We had the good fortune of connecting with Hannah Monroe and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Hannah, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I got married very young to a military man and we started our family right away. I had worked in the music industry prior to getting married and loved the face paced creativity. When my husband went on deployment and I was left on a military base with 2 children under two, I felt like a shell of a human. I knew I needed to find a way out of the lifestyle that simply did not fit us. I bought my first DSLR that year and we moved to Japan the next year. Thats where I dove deep into developing my skills, a client experience that was memorable and exciting, and launching my business. In those three years, we completely changed our lives and now my husband is a veteran and a full time student and I run my sweet little studio in Santa Ana, California. I have never felt more fulfilled in my life. My business has grown, our income has grown, my community has grown, my confidence has grown, and I’m so excited to see what happens next!

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
It took me a few years to find Boudoir and to realize that empowerment photography was my calling. I already had gotten really good at my craft and had been focusing on Family and Couple photography, but the *energy* of a boudoir session was unrivaled. Thats when I realized that it’s not just my business, or the session, or the outfits, or the images… I also carry an energy that transfers to my clients. Perhaps its from years of spiritual study or my education in different energetic healing techniques. It’s electric every time. My brand is really based off of the healing process I’ve gone through after being ex-communicated from my fundamentalist church that I was raised in. I had never fit in to begin with, and I really didn’t fit in anywhere when we left the church. I was exclusively homeschooled and extraordinarily sheltered, and this hindered me from making friends. Not because I was weird (we are all a little weird), but because *I* didn’t know who I was or how to trust myself, and most critically, I definitely did NOT love myself. Everyone deserves to love and trust themselves, and at my studio, the volubility makes room for a shift in the spirit, body, and mind. BONUS you get to have incredible art of yourself that you can look at year after year and remember the time you put yourself first and decided that YOU are work of art regardless of the beauty standards and the societal conditioning. Maybe I’m less of a photographer, and more of a self love coach. Come to my studio and find out.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I have a thing for dive bars and outdoor adventures, so the two places that I love in Orange County are Sunset Lounge in Fullerton and the Orange County Park in Orange.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Alex Loveland created guides that took my business to new heights and I can’t thank her and her business enough. I also had a life changing experience while reading “Get Rich Lucky Bitch” by Denise Duffield Thomas and pretty much anything Gabby Bernstein has written.

Website: www.hannahmonroe.com

Instagram: hannahmonroephotography

Other: TikTok : hannahmonroephotography

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