We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Dani Vaughan . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Dani below.
Hi Dani , thanks for joining us today. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
My name is Dani Vaughan and I am boudoir, portrait, and action photographer based in Salt Lake City, UT. I have been involved in photography off and on for the last 10+ years, but really got deeper in the industry about 5 years ago.
Boudoir became one of my main focuses about 3 years ago, with encouragement from a friend, she pushed me to pursue something new and different. Many boudoir photographers share the same reasons for wanting to start their businesses and I am not that different in this way. Helping people to see themselves in a different light and feel confident in their skin is what I enjoy most about what I do.
I really strive to create beautiful photos for my clients while also keeping my pricing reasonable. When my clients work with me, I want them to know that while I am there to take these photos for them, they are ultimately in control of what they are comfortable with. I do my best to encourage and push the comfort zone just a little, but these photos are for them.
I am there to help them see what their potential is and give them a new perspective. We all need a little encouragement sometimes and I like the opportunity and trust that my clients give me to be that hype-woman for them.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?
I have always had an interest in photography, many of the jobs I have had involved some sort of content creation element, and I really loved that part of creating.
A few years ago, I got a tattoo on my ribs and it reads, “love yourself first.” I got that tattoo at a time in my life when I was having a really hard time. It was meant to serve as a reminder that I am important. I can’t love others if I don’t first love myself. With the support and encouragement from one of my closest friends, Love Yourself Photography became something.
Every person is on their own journey with self-love, and it’s HARD. I started this journey into boudoir photography to hopefully give women a glimpse through the eyes of another into how badass and gorgeous they are. I want my work to be beautiful and creative. While many clients come to me with the intention of giving these photos as a gift to their significant other, I also want them to love the photos just as much.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
Social media is one of those things that have to be a part of your business, you have to have a solid strategy in place. While it might take a bit of figuring out to get there, finding what you want your brand, voice, and messaging to be is important. While I operate almost exclusively on social media, I have a different perspective on it than most.
Being in the boudoir space, it is a unique challenge to post content and avoid getting flagged by the powers that be on the social media websites. I acknowledge that this is just a part of the business. It stinks that the beautiful and creative imagery that I create gets lumped into a category that is the opposite of what I am actually creating is frustrating, but I continue to share my work to the best that I can.
I like to let me photos and work do the talking. I keep my posts fairly simple, use directed keywords and hashtags so that if people search for services like mine in the area, I will show up. If people look at my body of work, like what they see and want to work with me, we go from there! Much of social media has become such a jumbled mess of recycled content that I really try to keep things simple.
My top 3 pieces of advice for social media are:
1. Find a strategy that works for you. Doesn’t necessarily have to be what everyone else is doing.
2. Post consistently, doesn’t have to be everyday but being active is important.
3. Keep in simple. Social media can be stressful but it shouldn’t cause you stress.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
I think one of my main goals is to express my creativity while also helping others see the beauty and confidence they can find in themselves.
Creativity is a journey, there is never really a stop point and I don’t think there ever should be. You should continually grow and work on what you can do. When the hunger to learn and try new things stops, then that might be the end of your journey. We all have days when frustration might get the better of us, but continuing to push through and get past those difficult days will make your work and creativity that much better.
A quick search on social media will show you that there are many photographers in this same niche in the Salt Lake area. Photography is a great skill to pick up, I love that it is accessible to those that want to learn. I have meet some amazing photographers in the area that I have learned from. I love being able to share my personal insights and experiences with those new photographers that are coming up. Finding your own journey and confidence in your own work is what is important. Collaborate, share, support, mentor, and talk to other photographers. Let your work speak for itself, meeting new people along the way and learning from each other is a wonderful part of the journey.
Contact Info:
Image Credits
Images are taken by me Models: @sara_mollner (Green outfits with the red hair) @_mariaag_1 (navy body suit, tattoos and short hair)