Inspiring Conversations with Jaimi Bailey

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jaimi Bailey.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My love for photography started my freshman year of high school, with a canon film camera and a darkroom! Portrait photography has always been my favorite, so when I started into forming my hobby into a business I did it all, families, weddings, seniors, etc. In 2014 I finally was doing my photography full time, and it has been the best decision I’ve made for not only me but my growing family. Skip to 2020, when the world came crashing down around us, I felt burnt out and had lost my passion for doing all I was doing. I invested in a mentor zoom call with one of my industries well-known photographer, Lindsey Roman. This is when I had to make a big decision about where I wanted to go and what I wanted for my business. She said you have to choose one thing, you’re getting burnt out because you’re trying to service everyone. The first thing that came to mind was Boudoir Photography. It’s been a long time love of mine, and it works really well for my busy family. I wanted to be home more and not be gone every evening or weekend doing shoots. Boudoir was perfect!

So in September of 2020, I completely redirected all of my social media and website to just Boudoir. IT’S BEEN LIFE CHANGING! My business exploded! Why? Because to me boudoir isn’t just intimate portraits of women, it’s a celebration of who we are! The media has always told us to look a certain way, and I know we as women are just over it. On top of working, being a wife, being mothers, keeping a home, and maintaining friendships, we are also supposed to kill ourselves and wreck our mental health in order to fit into what mainstream media says is beautiful?! Heck no! So my passion is being vulnerable and honest with all my followers and clients. I demonstrate my own struggles, I work to love this body and I do that through talking to my viewers. Boudoir is fr all bodies, for all women, in any season of their life. Everyone is always nervous, but that literally disappears when you’re sitting, drinking champagne and having the best girl talk while getting pampered by my hair and makeup team. Every woman deserves to be heard, their feelings validated but also to know they are more than their skin. Self-love is a journey and I’m not only here for mine, I’m here all women’s.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Moving from Richmond to Raleigh in 2016 was probably one of my biggest hurdles. Starting over in a city where you know no one is really hard. Social media is the second. Getting my work seen while fighting algorithms almost wrecks my mental health. I’ve learned to take breaks, stay consistent, but also always be myself and not write/post fluff.

As you know, we’re big fans of Jaimi Bailey Photography. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
I am a Boudoir photographer. I help encourage all women to love themselves. There’s nothing like seeing yourself in a whole new way to help you on your self-love journey. My boudoir unlike most is an all-inclusive experience, meaning I offer one service (I don’t offer different packages), why? Because my clients deserve everything, and I couldn’t possibly cut out anything because then the experience wouldn’t be the same. Everything is included, hair, makeup, your gallery of images, and I also provide a client coset of outfits for each client to choose from, should they not want to purchase lingerie just for the shoot. Another difference from other boudoir photographers is my style of editing. My work is classic, elegant and bright! Don’t get me wrong, I love dark and moody and do shoot some shots that way but not all. I am proud of the way I’m able to enrich the way women look and think of themselves. You can see it for yourself in all my reviews, everyone is always on cloud nine afterwards and are proud they did the shoot!

Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
I honestly feel like every decision I’ve made has been a risk. The biggest would be moving away from weddings, newborns, families, seniors, etc. to do just Boudoir. What if I fail? What if no one books? What if they think it strange that I shoot out of my home? What if my pricing is too low or too high? What will my family think? To me, it’s all been a risk.

Pricing:

• $325 is the booking fee
• $867 is the remaining fee and due one week prior to your session

Contact Info:

• Email: JaimiJBailey@gmail.com
• Website: www.jaimibaileyphotography.com
• Instagram: Intsagram.com/jaimibaileyboudoir
• Facebook: facebook.com/jaimibaileyboudoir

Image Credits
Hair- Krista Massey Makeup- Alexis Natural Canvas MUA