Women In Our Community: Ann Kneip

Women in our community. I just love saying that. What a great project to focus on. Once a month, we will be featuring women in the Sioux Falls area for their outstanding work in our community. 

https://www.facebook.com/AnnLouisaPhoto

Ann Kneip is a dear friend of ours at the boutique. She's photographed us many times, attended all of our events, helped us plan the lot of them and is a giant asset to our community. Her photography is truly artistic and the things she does to honor the female form is unlike most studios you'll find in Sioux Falls. Her Beautiful Women ideals and projects are unique and mirror our morals at the boutique. Every woman is meant to be celebrated for our unique qualities. We are all different - for a reason! We are thrilled to share a piece of her with you for our first ever Women In Our Community write-up:

Hey lady! Let's begin with a little intro. 

My name is Ann Kneip and after over 9 years of photography experience, we opened Ann Louisa Photography in 2009 and have been in our exclusive downtown location for 2 years. I grew up going to work with my mom and I think since a very young age there was never any doubt I would have my own business one day. 

What made you want to begin your business in our community? 

Sioux Falls is an incredible community to live and raise a family and most of all I have always loved the success, sense of pride and sense of community that my grandparents, parents, in-laws and family had as business owners in Sioux Falls. They have shown me that our success is only limited by how hard we are willing to work and pay it forward.

As a photographer in Sioux Falls, what is your biggest obstacle to overcome? How do you set yourself apart from other photographers in Sioux Falls and especially downtown?

Digital cameras have completely changed the photography industry because everyone has a camera, our friends, family and neighbors. While most photographers see this as a huge obstacle to overcome or competition to battle, we don't see it that way at all. This has afforded us an incredible opportunity to offer something that our clients cannot get from another studio or friend in town and that is an experience next to none. Every part of our portrait studio is exclusive. downtown location, exclusive opportunities for our high school seniors to have a model experience walking in our annual Teen Fashion Show, fashion photoshoots, and modeling contests and trips to exotic locations.

(Insert awesome claps for a grade-A answer. This woman rocks.)

What do we, as a Sioux Falls community, bring to the table to help you excel in your work?

We have a great work ethic and sense of community like no other city. I think the community really wants to see locals succeeding and doing great things. 

What has been your favorite project to date?

My two favorite projects to date are our Beautiful Woman Project and our Teen Fashion Show benefiting Feeding South Dakota's Backpack Program. Both are incredible opportunities to celebrate women and teens, empower them, build up self confidence and self image and make a positive impact on others. We believe to our core what comedian Jim Carrey recently shared, "The effect we have on others is the most valuable currency". Finding purpose in our life's work is something we should all be able to experience.

Check out the premise and some of the work Ann has completed for her 'Beautiful Woman Project' by following this link: https://www.facebook.com/BoudoirByAnnLouisa 

"Wife. Goddess. Woman." - love it. 

Now that we know a little bit about your business, let's discuss your closet. :) 

It's not a secret at the boutique that we love your creativity - what do you find to be the TOP FIVE things that spark your creativity?...and why?

5 THINGS THAT SPARK MY CREATIVITY:

     5. Exercise and outdoor activity

     4. Brainstorming an idea

     3. Word associations

     2. Social & gender roles (real and perceived)

     1. The stories of others' (past, present and desired) and real connections

How would you describe your own personal style? 

Modern and chic. Basic but beautiful. Mommy-on-the-Go. Mommy-chic!

What are the five essentials in your closet? 

Colorful belts, high waisted skinny jeans, maxi skirts, heels, and black (although I am venturing into color more and more!)

You can have five things in your purse...what are they? ;)

Business cards showcasing my clients, Zoo passes, Butterfly House passes, bottle of water and of course my cell phone

Is there a person that is your fashion icon? 

Of course my fashion icons are fashion photographers. I am in love and have been influenced by Annie Leibovitz, Peter Lindbergh, Lindsay Adler, Lou Freeman, Joel Grimes and Mert & Marcus. They are some of the worlds most impeccable fashion and editorial photographers that we see in magazines around the world.

Where do you see yourself and your business in five years?

Being located on the East Bank and seeing how vibrant and ever changing it is, we anticipate the culture of downtown and Sioux Falls to continue to grow. We pride ourselves in leading the way in providing a personal and exclusive experience that nobody offers in Sioux Falls. Most of all we pride ourselves in making real connections with others and enabling them to present their best selves to the world through fine art portraiture, the premier opportunities we offer to our teen clients and seeing themselves with a fresh perspective. 

What an inspiring woman. Thanks for your time, Ann! 

Do you have someone that you'd like to see interviewed and featured in our Women In Our Community project? Holler at us via social media! You know the drill!

Twitter: @ChelseasOnline

FBook: ChelseasBoutiqueOnline

xoxo,

the boutique babes