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

Lindsey, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s kick things off with talking about how you serve the underserved, because in our view this is one of the most important things the small business community does for society – by serving those who the giant corporations ignore, small business helps create a more inclusive and just world for all of us.

My business focuses on centering and celebrating the LGBTQIA+ community through visual representation and story telling. While so many attacks are coming for the queer and trans communities, I am photographing their love, sharing their stories and creating time capsules. As the current administration is trying to eliminate and hide trans people from existence, I’m here pushing back and showing that not only are we here, we’re thriving. We are experiencing love, we are growing our families, we are strengthening our communities, and we will not be stopped.

I once worked with a queer couple who told me that their wedding photographers treated them like friends and posed them as buddies- not two people madly in love and getting MARRIED. This is more of a micro-aggression than it is a story of an underdog but I see things like this all the time.

The stories and love of queer people deserve to be celebrated. I am in the business of self-love and validating the experience of people who have been told their whole lives that they are inherently bad for things that are out of their control. And quite frankly, the hate they experience is completely unfair and underserving. I provide a sliding scale for queer folks and BIPOC because I feel everyone should have access to the experience of being photographed.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. 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.

I am a queer, non-monogamous, genderqueer photographer in Minneapolis. I have a background in business management and human resources but got into photography after spending a couple years in an intentional community that changed the way I see the world. When I left that intentional community, a member gave me their Cannon Rebel (a starter camera) and I took it with me to start a new life in Vermont. I told everyone I was a photographer and I faked it till I made it. I took a class at the arts center and worked for free for years. Now, I run my own business in Minneapolis and am able to live a meaningful life, while staying true to my values. I am hired for a variety of photography services including: boudoir, weddings, events, food, families, newborns, professional headshots, and couples. I live to make people of all body types and gender expressions feel confident in their skin. I’m inspired by variety and diversity. As a fat kid in the 90’s, I was taught to hate myself and I had this desire to date a photographer because they would see my “best side” and show me the beauty that I always felt was coming from inside. When I became an adult, I realized I could just be come that person. I operate under the name “best side captures” because of this. I have been told that I make people comfortable being photographed when it has historically not been the case for them. The experience of the photo session is always a positive one for my clients. And for that, I am proud. I’ve become the person that I always wanted to show up and validate me- and I can do it for my community. It’s really hard to beat the feeling of helping someone feel seen, celebrated, and validated in their own skin.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

Word of mouth has been by far my leading source of new clients. I take pride in giving my clients a transformational, healing, and happy experience. The work speaks for it’s self and I think the experience is what sells my packages. My clients do all my marketing for me. In my 4 years of business, I have not had to spend a dime on ads and every year my business grows. Which is great because I went to school for business, initially for marketing and I absolutely hated the ethics and incentives behind it. I switched majors after my first semester because I was disgusted by what I learned in my marketing 101 class.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

Listen to your team. Take their feedback seriously. Give them responsibility as they are ready for it (when they think they’re ready- not when you think they’re ready).

Contact Info:

• Website: https://lindseyflicker.com
• Instagram: bestsidecaptures / bestsideboudoir

Image Credits

Image of me by Ben Collins

All other images are mine.