Today we’d like to introduce you to Aloha Kelly.
Hi Aloha, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I have been in the photography world for over 20 years. I spent the first few years of my career on the other side of the camera as a model and eventually had a camera put in my hands by one of my photographers and mentors. I learned posing and basic studio skills as a model, and had the ability to continue learning from the connections I had previously made within the industry. I started out shooting my model friends and continued to weddings before moving to my specialty: boudoir, glamour, and beauty photography. I have been shooting with this focus full-time for 8 years now.
The most important thing I have learned over the years is that it takes hard work to be an entrepreneur, but it also takes a lot of heart and passion. Without the desire to do what I love, I wouldn’t have continued on this path.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Besides the typical struggles in owning a business, I lost my husband within the first year of branching out on my own full-time. Though I had built up a clientele and name for myself over the previous years, the loss of both a significant support system and financial security caused me to almost lose my business.
It took a few years but I was able to build back a strong support system to help me get through the rough days while continuing to grow as both a business owner and an individual. I am happily remarried now and have many successful years ahead of me.
I am grateful to run multiple businesses now with the strength and knowledge I gained during my darker days.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I specialize in women’s glamour, beauty, and intimate portraiture.
My goal is to show women a side of themselves they don’t see every day. Teaching them to love and empower themselves has been helpful to me in my own journey personally and professionally.
I support women-owned businesses and those that are on the entrepreneurial path. I teach women to be strong, motivated, and unapologetically themselves.
Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
That is a tough choice with all of the adventuring and traveling I was, and still am, fortunate to do! One of my most fondest memories was from 8th grade when I climbed my first mountain in Colorado. It was the first trip I took my dad’s old film camera on and the first time I had documented anything in my life.
In my sophomore year of high school, I traveled to Hawaii for two weeks to explore and research volcanos. With a Hawaiian name, this was a trip filled with so much more than adventure – it was a trip that gave me a deeper meaning to my name and it fueled the ‘why’ behind what I do now.
Falling in love with travel over the years has jumpstarted the desire to photograph women in exotic and exciting places. I have had the honor of doing so several times and have many future retreats planned as well. I am looking forward to all the new adventures that lie ahead!
Contact Info:
- Email: aloha@boudoirstlouis.
com - Website: alohakellyphotography
.com - Instagram: @LEBoudoirSTL
- Facebook: https://www.
facebook.com/LEBOUDOIRSTL - Other: https://www.facebook.
com/groups/leboudoirstl
Image Credits
Headshot photographed by Ashley Fisher Photography
