Today we’d like to introduce you to Hannah Dodd.
Hannah, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
A brief walk through my story – I first picked up a camera while growing up in Africa. I bought my parent’s point and shoot from them. Upon returning the states, my parents gifted me with my first “professional” camera – and it just took off from there. I had got diagnosed with Narcolepsy a few months after and I knew that my dream of joining the Navy was no longer feasible, so I needed to figure something else out. Starting a business at 16 was kind of crazy and not the normal thing to do for high schoolers, but I loved it. I started out with weddings and engagements and seniors – put myself through college with those. My senior year of college, I came across a boudoir session that my friend had done and remembered thing, “What is that? I have to try that?” I grew up as a missionary kid is the middle of East Africa, like the bush. I grew up crazy conservative. Boudoir was not in my repertoire at all. But as soon as I shot my first session with a friend, I fell in love.
I switched solely to boudoir when I graduated college. However, it didn’t become a mission for me until after I was raped by a United States soldier and it was swept under the rug by the Army. That was when boudoir became my be all. Boudoir became my getaway. Showing women how beautiful they are becoming my place of getting lost from the reality of what I was feeling, mentally and physically. So that’s how I got where I am today. Through lots of tears and learning to find the treasure in other women helped me on my journey of learning to reaccept myself and my story. Watching woman after woman embraces her scars, helped me embrace the stain and scratches that were still being healed in my story.
Has it been a smooth road?
It has not been a smooth road, at all. Whatsoever. But then again, what journey is? They all have their twist and turns. Potholes and flat tires that leave you disabled for a little bit. The important part is that you somehow figure out how to keep going. The struggles I have endured along the way range from being in the hospital for 20+ hours a week for two years with an undifferentiated autoimmune too fleeing the place that I was assaulted with no place to go to having the fight the fear of constantly being on the go, which makes it hard to run a client-based business. But when you are constantly dealing with depression that you’ve never experienced a before to having to relearn how to live life not in fight/flight mindset, challenges are presented.
On top of that, I have severed Narcolepsy – which is one of the reasons I began my business anyway – was because realistically holding a traditional 9 to 5 job was just well… not very realistic. All of those struggles presented struggles within themselves, but God has been more than faithful to see me through all of them. And as a result, I have been able to develop a strong boudoir brand that focuses on helping women through their own journey where I am at, as well as in different destinations around the United States, and soon to be international.
The Behold Moment – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
So I am a destination boudoir photographer telling the stories of queens at The Behold Moment. I specialize in empowering women in all walks of a life, all shapes, sizes and colors. Here at The Behold Moment, we believe that every woman was truly created for such a time as this. That means that there is no right time to do a boudoir session. You can do it now – you don’t have to wait for the perfect moment or when you accomplishment, you deserve to be celebrated NOW. In this moment. If it’s one thing I have learned in my short 26 years of life, is that you never know what twists and turns your journey is going to throw at you. You never know when your journey is going to take a different direction and you wish you would have taken time to appreciate yourself for who you were in that previous moment. Life is short, do the photo shoot.
You are your greatest romance. One of the greatest love stories you will ever partake in is the one with yourself. And just like you would a love, you deserve to see yourself through eyes of grace and truth. I truly believe that every woman deserves to be seen… but also to see themselves as the world sees them. As we learn to see ourselves from a different perspective, our perspective on the whole world begins to change. A session with The Behold Moment gives you the chance to do just that. To learn to see yourself through eyes of grace. Grace because the story you’ve lived is a story of struggles turned into a strength, nothing less. This is the truth that I want everyone woman to see as they gaze upon their image. This is the truth I want them to walk away with as leave walk through the studio doors at the end of their session – that they are beautiful, loved, and worthy beyond measure. My hope for every woman who walks through my studio doors is that they leave being their own greatest lover and knowing that there is someone championing for them.
I am most proud of the woman who walks through my studio doors. They are my reason. They are my inspiration. I wouldn’t get to do what I do without them and I definitely wouldn’t be where I am without them. I think anything that sets anybody apart of anything in life is their own unique story. And once one learns to embrace that, it is their greatest power. And that’s one thing that sets me apart from other boudoir photographers is that I’m not afraid of sharing mine, even if it hurts my business… which so far I haven’t seen it. But raising your voice as a rape survivor is way too needed. We have been silenced for a way to long. And not everyone has found the courage to raise theirs yet, so I need to do my part. I have been given a voice and a platform. I feel compelled to use it. The things is, boudoir photographers, especially now, are a dime a dozen. I honestly could leave the industry and not be missed. But women working on the front lines to give rape survivors a voice, those aren’t a dime a dozen.
Women willing to speak out and fight for what’s right… that is only a few. Thankfully, I am blessed to do both. Tell the stories of queens through photojournalistic boudoir photography and luxury experience at The Behold Moment and raise my voice through a non-profit that I am beginning, No Imperfections. However, a lot of photographers will tell you to keep your work life and personal life separate. However, as a survivor, that’s not really possible because that experience has made me into who I am today. It’s why I am in the place that I am in today. It permeates every part of boudoir work.
Another thing that sets me apart, which is slowly becoming more popular is the fact that I am a destination boudoir photographer. I truly believe that every woman is worth the distance. So combined with my globetrotting spirit and wanderlust soul, why not travel and do boudoir? So yes, I have photographed women around the world and will continue to do so.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
I am a newbie, so honestly, I don’t know. I just relocated from the Washington DC area on the 14th of March and between leaving DC on the 14th and arriving here on the 16th, all hell broke loose with the COVID-19. I arrived to a city that was pretty much shut down and doctors refusing to see me because apparently moving from DC means your contaminated. So I will say that, so far, I don’t like the attitudes of the people that I have come across, but I’m not sure this is the best time to be judging how friendly your city is or isn’t.
I can say that I am very intrigued by the bridges. The beauty of them gets me every time. Not mention how many there are. There are also some beautiful houses here that I am looking forward to shooting in once I get all of my clients rescheduled. The expanse is nice. Unlike DC, 2 miles actually only takes you to minutes, not 60. Oh and I have seen some very attractive law enforcement here.
Pricing:
- Sessions are customized and begin at $350
Contact Info:
- Website: www.beholdmoment.com
- Phone: 7857270640
- Email: beholdmoment@gmail.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/beholdmoment
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/beholdmoment
- Other: Womens only VIP group: www.facebook.com/groups/queenery
Image Credit:
Vow & Vine
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