We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jeanita Cantrell. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jeanita below.

Jeanita, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

I have been a photographer for over 10 years. I have absolutely loved every bit of it, and have done every genre of photography on top of that! From babies to weddings I liked to say.

My goal always was to strive for clients to be comfortable in front of my camera so that I can always capture the real and raw emotions of them.

I thought making my clients comfortable was my mission.

Fast forward a few years, I became pregnant and gave birth to my son. He was perfect in every way, however I felt as if I was not.

Even though I had grown this absolutely beautiful baby in my body, I felt that I was “ruined.” My body had more stretch marks, it was more flabby, and there was scar going across my lower abdomen that I could no longer feel due to my C-Section.

I hated my body. I never really LOVED my body, but I began to loathe my body and what it had done to me.

Then one day, I remember standing in the mirror and pulling the sagging skin, lifting my breasts that were full of milk, and holding my child on my chest that it hit me; “Why would I hate a body that has given so much to me?”

That is when I made the switch to boudoir. I know how I felt after giving birth, and I know other women had to feel the same way and have not had their epiphany yet.

I wanted to help bring them that epiphany.

That is when Boudoir by Jeanita was created. I still strive for my clients to feel comfortable, but now I want them to feel CONFIDENT as well!

Every person that comes in front of my camera has a story, and I am so honored to photograph them and help them with their self love story.

Jeanita, 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 have always had a fascination with photographers! I remember when I was a junior in high school, writing about wanting to be a photographer when I grew up (even though I had taken only a handful of photos at that time for the yearbook!). I never knew where to start with photography until an old family friend contacted me in the summer of 2012 and asked if I could take photos of his daughter’s wedding. Now, even though I would NEVER recommend doing a wedding as your official first photo session, it really did get me through the door. After that wedding, I jumped full force into taking photos of families, babies, weddings, and really anything that anyone asked me to do!

As I said, I started out with taking photos of families, but that soon turned into maternity, babies, engagements, weddings, boudoir, and so much more! I did ALL photography until the beginning of 2021 after I had my son.
Then I wanted to focus on Boudoir photography. I wanted to help the women that wanted to feel like themselves again, the women that wanted to feel beautiful, and the women that just wanted to have a day to themselves!

I wanted to provide that service.

Even though I have put in a lot of work myself, I know that I would literally be nowhere without the help of my circle of people and my community. Word of mouth and has been such a huge help with my work getting out into the public. I honestly cannot thank everyone that I has shared my posts, recommended me, and has worked with me. Without them, I would not be where I am at today.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding thing is being able to help people see themselves in a light they may have not ever seen themselves. Seeing my clients see their photos for the first time is the most gratifying experience that I can ever achieve for.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

INVESTING IN YOURSELF! You can have the best camera, best equipment, and best top of the line technology, but if you do not have the marketing knowledge, personnel knowledge, or even how to get out there knowledge, you won’t go far.

To me, taking photos is the easiest part of the job (and the most fun!), but you need to invest in business education to go far!

Contact Info:

• Website: jeanitaannphotography.com
• Instagram: boudoir.by.jeanita
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100075745353683

Image Credits
HMUA: Makeup by Krystal Ros and Barker Beauty