“I actually look forward to when VSCO posts new hashtags so I can share my photography to the respective curatorial boards.”
Allie Kisow has been photographing for five years and posting to VSCO since she was a teenager. She's 22 now, recently started a position at Leica Camera, and is still working out exactly how to describe what she does—street, portrait, film, and increasingly band photography.
That honesty about where she is in her practice runs through everything she shares. She uses VSCO Prompts the way a developing photographer should: scrolling the hashtag galleries to understand what the prompt is really asking, digging through her archive to find images that fit, and paying close attention to what established photographers are doing differently.
In this conversation, Allie talks through how prompts became part of her routine, and how looking back at images helped her finally see how far she's come.
1. How would you describe your photography?
My photography is a mix of street and portraiture. Recently I've been diving into band photography; however, it's something I need more practice in to claim as something I am “professional” in.
2. How about your photographic practice?
I wouldn't say I am a professional at photography, though I have been photographing for the past five years. I think to be a professional I would need more life experience, as I am only 22 years old.
However, I'd like to think of myself as an artist. I photograph on film, mostly, and recently have been capturing on a Leica.
3. How do you keep up with prompts, and how do they fit into how you use VSCO?
I find all VSCO Prompts on the Discover page. I actually look forward to when VSCO posts new hashtags so I can share my photography to the respective curatorial boards.
4. How do you decide a prompt is interesting to submit to?
I will usually scroll through each photograph that is submitted through the hashtag and read what the prompt suggests to post.
For example, the recent prompt #PhotographersInFrame was quite compelling to me, as I was scrolling through all my posts to see if I could find any pictures that matched the prompt and realized I had many photographs of photographers and my friends in motion taking pictures.
“I will usually scroll through each photograph that is submitted through the hashtag and read what the prompt suggests to post.”
5. What are two of your all time favorite prompts, and why?
I really loved the prompts #WithVSCO and #PhotographersInFrame.
The #WithVSCO prompt intrigued me, as it suggested sharing images users either edited or took on the VSCO app. I edit a lot of my photographs on VSCO using the collage tool to create borders, so I thought I'd share some of my own creations using the hashtag.
The #PhotographersInFrame prompt was a great resource to me, as I hadn't realized how many photographs I'd posted on VSCO were images I had taken of people photographing, which I thought was quite fascinating. I love capturing people in motion, especially viewing photographs of people out and about, like street photography.
6. What's the most tangible thing prompts have given your photography?
I will say, many times VSCO has reposted my images, which has gotten my photographs a lot of exposure through people liking and reposting my pictures, which I always think is very cool!
7. When you submit to prompts, do you normally find images in your archive that feel like a good fit or do you ever take new images for it?
I mostly find images in my archive to submit to each prompt. Sometimes a new prompt will relate to a series of images I had recently created, and then I'll use the hashtag under that post.
8. If you could create a prompt for other photographers, what would it be and why?
A prompt I would create would be #YourBestPhotograph, if this hasn't already been done. I find this open-ended prompt extremely engaging, because asking someone about their favorite photograph they've taken is not only inspiring, but it creates a space for both professional and up-and-coming photographers.
A favorite photograph of yours could change throughout the years, or even throughout the early practice of photography itself. I know many artists and photographers are critical of their own work, which I am a victim of, however, I love seeing different art styles of photography, from beginners to established professionals.
9. Has spending time in the prompt galleries changed how you approach photography?
Absolutely! One of my favorite styles of photography is street, which I see a lot of on VSCO, especially through the prompts.
I want to continue to practice my skills in street photography, and I look to established photographers on VSCO to learn what I can do differently to make the photograph look interesting through different vantage points, focal lengths, and filters.
10. When you submit to a prompt, do you ever look at the other photographer submissions?
Of course! And I hate to admit that I am sometimes envious of the submissions, as I wish my work looked like theirs.
I recently started a position at Leica Camera and have been viewing #Leica on the VSCO app in awe of the photography, hoping that I will be as good a photographer someday.
However, having posted to VSCO since 2017, I can see how my skills have grown to where I am now in my photography journey. I am so inspired by others that I would be humbled to have people come to me for advice or inspiration.
Finding inspiration and sharing your perspective
Allie has been posting to VSCO since she was a teenager. Seven years later, she's at Leica Camera, and still scrolling the prompt galleries, still eager to learn more.
That's what makes her experience with prompts worth paying attention to. Not a single turning point or career milestone, but a consistent habit that's quietly shaped how she sees her own work over time. Scrolling the hashtag before she submits. Digging through her archive. Noticing what she keeps coming back to, and what that says about where she's headed.
VSCO Prompts create that space every month. A shared theme, a gallery of interpretations, and a reason to look at your own archive through a different lens. Standout submissions get curated and highlighted by the team—but the real value is in the looking, before and after you post.
Seven years of images tells you something about who you are as a photographer. Prompts are one of the best ways to find out what.
“I can see how my skills have grown to where I am now in my photography journey.”
