Billboards

Hats off to the Billboard Photographer….but also

I was driving down the road recently and saw a billboard for a photographer. It was actually brilliant. On the billboard was an image of an older woman in a tasteful black dress, posed in a somewhat provocative, but also fun-loving way. The caption said “If she can do it, you can too”, and it was an advertisement for a highly renowned and successful local boudoir photographer. Truly, I thought it was fantastic. But I was also thinking; “I’m playing a slightly different game”.

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You see, I’ll never be a photographer who has a billboard on the side of the road. I’ll never have that much business. I’ll never have that budget for marketing. And I’m OK with that. I don’t want to be consumed with a high volume of clients pouring into my life every day. I don’t aim for massive amounts of bookings including an impersonal sales pitch that’s geared towards highest revenues. I never want to be the kind of photographer that just churns and burns. It’s not meant to be a judgement of how any other photographer does it. Many full-time photographers are struggling to make a living in this work, and their families depend on maximum income and I deeply respect that.

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Photography has always been my “side hustle”, that cruises alongside my lifelong career as a private practice therapist working in mental health. So when it comes to my photography work, I want something bespoke. I want something highly personal. Valuable because it’s just not going to be like every other photoshoot I have already done that day. I’ve already had a career where I’ve stepped around and beyond the line of burnout and I refuse to do that with my art. So if we work together, know that you and your experience are sacred to me. Special. I’ll set aside time just for you.  I won’t pressure you or bait and switch your images with an expensive package. And you will get personal attention the whole step of the way.

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I still think the ad is brilliant. I still salute that photographer. There is room for all of us in this space. Want to know more about my work? I would love to connect. For more information about portrait photography specializing in women’s stories throughout the lifespan, find me at lifelensandlove.com for more info.

+++ Image of me captured by the amazing and talented Rachel Larsen Weaver

+++ now offering portrait sessions for maternity, new motherhood, milestones, senior portraits, and empowerment in Chicago and the Western Suburbs of Downers Grove, Hinsdale, Lisle, Naperville and more. Also available for select dates in Charleston, SC.