We recently connected with Sharla Ronée and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Sharla thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

I started my photography business in 2018, but wasn’t able to truly take the leap into running a full-time business until COVID hit. I had always had a full-time job; however, as a single mom, it’s relatively terrifying to quit a steady paycheck to chase a dream of passion. In October of 2020, I became one of the many who unfortunately lost her job due to the long-term impact of COVID on the company I was working for… and that was the signal that it was time to move full-speed ahead into photography.

After working nearly every day for 3 months shooting sessions, I took a huge leap of faith and followed those dreams to Texas. While I was born and raised in San Diego, and had an established client base there, I wanted the opportunity to give my children and myself the lives I knew we deserved… and that never would have happened in San Diego. We packed up our entire lives and headed out, and this ended up being probably one of the scariest thins that ever could have happened in terms of business ownership.

Despite specializing in boudoir for since 2019, I had never been able to find a location that was both affordable and feasible as a business owner to open my own studio. However… Exactly one year after moving to Texas, I found myself with the rare opportunity to take another huge risk: this time, I found my studio and signed a lease. It has been a tumultuous month in terms of rushing to get ready for launch, but I wholly and completely believe that had I not taken these risks… I wouldn’t be where I am today.

Sharla, 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?

Art has always been a passion of mine, reaching all the way back to middle school. I was utterly obsessed with painting, charcoal drawings, and particularly fond of portraits. After I graduated from high school, life happened as it always does… and it kept happening. From escaping and surviving domestic violence to becoming a new, single mother at 22 – my focus fell away from art and creating, and instead landed on complete survival. A few years later in 2013, I purchased my first digital camera and immediately fell in love. Then, once again, life happened, and I sold my camera and never picked one up again…. until mid 2018.

In June of 2018, I started capturing photos for friends and of my children, and then eventually took a leap into participating in a small boudoir workshop, and that was a huge wakeup call for me in terms of what boudoir photography meant to both myself and others. I immediately launched my own boudoir sessions, and started working with local women for their own sessions. You see… to me, Boudoir is healing. It’s raw. It’s intimate. And it’s empowering. In the hour I spend with a client, I see all levels of emotion. I see the moment of absolute uncertainty. Of terror. Of shock. Of awe. Of wonder. Of happiness. And finally, of realization. The realization that she is doing this, she is overcoming her fears, and she is everything she never thought she could be. She is real, she is perfectly imperfect, and that is everything to her. That moment of empowerment truly transforms the broken, the hurting, the struggling. She becomes a completely different woman. It gives her a voice. She is whole.

Now that I have opened my own studio, affectionately dubbed the Unleashed Studio, I am getting the chance to work with amazing women from all walks of life nearly every single week. The Unleashed Studio is located within a full-service Spa in Colleyville, and I’m able to offer my clients an extremely unique, full-service experience. While my luxury boudoir experiences were already complete as is – each of my clients now has access to a wide range of personal services, including on-site hair and makeup, lash application, botox, facials, spray tans, and esthetician services. It has been such an amazing opportunity, and I truly cannot wait to see how many more lives I get the opportunity to touch through this new venture.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

As I think back across the years of my life, I can easily pick out any number of times that I have had to completely pivot my focus to ensure that both my children and myself would survive. From losing jobs to changing careers to relocating to an entirely different state… to experiencing an important relationship crumble at my feet, I have consistently been required to pivot my entire life to guarantee that things would be okay for us. I think one of the most unique moments for my business was during COVID though.

Prior to March 2020, I was working full-time Monday through Friday and then doing photography sessions each and every weekend… and even some weeknights. I quickly realized that I was losing so much time with my children, but unfortunately, I was never brave enough to quit my job and take that leap. After losing my full-time job in October of that year, I found myself working harder than ever as a newfound business owner… but also quickly gained back lost time with my children. A little over two years later, I am now a full-time photographer, an Etsy shop owner, and am finally present with my children each and every day, and I am so thankful for such a pivotal moment taking place.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Looking back at the past four years, I think the time that stands out the most in my mind in terms of resilience is after uprooting and moving my entire life across state lines. A relationship I thought would be forever quickly fell apart, and it changed our lives in a way I never thought it could because of how toxic and traumatic it was. As I worked to heal myself through that pain, I was also fighting tooth and nail to make sure my children were okay and weren’t hurting… and photography fell to the back burner. I lost my passion, no longer wanted to work with clients or shoot, and even getting out of bed each day was an uphill battle.

A couple months later, after consistent work on myself, I started to find that passion again. I started getting excited about sessions, but because of the loss of that relationship, I once again found myself missing out on time with my children just to ensure that I was able to keep a roof over our heads. As time went on, I’ve found myself morphing and utilizing that experience to fuel my passion once more. And here we are today – nearly 10 months later, with a brand new studio, working with new clients every single week.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://lanoraronee.com
• Instagram: @lanoraroneeunleashed
• Facebook: facebook.com/lanoraroneephotography

Image Credits
K Loreth Photography