Today we’d like to introduce you to Emily Chastain.
Hi Emily, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I went to school for photojournalism, thinking I wanted to work for a newspaper. In fact, I did an internship at the Harrisonburg Daily News Record in Harrisonburg, VA. But at the end of the summer, they weren’t hiring (like most other newspapers at the time), and I needed a paying job to support my unpaid internship. So I wound up at a local portrait and wedding studio where I learned the technical aspects of lighting and posing, and how to photograph a wedding. I also learned how NOT to run a business, and eventually relocated to the DMV when my paychecks started bouncing. The wedding industry was booming at the time, and I had no other skills, so I decided to give it a go on my own. Signed up with a free business mentor, went to countless networking events, and advertised through a few wedding websites. Ate a lot of ramen noodles and worked for pennies, just for the experience. The next thing I knew I was photographing 30-40 weddings a year and had more clients than I could handle. That was 15 years ago, and business continues to be great! I still shoot weddings, of course, but recently I’m enjoying branching out more with corporate headshots and events.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Definitely not a smooth road. It’s always interesting how one’s personal life can affect one’s professional work. In 2016, I realized I like women and probably shouldn’t be married to a man. This did not go over well with my very evangelical Christian family. And in the middle of my coming out and getting divorced, my mom told me her cancer was back. Less than six months later, she was gone. Trying to maintain a successful business during this time was incredibly difficult. Emails were left unattended, and clients did not get the priority they deserved. I cried through every wedding (thank goodness for autofocus). Nobody wanted to hire a sad photographer. Business eventually bounced back, but it took a couple of years. Just in time for COVID to hit! 2020 was brutal. I went from having a full calendar of weddings and events booked to having absolutely nothing. Nothing but time – time to worry about the future of my health, my business, and my world. I filed for unemployment for the first time. Surprisingly, it was also one of the most creative eras in my career. I did art projects, took on unique photo challenges, and had to come up with ways to show emotional connection without physical connection in the backyard weddings I did photograph. While it was absolutely a financial and mental health struggle, COVID also afforded me some of the greatest gifts of my life – learning the value of home and redefining who I am without my job.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Choosing between artist/creative and business/practice/firm for this question was hard. Am I an artist first? Or a business owner first? I know I began as an artist, but I think over the last 15 years I’ve become a business owner. When I first started my photography business, I wanted to shoot for ME. I had a specific vision for what I wanted the photos to look like, and I tried to fit all my couples into this mold. Every wedding was about getting that epic portfolio shot. Now, I shoot for the future YOU. I shoot for the you who wants to remember how the wedding day felt, and not just what it looked like. I shoot for the you who wants to appreciate your guests’ smiling faces and not the plates on a table. I never know when I’m taking someone’s last photo. That’s the biggest lesson I’ve learned in the last two decades of being a photographer. It’s actually not about me at all.
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
I was incredibly lucky to enter the wedding industry at the absolute best time to do so. Pinterest had just launched. Blogs were helping brides visualize themselves in specific places, wearing specific dresses, and holding specific flowers. Wedding Wire and the Knot were in their heyday. Wedding photography was trendy in a way it hadn’t been in the past. I worked hard to get where I am, but I can recognize that there was a huge degree of “right time, right place” in play.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.emilychastain.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emchastainphoto
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EmilyChastainPhotography
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilychastainphotography
