Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Whitney Dionizio. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Whitney, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

Helping women strengthen their legacies through images is the most meaningful part of my creative work. Women too often feel unworthy, or less-than, or just put themselves last on all of the lists. It is important for all women to have portraits and images of themselves to preserve the legacy of their journey not only for themselves or their businesses, but for their history, their mark on the world. Each image represents them in the season of life they are in, solidifying their legacy for now and for the future.
As a woman, mom, teacher, and business owner myself, I get all of those same dismissed, unworthy feelings that society dolls out on a daily basis. Once I started regularly taking self-portraits, I felt this inner worth and strength, and, dare I say, even pride, from having these images preserving me in all facets. I want that for all women.
Other creative women have particularly been drawn to this mission, as having images they love of them in their own environments creating their art really solidifies their mission in a tangible way. Other people can see it now. The work that happens in the background. The process. The story. The legacy.

Whitney, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I strengthen your legacy through images.

Portraiture is a passion for me, and the core of my photography studio business. Specifically, I want all women to have images of themselves that they love and can look back on throughout their lives. Images are definitely part of our legacies.

What makes me different/sets me apart-
Service, quality, and helping women feel comfortable in front of the camera.

I prep clients for everything from wardrobe and styling to what to expect during our time together. During sessions, I pose, coach, and guide throughout. I listen to clients and identify with their circumstances and concerns. Basically, we chat the whole time, making comfort levels rise and real personalities to come out through the portraits we make together.

The edited, high-resolution images I provide are top notch, and prints or products clients choose are heirloom quality. I deliver proofing galleries within a week of sessions, and products are delivered within a week of ordering.

My backstory—

I was a journalist right out of college, writing and photographing my sports beat. I got my masters and teaching certification, got married, and started a family. My passion for photography came back after having kids. I started a portrait business doing all the sessions anyone would hire me to do.

After about 7 years, in 2018, I got my LLC and really started to hone in on women portraiture as a focus. I was almost 40, and not having images of myself was a pain point for me, so I took a shot that other women felt the same.
In 2023, a space opened up near me to rent, and I opened up the studio.

I continue to teach high school English and run the studio full time.

If you have multiple revenue streams in your business, would you mind opening up about what those streams are and how they fit together?

Besides revenue through portraiture, I also have a fine art print business with my landscape images, and I have the studio listed on PeerSpace for other creatives or community organizations to rent out by the hour.
For the future, I am also thinking of providing heirloom print services for clients even when I didn’t take the image they want to print.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

My driving goal and mission is to help women be in portraits they love in all seasons of life to strengthen their legacy. Being in images is important for all of us – to tell our stories, to document our journeys, to solidify our legacies. We need these portraits to look back at throughout our lives to see the milestones and different iterations of ourselves. We need them for our families to look back at one day. Our legacy through images.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thephotostudiolockhart.com
• Instagram: @thephotostudio_lockhart
• Other: Instagram for fine art landscapes:
  @whitneydionizio_art

Image Credits

All images by Whitney Dionizio, The Photo Studio