THE faces BEHIND the ELEVATED Collective
Meet the Women Behind Your Experience
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Hailley Hawley
THE FOUNDER/PHOTOG
♡ Instagram
@elevatedelegancecollective♡ Facebook
@theelevatedelegancecollectiveFourteen years ago, Hailley picked up a camera with one simple goal, to make people feel something. What began as a love for photography quickly became a passion for helping women see themselves through kinder eyes.
After co-owning a studio with her best friend for eight years, she learned the true meaning of sisterhood, community, and creating spaces where women could simply exist without judgment. Today, she's built that same feeling into every experience she offers.
Whether you're stepping in front of her camera for the first time or joining her on retreat, Hailley wants you to leave with more than beautiful photographs. She wants you to leave feeling lighter, stronger, and more connected to the woman you've always been.
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Michelle George
THE WEEKEND MAKEUP ARTIST
♡ TikTok
@michellegsmakeupcornerFor the past six years, Michelle has been more than a makeup artist, she's become part of the experience.
She believes the best conversations happen while someone is sitting in her chair, and chances are yours won't be a quiet appointment. Michelle has a way of making people feel comfortable within minutes, sharing stories, laughing together, and reminding you that you're never as alone as you think you are.
Her goal has never been to change your face. She simply enhances what's already there, creating a look that still feels completely, beautifully you.
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Jessica Hall
THE WEEKDAY MAKEUP ARTIST
♡ Instagram
@contouredbyjessJess is an artist in every sense of the word.
She's fearless when it comes to creativity and believes self-expression should be celebrated, not hidden. She's the first to remind you that beauty doesn't fit inside one box, and neither should you.
Around the studio, Hailley lovingly calls her "the painter." Watching Jess work is like watching someone create a masterpiece. every brushstroke is thoughtful, intentional, and full of care. Add in her quick wit and perfectly timed dark humor, and you'll probably find yourself laughing before your makeup is even finished.
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Shelby Nye
THE SELF-WORTH COACH
♡ Facebook
@SheblyViShelby has a gentle way of making people feel safe enough to be honest.
She believes real transformation begins when we feel seen, heard, and understood. Through self-mapping and thoughtful conversation, she helps women recognize patterns, shift perspectives, and reconnect with themselves in meaningful ways.
Her coaching isn't about finding quick answers. It's about giving you practical tools you can carry into everyday life long after your session is over.
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J Pennington
THE SELF-WORTH COACH
♡ Facebook
@badmomsofutahJ believes healing begins with connection.
Connection to yourself. Connection to others. Connection to the life happening around you every single day.
She understands that almost every woman who walks through our doors carries an invisible story. While she may not know every chapter of your life, she understands what it feels like to question your worth, lose yourself, and search for something more.
Her hope is that every conversation helps you come home to yourself a little more than you were when you arrived.
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Stefanie Harrington
THE EVENT HOST
♡ Facebook
@StefanieHarringtonIf you've ever needed someone in your corner, you've found her.
Stefanie brings the kind of energy that makes people instantly feel welcome. She's encouraging, uplifting, and has a heart that naturally celebrates others. Whether she's greeting you at an event, helping behind the scenes, or simply checking in throughout the day, she wants you to know someone is always cheering for you.
Her bubbly personality, background as a belly dancer, and genuine love for people make every gathering feel a little lighter and a lot more fun.
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Kylee-Jo Bates
♡ Navigation
@contactformTHE CLIENT CARE COORDINATOR
Long before you walk through our doors, there's a good chance you've already met Kylee.
She's the calm presence behind the emails, scheduling, payments, and all the little details that help your experience feel effortless. More importantly, she wants every woman to feel welcomed, cared for, and know that no question is ever too small.
To Kylee, you're never just another booking on the calendar. She wants you to feel valued from your very first message to the moment your experience comes to an end.
I’M SO GLAD YOU FOUND ME
I’m Hailley, the founder of The Elevated Elegance Collective.
My experience isn’t defined solely by the 14 years I’ve spent behind the camera. It’s shaped by lived moments, the seasons of standing in front of the mirror and only seeing what I thought needed fixing. The quiet comparisons. The unlearning. The work of gently rewiring the stories I had absorbed about what a woman “should” look like.
I’ve stood where you’re standing.
The transformation I guide women through isn’t surface level. It’s the steady, compassionate shift from self-critique to self-respect. From harshness to softness. From performing confidence to actually feeling at home in your own skin.
I’m not here to change you. I’m here to help you see yourself differently and to remind you that a more peaceful relationship with your body is possible.
Hello
“You are imperfect, permanently and inevitably flawed. And you are beautiful.”
My Story
If you've made it this far, I want to tell you something...
This was never just about photography.
I didn't start this business because it was trendy. I didn't start it because I thought it would make me rich. I started because somewhere deep inside me, I knew creating had always been part of who I was.
My love for photography began when I was a little girl. My dad handed me his old film cameras, and I spent hours learning how to slow down and see the world differently. Even now, film feels like home. Whenever life gets loud or I need to reconnect with myself, I always find my way back to it. There's something about the process that reminds me why I fell in love with photography in the first place.
In high school, I soaked up every photography class I could take and spent countless hours on the yearbook staff. I photographed everything. Sports, events, families, landscapes but I kept finding myself drawn to people. More specifically, women. There was something incredibly special about watching someone light up when they felt seen.
At 18 years old, while pregnant with my daughter, I decided to take the biggest leap of my life and start my business.
I was scared.
I had no roadmap.
No guarantees.
No idea what my future would look like.
But I knew I wanted my daughter to grow up watching someone chase a dream instead of talking herself out of one. If I could build a life doing something I loved, maybe one day she'd believe she could do the same.
A few years later, life quietly nudged me exactly where I was supposed to be.
After booking my daughter with a local photographer, she eventually invited me to rent a small studio space. Saying yes terrified me. Like so many women, I wrestled with believing I was "good enough." I questioned my talent, my worth, and whether I deserved to take up space.
Thankfully...I said yes anyway.
That one decision changed everything.
In 2017, I had the opportunity to co-own a larger studio with my best friend. For eight years we built something so much bigger than four walls. She taught me what true sisterhood looked like. How women can support one another instead of compete, how community can heal, and how creating a safe space can completely change someone's perspective of themselves.
That season transformed not only my business but me.
It was there that I truly fell in love with boudoir photography.
Not because of the lingerie.
Not because of the photographs.
Because of the women.
I watched women walk into the studio carrying years of self-doubt, comparison, grief, shame, and unrealistic expectations. Then somewhere between the hair and makeup, the conversations, the laughter, the tears, and the camera...something shifted.
They left standing a little taller.
Laughing a little louder.
Seeing themselves a little kinder.
And I knew this work was never about creating beautiful images.
It was about creating moments that remind women who they've always been.
In 2019, I made the decision to specialize completely in boudoir and women's empowerment. A year later, I began building an all-women team because I knew I couldn't create this experience alone.
Today, that dream has grown into photographers, makeup artists, coaches, retreats, mentoring, community, and a studio filled with women who genuinely want to see other women succeed.
We've created a place where you're allowed to show up exactly as you are.
No pretending.
No performing.
No having it all together.
Just you.
Because I know what it feels like to question your worth.
I know what it feels like to wonder if you're enough.
And I also know what it feels like to slowly find your way back to yourself.
When my photography soul sister moved to begin a new chapter in another state, it was bittersweet. Watching her chase her own dreams reminded me of something we've always believed. Sometimes loving someone means cheering them on, even when it hurts.
Today I continue running the studio, mentoring photographers, renting the space to creatives, leading retreats, and helping women reconnect with themselves in ways I never imagined when I was that scared 18-year-old with a camera and a dream.
If you ask me what I'm most proud of, it isn't the awards or the publications.
It's the messages that say...
"I finally see myself differently."
"I haven't smiled like this in years."
"Thank you for helping me remember who I am."
Those are the moments that matter.
Those are the reasons I still pick up my camera after all these years.
So whether you're here because you're celebrating a milestone, rebuilding after heartbreak, learning to love yourself again, or simply wanting to do something completely for you...
I'm so glad you found your way here.
I can't wait to remind you of the woman you've been all along.
Welcome home.
xo - Hailley
