Liz’s boudoir story: How Liz became a boudoir photographer and the owner of Chicago Boudoir Photography

Take a look at how Liz became a boudoir photographer and the owner of Chicago Boudoir Photography

What a change in just a couple years: Liz had gone from being a stay-at-home mom to her young daughters to becoming one of the top-selling and top-rated boudoir photographers in Chicago, with national speaking assignments, podcasts and radio interviews and a large social media presence.

Her story sounds like a Netflix show, and perhaps it should be. Liz’s undergraduate educational pursuits were focused on Italian and art history, which gave her an appreciation for beautiful art, visual style, and balance, along with the romance of life. As a young mother, she took those artistic interests, invested in a nice camera, and began taking family photos for herself and others. The family joke used to be, after she took your Christmas card photo for free, that she ran the “you get what you pay for studio,” meaning, no complaints when you didn’t pay for it in the first place!

Liz’s husband got his MBA and worked at a variety of start-ups in Chicago, but his career happiness and security were somewhat elusive. To supplement their family income, Liz found a part-time job helping a local photographer with her boudoir photography business. Liz ended up learning far more than camera skills: how to deal with challenging clients, what kind of accessories and software and interface were needed, and ultimately, the knowledge that she could succeed herself with this kind of enterprise.

In 2018, her employer relocated her studio and Liz was left unemployed and contemplating whether or not she was bold enough to open her own photography studio. There were some big hurdles. Liz had no money to invest in such an endeavor, no immediate role models on how to become a female business owner, opposing cultural ideals of her motherhood role and the risque nature of this niche market, and a lack of business know-how. Yet, she had seen women pay top dollar gorgeous photos and her previous job, and Liz knew that she could create and sell these products herself. She could help provide the financial support her family needed. The potential was there, but the learning curve was steep.

Fortunately, Liz’s husband was on board. They divvied up prior household responsibilities, and he took over all kitchen duties, carpools, and more. Plus his MBA skills came in handy advising Liz on the business end of things, and navigating her online marketing platforms. She took out a loan, rented and renovated a studio in a nearby suburb, and worked up a price list. There were so many initial obstacles: floods in the studio rental, trying to find makeup artists to hire, creating a Facebook group to find clients, and primarily, having no income to get started. How do you promote a luxury brand and purchase Louboutin heels in every women’s shoe size from 5-13 to have on hand, without any capital? Liz took out a bank loan for $25,000, which felt like an enormous weight. Failure was a real possibility, and the loan would devastate their family finances if she couldn’t pay it off.

Her little rental space transformed into a luxury set for seductive scenarios. There’s a makeup area with a chandelier, a bed in white or black linen, floral backdrops, lace curtains, and even a plexiglass shower wall. Each client is greeted with a personalized letter board on their arrival, and gets a glamorous makeover with airbrushed faces and beach waved hair by a hair and makeup artist. Then, Liz goes into action, demonstrating to each client in an efficient routine how to move from set to set, and pose to pose, as she fluidly captures dozens of images in various outfits and looks. These are displayed on screen within the same appointment, as the client selects her package to purchase. Will she want wall art, or just a photo album? A viewfinder for her husband’s birthday, a bridal surprise for her new groom, or an empowered female portrait?

Yet the earned income wasn’t immediate. Liz operated at a loss the first year, not paying herself any salary. She had dozens of clients that first year, but invested the money in paying off the business loan and equipment rather than paying herself. And then the pandemic hit. Closing the studio per local health orders meant zero clients and zero revenue, but continued rental and domain expenses. Nevertheless, as conditions improved, she was able to reopen safely. In 2021, she set a goal to have 250 clients: and despite the vagaries of Covid and appointment cancelations and rescheduling, she just exceeded that goal with 251 (that’s nearly one per day of the working calendar year; in reality, it’s sometimes two on a Saturday). Each client is a half-day in-person experience, with several hours spent at the studio with them. That means many hours of work in addition to the photography: prepping, reviewing photos, following up on orders and clients and payment. Not to mention attending bridal fairs, Chicago-area business women’s meetings, appointments with her accountant, and taking classes to learn new photography skills with lighting and technique.

Running the photography business is so much more than just clicking the camera. It’s dealing with landlords and potential clients, sending out marketing emails and dealing with business banking and tax complications. It’s hiring employees, and having great new software ideas that competitors undercut. It’s being featured as Evanston’s top female entrepreneur, and it’s explaining boudoir photography to your daughters, church friends, and relatives (she’s only had a couple relatives/friends come in for a session). It’s learning how to use Quickbooks, and balance your books. It’s ordering lifesize realistic angel wings and debating if blush or black (or both) is the right color to have in stock.

Liz sees her job as more than just taking beautiful photographs: she’s on a mission to empower women. She wants them to feel beautiful, proud of their bodies, confident in their appearance, and remember this experience to give them strength in the future. She hears all kinds of tales from broken hearts to broken bodies and lives. Clients range from circus actors to psychics to rabbis to fashion consultants to Disney merchandisers to doctors and nurses. They’re brides, girlfriends and wives, celebrating milestones or life achievements, and strong solo women. Liz hears their stories, and sees their soul. Along the way, she’s suffered through discouragement and fatigue to achieve this dream. Liz has created and captured beauty of form and spirit. Human anatomy becomes art, and normal and random women look like cover models for the day (and forever in their purchases) as they are kissed by her flash. She’s stabilized her family’s finances and tracked a course for future success, modeled female entrepreneurship for her daughters, and mentored her nieces. She’s loved every minute of the boudoir journey and can’t wait for what’s ahead!