Dana Laymon - Shooting Boudoir With A Conservative Clientele
In this episode of The Photography Podcast With Mike Cassidy we meet long time boudoir photographer Dana Laymon of Dana Laymon Photography.
In her own words...
From as early as I can remember, I had a camera in my hands. My first one was a simple point and shoot 35mm from Disney World with a Mickey Mouse face on it. From that day on, I was hooked! I would always take my camera to school with me, photograph every moment with my friends, and constantly ask my sister to model for me. As I got older I went off to business school and afterwards got a job in corporate America. But I just couldn’t shake the desire for photography and to be my own boss. I took some photography classes at Parsons School of Design during the summers and then got an internship with a wedding videographer my senior year in college. It was my first time seeing someone make a living doing something so creative and fun.
Since I got married right out of school and wanted to be secure financially, I took a job in corporate America. But after 6 years working for “the man”, I took a leap of faith, quit my job, and I haven’t looked back since! I started out shooting weddings but always knew boudoir was my first love. I’ve been shooting boudoir for over 10 years now and I absolutely love it! I have a studio at my home and I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. I love getting go create such an amazing experience for my clients and help them leave feeling more positive about themselves.
I just had a daughter in April of 2019 so I’m learning how to balance work and motherhood. It’s a challenge but I’m slowly learning! If nothing else, I appreciate the female body more and all that it can do!
Her message:
I love encouraging people to just take the leap and do that they love to do. What’s the worst that could happen? You make a mistake, learn from it, and get up again and move forward. I have had multiple jobs while doing photography and wished I had had the courage to only do boudoir like I always wanted from the beginning. But pivoting from being in the wedding industry helped tremendously so it was the path I was meant to take!
I work mostly with brides but also love working with moms who need a bit of encouragement in their life and to feel beautiful again. I have a very romantic and soft style while I know others around me are more risque. I think being different from your competition is good and helps you stand out! I also don’t like to post a lot of my photos. I’m super conservative in a conservative part of the country so it makes my job very interesting! I like to take it as a challenge ;) In order to build trust I just have to post more about me and details about what it’s like working me with!
Topics discussed in this episode:
How to become a boudoir photographer.
Amazon + website does not equal pro photographer.
Creating an environment of trust with clients.
Recruiting friends to be your first clients.
Practicing for your first clients... with the S.I. swimsuit issue?
Building relationships with vendors in similar industries.
How to get powerful client testimonials.
Is Pinterest hiding boudoir photos?
Shooting boudoir in the South.
Shooting boudoir with a more conservative clientele.
Finding the right balance in your session.
Guiding your clients to the right "limit" for them.
Links/Products In This Episode:
Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com/
Where To Find Dana Laymon:
On the Web: http://danalaymonphotography.com/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/danalaymon/
Listen
You can download and listen to this latest episode on Apple Podcasts, Podbean or wherever fine podcasts are sold.