We were lucky to catch up with Melisa Ford recently and have shared our conversation below.

Melisa, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

While starting a business in and of itself was what I considered to be a huge risk at the time, 20 years ago, is was the best decision I have ever made. Fast forward to my established business of 17 years and at a turning point of a major life decision: stay in California or move out of state. My family and I decided to look at our options here in Southern California to buy property and start a small homestead and we ended up finding our dream location in Valley Center, about 25 minutes from where we lived in San Marcos. The one caveat for me when looking at properties was that it had to have an established building on the property for my studio. We found just that! It was a huge risk to buy a complete fixer-upper and completely remodel not only the house but also the barn which turned into the beautiful studio that it is today.

Melisa, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m Melisa, Owner and Photographer of Melisa Ford Boudoir. I help women feel empowered and sexy as they learn to embrace their unique beauty and own their fierce femininity. My boudoir studio is located in North County San Diego. Clients travel to me from all over the country to have their boudoir session with me. This year I celebrated my 20th year as a professional photographer!

I am a product focused studio because I feel that every woman should have some form of printed ART of themselves. I offer 5 unique collections which all include hand picked, luxury products. From my best selling albums to gorgeous wall art, I have something for everyone.

What inspires me most is the beauty in EVERY woman. No matter what season of life you’re in, feeling beautiful is so important! Whatever journey my client is on, I am there to help her through it. She might be celebrating a birthday, or a recent engagement or upcoming wedding anniversary, or maybe she has reached a milestone in her life that she wishes to document. Perhaps she is on a healing path that she wants to celebrate. No matter what she is celebrating or searching for, Melisa Ford Boudoir is there to guide her through an amazing boudoir experience, leaving her feeling more confident, sexy, and empowered.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

When I started my business 20 years ago, I specialized in fine art black and white maternity portraiture. I did that for many years and absolutely loved every second of it. What started happening over those years was clients would call me up after they had their baby and ask if I would do their newborn sessions. Then they would come back a few months later and ask if I could do their family portraits. Before I knew it I was a newborn, family and maternity photographer.

When I decided to have a family of my own, 2 things were happening: I decided I wanted to make a shift in my business AND the real estate market was crashing, creating an economy that pushed my business far down on the list of consumer needs.

After taking some time off after having my twins, and then 18 months later another son, I really dug deep and decided I needed to get back to my roots as a photographer and ONLY photograph women. Enter boudoir! This career shift was the best decision I could have made as a creative, and for my business.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

For me, the most rewarding aspect of being an artist is freedom. There’s no one else but me making decisions as to how I’m going to photograph a particular client and which artistic paths I’d like to explore. Its also super fun for me to get to use my creativity to play interior designer, and style and decorate my studio however I please.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://melisafordboudoir.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melisafordboudoir/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/melisafordboudoir
• Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@melisafordboudoir