Many people who start off in photography as a business will take every single dollar that comes their way. I know because I did, we all have to make ends meet. I started off with the goal of shooting weddings as my profession. I remember what I paid my wedding photographer and thought I could make a good living doing that. I started doing some engagement photography and worked my way into booking weddings. I had shot about 3-4 weddings when I realized wedding photography was not for me. I continued to do it because I loved photography and remembered how much I wanted to do it as a career.
Eventually I had a few clients ask for some boudoir photos as wedding presents. I admit I had given my husband a set for our big day. So I obliged and started doing my research on how to give my clients the best images possible. I did my homework and looked at styles from photographers across the country. I picked what I liked and what I found appealing to me. Then I sculpted it to fit what I envisioned. My first 3 clients shoots went great and I decided I wanted to post a gallery on my site so I could book more of these clients. Since many of my brides had their grooms shop my site for their wedding day photographer, I chose to make a whole new site devoted to boudoir so they wouldn’t have their surprise spoiled. This was the best decision of my life. It might not fit the bill for you and your business, but for me, it’s exactly what the doctor ordered.
I found myself booking more and more clients on my boudoir site than my wedding site. The competition was far less in my city for boudoir than weddings, which helped me find exposure in Google to bring in the new clients. My wedding site was at the far end of the search results so it was nice to find myself up front for a change and to hear my phone ring more.
Then I co-opted into a studio, which really helped me gain another notch in my belt. I had a lot of trepidation of paying that rent every month but my clients enjoyed saving the money of not booking a hotel and sales soared. I have completely dumped the idea of doing weddings at this point. I obviously did not make as much per sale but my money earned per hour spent working remarkably increased.
I love my job! I love being self-employed and I love making women feel confident and sexy. Being a woman in this field helps tremendously, we sell our shoots as a makeover photography session. Our clients have a blast in the studio and making them look and feel confident helps sales via word of mouth. Not everyone’s path will look like another’s, but for me I have landed in my niche and truly enjoy picking up my camera for work. I couldn’t imagine doing anything else and I continue to be inspired when my clients or their husbands send emails or cards showing their appreciation.
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I am a boudoir and pinup photographer from Houston, TX. I love making women of all shapes and sizes look and feel beautiful in my photography. I started in photography by shooting others while I skydived, crazy I know. Through the years I have found my niche in boudoir studio photography which I find the most enjoyable and personally rewarding.
Company: Warwick Boudoir
Phone: 713-248-3300
Email: sheryl@warwickboudoir.com
Website: http://www.warwickboudoir.com
Twitter: @WarwickBoudoir
Facebook: http://facebook.com/WarwickBoudoir
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