Today we’d like to introduce you to Jes Hayes.
Hi Jes, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
I picked up photography as a hobby back in 2002. I was obsessed with it. I bought a film camera off eBay and taught myself everything I could. I would go out and take photos every weekend, develop the film, and then figure out how to do better and get to studying. It wasn’t until 2008 that I finally decided to start my own business. I begged other photographers to let me work with them. I just wanted to keep working and keep improving. When I started my business, I was focused on families and weddings. I did branch out to newborns and seniors. It wasn’t until 2011 that I tried my hand at photographing boudoir. From the beginning, I loved it. I had always felt drawn to the feeling photography gave to my clients, which was amplified when I photographed a boudoir session. Over the next couple of years, I only photographed boudoir sessions here and there. I mostly did it for Valentine’s Day and not much else throughout the year. I loved it when I had a session on the calendar and spent the rest of the time dreaming about doing that full-time.
By the time 2014 rolled around, I was tired. It takes a lot of work to photograph different genres of sessions, and my brain felt cloudy from it. It was an overwhelming feeling to the point where my business started suffering. I made a decision in the fall of 2014 to go for it. I started a private Facebook group. Within 24 hours, the member count jumped to over 2500 members. The following week, I launched my very first Black Friday sale with the intention that any spot that I didn’t fill with someone, I would fill it with model calls to build my portfolio. I ended up selling all of the session spots that I offered. I was floored and haven’t looked back. Year after year, we have continued to grow and improve. It has been a blur, but it has been an amazing ride.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I don’t think starting a business has ever been a smooth road! It is tough to try and figure out the best products to offer your customers and all the number crunching that goes along with it! Trends change over time, and it is tough to anticipate and plan. No one tells you what all goes into starting a business; It is like this giant secret that no one wants to pass on to you. It is a lot of sleepless nights and long work days, and you must do most, if not all, of it yourself.
On top of that, I chose a field of work that many people do not agree with. I’ve been asked the following ridiculous questions and heard the following statements over the years:
– Do you shoot porn?
– People want to do that?
– Why would anyone want to do that?
– Can I be your lighting assistant? (my least favorite question, typically from men)
– That’s inappropriate
– How could you make a living doing that?
– I could never
Pair this up with unsolicited business advice almost daily! I was asked to join a networking group, and when I did, I got in trouble almost every week for talking about my business or showing my work. Nowadays, I laugh, but it’s not easy!
Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
When I started photographing boudoir, I focused on women. Anyone identified as a woman could book a session, and I would not photograph anyone else. Over the past couple of years, I realized that we were not serving a large group of people that could benefit from a session. I specialize in being an all-inclusive studio that helps clients start on a journey of self-acceptance. Humans have been taught their entire lives to hate themselves. Society teaches us that we are never good enough and that there is always something to improve. People are always too much or not enough. Imagine what we could accomplish if we spent less time focusing on what we need to improve on and more time on those we love, what we love to do, or bettering our community.
People could be so much happier if we were taught that we are worthy just the way we are. Every day we are out there helping people learn just that and teaching people that they don’t need to do anything to deserve having beautiful images taken of them. Boudoir is not about having photos done in lingerie. It is about feeling beautiful and worthy in nothing but lingerie. Everyone deserves that, and it is that mentality that sets them apart.
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you.
The short answer is no, no luck, but a ton of hard work!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.duluthboudoirphotography.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/duluthboudoirphotography
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/duluthboudoirphotography
- Other: https://www.facebook.com/groups/madchickenstudioboudoirvip
