We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Andrea King. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Andrea below.
Andrea, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Going back to the beginning – how did you come up with the idea in the first place?
I was already an established wedding and engagement photographer in Memphis, TN. When we welcomed our second son he was born with several health issues. The first year was unpredictable and there were a lot of hospital stays and surgeries. I knew I couldn’t commit to weddings because I had no idea where I would be and if I would be available. I had several young women ask about boudoir sessions for their upcoming weddings and while I had never shot boudoir I knew it was something I was interested in. When I saw their reactions to the final images I just knew in my heart that this was the direction I was being pointed in. There was a sense of fulfillment that I had never had before. I was scared to essentially start over in a new genre, but I knew this is where I wanted. my career to go.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I’m a professional boudoir photographer located near Jacksonville, NC. I started photography while in High School and actually learned the craft from an elective that I took. I loved it so much that I knew it was something I wanted to do professionally. I got a lot of push back from my parents because it was not a “practical career” that I could make a living from. So I put my camera, and dreams, down and became a teacher. It wasn’t until much later that I picked my camera up and started my career. I did families at first and quickly realized that was not my thing! I moved into weddings and engagements and had success and loved documenting their journey. After the birth of my second son my career pivoted into boudoir and I never looked back.
We moved to Eastern NC a short time later and it was the best decision for my career and my personal life as well. I was able to create my dream studio space where I feel like my creativity can flourish while being able to tell the stories of the amazing women who walk through my door. It’s a place where there isn’t smiling for the camera, it’s not bright and airy but rather dramatic with vivid colors. We embrace sexy here and we love body chains, caged lingerie, and black sheets. I am a real woman and I tell my clients that I shoot real women. We come in all shapes, sizes, colors, and personalities. Our bodies are strong, beautiful, and should be celebrated instead of hidden. A lot of my clients tell me that our sessions are almost like therapy to them. They’ve hidden themselves away because they don’t look like the women in magazines, or they were sexually assaulted and have always felt scared to show their bodies off or even ashamed of their bodies. A lot of my clients suffer fertility issues as well and the number one thing they tell me is how much of a new appreciation for their body they have after our session. What means the most is when I see a woman walk through the studio door nervous, scared, or timid and after our time together they walk out of the very same door a new woman full of confidence and pride.
I want women to know that it’s ok to take up space. It’s ok to be confident and love yourself. You will never be who you are at this moment in time. Too often we give our all to those we love but we don’t take time to fill our own cup, to do something that makes us feel beautiful, sexy, and just for us. I have a fully stocked client closet that ranges from sizes XS- 4XL that all of my clients get access to. My professional hair and makeup artists are amazing and spend time pampering each woman while we get to know each other. I feel like this is so important because I’m learning your story and who you are and that gives me the ability to showcase their beauty through my lens. Once we are ready to start our shoot I walk through each pose and show them the back of camera so that they can see in real time what they look like. It’s actually so much fun and we spend the majority of the time between shots laughing, joking around, and creating magic. Before they leave I always get a Polaroid of us that I put on my office wall. I call it my wall of wild women, and every time I look at it I’m inspired by their stories. I also send them home with a few Polaroids that I take throughout the shoot! You’d be surprised how oblivious their partners are when they place these around the house and they go unnoticed for a few days!
After we have wrapped they come back to the studio for their reveal session! This is actually my favorite part of the entire process- after all of their images are finished I create a video set to music and they see their gallery for the first time. Sometimes we watch it more than once because it’s just that powerful. We then sit down together and go over the products and packages. I offer fully customizable albums, metal wall art, glass ice cube displays, fun things like the old school reel viewer, and digital items as well. The majority of my clients choose one of my packages where they get both print and digital products. If they order an album we sit down and design it together, they have input on the layout, they choose the cover material, page thickness, paper type, and they see a 3D model of what it will look like once it is printed. They see it cover to cover in real time, which is super cool!
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
Yes, to make women feel seen! I grew up in an era of women should stand still and look pretty. I was always told that women should been seen and not heard, and I disagree with that on so many levels. Women bring so much to the table and are often still overlooked. We spend most of our lives comparing ourselves to other women and we don’t realize that those women are probably doing the same thing!! There is nothing wrong with loving your body, taking a time out and having a day to yourself, and most importantly investing in yourself. My mission is to make every woman who walks through my studio door leave with confidence, with power, and with a new love for herself. Whenever you have a day where you feel small or like you don’t measure up I want you to be able to think about our time together and remember what a badass you are. Empowered women empower women, and that’s something I’ll believe in until the end of time.
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
Honestly it’s just being myself. My business still gets scrutinized a lot but I believe that going out and meeting people is the most effective way to get my business name out there. Women can be intimidated by the idea of doing a boudoir session, I mean who wants to just take their clothes off in front of a random stranger? It’s terrifying I’m very talkative and relatable, I don’t believe in trying to be something that I’m not. I love meeting people and any opportunity that I have to show women that there’s nothing to be afraid of I take full advantage of. And not just in business, in general. I believe in what I do and am so proud of my clients that I put them on my business cards. (With their permission of course, I never share images that clients do not want shared. That privacy and trust matters to me) I leave my cards in coffee shops, in spas, in the lobby at the doctor. (I try to post in social media groups but Meta always blocks me) I know that not everybody is going to like me or want to book with me and that’s okay. But I also know that I have the personality that allows people to open up to me and be themselves. Some of the most important people in my life and the best friendships I have are with former clients of mine. When you love what you do and believe in what you do the right clients will always find you.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.andreakingphotography.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/andreakingphotography
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/andreakingboudoir
