We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Arizona Graves a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Arizona, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

Becoming a boudoir photographer! It was the height of COVID-19, I had been laid off from my 9-5 job and our world was on lockdown. I had never used a professional-grade camera before but had always wanted to try my hand at photography. With my newfound spare time I was able to learn and practice at a very progressive speed. I was super nervous to put myself out there and let the world know I wanted to photograph it, but I took the risk and advertised myself. Starting off by taking every session under the sun that came my way (family photos, seniors, lifestyle newborns, etc). One day a friend asked me to take some boudoir pictures for her and I fell in love with the aesthetic. I still did families for awhile, but it just didn’t bring that spark like boudoir did – for me! So I took another risk with my very fragile reputation and stopped accepting any non-boudoir bookings. It’s been amazing since and I haven’t looked back!

Arizona, 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?

My primary goal is to show clients how I see them, in the rawest form possible. I take any insecurities or defects that they see in themselves and try to reframe it in a more positive light, if that makes sense. I don’t pose anyone, and I think that’s what sets me apart, instead I offer prompts and guidance for each “set” and do my best to capture them candidly. This really helps with a natural sense of empowerment buildup because they remember how they were feeling & what they were doing when I took that photo…like themselves just having a good time!!

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

100% seeing my new friend (all clients become friends by the end of the day) see their photos! 95% of the time I see relief and love for themselves wash over almost instantly when they start scrolling through their gallery. Most people come to me with nothing but a messy bun and a smile, I provide a client closet so they can get adventurous, I provide hair and makeup so they can relax, and all of that is great but a lot of times our insecurities still linger in the back of our mind.
For me, the best part is the end, when all of that is over and they see that they ROCKED their shoot and they did it so effortlessly.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

Honestly, live and let live!!! The biggest obstacle I notice in my industry is outside factors (friends, families, significant others) giving (sometimes unsolicited) opinions that aren’t supportive to the person who wants to shoot. Everyone deserves to be confident in themselves, and everyone deserves to do nice things for themselves, this is no exception. So I think if people put being supportive ahead of recklessly spewing their opinions – that would have a trickle effect and help everyone.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.daranytaylorphotography.org/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/daranytaylorphotography
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DaranyTaylorPhotography

Image Credits
All photos were taken by me