Featured Chik: ARi Leo

This week, we are excited to introduce you to Ari Leo of Gaia Boudoir! She is an incredible photographer creating adventurous outdoor boudoir shoots for women who love nature. Read more about her below!

Tell us a bit about your company! What do you do? What is your mission?
Gaia Boudoir: I specialize in custom-crafting unique, adventurous outdoor boudoir photography experiences for nature-loving women who want to embrace their beauty & discover a whole new level of self-confidence. As a boudoir photographer, my mission is to help women re-connect with their inner badass & see themselves as the work of art that they are.

How did you get started with your business?
From a very young age, I've always been obsessed with making art and always knew I wanted to do something creative with my life. Since my days as a hobbyist photographer, I had always loved photographing people and making them feel amazing about themselves. I went on to study photography in college, and have now been a professional portrait photographer for about 6 years. In 2021, I went full-time with my photography business and made boudoir one of my two primary niches (the other being weddings). I was struggling a lot with my own confidence, and found myself looking back at old photos of me often, trying to re-discover that confidence I'd worked so hard to build. I wanted to provide the same for other women - a permanent reminder of their inherent beauty & badassery, that they could look back on whenever they needed that reminder.

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What do you feel is most important for others to know about your business?
Many women are hesitant to do a boudoir session if they aren't 100% comfortable in their bodies, because this style of photography does require a certain level of vulnerability, and even more so if the session is taking place outside in nature. The message I want to make clear to prospective clients is how empowering, unique, fun, and life-changing the experience of doing an outdoor boudoir session can be. Meaning, it's totally okay to feel nervous and it's totally okay if you're not 100% in love with your body. We'll work on overcoming those things together, and by the end of your session, you'll feel like a powerful goddess who can do anything!

How would you describe your leadership style?
Because boudoir photography is such an intimate, personal experience, the way I lead every aspect of my business - from planning and shooting an actual session, to my marketing & messaging - is all about connecting with people on a personal level; making people feel seen, heard & safe to be themselves. I find that I am the strongest leader when I'm empowering others.

When you were growing up, what is your ultimate dream job? If it's this, how does it feel to have met your dream?! If it was something different, how did your dream change over time?
My dream was always just to be an artist - in any sense of that word! I actually originally wanted to be a graphic designer, as I had always loved to draw. I entered college as a graphic design major, but just found that I was developing more of an interest in photography than any other art form. My interest in portraiture came over time, after working on many projects with lots of different types of people and learning just how much I loved capturing human beings in their element. I'm grateful every day to be pursuing the creative career I always wanted.

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Every business owner faces challenges. How are you empowered to overcome yours?
I've been facing some challenges recently, and to overcome them & keep pushing forward, I just keep reminding myself of my "why." I absolutely LOVE what I do, shooting boudoir photography and making my clients' confidence soar. There's nothing else I'd rather be doing, and I know that this is what I'm meant for; so, I just try to keep that in mind when things get hard!

Tell us (in one word) how you would describe your boss-chik business!
Empowering

Anything else we should know about you, your business, or just a fun fact?!
One fun fact about me is that I'm a huge animal lover - I actually do pet portrait photography sessions too! I have a Boston Terrier puppy named Daisy, and she's my whole world. I've already decided that she will be featured in my next batch of branding photos! :)

Where To Find Her:
Website | Facebook | Instagram

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