Boudoir as a Business and a Movement

Dawn Sinkule: Hey there. Welcome to The Power of Her, podcast. I'm Dawn Sinkule and I'm so glad that you're here. This space is where we get to get real about highs, lows, and everything in between when it comes to being a woman in business.

Every week I'm sitting down with some incredible women who are doing their thing, building businesses, breaking barriers, and showing up as their true selves. Whether you're just starting out or you've been at this for a while, I promise you'll find something here that lights you up. So grab your coffee or your wine, get cozy, and let's dive in. All right, here we are, everybody.

Thank you for listening and tuning in again to the Power of her podcast. Today I have Liz Hansen with us. And Liz is the owner of Chicago Bourdois Photography. And it's a boutique studio that really empowers women to feel confident about their bodies, relationships and lives.

And Liz has opened her commercial studio, I think it was 2018, is that right? And since then has photographed more than 2,000 women. And I know you've been featured on TEDx stages, National Public Radio, association of International Bourdoir Photographers. You are just one heck of a talented lady.

So thank you so much, Liz, for joining us today. I'm excited to talk to you about this topic and kind of what it means for women empowerment. But before I get to all my questions that I have, tell us in your own words like how did you get into this and how did you get started and. And why this particular type of photography really drew you in.

Liz Hansen: Well, thanks for having me, Dawn. It's great to be here. Yeah. If you haven't heard of boudoir, some people say boudoir, some people say boudoir.

It's just a fancy French word that means a woman's bedroom. And what it means is that I take sexy, sensual photos of women in a safe space where they can feel empowered and confident in their own skin. And I've been doing this for a decade full time. I started out as a wedding photographer, family photographer, event photographer, doing kind of like normal photography.

And then at one point in about 2015, I got a job at a Chicago based studio and they did some boudoir photography there. And I was very intrigued. I'd never heard of this. I didn't.

I was like, wait, women do what? They come in and take sexy photos and lingerie? Dawn Sinkule: Yeah. Liz Hansen: I started to see as I was working there and is the power that these boudoir photography sessions were having on the women who Came in for them.

It wasn't just a photo shoot. It was a chance to feel something. Dawn Sinkule: Yeah. Liz Hansen: So that just motivated me.

I did a session for myself. I saw what it was all about, and in 2018, I decided to go out on my own and open my own studio. Dawn Sinkule: Awesome. Awesome.

Well, I have done this myself as well. I think I mentioned that to you. It was quite several years ago, many years ago here in my hometown. But it was really one of those moments where I was like, you know, take your power back kind of thing, or get your power or, you know, confidence or, you know, I don't know.

It was just. And a lot of people, I think, are really intimidated to do this and feel, you know, really, like, I don't know, I'm not sexy enough or things like that. And I know that you often associate your shoots with, like, focusing on confidence. Right.

And really, that sort of thing. But what's the difference between looking sexy and. And feeling powerful in these sort of sessions? Liz Hansen: Yeah.

So a boudoir session is a chance for you to maybe explore another side of yourself, maybe step outside of that comfort zone. Women come into my studio for a variety of reasons. Right. Some are there for happy reasons.

Maybe they are getting married to the love of their life, and we're doing a bridal boudoir session. Maybe they're expecting their first baby and they're so excited to expand their family. But also, sometimes women come in for harder reasons. Right.

I've had women come into the studio because they are. They have successfully left a domestic violence relationship. Women who come into the studio because they have a breast cancer diagnosis or there's been a loss in their life, and they are feeling like they want to celebrate being alive. Right.

So there's a variety of reasons why women might sign up to do something like this, but the purpose of being there, of course, is to create some beautiful pictures, but also to help that woman recognize, see, and feel her own value. Dawn Sinkule: Yeah, that's great. And I. You've.

From what I've read, you have photographed more than 2,000 women. Is that correct? Like, that's a lot of women, right? Yeah.

In your time, are there any sessions that still kind of give you chills because of the transformation that you witnessed with them? Can you give us an example without, you know, divulging who, but give us an example of one of those transformations that you really saw? Liz Hansen: Yeah. So if you come to my studio, of course, we guarantee your privacy, and I won't ever share your pictures or your story without your permission.

But some women do give me permission to share their photos and their stories. One of those women was Sarah. Sarah was a healthy 41 year old mom when she found herself lying on her bathroom floor in the middle of the night and she thought to herself, I'm having a heart attack. And guess what?

She was having a heart attack. And she was able to call 911 and they put her in ambulance and while she was in the ambulance, she flatlined like she died. Basically they brought her back to life. She was in and out of the hospital over the next few months and had 17 surgeries to save her life.

Dawn Sinkule: Oh my gosh. Liz Hansen: So this was dramatic. But she was alive, right? So on one year anniversary of her heart attack, she wanted to do something to memorialize that, to say to herself, I'm still here, I'm still alive.

And she chose to be with me in my studio on the one year anniversary of her heart attack. And she had scars up and down her torso, right, from all of these surgeries from when they ripped her open, you know, in haste in the ER to give her a bypass surgery, right. They didn't have time to do a really careful, beautiful scar, right? So she had scars all up and down her chest in the boudoir studio for her photo shoot, she wanted to take nude photos to celebrate those scars, to love them, to highlight them.

She didn't want me to photoshop them out. She wanted those scars in her photos and she wanted to have those photos to say I'm alive, grateful to be here. Dawn Sinkule: Yeah, that's amazing. That's a great story.

And I think so much of the time we think of these photo shoots as, you know, like these sexy things or we're doing something like that. But a lot of times it's just about being empowered in your own skin and thankful for being here and really showing up and being authentically yourself. I mean, it's fun to play and it's fun to, you know, have these pictures and do, you know, kind of dress up and things like that. But the, the feeling of it is just for me at least, was so empowering.

And I can imagine if you've had a really hard time, you know, or really kind of challenging health issue or personal issue, that this would really just bring you back into your power, you know, and, and would be something amazing. I know that spoken on like TedX and NPR, but you also run a business and you're a parent to teen girls. How are you balancing the public voice and the personal role and all that kind of stuff? Let's transition a little bit into the business side and motherhood, which is what a lot of our listeners are, you know, trying to, trying to balance it all.

How are you balancing that and, and doing all these big, you know, speaking events and different things like that? Liz Hansen: Well, let's be honest, some days are better balanced than other days. Dawn Sinkule: Right, right. Liz Hansen: I.

What. One thing I've learned is like, you cannot be 100 in mom mode and 100 in business mode at the same time. Dawn Sinkule: Yeah. Liz Hansen: And that's okay.

Right. So there are times when I'm at the studio, when. I mean, always when I'm at the studio, when I'm with a client, I'm 100 dedicated to her. I'm focused on my client.

And I cannot also be, at that same time, 100 present for my children and my husband. Right. It just. And when you.

To do both at the same time, you. You will fail. Right. So I have a Google calendar that is marked out really strongly business time, family time.

And of course, most of the time when I'm at the studio, my kids now are in school. But when they were younger, this was a lot harder. And I was a stay at home mom for seven years before I started my business. So I had been in the mode of being 100% mom, being 100% available at all times for seven years.

That was our reality. And we had to make a lot of big family changes. When I opened my business and it started with a conversation with my husband, I was like, listen, I'm starting this business, I'm going to do this thing. Something's got to change here at home.

Like the work load, life load balance between you, me and the kids and my business and your work, we got to make some big changes. And he's like, great, we will. And we did. And that has been, you know, having an open conversation about the labor that needs to happen at home.

Dawn Sinkule: Yeah. Liz Hansen: I mean, planning stuff, driving to swim lessons, putting on birthday parties. Like this is all labor that has to happen. Dawn Sinkule: Yeah, I get it.

Liz Hansen: Honest about it with your partner, if you have one, you have to be honest with it about your kids, about what you can and cannot do and who's going to take on which tasks. Dawn Sinkule: Yeah, yeah, for sure. And I think just, you know, having a lot of times, you know, having that open conversation with your partner is something that a lot of us miss. Right.

When we get started on our business, we just think, oh, they're going to take over or they're going to do this or things like that. And I think we end up finding ourselves in this trap of mom mode, business mode, mom mode, business mode. And it gets to burnout really quick, you know, And I think a lot of people, a lot of moms, a lot of women find themselves doing everything for everybody. And, you know, it's.

It's one of those things we just gotta talk through with our, Our partner so that we can. And I love that you're a planner, because I am too. I'm a very, very much a planner. And that.

Okay, let me ask you about. Liz Hansen: Go ahead. I just think naming the unpaid labor that needs to be done is the first step. I think there's this assumption.

I, I mean, one of the things my husband said about something, he's like, well, I thought you just liked doing that task. Dawn Sinkule: That's such a guy thing, right? Liz Hansen: Yeah, I mean, I don't like, I don't blame him because I did it for a long time and I didn't say anything about it. And he's like, yeah, yeah, maybe there are some chores I don't mind doing, but that doesn't mean that I'm not doing unpaid labor.

Right. So just because I don't ha. Hate it, doesn't mean that it's. That I haven't taken it on.

Dawn Sinkule: Right. Liz Hansen: Really upfront about what you are doing, what needs to be done, what can fall by the wayside, what we're not going to do anymore. These are really important conversations to have and not just run on assumptions. Dawn Sinkule: Yeah, yeah, for sure.

And I think that is key is, you know, I, I kind of joke about that being such a guy thing, but I've heard my husband say that too, and I've heard other women say that too, with their partners that, you know, they. There was this assumption that, like, oh, just because I've been doing it, I'm going to continue to do it, or that I really like to do it and not so much all the time. Right. And that's kind of the part that you gotta, you know, make sure that you're having that conversation about.

Okay, I'm going to switch just a little bit to your teen daughters because I think this is an interesting conversation. I also have an early 20s daughter and, you know, there's a lot of messages about confidence and body image and things like that with, you know, what you're doing and your teen daughters. I'm curious how this sort of type of photography has really, you know, sort of implied or improved or empowered your daughters to feel more confident about their body image.

And do you wish more teenagers you know, could hear loud and clear today that, you know, your body is your power sort of thing. Tell me a little bit about how your daughters think about this. Liz Hansen: Yeah, well, first off, boudoir is for adults. Like, I don't photograph teens in my studio.

It's 21 and over. Dawn Sinkule: Right, sure, sure. Liz Hansen: I would never show client images to my daughters. This is not for kids.

Right? Dawn Sinkule: Yeah, yeah. Liz Hansen: That being said, of course, my children know exactly what I do. People ask me all the time, do your kids know that you're a boudoir photographer?

Do they know that you take sexy photos? Yes, of course they do. Because I'm not ashamed of what I do, and I think it's beautiful and empowering. So even though they are not of age, even though they are young, I have been doing this since they were little girls.

Dawn Sinkule: Yeah. Liz Hansen: What I hope that my daughters grow up with is a sense that their body is not a problem. Their body is not something to be solved. Their body is not something to fight with.

Their body is not something to hate. Their body is the vessel that allows them to do fabulous things in their lives. Right. We fuel our bodies with healthy food because we want to go do things and enjoy this world and make a difference.

We don't punish ourselves with food. We don't punish ourselves with exercise. Moving our bodies is a joy, not something to be avoided. And also, like, things like dress codes and how we talk about weight and bodies in our house.

It's so different from how I grew up, too. Dawn Sinkule: Totally. Liz Hansen: I grew up, like, really feeling like there was something wrong with my body all the time that I needed to cover up, all the time that I. That being small or smaller than I was was always the goal.

Right. And I'm hoping to really, really have a different conversation and a different environment for my teens around these issues. Dawn Sinkule: Yeah. That's so important.

And I think today, you know, I. Same thing I grew up with kind of this, you know, let's, you know, wear baggy T shirts or you want to be skinnier. We got to be on this diet or we got to do that diet. And, you know, I've really tried with my own daughter to kind of have that same sort of conversation about body and, you know, the things that we do and put into our body and why it's important and moving our body and all of those things.

I just. I love that for anybody, teens or otherwise. Right. And I think when you're in a position where you're doing such powerful work with women, naturally that's going to be the conversation that you're going to have with your kids, Right.

Is, is those types of things. So I love to hear that you're having that and that your daughters are feeling hopefully confident in their own bodies and, and really recognizing that it's a powerful thing. Right. And our bodies are powerful and meant to be used for good.

Love that. Love that. Okay, so a couple more questions. You, you mentioned, like somebody said, oh, do your kids know that you do this?

And, and those types of things. Was there any resistance when you first started in this niche from other people, like even from yourself? Maybe a little bit. How did you push past it?

Was your family like, oh my gosh, why would you do this? Or friends or husband or anything like that? What, what kind of pushback or any pushback or resistance when you started in this niche? Liz Hansen: Yeah, there was a lot of pushback.

So boudoir is sort of a taboo thing to do, right? It's sort of a taboo industry to be in. So I had a lot of people being like, ooh, why would you want to do that? Why would you want to do this taboo thing?

And then also a lot of well meaning people who are like, you're never going to make any money opening a photo studio. Everyone has an iPhone in their pocket. Don't waste your time and money. Money definitely push back on.

Both my parents are very conservative, very religious and not supportive of what I do. But most people, the younger generation, my siblings and my friends, they were like, interesting. Why? Yeah, a lot of curiosity.

Why would you want to do this? How are you going to make money? And I told them, I don't know if I'm going to make money or not, but I'm sure going to try. And I want to do this because I want to provide a space to give women something that I did not have, which was a space to fully express myself, to celebrate my body and my sensuality.

I never had that. I've never been in places or situations where that was kind of like an acceptable form of self expression. So I wanted to, I felt deeply, not to be like dramatic, but like almost called to like do this work for other women to provide them something that I hadn't had. And every day, like, I do feel like it's a, a privilege to be with women in this intimate moment when they're trusting me.

Dawn Sinkule: Yeah. Liz Hansen: Create these kinds of images together. It feels truly like an honor to be there with women in that moment. Dawn Sinkule: Yeah, for sure.

And do you think now most people are. Now that you're successful? Do you Think most of your friends and family are like, dang, girl, go. I'm so glad you've done this.

This is amazing. Or do you still have pushback from people who don't really understand what it is? Liz Hansen: I definitely have a little bit of both. So I have learned socially, like, if I go to a PTA meeting, if I go red block party, it's not.

It's not what I open with. I don't open with. I'm a boudoir photographer, and I take sexy photos. Because I have learned that for a lot of people, this is still a very uncomfortable topic.

Dawn Sinkule: Yeah. Liz Hansen: So it brings together a lot of, like, women, women's bodies, sexuality, nudity, dress code. It brings, you know, religion, like, morality, sexuality. It brings together, like, so many taboo topics all into one.

So I am careful to not, I guess, like, burden people who aren't interested in going there or talking this. So I. If. If people ask me and they open up the conversation, of course I'm happy to talk about what I do and my mission, and I love it.

But I'm also still just, like, very aware that even in 2025, even as much as I've talked about this, even as much as I feel like we've made progress on some of these issues. Dawn Sinkule: Yeah. Liz Hansen: Many people. This is still very taboo, very hard to talk about.

And I respect, like, the boundaries people have about topics they don't want to talk about. So. Yes and no. There are some people who are like, this is.

So I'd love to hear more about it. Can my wife sign up? And there are some people that are just like, wow, I wish you hadn't told me that. Can we talk about the weather?

You know, and I think that's just really indicative of where we are still. About women's bodies and about women expressing themselves. Dawn Sinkule: Yeah. Yeah.

And that's why I wanted to have you on, because I really feel like this is a body confidence and empowerment call. Right. Like, this is. This is a.

This is the topic and the outlet for women, I think, in a way that, you know, maybe you hadn't thought about before. Right. So what do you say to women who say, I can never do a shoot like that because they think they're too old or too insecure to insert reason, whatever it is. What.

What do you say to women who. Who have that sort of, oh, I love it, but I could never do it myself sort of thing? Liz Hansen: Sure. I mean, I'm not here to talk anyone into doing something they don't want to do.

Dawn Sinkule: Yeah. Liz Hansen: If you have this little. Like, if this has piqued your interest just a little bit, there's something telling you that this might be for you, but you're not sure if you can handle it. Here's what I would say.

Sexy is not a size. Sexy is not an age. Sexy is not a height or a color. Sexy is a vibe.

And you can be sexy at any size at any age. No matter where you're at on your fitness journey, no matter how you currently think about your body, there is the ability for that body that you're in right here, right now to be beautiful and sexy. And I would love for you to come to the studio so that I can show you how. Dawn Sinkule: I love that.

I love that. And that. That's the thing. For me, it was really like, you know, I wasn't at my peak fitness time.

I wasn't really like, oh, this is, you know, I'm. You know, all this stuff. I just wanted to do it because I just wanted to do it right. I just wanted to, like, step into myself.

And I don't know, is there is something empowering about just, like, having done it, you know, I don't. I don't even know where the pictures are, to be honest with you. I don't even know. Like, I'm sure they're around here somewhere.

It's not like I'm putting them on a coffee t table or sharing them around. I think it was more for me than it was for anybody else, and I just wanted to be able to say, one, that I had done it, and two, just to really have that sort of self feeling, you know, that real empowerment sort of piece that goes with it. So I love that. Okay, well, we're gonna drop the.

The where to find you and all those kinds of things at the end. But I have, like, a couple more questions as we start to wrap up here. But, you know, what advice would you give to women? Let's talk specifically maybe about people who are wanting to launch something or try something new or something that's kind of unconventional or bold, or whether it be in business or this or things like that.

What advice would you give, based on your experience to those women who really want to step out into something different? Liz Hansen: There's a reason that you have that desire. There's a reason that there's this bold idea keeps bubbling up within you. And I would say don't ignore that feeling.

Don't ignore that desire that keeps coming to you that you want to do this thing, because I believe there's a reason that desire is within you. And that reason might be because you are being pulled, called, developed to help others along their journey as well. This desire that you have to do something bold is for you yet, and it's for those that you will reach, those in your circle that you will touch. So try to pay attention to those desires.

Try to let them lead you. Maybe it's just taking that first step to making a phone call, sending an email, setting up a website, reading a book, hiring a mentor, hiring a coach, listening to a podcast. Just take a few steps into the dark, see where it takes you. You don't have to start a multinational corporation, but can you start taking steps towards that desire?

Let the desire work you. Let it grow. Kind of like how a plant would grow, you know, one little inch at a time, see where it goes. You're not going to build Rome in a day, right?

I didn't just one day have a whole business. Right. But one step at a time towards reaching that goal. And you will never.

I mean, I always kept telling myself when I was doing so when I started my business, I didn't know what I was doing. We had to take out a business loan. It was a big leap for me. But what I kept telling myself is, do you want to be 80 years old and look back and say, I never did this just because I kept being too scared?

Dawn Sinkule: Yeah. Liz Hansen: Is that what I want to look back and say? Or do I want to say, hey, I look back, looking back, I tried this and I failed, but at least I tried, right? That's what I kept telling myself.

I wanted my story to be kept trying. And I was like, if I fail, at least I know. I followed that dream and I gave it my all and I tried. Dawn Sinkule: Yeah, I love that.

That same with me, too. I. I thought, I'm gonna try this. I'm gonna open my own business.

I'm gonna do this thing, and at least I can look back and say, okay, I tried. Might not have worked, but at least I did it. Liz Hansen: And fortunately for both of us, we've. Dawn Sinkule: Been quite successful in what we've done, and we've been able to do it.

But I think that is really important is you don't have to build or try to build Roman a day sort of thing. Just one step at a time. Just, like, do one thing that's going to get your toe into the water, one thing that's going to move you forward, one thing that's going to build your confidence, one thing that's going to make you. Even if it's totally unconventional.

I mean, I think sometimes those are the best business ide ideas are the ones that are, like, out of the norm. You know what I mean? Those are the ones that you're like, dang, I wish I would have thought of that. You know, that's a good one.

I, I, you know, and so many people just don't take action on that stuff. So I love, you know, that sort of advice of just kind of, you know, one small thing at a time is amazing. That's. Liz Hansen: We could use more bold women in this world.

Dawn Sinkule: Of course. Liz Hansen: That's what we need. Dawn Sinkule: Started this podcast because I'm like, you know, I love talking about business and I love talking about marketing, and I love all the things that, you know, I was talking about before on my other podc, but I really wanted to talk about women and empowering women and the women who come out and show and do bold things and how we all have such different stories and have different perspectives and different ways of thinking about it.

And it's so important, I think, for all of us to understand that all of our stories are not linear. Right. They all kind of go in different paths. We take different ways.

We go forward, we go back, we go. But we've got to be bold and we've got to be strong and we've got to step into our power or else who knows where the world's going to go, right? Okay, final question. So if you could whisper something to one woman, like, you could whisper a secret, or you could whisper, hey, I wish I would have or do this one thing, what would that one thing be that you could tell your women that are maybe thinking about this, like, just the secret thing that you, you know, that other people don't.

Liz Hansen: I would say you are worth it. Your dreams are worthy. Your you are whatever it is that you want to achieve. You are worth it.

We, as a society, we have socialized women to believing that our own desires and our own needs and our own bodies sometimes are not valuable. They're not important. Like, it doesn't matter what I want. I'm always going to serve others.

Doesn't matter if I have this dream. I have to, to do XYZ for my spouse, my children, my boss. Your own desires are worthy. They're worth pursuing.

They're worth asking for. It is okay to stand up and say, this is what I want. Dawn Sinkule: Yeah. Liz Hansen: And when you do that and start claiming your power, that's when doors were open.

That's when the magic happens. Dawn Sinkule: Oh, I love that. I love that. That's a great way to end.

And we're gonna. We're just gonna like, boom, mic drop on that one. Let's just go. But if people want to find out more about you, they want to find out more about your business.

Might start a photography business or a boudoir business, or they want to come and have pictures taken with you. Where can people find out more information about your services and about what you do? Liz Hansen: The best place to go is my website, which is chicago boudoir.com.

boudoir is a tricky word to spell. It's B O U D O I r dot com. And even if you're not in the Chicago area, I'd love to hear from you. If you go to my website, there's a spot where you can click free stuff.

You can download a free confidence ebook. You can take a quiz. I just love for you to stop by, even if wherever you are in the world. Dawn Sinkule: I love that.

I love that. And we'll drop your social handles and other things below. But this has been really amazing. And thank you for sharing the story, Liz, because I think it will really help a lot of people feel empowered and go get your pictures taken.

It's a pretty awesome experience. And even if you're on the fence about it, like you said, just kind of take the leap, do it. You're worth it. And, you know, hopefully people will feel a lot more empowered after listening to this.

So thank you for sharing your story. I appreciate it so much. Liz Hansen: Thanks for having me, Dawn. This was a great conversation.

Dawn Sinkule: Yeah. All right, until next time, everybody. Thank you so much for listening. Thanks for hanging out with me today on the Power of Her.

I hope you're leaving with a little more inspiration and a reminder that you've got what it takes. If today's episode hit home, I'd love for you to share it with a friend or leave a quick review. It really does help. And of course, don't forget to hit subscribe so you never miss out on more real talk and empowering stories.

Keep owning your power and I'll see you next time.