She Leads Portrait Project
Celebrating Women in the Trades at Tradeswomen Build Nations 2025
This September, Graham Images partnered with The Boldt Company to take part in Tradeswomen Build Nations 2025 in Chicago, the largest gathering of unionized tradeswomen in the world! Together, we hosted Booth #614 and launched our She Leads Portrait Project, a national initiative honoring women in the trades.
The idea for our She Leads Portrait Project didn’t happen overnight. It took brainstorming sessions, logistic emails, creative direction conversations, website building, test shoots, re-test shoots, and hours of designing to create a booth experience that would truly celebrate the incredible union tradeswomen. At the booth, attendees received a free professional portrait and some shared their insightson video by answering two simple but powerful questions:
What are your favorite aspects of your job?
What advice would you give to the next generation of women entering this field?
She Leads was more than just photos and video, it was about shining a light on women in the trades and inspiring others to pursue careers in these fields
The week leading up to the conference, we meticulously planned every square inch of our 10ft x 10ft booth. From lighting, audio, and seating to printed materials, our Women at Work books, and interactive spaces, every element was designed to maximize the impact of the project. I drove down on Thursday for setup and a full test run, with our booth opening at 8:00A on Friday!
Over three days, we photographed and interviewed around 370 women! The response was overwhelming:
1,202% increase in website visits
665% increase in page views
11.1% growth in email subscribers
The final images have been sent to participants and video footage from the booth is with Charmotion Studios, where it will be turned into a motivational video celebrating women in the trades.
We also showcased the final Women at Work Portrait Project book at our booth. A huge thank you goes to Holly Bolton, FSMPS, CPSM at 3chord Marketing for her work on the copy, and mGerwe Design for their design expertise. All proceeds from the book benefit empowHER WI, a Wisconsin-based nonprofit dedicated to fostering positive change for women in construction.
This event and project are just the beginning. Through She Leads and our continued work with the Women at Work Portrait Project, Graham Images remains committed to highlighting women in the trades, sharing their stories, and empowering the next generation of leaders in the AEC industries.
Since the event, it has been a joy to see women sharing their portraits and experiences at our She Leads booth with the social media world.
Thank you to The Boldt Company for helping make this project possible! Thank you to TradesFuture for hosting this impactful event. Thank you to every woman that stopped by and participated in the project over the weekend. We have the full gallery of portraits on our website. We can’t wait to share the final video that showcases both the final portraits and video clips from the weekend.