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

Alright, Stephani thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your business sooner or later

Oh, absolutely! I would have started my business many years ago! I think people fear starting a business because there is a certain amount of risk involved. I have no regrets with the business I started because it has brought amazing things to my life, so I wouldn’t view it as a regret that I started later than I could have. I appreciate my timeline in this industry because it’s mine and everything happens for a reason. However, knowing what I know now, to go back in time would mean an easy decision to start sooner and let it change my life in all the positive ways it has.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Years ago when I asked my mother what I was like as a child, she said I was a risk taker and fiercely independent. Those personality traits stuck with me my whole life. I have never been comfortable inside of structure and rigid rules. I always knew I was a boundary pusher who found my bliss in the arts and unrestricted self expression. I’m grateful for those parts of me because they led me to starting a business in a niche that can be considered very taboo in a lot of communities.

I had this bitter taste towards the beauty industry and the standards they set for women. We as women are works of art, and what masterpiece looks exactly like the rest? I decided to combine my love of art and photography into a business that fights against societal standards for women’s bodies and allows my clients to embrace all their unique features that make them beautiful inside and out. Is it fun to dress up in gorgeous lingerie or outfits and pamper yourself? Absolutely! But at the end of the day that’s not what it’s about.

It’s about seeing yourself through a lens of confidence and love, rather than picking yourself apart. It’s about holding your head higher and reveling in the confidence you deserve to feel. It’s about toppling over the expectations that people place on us and being whatever and whoever we want to be. THAT is what boudoir photography means to me, and I will preach it to my clients for the rest of my life.

I want my future clients to know that they are entirely worthy of feeling beautiful and powerful. I have the best job in the world because I get to be the person who shows them those things. I’m so incredibly grateful for it.

With that being said, a boudoir session with me is whatever you dream it to be. I customize every portrait session to each individual client. I offer studio sessions with vibrant colors, dark and moody bedroom sessions, outdoor wildflower sessions, beach sessions, I mean I could go on for days. Whatever your vision is, I challenge myself to make it a reality. I leave every session feeling like I just made a new best friend with all of you, and I will never get over how humbling it has been to meet so many amazing women throughout my time as a business owner.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Honestly, being authentic and not being scared to be real with my clients. I don’t pretend to be 100% confident all the time, and I don’t expect that from my clients either. Self love is a daily practice, not a finish line. You have to work at it constantly and fight off negative self talk every time it creeps back in. I think opening up that part of me that isn’t easy to share helped my clients realize there is a real person behind this business who actually cares and can relate to them.

Additionally, I decided to band together with my photography brothers and sisters in the industry to create a community of business owners who support each other rather than seeing each other as nasty competition. Being friendly and genuine with people will always, ALWAYS get you farther than trying to dim someone else’s light. If the Onyx Fox name can be well known for being welcoming to others in all ways, I will feel like I accomplished everything I ever wanted from becoming a business owner.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

As funny as it sounds, I had to unlearn the idea that success and money is a bad thing. I feel like we all grew up seeing movies and shows about rich women who were cold and empty in their lives. “Money isn’t everything”, “Success isn’t the most important thing”. That whole mindset is really just a mind block that keeps us from exploring our potential. Being a wife and mom is the most important part of my world, but why can’t that world also involve an abundance of success and a comfortable lifestyle? I had to teach myself and learn from other successful entrepreneurs that it’s more than okay to want those things for yourself and your family, and it’s an awesome feeling to pursue it shamelessly.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.onyxfoxboudoirphotography.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/onyxfoxboudoirphotography
• Facebook: facebook.com/onyxfoxboudoir
• Other: www.instagram.com/onyxfoxportraits