces of sand-worn glass and pieces of pottery on the beach and it was fun to lay them all out on my friend’s hand. The little evil eye is my favorite. 

Sunset: Film. Playing with shooting at dusk and intentionally having parts of the image be in shadow/underexposed. I love the yellows and oranges of the sunset and the outline of the tree on the horizon.