Today we’d like to introduce you to Chelsea Staud.
Hi Chelsea, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My first chapter in photography started in high school. My grandmother had a film camera, and I was obsessed with taking photos of her garden and flowers. This was also the same era that ‘Selfies’ was born, so I soon got my own digital camera and took a million photos of myself and friends. I started to buy editing programs to learn more about my new hobby, and one Christmas my parents gifted me my first DSLR Nikon camera. From that moment I never put the camera down, taking snapshots of everything from my pets, my friends’ senior photos, to even small weddings.
One day I was in Victoria Secret with a friend and while she was in the dressing room, I noticed these more artistic, less commercialized black and white photos on the walls in the dressing room. I immediately fell in love and thought, “who gets to take those photos?!”
Few months later, I moved from Florida to Northern Kentucky, and never picked my camera back up. Fast forward a couple years and trying to still find myself, I started to take photos of myself and felt so damn confident. I started to take what I called “artistic shots” aka nudes and fell back in love with my old creative outlet. Fast forward again a couple more years, and it all clicked one day. I was renting high-rise apartments in downtown Cincinnati and had a client wishing to tour some units. She told me she was a Boudoir Photographer, and I instantly thought back to when I was standing in Victoria Secret thinking “who gets to take these types of photos?’, and that’s when I had my lightbulb moment. I wanted to have my own business by the time I was 30, and I knew I wanted to do what I truly loved, and this just made sense to me. I immediately cleaned the dust off my camera and dove deep into education. I put everything on a credit card and launched Gemini Boudoir a few months later and never turned back.
Almost 3 years later, here I am working full time for myself making everyday women and couples experience their own beauty. It’s been a rollercoaster and continues to be a crazy ride, but the freedom that comes with creating your own art and making your own schedule is worth it all. I get to continue to learn and educate myself within my industry and creative mind, while creating a life I love and meeting so many other amazing creatives like myself and clients.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It was definitely a challenge in the beginning as I was working full time, and then took on a promotion that required me to travel every week. I was juggling both jobs all the while renovating my home we just purchased, so the struggle was real during this time! I was always exhausted and thinking I couldn’t do it, but I just kept reminding myself the hustle would be so worth it once I could launch Gemini Boudoir as my full-time business. I found a great support system within my “Glam Team”, my hairstylist and MUA, and of course my husband.
Now that I’m past that chapter of juggling and can focus on creating work with my clients, I now sometimes struggle with thinking my work isn’t good enough. I have to remind myself that everyone sees art differently, and as long as my clients are happy then I’m happy and to keep doing what I’m doing.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
To put myself within a category, I am a Boudoir Photographer. I do specialize mainly with female clients and giving them an empowering boudoir experience, but I truly like to look at myself as an Intimate Portraiture- capturing intimate moments. I photograph intimate couples’ sessions, emotional material, maternity, mommy and me tub sessions, etc.
I am always told by my clients that they chose me for their experience because my work truly shows love and appreciation for all women and bodies in general. I truly believe that everyone has the right to love themselves and be seen without the limitations of society. I love showing clients how I see them, and how others see them which is a beautiful human. Sometimes we will always have a vision of ourselves until someone else shows us otherwise, and I love being that person to my client(s).
What do you think about happiness?
OMG, how to answer this question simply!
So many things make me happy with what I do. The freedom of being my own boss, having like-minded entrepreneurial women on my team that I work with, the moments clients share with me during their session, the pure joy when clients come to pick up their products, and when clients become repeat clients. The fact that someone trusted me and my team enough, loved their experience enough, believes in my work, believes in me- that is pure happiness with what I do. What’s even better is that I never feel like I’m “working”, I always feel like I’m having fun with new friends creating art! I’m also happy, and proud of myself with the amount of self-love I have gained for myself during this journey of being a business owner and artist.
Contact Info:
- Email: letschat@geminiboudoir.com
- Website: geminiboudoir.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geminiboudoir
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/geminiboudoir
