Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Shawna Quota. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Shawna, we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?
My confidence and self esteem have almost exclusively come from doing self portraits. Boudoir is such an incredibly powerful genre of photography, many people don’t realize that. People see lingerie and think it’s something shameful that should be hidden away. It’s not that at all. It’s a mechanism that can be used to help people see their beauty. People, women especially, are used to seeing themselves as their roles: mother, wife, daughter, etc. Doing a boudoir photo shoot peels back those roles and shows her the beauty she’s been missing when she looks in the mirror.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I believe there is inherent beauty in everyone, so long as you’re a good person. Society has trained us to believe we are not good looking enough, not thin enough, not smart enough. Not good looking enough to who? Not thin enough to who? Not smart enough to who? Do we all like the same toppings on our pizzas? No. Beauty is just as subjective as taste. There is no singular, set-in-stone representation of beauty. When you step into my boudoir photography studio, you are all the beauty you need. We enhance that beauty with hair styling, makeup, and outfits, but it’s still you. We also only do as much or as little makeup as you’d like! Leading people to this part of their confidence journey is what I love to do.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Resilience is definitely one of the main qualities that impacted my journey. There’s been many times that I’ve almost quit, but every single time I’ve come back stronger. This quality is impactful for any business owner’s journey. There are two qualities that are specific to my journey as a boudoir photographer. I need to be trustworthy. My clients are trusting that I will make sure they look amazing, but they’re also trusting that their photos will not be shared if they don’t want them shared. I feel incredibly honored that people are able to place that trust in me.
The other quality that is specific to my boudoir photography business is having an eye for what looks best. I’ve spent almost 20 years as a photographer, so the technical skills were already there, but the ability to design a studio that works well, to dress my clients in flattering outfits, to direct their movements…those were not there at the beginning of my photography journey. I’ve been a boudoir photographer for 5 years and I have honed those skills and use them to guide my clients.
How would you describe your ideal client?
My ideal clients are fun. They laugh at my stupid jokes in order to get a real smile. They’re trying to buck the system by shaking off societal standards and embracing themselves and their own standards. They’re diverse. They’re open to change. They’re creative. They’re into all different kinds of music, but they love my studio playlist the best.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.shawnaquota.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shawnaquota
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/whoisshawnaquota
