Today we’d like to introduce you to Erin Murray.
Hi Erin, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I’ve had a passion for photography since a child, my Mother was always pointing one our direction. I learned early on how to use cameras and began honing the love of capturing the world around me. In college I started taking photos of friend’s special moments and celebrations. I began an official photography business in 2011 specializing in family portraits and weddings. Weddings eventually became a larger part of the business which opened the door to include more intimate photography for couples and individuals. In 2019 my husband and I moved our family to Bemidji, MN. After my own session with Boutique Studios I joined the team as a photographer in 2020. In 2022 the former owner was closing the studio to move away and be closer to her aging parents. That was when I decided to purchase the business. The first two years my business partner Lacey and I focused on more intimate photography. Last year she stepped away and now I own and operate Boutique Photography Studios offering my full services. I love taking photos of the special moments in people’s lives. To be able to capture and celebrate your life, your family, your body. I offer everything from professional headshots, individual and family portraits, couples, weddings, and intimate photography. I have a passion for the outdoors and enjoying incorporating parts of my clients lives and personalities into their sessions.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Purchasing the studio from the previous owner was not the easiest process and I would not have been able to make that step in my photography journey with out the help of my previous business partner Lacey Christensen, my husband Christopher, my family and our friends. I was still fairly new to the community of Bemidji and building relationships with the other business owners downtown has been so helpful.
The first winter we owned the business we had struggles with the roof leaking, the basement flooding, and maintaining good heat in the space we were in. We decided to move to a new location and had only been there about a year when the building was sold and our lease was not included in the sale. Together with the other business owner that was in that location with us, we found a new space just a few blocks away and back in the heart of downtown Bemidji. We share a beautiful space with Copper Cauldron Healing & Gifts just one block off the lake!
We’ve been impressed with Boutique Photography Studios, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
As the owner of Boutique Photography Studios I have over 20 years of professional photography experience. I fully believe in continuing one’s education in any field so have been taking courses yearly since the early 2000’s. I have graduated my way from film to the fancy new DSLR cameras but a film camera still holds my heart. My passion began with landscape photos and I still slow my family down on every hike we take because I’m stopping to take a picture of something. While in college in Idaho, I realized how much I loved capturing the moments of the people around me, candid and posed. A friend recommended me to a coworker for her upcoming wedding and my world was expanded. I studied and learned how to navigate in various lighting environments, rates of motion with my subject as I became a sports photographer, and then studio lighting as I began booking more and more sessions. I am proud of the education that I have, the workshops I have attended and the fellow photographers I have worked with and learned from. I am extremely proud of being able to really capture the personality of the people I photograph and the beauty in the moments of their lives. I don’t want to be the photographer you need for right now, I want to be YOUR Photographer, the one you want and know can be there to preserve all those moments in your life. From babies and seniors to weddings and families – even a little fun or spice if you want! I enjoy it all!
Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
I grew up a US Navy brat, moving almost every 2-3 years of my life. I’ve moved 38 times in 41 years. After my father retired from the military we moved to Wisconsin where I attended High School. My family moved to Idaho my Senior year where I attended the University of Idaho and received a bachelors of science degree in Wildlife and Fishery Resources. Idaho is also where I met and married my husband Christopher. I worked in a large environmental taxonomic assessment lab for 7 years, during which Chris attended and graduated from law school. Chris moved from Alaska to Idaho after high school and has a passion for Environmental and Native American Law and all things hockey. We moved to Bemidji in 2019, buying a house a couple years later, planting down roots for our two boys to have a solid community to grow up in. We are very outdoorsy and love to be in the woods or on the lakes – hiking, fishing, canoeing, kayaking, hunting, and playing pond hockey. I follow my two boys around everywhere with a camera much to their chagrin but with our extended family states away I don’t want the grandparents to miss out on anything!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.boutiquephotographystudios.com/
- Instagram: @boutiquephotostudios @lunaestrellastudios
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/boutiquephotographystudios
