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Divorce Leads Banker To Boudoir Photography Empire
After a divorce, this corporate banker wanted to make a change. She’d always wanted to work for herself, and didn’t want to continue in the 9-5 world, driving in traffic to get home late and hardly see her kids, especially because they were still young at that time and they were having difficulty adjusting to the separation.
Her family told her she couldn’t make money as a photographer, and her own divorce lawyer said she needs to get a "a real job" since "no one makes money in photography.”
But now… this side hustle earns mid-six figures, and she’s starting her next endeavor. We’ll look at how she does it, including how she uses her banking skills to reconfigure her pricing strategy to where she now earns an average of $5,000 per photo shoot.
Tanya Smith found her side hustle as a boudoir photographer in the midst of a divorce. Prior to having children, she worked in the corporate banking world. While this gave her stability, it also stripped her of the freedom she wanted when it came to being there for her kids.
When she quit her job to raise her children, she pursued art in a few different mediums. As a mixed media artist selling paintings at art shows, she began playing around with the DSLR camera she had bought after the birth of her first child. She would take photos of anything she could, and sell prints alongside her paintings.
For years, she combined these two passions as both a hobby and a way to make extra money. Finding herself newly separated after 20 years of marriage and two kids, Tanya felt lost. As a woman, she had struggled being able to view herself as anything other than a mother. With her pending divorce, she was pushed into a new life chapter that required her to find a way to support herself… and she didn’t want to go back to banking.
The first inspiration was personal. Stumbling upon an ad for boudoir photos, she was intrigued. She said yes because she thought it was something that could be good for her while she transitioned to a new time of life. She walked away from her session with a renewed sense of confidence.
Tanya quickly saw the opportunities waiting in boudoir photography as a business. She already had the characteristics that would make someone want to hire her: she was trustworthy, knew her way around a camera, and was able to put herself in the shoes of her ideal clients.
Since she already had a camera and would only shoot “on location,” meaning either in her clients’ homes or in her own bedroom, it didn’t take much to begin. She committed to keeping her initial investments to a bare minimum, only spending money on things she absolutely needed. Her marketing plan was low-maintenance, including a Facebook business page and a free website.
Tanya did her first three shoots for free before deciding on a price—though one chosen arbitrarily. Her first real client paid her $382, a price she was over the moon about. In fact, she went home and cried out of happiness.
Since she was living off child support, she had to get creative when it came to sourcing props. Tanya incorporated as many DIY—Do It Yourself—projects as possible into the creation of her studio and props.
She attended garage sales and looked on Craigslist, scavenging for pieces to add to her collection. She bought Ikea stools instead of posing boxes, fabric from the wholesale fabric store instead of premade throws, and foam core boards to use as reflectors.
As much as she was saving with her creativity, she still found herself not making much in her growing stages. Once she hired a hair and makeup artist, an important part of boudoir photography, her fees barely covered the service and albums for her clients. Though she had been gradually raising her prices throughout the first few years in business, she needed more net income.
She went back to her experience in corporate banking and began crunching numbers, to figure out how much she would need to make this side hustle profitable. She decided how much she wanted to work each week and how many weeks she wanted to work per year. Then, she came up with how much money she needed to net each year, giving her the average sale per client that she would need.
With those numbers, she knew how many photoshoots she would need to book, helping her create packages at various tiers. She made her target average sale her middle, and most attractive package. Having these packages in place, her three-year side hustle became her full-time job.
As Tanya grew in business, she also had to get creative with when she could fit in shoots. Being a single mom, she would work after her kids went to bed or when they were with their dad.
This was also tough when it came to sessions in her own home, as she could only host women when her kids were at school. A year later, when she found herself dealing with the repetitive challenges of not having a studio, she hit her breaking point.
Realizing a studio would help her avoid the surprises of working in others’ homes, like unknown colors, furniture, and lighting, she was ready for her own space. She found the perfect place to rent in an old historic building in her city and began working there, now fully in control of her surroundings.
Today, Tanya’s business is bringing in a profit in the mid six-figures. With her average sale being $5,000, she’s able to work less than ever while making more than ever. Her pricing reflects the luxury experience she gives women—including a styling consultation, use of her studio and wardrobe, in-house hair and makeup, and an in-person sales session.
Though none of this happened overnight, she’s proud to look back on how far she has come.
What’s next for Tanya? Helping photographers like her who are dreaming big on their side hustles. With an educational course and podcast, she’ll be teaching students the exact way she built this business for herself. Her journey taught her a lot at a slow and steady pace. With her own course, she’s hoping to help others take the quicker route to success.
