Today we’d like to introduce you to Cami Warner.
Cami, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I’ve always been a lover of photography. I remember asking for a camera for Christmas when I was around the age of 12. My grandparents gave me a Polaroid. Since then, I was hooked and couldn’t put it down. As long as I can remember, I’ve always had a camera in my hand, taking pictures of anything and everything I possibly could, mainly nature. I started taking photography classes in High School and then later in college. In my 20’s I lived in Lake Tahoe, one of the most beautiful places in the world, I would go down to the lake and just be in nature, silence with my borrowed DSLR. All I owned was a point and shoot I bought from Target so using a real ‘professional DSLR’ was a dream come true! I could not wait until I had my fancy DSLR and could take better, more professional looking pictures. That is what I honestly thought! If I had a more expensive camera, my pictures would look professional. That is false! It’s not the equipment that makes the photographer, it’s the knowledge and education that make you good at photography.
Oddly enough, after I became a mom, I put my camera down for the 1st time. That’s usually the time in a woman’s life when they pick one up, unable to stop taking pictures of their pride and joy. I put mine away and there it sat, the beautiful DSLR that I saved and borrowed money to purchase, sitting in the top of my closet collecting dust. It saddened me to look at it. To me it became a fun toy I didn’t have the luxury of using, instead, I resorted to using my camera phone. I was a single mother at the age of 23. My brother had just passed away and left behind a beautiful son that needed me. I took him and I raised him as my own. At such a young age, I needed to focus on work and a paycheck was now my end goal.
My husband has always been my biggest and greatest supporter, he encouraged me to grab my camera, get out there and get back into my happy place and maybe find myself that I had lost somewhere along the way of life. I always wanted to find my way back into photography but didn’t know where to start. It was never a goal of mine to make any money from it, I just really wanted to make beautiful art I could hang in my home. Sure, making money from my passion was a dream, but that’s all I thought it was, a dream. It wasn’t until my husband deployed during our anniversary that I realized my calling, my first love. I decided to get a boudoir photoshoot done for an anniversary gift for my husband. Little did I know, that would be more of a gift to myself than to my husband. I hired an amazing jack of all trade’s photographer. She did not specialize in boudoir or even do it regularly. There I was in lingerie at sunset on a beach in Malibu with dozens of people watching me pose into these sexy positions. That was the moment my life forever changed. I felt so empowered, like a new woman. I was at my heaviest weight I had ever been in my life, but I had never felt so beautiful, I loved myself for the first time in years. I wasn’t just the mom stuck in a rut, I was changed, and I knew I was better than what I had always told myself. I knew then that I wanted to make women feel like this. I wanted to be the push they needed to feel amazing and love themselves again. It was possible! That night I dug my camera out of my closet. It felt amazing to have that old camera back in my hands. I remember telling my husband I wanted to be a boudoir photographer. He had no idea what it was or where my idea even came from, he had no idea about the shoot I had done for myself until a couple of months later when he received my images as a gift.
Starting my own business and empowering women was all I could talk about for months! I set up free photoshoots for all my female friends. I did multiple shoots. Doing boudoir was awe-inspiring for both me and my client friends. Empowering women empowered me! Looking back on those early shoots, you can see my passion and my drive through the images. Of course, I am my biggest critic. I had a long way to go before I was successful at boudoir photography, but I was determined. I would continue to grow as a person and as a photographer, and that is just what I did.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Has opened a business or being successful been easy? It’s been anything but easy. Success is hard and it takes more work than you think. It’s not for the lazy. Success has everything to do with hard work, perseverance and drive. If it were easy, everyone would do it. I took my leap and opened my business at one of the most difficult moments of my life. My father was terminally ill battling leukemia and prostate cancer for three years before he lost his battle. It was during that time I opened my business. I was a caretaker for my father, a mother, and a wife to a deployed service member, why would I ever do something so big in the midst of all of that? I had the drive to do it. I had to do it for myself and the women around me that let me give them such an amazing experience. In a way, it was a great distraction from my home life, but it was also my greatest downfall. Juggling all these different roles was taxing. I had no choice but to be there 100% for my family so my business suffered.
There simply were not enough hours in the day. I realized I was only working at growing my business when it was convenient in my family’s schedule. I was needed in other areas and although boudoir was always in my heart and on my mind, it took the back burner to all my other responsibilities of caring form my family. I allowed myself grace and realized it was ok that I wasn’t wildly successful in my 1st year or even my second or third. After my father’s passing earlier this year, I knew it was time for me to grow both as a person and as a boudoir photographer. I rebranded my business, changed the way I did things in marketing and advertising and was accepted into a prestigious program that would mark me as San Diego’s first and only Certified Boudoir Photographer. It truly is an honor to be among some of the world’s best boudoir photographers!
Please tell us about your business.
Bombshell Boudoir Intimate Photography is San Diego’s 1st and only primer luxury boudoir studio specializing in women’s empowerment and body positivity. We pride ourselves in showing women their true beauty the rest of the world so easily sees. Our studio is not only about beautiful images. We strive to make our clients portraits an extension of their best self, proof of them living their best life. We want them to look back on their portraits feeling proud of their bravery and willingness to be vulnerable. Their images will forever be a reminder of their beauty and their ability to concur with anything they wish to do. In the end, their images will represent so much more than beautiful lingerie or glamorous makeup – they will tell the tale of a woman who reclaimed her sexy, owned her story, and who could unapologetically be herself. Coming to our studio is about finding yourself, finding that amazing woman that has always been there. We are about self-love and empowering you so you can take that with you and be more amazing and confident than when you came through our door.
Bombshell Boudoir is most proud of the fact that we are an honest company. We build our trust in our clients long before they have their initial consultation. We send numerous emails back and forth with our clients, including our transparent price list in our initial welcome email. We are not a shoot and burn company. We are a very high touch boutique studio. I am not the photographer to book an appointment, meet with you once and send you on your way with digitals never to see you again. I pride myself in knowing that I become friends with my clients. I meet with my clients at least once before their shoot for the consultation. We will go over the shooting process, what type of clothing or lingerie would look best on their body type and answer any questions they may have about the process. When they come into the studio, they are greeted with mimosas and fresh baked goods right out of the oven. They get all dolled up with our resident hair and makeup artist in the studio while we chat and listen to their favorite music. My studio is all about making my client feel as comfortable as possible. The more comfortable my clients are with me, the better their images comes out. Clients desperately need to have a comfortable relationship with their photographer, someone they can allow themselves to be vulnerable. I strive to be that photographer for each and every one of my clients.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
I define success, not in monetary value but instead the moments, experiences and feelings that are priceless. I can provide a life changing experience to my clients that they will carry with them forever. Only a true photographer can offer a boudoir experience unlike any other. Unfortunately, I have had a boudoir session that was far less than my 1st amazing boudoir experience. It was dull and lifeless. I didn’t feel special or even like my time was valued. Instead, I felt like my photographer had better things to do. When I ended up getting my images back months later, I didn’t even bother to download them. They were nothing special and nothing I would ever want to share. This experience is what sets me apart. I can make an entire day dedicated to and completely revolve around my client. From the moment my client books their session, they are treated as if they are the only client I have. I make it a point to become friends with my clients because that is a bonus most photographers don’t offer. It shows my clients they are appreciated and welcome with open arms into my sacred studio space. To me, above all else, success is when my client sees her images for the 1st time and cries tears of joy. That is far better than any paycheck. If I can truly show my client how amazing and gorgeous she is and she truly feels that inside, I have done my job. I can change women’s lives for the better. I can change a women’s opinion about herself and her body. When I empower women in my community, they go on to empower other women and their families. A boudoir shoot can change relationships, it can change lives, boudoir can change to the world. Wouldn’t it be amazing if every woman in our community was able to receive an experience like this? We could change to the world!
My clients gladly pay for the luxury experience knowing they will not only receive amazing portraits of themselves but knowing they will leave feeling empowered and changed for the better! Boudoir is a unique experience. Women are empowered and transform from a beauty to a BOMBSHELL!
Pricing:
- Bombshell Boudoir’s sitting fee is $300. Readers who mention this article will recieve a sitting fee of $99!
Contact Info:
- Website: bombshellboudoirip.com
- Phone: (805) 986-0540
- Email: bombshellboudoirip@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bombshellboudoirip/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BombshellBoudoirIntimatePhotography/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/bombshell-boudoir-intimate-photography-imperial-beach
Image Credit:
Cami Warner, Bombshell Boudoir Intimate Photography
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