In Seattle, Cunningham opened a studio and later won acclaim for portraiture and pictorial work.
Most of her studio work of this time consisted of sitters in their own homes, in her living room, or in the woods surrounding Cunningham's cottage.
At one point she and her friend Roi Partidge, a Seattle artist and print maker, climbed up to the Alpine wild flower fields on Mt. Rainier where Roi posed nude as a mystical woodland faun.
Her images were later published in the Seattle newspaper the Town Crier, and caused a scandal due to a woman photographing a male nude.
One critic wrote how her work was very vulgar and charged her with being an immoral woman, but Cunningham stated that, "It didn't make a single bit of difference in my business.
Nobody thought worse of me."
Cunningham was even known to take nude photos of herself in which her granddaughter, Meg Partidge, said: "Her self-portraits really show her sense of humor, and she was smart about her career.
She actively published her work in magazines and newspapers.
She had a good eye, but she was a great editor.
She knew how to edit her work, so what the world sees is an impressive selection of work."

She became a sought-after photographer and exhibited at the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences in 1913.
In 1914, Cunningham's portraits were shown at An International Exhibition of Pictorial Photography in New York.
Wilson's Photographic Magazine published a portfolio of her work.

The next year, she married Roi Partridge, a teacher and artist.
He posed for a series of nude photographs, which were shown by the Seattle Fine Arts Society.
Although critically praised, Cunningham didn't revisit those photographs for another fifty-five years.
Between 1915 and 1920, Cunningham continued her work and had three children (Gryffyd, Rondal, who also became a photographer, and Padraic) with Partridge.
In Seattle, Cunningham opened a studio and later won acclaim for portraiture and pictorial work. Most of her studio work of this time consisted of sitters in their own homes, in her living room, or in the woods surrounding Cunningham's cottage. At one point she and her friend Roi Partidge, a Seattle artist and print maker, climbed up to the Alpine wild flower fields on Mt. Rainier where Roi posed nude as a mystical woodland faun. Her images were later published in the Seattle newspaper the Town Crier, and caused a scandal due to a woman photographing a male nude. One critic wrote how her work was very vulgar and charged her with being an immoral woman, but Cunningham stated that, "It didn't make a single bit of difference in my business. Nobody thought worse of me." Cunningham was even known to take nude photos of herself in which her granddaughter, Meg Partidge, said: "Her self-portraits really show her sense of humor, and she was smart about her career. She actively published her work in magazines and newspapers. She had a good eye, but she was a great editor. She knew how to edit her work, so what the world sees is an impressive selection of work."
She became a sought-after photographer and exhibited at the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences in 1913. In 1914, Cunningham's portraits were shown at An International Exhibition of Pictorial Photography in New York. Wilson's Photographic Magazine published a portfolio of her work.
The next year, she married Roi Partridge, a teacher and artist. He posed for a series of nude photographs, which were shown by the Seattle Fine Arts Society. Although critically praised, Cunningham didn't revisit those photographs for another fifty-five years. Between 1915 and 1920, Cunningham continued her work and had three children (Gryffyd, Rondal, who also became a photographer, and Padraic) with Partridge.
Imogen Cunningham